Siberia's only around the corner

At the Phillip Island racetrack, Siberia’s literally only round the corner. It’s one of 12 corners on the circuit, with some boasting famous names like Gardner Straight or Doohan and Stoner corners.

Phillip Island is one of Australia’s oldest and coldest circuits, hence the name Siberia, inspired by the winds whistling off Bass Strait and onto the circuit. Australia’s first Grand Prix was held at Phillip Island for eight consecutive years from 1928 … but back then, it was nothing like the circuit of today. As a driver or rider, you were faced with a rectangular public dirt road.

When it came to motorcycle racing, the track was first used in 1927 for a 200-mile road race that weaved its way through Cowes and Rhyll. The next year, a shorter rectangular course –10km long on public roads – was used for the Grand Prix, which was run over 100 miles. All this temporarily came to a halt in 1935. By 1956, the track had become a permanent racing circuit, the first full-length dedicated paved track of its type built. In contrast to today’s customs, it was developed by volunteers and amateur racers rather than professional organisations. Around 1951, the present site was purchased from the owner of Brighton Beach Motors, motorsport enthusiast Mr P Whitlock, who generously sold the land for £6,525. Phillip Island Auto Racing Club (PIARC) purchased the site, and there’s a good story behind the name. The circuit was intended to be used for car and motorcycle events, but at the time regulations dictated that motorcycle riders were only allowed to join one motorcycle club. To ensure they were able to use the circuit, the name included the word ‘auto’ rather than ‘motor’, ensuring it covered auto cycles. Based on the Zandvoort circuit in Holland and designed by Consulting Engineer Alan Brown, the track featured long sweeping turns and a mile-long front straight. Mr Brown’s design was premised on building a track that would allow for as high a lap speed as possible. He was adamant that the track should be well away from the treacherous 100-foot cliffs that skirt one side of the circuit. Back in 1952, Victoria’s road design rules stipulated that any major public road curve where speeds exceeded 25 miles per hour should be designed so that the deeper into the corner a driver went, the tighter it became – apparently to prevent drivers from accelerating out of corners too early. Mr Brown innocently incorporated this into the circuit’s design, much to the horror of the overseeing committee who could foresee the repercussions of this at racing speeds. A simple fix ensued – the circuit direction was changed from clockwise to anticlockwise, and has remained that way throughout its history. Due to a series of events including torrential rain during 1954 and 1955, track building was delayed. While PIARC optimistically announced opening dates, these were postponed time and again. Finally, on 15 December 1956, the track opened on a damp day. The circuit, designed to take 15,000 spectators, fielded a poor crowd – not only because of the weather, but also due to Saturday cricket. (It was illegal to hold a motor racing event on a Sunday in Victoria.) Racing did eventuate with a 10-race program, which saw the likes of Lex Davison and Jack Brabham compete.

Siberia's only around the corner

Not long after, competitors started complaining that the circuit was hard on rubber with excessive tyre wear. As it turned out, there had been a mistake with the compound – instead of using 3/16” sized gravel, 5/8” gravel was used instead. This gave the surface good grip, but was hard on tyres. The predecessor to our now-famous Bathurst event was the Armstrong 500. This was held at ‘the Island’ in 1960 for what were then referred to as stock saloon cars, with only those made or assembled in Australia eligible. Forty-five cars entered to run over eight hours, completing 167 laps of the three-mile-long circuit. John Roxburgh and Frank Coad were the winners in their Vauxhall Cresta. Very few permanent race circuits were in operation during those early days in Victoria. Fishermans Bend still held some events, Sandown and Calder were completed during the early 1960s, and in late 1962 Winton opened in regional Benalla. Unfortunately, the Armstrong 500 only ran at Phillip Island until 1962 before the track was so badly damaged that the race was moved to Bathurst. With that move, the track fell into disrepair and closed. Through a wonderful act of fate in 1964, PIARC ex-committee member Len Lukey bumped into enthusiast George Coad at Essendon Airport where he heard that the track was to be sold. He immediately called PIARC president John Lanyon and offered £13,000 for the circuit. His offer was accepted, and to this day Lukey Heights is a feature of the track. g

A quick tour of the track

Phillip Island’s pit lane is on Gardner Straight, the front straight also featuring the start/finish line. This is one of Australia’s fastest straights, and from there you head towards the sea, often with a blustery wind pushing against you, into Doohan Corner – more a curve in the track than a corner.

You then head at breakneck speed into a left at Southern Loop (which is definitely a corner), down a short straight into Stoner Corner, a left-hand curve, and from there into Honda Corner, which bends and heads you up to Siberia and then it’s left onto the long back straight. The back straight is technically not straight, but feels that way as you head into Hayshed Corner and then to Lukey Heights. Seagulls have been known to dive bomb drivers on this part of the track. At Lukey Heights, it’s apparent that you have to turn blindly left and down into MG corner as you are atop a short but very steep hill. From MG there are two more left-hand corners, the last a wide sweeping one back onto Gardner Straight. The current lap record outright is held by Australian Simon Wills in a Reynard 94D Holden with a time of 1:24.2215 (Formula Holden) on 13 February 2000, with Marc Marquez holding the lap record for motorcycles on a Honda RC213V with a 1.28.108 achieved on 20 October 2013.

The circuit was transformed into something more than a racetrack after money was poured into repairs, boasting a half-sized Olympic pool, roller-skating rink, children’s playground, and waterskiing lake. Early in 1965, a three-storey control tower was constructed; this tower still stands today, 100 metres north of its original position. (The move was done when the circuit was rebuilt in the 1980s to accommodate the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.) Another ‘500’ event was scheduled for 1971, a round of the Manufacturers’ Championship. Extensive work was required to get the circuit up to standard and fit for the drivers of the day – the likes of John Roxburgh, Peter Brock, Colin Bond, Leo Geoghegan, John French, and Allan Moffat. Another blow for the circuit came on 27 October 1978 when Len Lukey passed away and the circuit was up for sale again – the asking price $1.2 million. Some six years later in 1984 it was sold for $800,000 to an investment group who revived the complex, and finally in 1988 the final round of the Swann Insurance International Series for motorcycles was held. The track was awarded the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix (AMGP) the following year, putting it back on the map as a major circuit. In 1990, the Superbike World Championship moved from Oran Park Raceway near Sydney to Phillip Island, but the next year the AMGP moved to Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney following the Victorian State Government’s banning of tobacco and alcohol advertising. Wayne Gardner gave it a fabulous send-off, winning the most thrilling race of that year holding off a determined Mick Doohan to make it an Aussie 1–2 finish. Moto GP returned in 1997 to ‘the Island’ and has remained there ever since. In 1994, the main straight was named Gardner Straight. Earlier in 1990, car racing had returned to Phillip Island with the Australian Touring Car Championship, while the track currently hosts the final round of the V8 Supercars. Other highlights of the 1990s included the Superbikes race of 1996, with Australian Troy Corser taking first place on a Ducati. In 1998, Mick Doohan won his fifth world title there, and so in 1999 Turn One was renamed Doohan Corner.

Again in 2004, the ‘For Sale’ sign was hung outside the track. This time another well-known businessman, Lindsay Fox, bought it for an undisclosed amount. A $2 million safety upgrade was carried out under the new ownership, primarily to improve safety for motorcycle racing, and in 2012 the entire track was resurfaced in a $3 million upgrade. Advanced Driver Training is returning to Phillip Island on 30-31 March with limited spots remaining. It would be a pity to not be able to experience the thrill of driving this iconic international circuit for yourself. Fortunately, Porsche Centre Brighton offers Porsche owners drive days at the track with expert Porsche instructors. This is the perfect way to understand and appreciate your Porsche, its inherent racing heritage, and this famous track’s chequered history. •