Newcastle Street Circuit

Newcastle Street Circuit
Location Newcastle and Newcastle East, New South Wales
Time zone GMT +10
Coordinates 32°55′35.25″S 151°47′16.75″E / 32.9264583°S 151.7879861°E / -32.9264583; 151.7879861Coordinates: 32°55′35.25″S 151°47′16.75″E / 32.9264583°S 151.7879861°E / -32.9264583; 151.7879861
FIA Grade 3
Opened 24 November 2017
Major events Newcastle 500
Length 2.652 km (1.647 mi)
Turns 14
Race lap record 1:10.6403 (David Reynolds, Holden VF Commodore, 2017, Supercars Championship)

The Newcastle Street Circuit is a temporary street circuit around the east end of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The circuit hosts the Newcastle 500, the final round of the Supercars Championship.[1] The 14-turn, 2.652 kilometre circuit takes in Newcastle Beach and the foreshore around Nobbys Beach Reserve.[2]

Circuit

The circuit begins on Wharf Road, heading south-west towards the city. Drivers take a left turn at Watt Street, crossing over the Newcastle Light Rail tracks before ascending a 1:22 hill up Watt Street, before again turning left onto Shortland Esplanade 500m after turn one.[3] Once on Shortland Esplanade, drivers will snake their way down the beachside road before reaching a 90° left at Zaara Street. This is followed by a 90° right onto Scott Street and another 90° left onto Parnell Place. Drivers head along the fastest stretch of circuit as they take Nobbys Road down to a left-handed hairpin in the Camp Shortland carpark. From there, a driver will negotiate a right hander onto Wharf Road to complete the lap.

The originally proposed layout was altered with the omission of the section through Pacific Park and the alteration of the planned Nobbys' Reserve permanent course.[4][5] However, the circuit has attracted criticism from residents within the circuit precinct.[6]

Reception

The circuit has received the following responses from drivers.[7]

Jamie Whincup: "...The track is a fair bit different from what we predicted [...] I thought there would be a bit more flow, but it’s actually quite stop start. The grip’s slightly higher than anticipated, and it’s bumpier than we anticipated as well."
Shane van Gisbergen: "What a crazy track. It’s really cool. It’s going to be hard work, 250km, limited passing... it’s going to be all about qualifying."
Scott McLaughlin: "It's full on [...] It’s so technical. You’ve got to try and work out one corner, you’re sacrificing one corner to help you regain in three corners time. It’s really bumpy too in places. It has everything a driver wants.”

Lap records

As of 26 November 2017.[8]

Class Driver Vehicle Time Date
Outright Australia David Reynolds Holden Commodore VF 1:10.6403 26 November 2017
Sports Cars
Aussie Racing Cars Australia Blake Sciberras Mustang-Yamaha 1:20.8968 26 November 2017
Touring Cars
Supercars Championship Australia David Reynolds Holden Commodore VF 1:10.6403 26 November 2017
Super2 Series Australia Jack Le Brocq Nissan Altima L33 1:12.0615 25 November 2017
V8 Ute Racing Series Australia Jeremy Gray Ford Falcon FG Ute 1:24.5471 26 November 2017
Toyota 86 Racing Series Australia Cameron Hill Toyota 86 1:26.2985 25 November 2017
Historic Touring Cars
Touring Car Masters Australia John Bowe Holden Torana LH SL/R 5000 1:18.3747 26 November 2017

References

  1. ↑ "Five-year, $57 million Newcastle Supercars deal confirmed". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Date and layout locked in for Newcastle Supercars race". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  3. ↑ Supercars to cross tram tracks in Newcastle Speedcafe 27 April 2018
  4. ↑ "Changes to Newcastle street circuit as date set". Speedcafe. 13 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "Supercars: Newcastle street circuit revealed with changes to initial layout". Fox Sports Australia. 13 December 2016.
  6. ↑ Zhou, Naaman (2 September 2017). "'We essentially live inside a racetrack': Supercars race leaves Newcastle residents fuming". The Guardian Australia. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Whincup sets the pace in first Newcastle practice". Speedcafe.com. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  8. ↑ Natsoft Race Results
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