Six decades of racing at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

Island Magic comes to the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit this weekend (November 26-27) to celebrate 60 years of racing at the world famous track, with cars from all eras taking centre stage.

Named appropriately the “Grand Opening Meeting”, the first race on the Phillip Island circuit was staged on December 15, 1956.

This weekend’s Island Magic honours the past six decades with nine categories of cars racing. Big fields of production cars, historic touring cars, sports cars and open wheelers fill the agenda with 300 machines entered and 27 races scheduled.

Tickets are available at the gate and cost $30 for a weekend pass, $25 for a Sunday pass, and kids under 16 get in for free. Gates open at 8:00am both days, with Saturday featuring qualifying and racing and Sunday back to back racing.

“This is a historic weekend for the circuit, for PIARC and the island. As we all know the property has changed hands three times over 60 years, but PIARC has always been there since the very first meeting here in 1956,” said Fergus Cameron, managing director of the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.

“They have been integral to the success of this track and are an amazing club of 700 volunteers bound together by a love of motorsport and great camaraderie.

“It is quite incredible to think of the competitors they have produced, the officials they have trained and how the role they have played in Australian and Phillip Island motorsport and played such an important role in life on the island.”

The history of the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit began with a group of local motorsport enthusiasts who would meet at a local café. It was 1952 and the mates decided to stop talking about their dreams and start to seriously pursue their vision to bring motor racing back to the island after nearly a 20-year absence.

Together they formed the Phillip Island Auto Racing Club (PIARC), and the organisation is still the beating heart of every major race meeting held at the circuit today – whether car or motorcycle.

The PIARC pioneers purchased a site for a circuit from local landowner, P.D. Whitlock, and within four years had designed and financed the building of the racetrack. Despite endless challenges with finance, weather, design and construction they somehow achieved the impossible and launched the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit with their first event, the Grand Opening Meeting – a joint car and motorcycle affair – on December 15, 1956.

Event 1 was for “Under 1500 cc Racing Cars: and incorporated the “Formula 111 Scratch race” (for cars up to 500cc). It was a race within a race, so technically the first car and driver to take the chequered flag was Murray Rainey in his Cooper in the 9 mile Formula 111 dash. Lex Davison, the grandfather of current drivers Will and Alex Davison, won Event 1 in a supercharged Cooper Vincent.

A young Jack Brabham, who went onto become 1966 world F1 champion, was victorious in the feature event of the day – the “Bill Thompson Memorial Trophy race”, in a Cooper Climax.

Sir Jack and the joint winners of the first event, Murray Rainey and Lex Davison, have passed away, but many drivers who competed in 1956 are still alive and some still racing in historic vehicle categories today

Motorcycle racing also featured in the Grand Opening Meet with Frank Spiller victorious in the premier bike event and the side car event won by Bob Mitchell. Many famous motorcycling names of the era competed including Australia’s first world motorcycling champion in 1957, Keith Campbell.

The Phillip Island Grand Prix centre Visitor Centre will be open the entire weekend, so if you love motorsport history, you could easily wile away an hour or two there reliving some of the great memories of Australian motorsport.

For further information on Island Magic 2016, visit www.piarc.com.au.