Baskerville Raceway
Baskerville Raceway at a glance
- Location
- Old Beach, Tasmania
- Type
- road course
- Length
- 2.01 km (1.249 mi)
- Turns
- 9
- Direction
- clockwise
- Surface
- asphalt
- Opened
- 1958
- Owner
- Motorsports Tasmania
- Address
- 473 Baskerville Road
Track map and layout
Baskerville is a tight, 2.01-kilometre, nine-turn road course built into a natural amphitheatre at Old Beach, about 20 minutes north of Hobart, and run clockwise. Australia's oldest continuously operating permanent racing circuit, it has changed remarkably little in shape since 1958, and its short lap - anchored by the corner known as Calvins, named after the farmer who leased the land - still rewards precise, patient driving over raw power. Since 2022 the venue has carried the naming-rights banner Bulk Nutrients Baskerville Raceway, following an earlier long-running Pepsi Max sponsorship from 2015 to 2022, though most Tasmanians and search engines alike still know it simply as Baskerville Raceway. There is a single full-circuit layout in current use.
Named corners and sections
- Calvins. A corner named after Calvin Morrisby, the local farmer who leased the land for the circuit in 1958.
Configurations
| Layout | Length | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Full Circuit | 2.01 km | The circuit's only layout, unchanged in basic shape since it opened in 1958 |
Events and race weekends
Baskerville's biggest weekend is the Baskerville Historics, the venue's marquee meeting for heritage race and touring cars, alongside rounds of the Tasmanian Circuit Racing Championship (the 2026 season opened here on 31 January-1 February), the Tasmanian Super Series and the Tasmanian Drift Series. The Baskerville 2-Hour is a long-running motorcycle endurance race held on the circuit, and Race Tasmania meetings bring national categories such as Australian Superbikes to the venue in some years. Motorsports Tasmania and the Hobart Sporting Car Club, which operates the venue, run a full year-round club racing and track-day calendar alongside these headline dates.
| Event | Series | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baskerville Historics | Historic race and touring cars | — | The venue's marquee historic motor racing meeting |
| Tasmanian Circuit Racing Championship (round 1) | Tasmanian Circuit Racing Championship | January/February | 2026 season opened at Baskerville on 31 January-1 February |
| Baskerville 2-Hour | Motorcycle endurance race | — |
Getting there and parking
Baskerville sits on Baskerville Road at Old Beach, on the Derwent River's northern shore about 20 kilometres and 20-25 minutes' drive north of Hobart via the Brooker Highway and East Derwent Highway. Hobart Airport is around 30-35 minutes' drive to the south-east, making the circuit an easy add-on for anyone visiting Hobart.
- Hobart Airport (HBA) · about 35 min drive
Baskerville is close enough to Hobart that most visitors treat it as a day trip from the city rather than booking accommodation locally.
Hotels and camping near Baskerville Raceway
There is no on-site camping or accommodation at Baskerville itself, and the immediate area around Old Beach and neighbouring Bridgewater and Gagebrook has only a handful of motels, so the great majority of visitors base themselves in Hobart, about 20-25 minutes south, which has the region's full range of hotels, serviced apartments and short-stay rentals. Hobart's accommodation is generally easy to find outside major festival periods, and Baskerville's proximity to the city means most visitors do not need to book anything beyond a normal Hobart stay.
Where to look
Hobart CBD and northern suburbs (widest choice, 20-25 minutes away), with a small number of motels in Bridgewater and Old Beach closer to the circuit.
Camping
No on-site camping is offered at the raceway; visitors stay in Hobart or the immediate Bridgewater/Old Beach area and drive in.
Track days, driving experiences and lap records
Baskerville runs a regular programme of public track days through operators such as Performance Driving Events, with several dates scheduled across the year, alongside club-level car and motorcycle racing and testing run by the Hobart Sporting Car Club and Motorsports Tasmania.
Who runs days here
Lap records
| Category | Time | Driver | Car | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formula One (historic) | 0:48.8269 | Josh Kean | Benetton B186 | 2018 |
| Formula 5000 | 0:48.8869 | Jason White | McLaren M10A | 2018 |
| Formula Mondial | 0:50.16 | John Bowe | Ralt RT4 | 1982 |
Spectator guide
Baskerville's natural amphitheatre setting is its defining spectator feature - the surrounding hillside gives fans a genuine bird's-eye view of most of the circuit from grass banks rather than fixed grandstands, unusual for an Australian venue of this age. The short lap means very little of the action is out of sight from a good vantage point on the hill.
Best places to watch
The grass hillside overlooking the amphitheatre gives sightlines across the majority of the circuit's nine turns from one spot.
Weather
- Jan-Feb: Tasmanian summer: mild days typically 20-23°C, occasional hot spells, generally low humidity
History of Baskerville Raceway
Australia's oldest continuously operating circuit
Baskerville opened on 1 February 1958 on land leased from local farmer Calvin Morrisby for a nominal one shilling a year over a 100-year term, with the circuit laid out to follow the natural amphitheatre shape of the valley. Tasmanian Premier Robert Cosgrove officially opened the venue on 9 February 1958 in front of an estimated 20,000 spectators, an enormous crowd for the state at the time, and Baskerville has operated without a break since - a claim that makes it Australia's oldest continuously operating permanent racing circuit, behind only Mount Panorama at Bathurst, which opened two decades earlier but has not run continuously in the same way.
A club circuit that stayed a club circuit
Unlike many Australian venues of its era, Baskerville never grew into a national championship fixture on the scale of Bathurst or Sandown; instead it settled into a role as Tasmania's principal club racing circuit, hosting the Hobart Sporting Car Club's own meetings alongside state championships in circuit racing, motorcycles and drifting. Investment has come in steady, modest steps rather than one big redevelopment: the Hobart Sporting Car Club launched a foundation in 2012 to fund modernisation, the circuit was resurfaced in 2017 for around $600,000, the control tower was renovated for $100,000, and the historic Donald Gorringe Bridge on the site was restored in 2016 at a cost of $75,000.
Present day
Today Baskerville hosts the Baskerville Historics, rounds of the Tasmanian Circuit Racing Championship, the Tasmanian Super Series and the Tasmanian Drift Series, plus the long-running Baskerville 2-Hour motorcycle endurance race and occasional Race Tasmania national meetings. Naming rights have passed from Pepsi Max (2015-2022) to Bulk Nutrients (2022-present), but the circuit's shape and character have barely changed since 1958. Owned by Motorsports Tasmania and operated by the Hobart Sporting Car Club, Baskerville remains a genuine grassroots motorsport venue, open to public track days and club racers alongside its handful of bigger annual meetings.
Frequently asked questions
How long is Baskerville Raceway?+
The circuit is 2.01 km (1.249 mi) long with 9 turns, run clockwise, and has used a single full-circuit layout since it opened in 1958.
Is Baskerville Raceway really Australia's oldest circuit?+
It is the country's oldest continuously operating permanent racing circuit, having run without a break since February 1958. Mount Panorama at Bathurst opened earlier, in 1938, but Baskerville's operation has been unbroken in a way few other Australian circuits can claim.
Why is it sometimes called Bulk Nutrients Baskerville Raceway?+
Bulk Nutrients became the circuit's naming-rights sponsor in 2022, following an earlier Pepsi Max naming deal that ran from 2015 to 2022. The venue is still commonly known simply as Baskerville Raceway.
Where do you stay near Baskerville Raceway?+
There is no accommodation or camping at the circuit itself. Most visitors stay in Hobart, about 20-25 minutes south, which has the region's widest choice of hotels and is close enough that Baskerville is usually treated as a day trip.
What is the lap record at Baskerville Raceway?+
The outright lap record is 0:48.8269, set by Josh Kean in a Benetton B186 Formula One car in 2018, narrowly ahead of Jason White's 0:48.8869 in a McLaren M10A Formula 5000 car the same day.
Can the public drive Baskerville Raceway?+
Yes. Operators such as Performance Driving Events run regular public track days at Baskerville through the year, alongside the club racing and testing run by the Hobart Sporting Car Club.
Other tracks nearby
- Symmons Plains Raceway · 121 km · road course
- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit · 503 km · road course
- Sandown International Motor Raceway · 563 km · road course
- Albert Park Circuit · 579 km · street circuit
- Calder Park Raceway · 604 km · road course & oval (Thunderdome dormant)
- Winton Motor Raceway · 700 km · road course
Facts checked against 7 sources including the official circuit website. Last reviewed 2026-09-10.