Calder Park Raceway
Calder Park Raceway at a glance
- Location
- Calder Park, Victoria
- Type
- road course & oval (Thunderdome dormant)
- Length
- 2.28 km (1.417 mi)
- Turns
- 10
- Banking
- Thunderdome oval banked 24° in the turns, 4° on the front straight and 6° on the back straight; the National road circuit is unbanked
- Surface
- asphalt
- Opened
- 1962
- Owner
- Jane family (operated by Australian Motorsport Club Limited)
- Capacity
- 44,000
- Address
- 377 Calder Freeway
- Phone
- +61 3 9091 0778
- Website
- calderpark.com.au
Track map and layout
Calder Park is really three venues in one: the 2.28 km, 10-turn National road circuit; the 1.8 km, four-turn Thunderdome, a steeply banked quad-oval modelled on American superspeedways and the first of its kind built outside North America; and a quarter-mile drag strip laid along the National Circuit's front straight. The two circuits can be joined into a 4.2 km Combined (or Grand Prix) layout that uses part of the oval's banking before diving back onto the road course, an unusual configuration occasionally revived for endurance-style club events. Major national-level road racing and the Thunderdome's NASCAR/AUSCAR-style oval racing have both wound down since the early 2000s, but the National Circuit, drag strip and drift layouts remain in regular grassroots use, and the Combined layout is still run for occasional special events.
Configurations
| Layout | Length | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| National Circuit | — | Current 10-turn road-course layout, updated in 2023 with a realigned turns 4/5 and wider run-off |
| Thunderdome | — | Four-turn banked quad-oval, opened 1987; no major oval racing since 1999-2001 |
| Combined/Grand Prix Circuit | — | Road circuit and oval linked together; used for events such as the multi-day Rome the Dome meeting |
| Club Circuit | — | Original 1962 layout, still usable for smaller club and training days |
| Drag strip | — | Quarter-mile strip on the National Circuit's front straight, in active weekly use |
Events and race weekends
Calder Park no longer holds the V8 Supercars, NASCAR/AUSCAR or Australian Grand Prix-support events that filled its calendar through the 1990s, but it is not idle: state-level categories such as the Victorian Motor Racing Championship, and national touring categories including rounds of the Australian Formula Ford Championship and TA2 Racing Muscle Car Series, still race on the National Circuit, alongside regular drag-racing meetings and the multi-day Rome the Dome combined-circuit event.
| Event | Series | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victorian Motor Racing Championship round | VMRC (AASA) | varies | State-level touring car and production car categories on the National Circuit |
| Rome the Dome | Club/endurance | May | Multi-day event combining the National Circuit and Thunderdome into the full 4.2 km layout |
Getting there and parking
Calder Park sits beside the Calder Freeway (M79) at Calder Park, about 20 km northwest of central Melbourne and close to Melbourne Airport, making it one of the more accessible circuits in the country. It's a straightforward drive from the CBD or from the airport, with clear freeway signage; there is no rail service directly to the venue, so a car is the practical option for most visitors.
- Melbourne Airport (MEL) · about 15 min drive
Parking
Free general parking is available on-site for spectators and competitors at most events; check individual event listings for any exceptions.
Melbourne Airport is only about 15 minutes away, making Calder Park an easy stop for visitors flying in rather than driving from the city.
Hotels and camping near Calder Park Raceway
Calder Park is close enough to both Melbourne Airport and the CBD that most visitors simply base themselves in the city or in the airport hotel precinct rather than staying locally; there is no circuit-side accommodation and no camping at the venue itself.
Where to look
Hotels around Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) are the closest option; central Melbourne, about 20-25 minutes away, has the widest range of accommodation.
Camping
Not offered on-site.
Track days, driving experiences and lap records
Calder Park runs its own programme of public track days and driving experiences rather than relying only on outside operators: the venue's own drag-racing "Sunday Fundays" let road cars run the quarter mile, its Drift Academy runs beginner-to-advanced drifting on dedicated layouts including a "Run the Wall" configuration using part of the Thunderdome banking, and Motorsport Australia-licensed track days are open to log-booked and road-registered cars on the National Circuit. A dedicated 4WD track is also used by third-party driver-training operators.
Who runs days here
Typical cost: Drift Academy sessions from around A$329 per driver; drag-strip entry priced per run on Sunday Fundays
Lap records
| Category | Time | Driver | Car | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group C (National Circuit) | 0:52.69 | John Bowe | Veskanda C1 | 1986 |
| V8 Supercars (National Circuit) | 0:56.141 | Craig Lowndes | Holden VR Commodore | 1996 |
Spectator guide
Spectator numbers today are far below the crowds the Thunderdome drew for NASCAR and AUSCAR racing in the 1990s, but grandstand infrastructure from that era remains in place for the larger club and drag-racing meetings that still run at the venue.
Seating
Grandstands built for the Thunderdome's 1990s oval-racing era remain in place, though usage is well below their original 44,000 capacity.
History of Calder Park Raceway
From dirt oval to Melbourne's motorsport hub
Calder Park began in 1962 as a modest circuit built by local enthusiasts Pat Hawthorn and Jim Houlahan on farmland at Keilor, northwest of Melbourne, and was sealed with bitumen soon after. Tyre retailer and touring car driver Bob Jane bought the venue in the early 1970s and spent the following two decades transforming it into Victoria's premier motorsport venue, upgrading the road circuit and adding a drag strip.
The Thunderdome experiment
Jane's most ambitious project was the Thunderdome, a steeply banked, 1.8 km quad-oval modelled on American speedways such as Charlotte, built at a cost of around A$54 million and opened in August 1987 by the Mayor of Keilor. It was the first purpose-built banked superspeedway constructed outside North America, and it hosted NASCAR exhibition races and the local AUSCAR series through the late 1980s and 1990s, alongside Australian Grand Prix support races and, later, V8 Supercars events on the linked road/oval Combined Circuit.
Decline, family dispute and a quieter present
Major-league interest faded through the early 2000s: NASCAR's exhibition visits ended in 1999 and V8 Supercars left after 2001, leaving the Thunderdome largely unused for serious oval competition since. A bitter Jane family dispute saw Bob Jane removed from the business he founded in 2012, with his son Rodney taking control; Bob Jane died in 2018, estranged from the company that still bears his early influence. Today Calder Park is operated by the Australian Motorsport Club, with the National Circuit, drag strip and drift layouts in regular grassroots and club use, and occasional special events, such as the Rome the Dome meeting, still combining the road circuit with sections of the Thunderdome banking. The oval itself remains largely dormant for wheel-to-wheel racing, but there is no indication the venue itself will close; owners have flagged long-term plans to resurface and modernise the facility rather than redevelop the site.
Frequently asked questions
Is Calder Park Raceway still open?+
Yes. The National Circuit, drag strip and drift layouts are in regular use for club racing, drag racing and driving experiences, though the banked Thunderdome oval has seen little serious wheel-to-wheel competition since around 2001.
Can you still race on the Thunderdome oval?+
Not as a standalone banked oval in regular competition; NASCAR and AUSCAR racing there ended by 1999-2001. Parts of its banking are occasionally used within combined-circuit events such as Rome the Dome.
Who owns Calder Park now?+
The Jane family, who bought the venue in the early 1970s, still control it through the Australian Motorsport Club, following a 2012 dispute that saw founder Bob Jane replaced by his son Rodney.
How big is the Calder Park Thunderdome?+
The banked quad-oval is 1.801 km (1.119 miles) with four turns banked at 24 degrees, and grandstands built for it can hold around 44,000 spectators.
What can you do at Calder Park today?+
Drag racing on Sunday Fundays, drift coaching through the on-site Drift Academy, Motorsport Australia-sanctioned track days on the National Circuit, and driver training on a dedicated 4WD track.
Is Calder Park Raceway going to be redeveloped or sold?+
There is no confirmed redevelopment or sale; the Jane family has instead flagged plans to resurface and modernise the National Circuit and rebuild garage facilities.
Other tracks nearby
- Albert Park Circuit · 27 km · street circuit
- Sandown International Motor Raceway · 48 km · road course
- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit · 102 km · road course
- Winton Motor Raceway · 174 km · road course
- Symmons Plains Raceway · 492 km · road course
- The Bend Motorsport Park · 537 km · road course
Facts checked against 5 sources including the official circuit website. Last reviewed 2026-09-10.