Mallala Motor Sport Park

Mallala Motor Sport Park at a glance

Location

Mallala, South Australia

Type

road course

Length

2.601 km (1.616 mi)

Turns

9

Direction

clockwise

Surface

asphalt

Opened

1961

Owner

Peregrine Corporation

Address

Mallala Road

Website

mallala.com

Track map and layout

Mallala is a flat, fast 2.601-kilometre, nine-turn road course on the site of a former RAAF wartime airfield about 55 kilometres north of Adelaide, run clockwise. Its wide-open, largely featureless surrounds and long straights make it one of the fastest circuits of its size in Australia, with named features including Bosch Curve, Dunlop Curve, the Southern and Northern hairpins and the Esses giving the lap its rhythm between high-speed sections. The layout in use today dates from a reworked 2.601-kilometre configuration first raced in 1964 and revived when the circuit reopened in 1980-82; a longer 3.379-kilometre, 11-turn original layout was used only briefly between 1961 and 1963. The circuit's flat, open aspect and generous run-off from its airfield origins make it a popular venue for driver training and club track days as well as national-level racing.

Named corners and sections

• Bosch Curve. A fast sweeping curve named after the long-time circuit sponsor.
• Dunlop Curve. A high-speed curve in front of the main grandstand, also named for a sponsor.
• Southern Hairpin. A tight, slow hairpin at the southern end of the lap.
• Northern Hairpin. A tight, slow hairpin at the northern end of the lap.
• The Esses. A quick left-right sequence linking two of the circuit's faster sections.

Configurations

Events and race weekends

Mallala's biggest weekend historically has been Easter's All Historic Mallala meeting, a major fixture for heritage race and touring cars on the South Australian calendar, and the circuit continues to attract national categories such as the Australian Formula Ford Championship, most recently scheduled for late October 2026. Australian Super Truck Racing has also returned to the circuit for an ANZAC-weekend meeting. Beyond these headline dates, Mallala runs a full calendar of state-level car and motorcycle club racing, drift and burnout events, and public track days through the year under owner Peregrine Corporation.

Getting there and parking

The circuit sits on the edge of the small township of Mallala, about 55 kilometres north of Adelaide via the Port Wakefield Road and Gawler, on the flat Adelaide Plains. Adelaide Airport is the main gateway for visitors flying in and is roughly an hour's drive south, making Mallala an easy day-trip destination from the city.

• Adelaide Airport (ADL) · about 60 min drive

Mallala is a small town with almost no accommodation of its own, so plan on staying in Gawler or Adelaide and driving in for race days.

Hotels and camping near Mallala Motor Sport Park

Mallala township itself has essentially no hotel accommodation, so most visitors base themselves in Gawler, about 20-25 minutes south and the nearest sizeable town with motels and caravan parks, or continue on to Adelaide for the widest choice of hotels, about an hour away. The Mallala Camping Ground, a small caravan park with powered and unpowered sites right in the township, is the closest option to the circuit and a practical base for a race weekend, though it books out for the big Easter meeting.

Where to look

Gawler (nearest town with motels and caravan parks, 20-25 minutes away) or Adelaide (widest hotel choice, about an hour away).

Track days, driving experiences and lap records

Mallala runs its own public track-day programme direct from the circuit, including entry-level "Speed off the Street" sessions for road-registered cars and full-day Open Track Days with multiple 20-minute on-track sessions, both capped on car numbers for safety. The venue is also used for club car and motorcycle racing, driver training, drifting and karting through the year.

Who runs days here

• Mallala Motorsport Park (Open Track Days / Speed off the Street)car

Typical cost: "Speed off the Street" sessions from around A$120; full-day Open Track Days priced higher for more on-track time

Lap records

Spectator guide

Mallala's flat, open layout on former airfield land gives spectators unusually wide sightlines across much of the circuit from a single vantage point, with the area around Dunlop Curve in front of the main grandstand the traditional focal point. There is little natural shade anywhere on the site, so sun protection matters even on a mild Adelaide Plains day.

Best places to watch

The grandstand area at Dunlop Curve and the hairpins at each end of the lap give the best combination of overtaking action and viewing across multiple corners.

Weather

• Apr: Adelaide Plains autumn: mild days around 20-22°C, generally dry

History of Mallala Motor Sport Park

An airfield becomes a circuit

Mallala's story begins as RAAF Base Mallala, a Second World War training airfield north of Adelaide. A group of motor racing enthusiasts bought the disused site at public auction in 1961 and laid out a circuit using the old runways and perimeter roads, opening the venue on 19 August 1961 with an 11-turn, 3.379-kilometre layout. That first circuit was ambitious enough to host the Australian Grand Prix in its opening season, and Mallala quickly became a fixture of the national calendar through the 1960s, holding rounds of the Australian Drivers' Championship, the Australian Touring Car Championship and the Australian Tourist Trophy.

Closure, test track years and revival

Racing at the original circuit ended in 1971 amid safety and insurance concerns, and for most of the 1970s Mallala's tarmac found a second life as a private test track for Chrysler Australia and Elfin Sports Cars rather than a race venue. Motorcycle racing returned in 1980 and cars followed in 1982 on a shorter, reworked 2.601-kilometre, nine-turn layout, initially under a restricted "B" track licence before it was upgraded to a full "A" licence in 1984 that allowed championship racing once again.

National categories and the present day

Through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s Mallala hosted rounds of the Australian Touring Car Championship, the Australian Drivers' Championship and the V8 Supercar Development Series, and the circuit staged the inaugural Formula Holden race in May 1989. Long-time owner Clem Smith sold the venue to Peregrine Corporation in February 2017, which continues to run it today. Mallala remains best known among enthusiasts for its Easter All Historic Mallala meeting and continues to attract national categories such as the Australian Formula Ford Championship, alongside a full calendar of state club racing, driver training and public track days that make use of the circuit's flat, fast, airfield-derived layout.

Frequently asked questions

Other tracks nearby

• Adelaide International Raceway · 32 km · road course & oval
• Adelaide Parklands Street Circuit · 58 km · street circuit
• The Bend Motorsport Park · 136 km · road course
• Calder Park Raceway · 668 km · road course & oval (Thunderdome dormant)
• Albert Park Circuit · 694 km · street circuit
• Sandown International Motor Raceway · 715 km · road course