Reid Park Street Circuit

Reid Park Street Circuit at a glance

Location

Townsville, Queensland

Type

street circuit

Length

2.86 km (1.777 mi)

Turns

13

Direction

clockwise

Surface

asphalt (public streets and purpose-built sections through Reid Park)

Opened

2009

Capacity

12,000

Address

Reid Park, Townsville (temporary circuit built from public roads through Reid Park; no fixed street address)

Website

supercars.com/events/2026-townsville

Track map and layout

The Reid Park Street Circuit sits on the eastern edge of Townsville's CBD, where organisers close public roads and add purpose-built sections through Reid Park itself to complete the 2.860 km, 13-turn lap. Around 70 per cent of the circuit runs on roads built specifically for racing rather than everyday traffic, and the layout crosses Ross Creek more than once while skirting Townsville railway station, Townsville State High School and the Civic Theatre. It runs clockwise, rated by Supercars teams as a medium brake-energy but high bump-energy track, and tyre wear, especially on the left rear, is a persistent theme of race weekends. A signature hairpin near the exit onto the pit straight has become one of the circuit's best-known overtaking and viewing points since the venue opened in 2009.

Named corners and sections

• The Hairpin. A tight hairpin leading onto the pit straight, overlooked by a covered grandstand and rated by teams as one of the circuit's better overtaking points.

Configurations

Events and race weekends

The NTI Townsville 500 has been Reid Park's sole headline event since the circuit opened in 2009, making North Queensland's first major motorsport event a fixture of the Supercars Championship calendar. Race weekends run across three days, with a Friday sprint race followed by twin 200 km races on Saturday and Sunday, each preceded by a top-ten shootout for pole. Naming rights have changed hands several times - Dunlop, Sucrogen, Castrol, Watpac and, since 2020, NTI - and the event grew from a shorter '400' format into the current '500' distance in 2014. The 2026 edition, held 10-12 July, was the 20th running of the event at the venue.

Getting there and parking

Townsville Airport, only a few kilometres from the CBD, is the closest airport and the practical option for most visitors flying in for race week. Brisbane is around 1,350 km south by road, so almost all interstate spectators fly rather than drive. Once in Townsville, the circuit sits close enough to the city centre that organisers and local tourism operators point race-goers toward buses and taxis rather than driving directly to Reid Park, since normal road access changes during the event.

• Townsville Airport (TSV) · about 15 min drive

Parking

Street parking around Reid Park is limited and affected by the event's road closures; race organisers and local visitor guides recommend using public buses or taxis from the CBD rather than driving to the circuit directly.

Book accommodation and flights early - July is also peak dry-season tourist season in North Queensland, and the race weekend adds extra demand on top of that.

Hotels and camping near Reid Park Street Circuit

Townsville itself is a compact regional city, so most race visitors base themselves in or near the CBD, a short trip from Reid Park. Hotels such as the Mercure Townsville, Oaks Townsville Gateway Suites and The Palmer Collective sit within the wider event footprint and are commonly used by travel packages built around the race. Rooms fill and prices rise well ahead of the July weekend, particularly given it now doubles as one of the city's biggest annual tourism events.

Where to look

Townsville CBD and the surrounding inner suburbs are the main base, with hotels including the Mercure Townsville, Oaks Townsville Gateway Suites and The Palmer Collective inside or near the event footprint.

Track days, driving experiences and lap records

Reid Park's roads carry normal Townsville traffic for all but one week a year, when they are closed and converted into the Supercars circuit; there is no resident driving school, ride day or trackday operator based at the venue. The circuit does host club and support categories, such as Australian GT, Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and Formula 4, during race week itself, but none of these offer the public a chance to drive the layout outside the event.

Lap records

Spectator guide

Five viewing mounds and grandstands around Reid Park hold roughly 12,000 spectators, with the biggest structures lining the pit straight and a covered grandstand overlooking the exit of the circuit's hairpin. General-admission areas let fans move around the park across the weekend, and the compact footprint means most vantage points are within easy walking distance of each other, unlike some larger street circuits.

Seating

Grandstands and viewing mounds line the pit straight and the exit of the hairpin; the hairpin grandstand is covered and offers a reserved view of one of the circuit's main overtaking points.

Best places to watch

The hairpin-exit grandstand for reserved, covered views of overtaking; the general-admission mounds around Reid Park for a cheaper, walk-around vantage of multiple corners.

Weather

• Jul: Dry season in North Queensland; typically warm and dry with highs around 26°C and cooler nights near 15°C

History of Reid Park Street Circuit

Bringing motorsport to North Queensland

Reid Park Street Circuit was built after the federal and Queensland governments backed a bid, announced in late 2007, to bring a major Supercars round to Townsville. The 2.860 km, 13-turn circuit opened in July 2009, threading purpose-built roads through Reid Park alongside Ross Creek, Townsville railway station and the Civic Theatre, and instantly became the first major motorsport event held in North Queensland. Jamie Whincup won the inaugural race, though the result was adjusted after officials found the race had run past its time-certain finish and trimmed a lap from the result.

A fixture with changing sponsors

The event has run every year since 2009 under a string of naming-rights sponsors - Dunlop, Sucrogen, Castrol, Watpac and, from 2020, NTI - and its distance grew from an original 400 km format into the 500 km branding used from 2014 onward. Along the way it produced its share of drama, including a first-lap clash between Scott McLaughlin and David Reynolds in 2019 that stoked tension between their teams for well over a year, and a guest outing for Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve in 2012.

Present day

Jamie Whincup (12 wins) and Shane van Gisbergen (10 wins) lead the circuit's individual honour roll, with Triple Eight Race Engineering the most successful team. The event remains one of Supercars' most popular street rounds, run over a Friday-to-Sunday weekend with a sprint race and twin 200 km enduros. In 2026 a $6 million resurfacing project covering roughly 2.08 km of the lap was approved, underlining Reid Park's ongoing role as a fixture of the Supercars calendar heading toward its next editions.

Frequently asked questions