Sandown Raceway, LiveRacing Circuit

Sandown Raceway, which styles itself as 'the home of horsepower', sits within the Springvale district of Melbourne around 25km south-east of the city centre and is one of Australia's oldest permanent motor racing facilities. Unusually, it shares its site with a busy thoroughbred horse racing course that runs within the circuit's perimeter, a dual-use arrangement dating back to the venue's redevelopment in the early 1960s. The motor racing circuit was completed in 1962, opening with a star-studded inaugural meeting in March that drew names such as Jack Brabham, Jim Clark and Pat Hoare. Through the 1960s the Sandown International Cup formed a key part of the Tasman Series and carried the Australian Grand Prix title on several occasions, before touring cars came to define the venue, with Peter Brock dominating in the Group C era. The circuit is characterised by its long, flat-out straights linked by a tighter, twisting infield section added in 1984 when the track was extended in a bid for a Formula One Grand Prix. That bid ultimately failed, with the race going to Adelaide, but Sandown did host the final round of the 1984 World Endurance Championship, the first FIA world road racing championship event held in Australia. Today the venue centres its calendar on the annual Supercars Championship round, historically the Sandown 500 endurance race that serves as a warm-up to the Bathurst 1000. Restricted by its proximity to residents to five major weekends a year and a 95-decibel noise limit, Sandown is owned and operated by the Melbourne Racing Club, which has invested in safety upgrades to keep it on the national calendar.

Operated by: Sportsbet (Melbourne Racing Club operates the broader precinct)