Avalon Raceway is a dirt track racing venue located in

Lara, Victoria Lara is a town in Victoria, 18 km north-east of the Geelong CBD, inland from the Princes Freeway to Melbourne. Its population at the 2016 census was 16,355. History The explorers Hume and Hovell arrived at Lara on December 16, 1824, bel ...

, Australia. The track is based on a clay sand mix, is oval shaped and is in length.

History

The track opened in 1976 thanks to the efforts of brothers Doug and Norm Drew, drivers from the area who like others needed a venue to race at after the closure of Torquay Speedway. Early on the big attraction to the new Speedway were the bikes with such

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ' ...

riders as

World Champions A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Ole Olsen,

Ivan Mauger Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson o ...

and

Barry Briggs Barry Briggs (born 30 December 1934) is a New Zealand former speedway rider. Career He won the World Individual Championship title four times – in 1957, 1958, 1964 and 1966.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedw ...

battling Australian riders such as Victorian favourite

Phil Crump Philip John Crump (born 9 February 1952) in Mildura, Victoria is a retired Australian Motorcycle speedway riderLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. who attained 3rd place in the 1976 World Championship. He also won the 1976 S ...

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were also a big draw and the Speedway hosted the 1980 Australian Sidecar Championship as well as numerous Victorian Sidecar title meetings. The introduction of clay to the track surface in the early 1990s saw bike racing off the program at Avalon Raceway.

Sprint car racing Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, Ne ...

had been the biggest draw in Australian speedway since the late 1970s and the clay surface suited this type of

oval track racing Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of tra ...

. Since this time Avalon has been a regular of the

World Series Sprintcars World Series Sprintcars is a dirt track racing series held in Australia for Sprintcars. It is the richest and best known Speedway series in Australia. History The series was conceived by Adelaide based sedan driver and promoter John Hughes in ...

and was also the home of the

Australian Speedcar Grand Prix The Australian Speedcar Grand Prix is an annual dirt track racing meeting held in Australia for Speedcars. The meeting has traditionally been held in Sydney, but on occasions has been held on tracks in Victoria and in 2000 the race was held at ...

from 2003 until 2010. The WSS date is often an international affair, as the event occurs days after Christmas Day and United States-based drivers often participate during their off-season. NASCAR stars Christopher Bell and

Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series cham ...

, World of Outlaws star Brad Sweet, and Knoxville Nationals winner Jason Johnson have participated in sprint car races at this circuit during their off-season.2011 ASGP Honor Roll
/ref> The outright lap record is held by

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n driver Steven Lines from

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

, with a time of 10.930 seconds, set on 12 November 2011, in a 410 Sprintcar.

Lap Records

''As of February 2014. All have a 1 lap rolling start.'' *410 Sprintcars: 0:10.930 – Steven Lines – 12 November 2011 *360 Sprintcars: 0:12.54 – M. Reed – 11 January 2014 * Speedcars: 0:13:70 – Michael Pickens – 19 March 2005 *Formula 500: 0:13.98 – L. Williams – 21 February 2009 *Super Sedans: 0:14:90 – Peter Nicola – 1 January 2005 *Super Rods: 0:15:48 – L. Podger – 12 March 2005 *Wingless Sprints: 0:15.60 – L. Weel – 29 March 2014 * GP Midgets: 0:15:83 – D. Meyers – 19 December 2009 *V8 Dirt Modifieds: 0:15:93 – L. Hobson – 23 March 1981 *National Rods: 0:15.93 – L. Hobson – 23 March 1991 *Modified Production: 00:16:01 – J. Drew – 30 March 2007 *Street Stocks: 0:18.09 – M. Dann – 1 April 2006

References

External links

Official web site
Buildings and structures in Geelong Sports venues in Victoria (Australia) Speedway venues in Australia 1976 establishments in Australia {{Australia-sports-venue-stub