The Adelaide Street Circuit, also known as the Adelaide Parklands Circuit, is a temporary street circuit in the East Parklands adjacent to the Adelaide central business district in South Australia, Australia.
The "Grand Prix" version of the track hosted eleven Formula One Australian Grand Prix events from 1985 to 1995, as well as the Race of a Thousand Years American Le Mans Series race in 2000. Between 1999 and 2020 and again from 2022, a shortened version of the circuit has been used for the Adelaide 500 touring car race. It is also used by the Adelaide Motorsport Festival. A modified layout of the original track will be used for the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix from 2027.
Formula One
Following Adelaide being awarded a round of the 1985 Formula One World Championship in October 1984, construction of the circuit by Macmahon Holdings.Grand prix for Adelaide Canberra Times 29 October 1984 page 2Adeaide prepares for Grand Prix Engineers Australia 17 May 1985 page 11 The first event was held in 1985 as the final event of the season. The last Formula One race at the circuit was held in 1995 after which the rights were lost to Melbourne and the event moved to the Albert Park Street Circuit.Grand prix date set, but opponents not giving up Canberra Times 23 June 1995 page 25
Supercars
During Adelaide's era hosting the Australian Grand Prix, the circuit hosted annual non-championship races for the Group A and later Group 3A touring cars.
From 1999 until 2020, the track hosted the Adelaide 500 for Supercars, in most years a 2 x 250 km race) on a shorter, variant of the track. The event became one of the most acclaimed on the Supercars calendar, and is the only event added to the Supercars Hall of Fame.25 years of Adelaide 500 moments Auto Action 13 November 2024 The event returned in 2022 but as the last event of the year, having previously usually been the opening event.State Government and Supercars lock in Adelaide 500 Government of South Australia
MotoGP
In 2027, a round of the MotoGP championship will be held when the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix moves from Phillip Island. It will use a heavily modified version of the Formula One Circuit.Adelaide to host first ever MotoGP street race Auto Action 19 February 2026
On 19 February 2026 Peter Malinauskas as Premier of South Australia, announced that an annual motorcycling carnival, the MotoGP, would take place in Adelaide's eastern Park Lands from late 2027. The Premier stated publicly that "about 45" trees would be destroyed, and that the century-old Glover East Playspace would need to be "moved" to make way for the motorcycle race track, but a later analysis by the Adelaide Parklands Association argued this significantly under-stated the likely impact. Now we know it's closer to 500 trees to go!
there has been much criticism of using the Adelaide street circuit (which would need to be expanded and modified to accommodate the differing needs of a motorcycle race, including the felling of up to 200 trees) by residents, councillors (including Adelaide Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith), and others, who say that not enough consideration has been given to the environmental and social consequences of the decision, suggesting that the course could be moved to The Bend at Tailem Bend. Many are opposed to the removal of trees in the park lands which would be necessary for the street circuit. A letter led by the South East City Residents Association and signed by ecologists, historians, conservationists, various academics as well as residents was sent to FIM president Jorge Viegas, urging him to undergo an independent environmental impact assessment of the planned circuit before further engagement with the South Australian Government. Dorna Sports said on 8 August that the approved layout would be announced in coming weeks.
Small Copper Butterfly
The small copper butterfly was not observed on the Adelaide plains for 60 years before it was rediscovered in 2011 in Adelaide's Victoria Park after which the City of Adelaide set aside and carefully managed a biodiversity site in Pakapakanthi (Park 16). Most colonies on the Adelaide plains are very small and continue to be locally vulnerable. The proposed circuit is going to take 45% of the remnant grassland in Pakapakanthi and put this vulnerable colony of the chequered copper butterfly at risk of extinction.
Circuit
The Adelaide Street Circuit commences pit straight in Victoria Park. It is long and faces northwest. All the buildings and grandstands are temporary and were removed each year.
At the end of the straight, drivers negotiate the Senna Chicane, named after Ayrton Senna following his death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.Throwback Thursday: the 1994 Australian Grand Prix National Motor Museum After the chicane the cars take a fast left turn to go uphill on a short straight on Wakefield Road to East Terrace before the first of three 90 degree corners. A fourth 90 degree followed onto Bartels Road back across the parklands. Then the track follows the fast turn 8 sweeper.
The full Grand Prix circuit bypasses the turn onto Bartels Road and continues with a sweeping left-right-right into Stag Turn (turn 9). This leads onto the long Rundle Road that was named after Alan Jones in 1987.Jones gets it straight Auto Action issue 419 27 March 1987 page 1
In 2017, the building and opening of the O-Bahn Busway access and tunnel running off of Grenfell Street and across the circuit where the sweeping left-right-right (turns 7, 8 and 9) were made it necessary to actually move turns 7 and 8 approximately 100 metres to the south. While not affecting the overall length of the full circuit, it would make the run from turn 6 shorter and the run to turn 9 longer. The sweeping bends were also known as Banana Bend due to its location adjacent to the Adelaide Fruit Markets.
Brewery Bend is a fast right-hand sweeper named after the Kent Town Brewery that opens onto Dequetteville Terrace.
The Dequetteville Terrace straight (named after Jack Brabham for Formula One and Peter Brock for the Adelaide 500) was a stretch where the over Formula One cars in the turbo era (1985–88) were reaching speeds in excess of making Adelaide easily the fastest street circuit of the time as the only others were the much tighter Monaco, Detroit and Phoenix circuits. The short form of the track rejoins Brabham Straight two-thirds of the way down, so the long Bartels Road straight is longest on that layout. In 2007 this section of track was renamed Brock Straight after touring car driver Peter Brock.
At the end of Brabham Straight is a right hand hairpin turn (at the Britannia Roundabout) that directs the driver back onto Wakefield Road.
After accelerating out of the hairpin the driver faces a left turn and a long sweeping right-hand curve back into Victoria Park behind the pit area. The lap concludes with another right-hand hairpin (Racetrack Hairpin) onto the pit straight.
The track is essentially flat except for a small valley on the Brock Straight, and a slight incline on Jones Straight, while the run-up Wakefield Road from turns 3 to 4 also has a slight incline. All of these sections of the track run in an east–west direction. The elevation ranges from .
During the Formula One and early V8 Supercar eras the Victoria Park Racecourse, a horse racing track, was located at the park, though has since been removed.
Sprint Circuit Between 2014 and 2018, an annual Adelaide Motorsport Festival ran on the Victoria Park Sprint Circuit, a shortened layout. The layout turned right along Wakefield Street after the Senna Chicane and then rejoined the main circuit for the final corners. The event had attracted older Formula One machinery, with Ivan Capelli holding the lap record in a March CG891. The event was returned on March 24–26, 2023; and was also held on March 15–17, 2024.
Events
Current
November: Supercars Championship Adelaide 500, GT World Challenge Australia, Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship, SuperUtes Series, Super2 Series
Future
Grand Prix motorcycle racing Australian motorcycle Grand Prix (2027)
Former
American Le Mans Series Race of a Thousand Years (2000) Audi R8 LMS Cup (2018–2019) Aussie Racing Cars (2004–2007, 2009–2014, 2016–2017, 2019, 2025) Australian Drivers' Championship (1987, 1990, 1999–2001) Australian Formula 3 Championship (2002–2004, 2008–2009, 2012, 2014) Australian Formula Ford Championship (1987, 2005–2007, 2011) Australian GT Production Car Championship (2000, 2002) Australian Mini Challenge (2010) Australian National Trans-Am Series (2020, 2024–2025) Australian Nations Cup Championship (2000–2004) Australian Performance Car Championship (2001–2005) Australian Production Car Championship (2003–2004) Formula One Australian Grand Prix (1985–1995) S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship (2023) S5000 Tasman Series (2022) Sports Racer Series (2010) Stadium Super Trucks (2015–2018, 2020, 2024) Supercars Championship Supercars Challenge (1985–1995) Touring Car Masters (2005–2012, 2014–2020, 2022–2023) V8 Ute Racing Series (2002–2016)
Lap records The fastest ever recorded lap of the original Grand Prix Circuit was 1:13.371 by triple World Champion Ayrton Senna driving a McLaren MP4/8 Ford during qualifying for the 1993 Australian Grand Prix. However, as this was in qualifying and not a race, it does not count as the lap record.
The fastest officially recorded lap of the Supercars circuit is 1:16.0357 set by Aaron Cameron on 24 November 2023 driving a Rogers AF01/V8 in 2023 S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship. As of November 2025, the fastest official race lap records at Adelaide Street Circuit are listed as: