Poor Old Catalina Raceway

[Beer Baron]

you wont see anything liz. it's gone now. all you will see is some low cost housing. best bet is to google amaroo park or amaroo raceway for some pics.

[benm]

You can't see it, tucked down in a little valley and all bush...

Edited June 22, 2006 by benm

[evil_weevil]

The only reason we went is because Dads best mate raced a Lotus and gave dad free tickets, tight arse!! haha

Is this old raceway near houses? i.e. a group of loud pocket bikes would be easily spotted/heard?

[Liz]

you wont see anything liz. it's gone now. all you will see is some low cost housing. best bet is to google amaroo park or amaroo raceway for some pics.

nothing like a visit to some low cost housing to brighten up your day.

perhaps a visit to catalina.. or is that so closed off you can't even view it??

meh too hard anyway! lol

[benm]

Refer to my comment above Liz.

[Duncan]

Dog Park? Sweet I am going to take Zed and Zilla for a thrash

I was actually at Amaroo the other day, some of the pit sheds are still there. THe whole track is goooooone though

Lots of disappeared tracks in NSW....Amaroo, Catalina Park, Warrick Farm, Mount Druitt, there was even a concrete banked speedway at Maroubra once

Don't miss Oran Park, it will be a memory in the near future, all we will have in Sydney will be Eastern Creek (ugh miles wide and boring) and Tony Cockhead's v8 Homebush street circuit once a year.

[Beer Baron]

let's all move to somewhere in europe. plenty of hot tracks, weekend trips to the nurburgring... mmm burger ring.

or maybe japan? we could have SAU JP track days at Tsukuba.

[d0p3y]

There was a track in mount druitt?? where??

[GoldZilla]

Wheels or Motor magazine did an article about all the old lost tracks a while back, and Catalina was included. It's sad to hear that Sydney's motorsport heritage is being lost like this.

I remember going out Windsor/Rouse Hill way once and seeing the signs to Amaroo Park raceway, and spinning out because I'd seen races on TV there, but never actually knew where it was located.

[GTR R35]

I raced at Catalina and Amaroo before they were closed down.

There is also a banked oval at Pitt town (near richmond) that is/was owned by Ferrordo brake pads. It would be ok for a single car or go-karts.

I also went to the public rallies to try to save Amaroo. They sold land to home owners who complained about the noise. bloody snapper head do gooders. Ruined a fun track and the only motorkhana park with oiled dirt in sydney.

[barnoon]

There was a track in mount druitt?? where??

Whalan reserve used to be a race track man!

Named after James Whalan who, in 1821, received a grant of 300 Acres from Governor Macquarie. James was the son of Sgt Charles Whalan, who arrived as a convict. It is thought that the Whalan’s rank among the earliest pioneering families in the Colony.

Did you know that Whalan Reserve was formerly a 2 and 1/4 mile racing circuit used by the great Jack Brabham? The site was originally used by the RAAF as an airstrip but was abandoned after the war in favour of the Richmond base. In 1948, it was converted into a speed circuit. Over the next 5 years there were many meetings held at the track, some of which attracted crowds of over 15,000 people.

[Liz]

Refer to my comment above Liz.

sorry, was starting to get confused as to what track we were talking about!!!

I know now! I'll leave it to my google pictures to take a look

[fatz]

shame wakefield is a goat track

op will be there for years

ec is just shit

[N1GTR]

SAU JP track days at Tsukuba.

That would be fun

[scathing]

I don't mind EC, but I look at the track and I just think its a wasted opportunity.

The NSW government had a chance to build a proper international-grade racetrack, and they built something that's half way between a go-kart track and a real race track.

Its in better condition than the "old" tracks like Wakefield or Oran Park, but there's a few spots where there's not enough run-off and its too wide for the low speeds you carry.

If more of the corners were as high speed as Turn 1 it'd be lots of fun. I should be doing most of the track in 4th and 5th (with occasional forays into 6th) instead of using 3rd-4th most of the time, and having to decide whether to slow down and use 2nd or have the revs drop in 3rd occasionally.

[blk180]

O Whalan reserve was a race track nice reminds me there is a gokart track or somethink (took my 180 around it a couple of times only just fit) out past the football and cricket fields at Whalan reserve which would make a good pocket bike track. The surfuce was ok and was a tight little gokart track.

P.S i think i need to buy a pocket bike to join in the fun

:PBJ: :PBJ: :PBJ: :PBJ: :PBJ:

[Duncan]

There was a track in mount druitt?? where??

not only was there one I am pretty sure it was the first sealed dedicated track in Aus

[Slide]

let's all move to somewhere in europe. plenty of hot tracks, weekend trips to the nurburgring... mmm burger ring.

or maybe japan? we could have SAU JP track days at Tsukuba.

Im in.......

[benm]

I was talking to a courier driver mate today (does the mountains run also) and he lives about 2 streets from this old track, said he used to go and watch the time attack racing they had their years ago when he was a kid.

[cul202]

Catalina is super narrow for the most part & boardered almost the hole way in timber planking, making it quite unlike other Sydney area tracks. Just after the hairpin in the pics there is a section of tar that has fallen away. When I was up there the gates were open... should have ducked in for a lap

The old Maroubra track (Olympia Speedway) was bloody dangerous & took a few lives in the short amount of time it was used. One of the victims was Phil Garlick who has a bust of himself in a race car as his grave stone in Bondi. I've got some historic pics of that track if anyone's interested.

Edited June 24, 2006 by cul202