A South Australian bitumen circuit that hosted the 1961 Australian Grand Prix, was shut under a covenant and came back as a national venue.
Mallala Motor Sport Park is a South Australian circuit that began as a 1961 venue on former air force land and hosted that year's Australian Grand Prix. It was closed under a covenant in 1971, reopened for cars in 1982, and has been owned by Peregrine Corporation since 2017.
Set about 55 km (34 mi) north of Adelaide, Mallala Motor Sport Park is a bitumen circuit of 2.601 km (1.616 mi) in South Australia. Its story runs from a 1961 start on former air force land to a 1971 closure under a court-ordered covenant and a revival that began in 1977.
Where is Mallala and how did the circuit start?
The circuit sits near the town of Mallala, on land that once belonged to a Royal Australian Air Force base. Enthusiasts bought the site at a public auction in 1961, hoping to replace the Port Wakefield Circuit as the state's racing home.
The venue opened on 19 August 1961, when Bib Stillwell won the main event in a Cooper Climax. Its first layout measured 3.379 km (2.100 mi), and the late 1964 change to Bosch Curve, which pulled it nearer the Dunlop Curve Grandstand, shortened the course to 2.601 km (1.616 mi).
A 1961 Grand Prix venue, a covenant shutdown and a 2017 sale that kept it running.
Why did the 1961 Australian Grand Prix come to Mallala?
The state had been given the 1961 Australian Grand Prix as part of a rotation between states, but CAMS judged the Port Wakefield Circuit no longer suitable, so the race moved to the new Mallala venue. Port Wakefield had hosted the 1955 event.
The race was the circuit's second meeting. Lex Davison won his fourth and last Australian Grand Prix in a Cooper T51 Coventry Climax, with Bib Stillwell second and David McKay third.
McKay had finished first on the road, but a 60-second penalty for a suspected false start dropped him to third.
The covenant years, test days and the Elfin link
During the 1960s South Australia's motor racing was centred on Mallala, which hosted the Australian Drivers' Championship yearly until 1971. The Australian Tourist Trophy also visited in 1962 and 1968.
Single-race touring car events were held in 1963, and annual ATCC rounds followed from 1969 to 1971, when the championship moved to a series format.
Keith Williams bought the property in 1971. Williams owned Surfers Paradise International Raceway and was building Adelaide International Raceway at the time, and a covenant he obtained closed Mallala to motor sport that year.
Chrysler Australia, which had its manufacturing base in Adelaide, used the site as a test track afterwards. Leo and Pete Geoghegan, who raced factory-backed Chrysler cars in Series Production, often tested the Valiant Charger there, and Elfin Sports Cars, founded by Garrie Cooper, also used the circuit.
How did racing return after 1977?
Clem Smith, a South Australian businessman and Sports Sedan racer, bought the site in 1977, and a Supreme Court decision then declared the covenant unenforceable. Motorcycles ran again in 1980 and cars followed in 1982, under the name Mallala Motor Sport Park.
The first licence was a B track licence, which barred championship racing. Historic Mallala, held each Easter, was the biggest annual event until the circuit was upgraded to an A track licence in 1984.
The upgrade allowed the 1984 Australian Formula 2 Championship to visit on 3 June, when Keith McClelland won in a Cheetah Mk 8-VW. It was the first national championship event on the site since 1971.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1961 | Opening meeting on 19 August; the Australian Grand Prix is held at the circuit |
| 1964 | Lap distance cut to 2.601 km (1.616 mi) |
| 1971 | Keith Williams buys the property; motor sport barred under a covenant |
| 1977 | Clem Smith buys the site; the covenant is declared unenforceable |
| 1982 | Car racing returns; the circuit is renamed Mallala Motor Sport Park |
| 1984 | A track licence; first national championship event since 1971 |
| 1989 | First Formula Holden race; an ATCC round begins at the circuit |
| 1999 | The Clipsal 500 replaces the Mallala round |
| 2017 | Peregrine Corporation buys the complex |
When did Mallala host touring cars?
From 1989 to 1998 the circuit hosted an annual round of the Australian Touring Car Championship, chosen in preference to Adelaide International. The 1989 round received mixed reviews from top drivers, some of whom criticised the lack of facilities, although Dick Johnson won it.
Dick Johnson won the 1989 race by 29 seconds, starting from pole after a 60-minute contest. Owner Clem Smith used the profits from hosting the series to keep upgrading the facilities until the championship left in 1999.
In 1999, when the series became the Shell Championship Series, the Clipsal 500 took over the state's round on a shortened Adelaide Street Circuit. Between 2000 and 2006 the V8 Supercar Development Series also ran a round at Mallala annually, before shifting its race to Adelaide's Street Circuit in 2007.
The first Formula Holden race was held on 7 May 1989, as the opening round of the Australian Drivers' Championship. Mark McLaughlin won the opening heat in an Elfin FA891, from Peter Glover, with Neil Crompton third.
Who owns Mallala today?
Peregrine Corporation has owned the complex since May 2017, after the death of Clem Smith in February 2017. Peregrine also owns The Bend Motorsport Park, and the Shahin family controls the corporation, which had earlier owned On the Run in Australia.
The corporation took over operations the same year, and the circuit has been run under its ownership since then.
What events take place at Mallala now?
Each Easter the circuit holds the Historic Mallala meeting, and the Shannons Nationals follow soon after. The Sporting Car Club of South Australia runs the major meetings, and drifting uses the circuit alongside them. The annual calendar also includes a November event, the Hi-Tec Oils Mallala Homecoming for prototype racing.
Drifting now happens on a regular basis, with the G1 Drift Competition and the Drift Supercup using the section between turn 8 and turn 2. Supertruck racing ended in late 2009 because the track surface had deteriorated.
Clubs such as the Adelaide Superkart Club and the MG Car Club of SA also use the venue. Private driver training courses are held there, and the South Australia Police use it for driver training and assessment.
The Mallanats car show has been held at the circuit since 2009, with burnout competitions and performance car events modelled on Summernats. It came back annually in 2010 and 2011, and a pair of events was booked for 2012.
Former series and the Elfin link
Many championships have passed through the circuit. The Australian Super Touring Championship was hosted eight times between 1993 and 2000-01, and the Australian Sports Sedan Championship raced there six times between 1991 and 2003.
The Australasian Superbike Championship ran at the circuit in 2014 to 2016, and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia held rounds from 2008 to 2014. The Australian Formula Ford Championship has a long record there, and the TA2 Racing Muscle Car Series and the Australian National Trans-Am Series both ran in 2025.
The Australian Nations Cup Championship ended its GT-style rounds at Mallala in 2004, and the Australian GT Championship raced there in 2006. The Elfin Mallala sports racer takes its name from the circuit, where it first raced.
