Warwick Farm Raceway was built in 1960 on the site of the
Warwick Farm Racecourse, a horse racing track with which it was to co-exist throughout its history. When a motor racing meeting was scheduled, two "crossings" had to be placed over the top of the horse racing track, and then removed after racing had finished. The first, known as the Western Crossing, came between turns two and three while the second called the Northern Crossing was located later in the lap between turns 8 and 9. Known as either The Farm or simply Warwick Farm, the circuit became one of Australia's premier motor racing venues and gained a reputation as a "drivers' track", hosting the
Australian Grand Prix and rounds of both the
Tasman Series, both of which attracted the top Formula One drivers of the day including World Champions
Graham Hill,
Jim Clark,
Jackie Stewart,
Jochen Rindt,
John Surtees, and
Denny Hulme, plus
Bruce McLaren,
Chris Amon,
Piers Courage,
Derek Bell and Sydney's own World Drivers' Champion
Jack Brabham. The Farm also hosted rounds of the
Australian Drivers' Championship which saw the local stars such as
Frank Matich,
Frank Gardner,
Kevin Bartlett,
Max Stewart and
Leo Geoghegan battling it out. It also staged
Australian Touring Car Championship races during its later years which saw top line racing from the likes of
Allan Moffat,
Pete Geoghegan,
Bob Jane and
Norm Beechey, with the last major race at Warwick Farm being the final round of the
1973 Australian Touring Car Championship on 15 July (won by
Peter Brock) and the final race meeting was a club day held in August 1973. The reason for the closure was financial - the
Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS) wanted to have armco fencing installed around the circuit, and the AJC (
Australian Jockey Club) wasn't willing to spend the money to upgrade the circuit. Warwick Farm held its first meeting in December 1960. On a wet track, Ian "Pete" Geoghegan won the opening
touring car race driving a
Jaguar 3.4 Litre. When it closed as a motor racing facility in 1973, the lap record of the long Warwick Farm circuit was held by Australian motor racing legend Frank Gardner. Driving a
Chevrolet powered
Lola T300 Formula 5000 during the
1972 Tasman Series, Gardner set a time of 1:24.0 during the Warwick Farm 100. Gardner finished second in the race he had won in
1971, 18 seconds behind Frank Matich driving his self-designed and built
Matich A50 Repco-Holden. ==Australian Grand Prix==