Timaru International Motor Raceway Explained

Timaru International Motor Raceway
Location:Timaru, New Zealand
Coordinates:-44.2972°N 171.2028°W
Fiagrade:3
Owner:South Canterbury Car Club
Broke Ground:1967
Opened:November 1967
Former Names:Levels Raceway
Events:Current:
NZ Super Truck Championship
South Island Endurance Series
Former:
Toyota Racing Series (2005–2014)
New Zealand V8 (2002–2014)
Layout1:Long Circuit (1988–present)[1]
Length Km:2.400
Length Mi:1.491
Turns:10
Record Time:0:56.260
Record Driver: Greg Murphy
Record Car:Reynard 92D
Record Year:1995
Record Class:Formula Holden
Layout2:Short Circuit (1988–present)
Length Km2:1.600
Length Mi2:0.994
Turns2:5
Record Time2:0:43.721
Record Driver2: James Munro
Record Car2:Mygale SJ08a
Record Year2:2012
Record Class2:Formula Ford
Layout3:Original Circuit (1967–1987)
Length Km3:1.600
Length Mi3:0.994
Turns3:7

Timaru International Motor Raceway is a motor racing circuit situated about 10 minutes or 8km (05miles) outside of Timaru, New Zealand. The circuit is accessible from either State Highway 1 or the Timaru-Pleasant Point Highway. It is often called Levels because of its previous name Levels Raceway. The Timaru International Motor Raceway holds some of the major sporting events on New Zealand's motorsport calendar.

History

Before Timaru International Motor Raceway was born there was The South Canterbury Car Club Inc, which was formed in 1947 and were only running hillclimbs and paddock events at the time. The club progressed from this to running the Waimate 50 Street Race on the streets of Waimate until 1966. In 1967 a street event was run in Timaru in the Craigie Avenue area. Land was then purchased at Falvey Road and a permanent circuit built, the first event held there was in November that year. The club continued to develop the venue running club and National Championship racing.

In 1988 the circuit length was increased to and develop to the international FIA category 3 standard that it is today, allows the South Canterbury Car Club to run international events as well as National Championships including the NZ V8 Touring Cars and Super Truck Racing. One of the events of Southern Festival of Speed, Bruce Pigeon Memorial, was held on 9 February to 10 February 2008.

The circuit

The car racing track's surface is hard on tyres and brakes because it is chip tarmac. It has a mixture of tight "first and second" gear and fast flowing corners.[2] It is rated FIA grade 3.[3]

Lap Records

The official lap record for the Timaru International Motor Raceway is 0:56.260, set by Greg Murphy in January 1995.[4] As of October 2021, the fastest official race lap records at the Timaru International Motor Raceway are listed as:

Category Time Driver Vehicle Date
Long Circuit: 2.400 km (1988–present)
0:56.260 January 1995
0:57.693[5] 19 January 2014
1:00.390 16 October 2021
1:03.689 19 January 2014
1:04.056 16 October 2021
1:05.240 January 2009
1:06.330 22 January 2012
Short Circuit: 1.600 km (1988–present)
0:43.721 January 2012

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Timaru - Racingcircuits . 7 December 2022.
  2. News: On track for competitive driving. toyotaracing.co.nz. n.d.. 2009-11-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20081014072855/http://www.toyotaracing.co.nz/default.aspx?pageid=615. 2008-10-14. dead.
  3. News: Motorsport NZ - Timaru. motorsport.org.nz. n.d.. 2009-11-10. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090713010839/http://www.motorsport.org.nz/Circuits/timaru.htm. 2009-07-13.
  4. Web site: South Canterbury Car Club - Circuit Activities . 7 December 2022.
  5. Web site: 2014 Toyota Racing Series - Timaru - Sunday Race 2 . 19 January 2014 . 7 December 2022.