MOTOR Track Guide: Sydney Motorsport Park

Sydney Motorsport Park has cigarettes to thank for part of its rise to prominence on the world stage.

The Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix was held at Phillip Island in 1989, but law surrounding tobacco sponsorship in Victoria saw Sydney’s new, purpose-built race track wafting in to take up the mantle from 1991. Eastern Creek, as it was referred to then, held the race until 1996.

Originally called Eastern Creek due to the suburb of Sydney it is located in, the NSW goverment-owned facility is run by the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club.

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In 2011 it was rebranded, gaining the SMSP acronym (although most call it SMP), before a $9m track extension was completed in 2012, affording numerous layouts. There are four track configurations, with two being able to run concurrently given there are two pits. The full Gardner GP circuit measures 3.93km long after Turn Six was altered.

However, it hasn’t just been top-flight bikes taking to SMP. An FIA Grade 2 licence means any category below Formula 1 can race. From 2005 to 2007 A1GP held three events, culminating in six races, with drivers and teams competing for their nation. Ex-F1 ace Nico Hülkenberg holds the official lap record around the original layout.

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Often too easily disregarded, our gun driver, Warren Luff, believes SMP is hard done by, saying “as a driver’s circuit it’s very challenging because it’s got a lot of everything. Therefore it’s a great circuit for honing your skills behind the wheel”.

So soak in Luffy’s tips and tricks before getting to Sydney’s premier purpose-built facility.

Section One: The Sweeper

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Turn One

The entry to Turn One is very high speed given the approach is off the back of the long, downhill front straight. In most production cars you’ll be aiming for the 100m board before applying the brakes – and we mean apply, don’t jump on the anchors.

It’s important to carry the brake while also turning in to keep the front axle loaded. However, you want to make sure it doesn’t upset the rear of the car either. Aim to tuck the nose in to the apex, which is about the mid-point of the corner.

It’s not vital to get back on the power early, but once you do it’s essential that you’re smooth and calculated with your inputs given the car will be very sensitive on the limit. The speed through here comes from keeping your minimum corner speed up and being very accurate with your placement.

Turn One commands a lot of respect. The speeds are high and it can go wrong in a big way. It’s a corner you’ve got to build up to and just keep chipping away.

MOTOR Tip

Using light brake pressure, and clearing the pedal early works best. This is because it can upset the rear of the car if you put too much weight onto the nose with heavy applications. This is especially the case for a front-wheel-drive car in colder conditions, so be mindful to take a couple laps to get some rear tyre temperature up before attacking.

Section Two: Patience Is Key

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Turn Two

It’s actually quite similar to Turn Three at Queensland Raceway (QR) in that it’s a double apex.

However, Turn Two at Sydney Motorsport Park tightens significantly at the second apex whereas QR opens. You can brake quite deep and trail the brake into the middle of the corner – extra tarmac has been added for runoff, too. Don’t be too eager to reapply the accelerator because even though the gradient rises slightly past the second apex, it’s easy to understeer wide on exit. Doing so will directly impact your speed through Turn Three.

Turn Three

Turn Three is a sweeping right hander that immediately flows on from Turn Two, hence the momentum you carry out of Two is crucial to getting a good run through Three.

In most cars, depending on ratios and gearbox types, you end up changing gears through the corner, which shouldn’t hurt the balance. Yet, on cold or old tyres the rear axle can get loose (especially with RWD), so holding about 60-70 per cent throttle is ideal.

MOTOR Tip

If you add up the amount of time you spend in any given corner, you actually spend more time in Turn Two than you do in Turn One. So, proportionally there’s actually more time to gain or lose here than there is in Turn One. Long story short; drop the ego stroking with corner speeds through One.

Section Three: The Esses

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Turn Four

It’s an enjoyable fluid corner that rises gently from the turn-in point. You can retard speed late in the braking zone and load the front of the car, much like Turn One. Try and carry as much natural road speed as possible.

The apex is about the middle of the corner, but be careful to stay off the inside kerb as it tends to push you wide on exit, which will compromise your entry into Turn Five. Be smooth and progressive with the wheel and aim to end up mid-track on exit to set up for Five.

Turn Five

Only a light touch of the brake is required before aiming for an early turn in to the apex. There’s a lot of runoff on corner exit, so you can apply a decent amount of throttle early and let the car run wide.

However, it’s an easy corner to get wrong and lose a lot of pace. This is because you’ve overstepped the marker and missed the apex after braking too late. Get Four and Five right and you can gain a lot of time.

MOTOR Tip

Positioning your car in the right part of the track is crucial at Sydney Motorsport Park. That’s because in a few key areas, how and where you exit a corner directly impacts the next. Therefore, a lot of forward planning is required and remember not to get caught up in only focusing on the corner you’re in.

Section Four: The 'New' Bit

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Turn Six

The run into Turn Six is now straight after a redesign of the track layout (and with the completion of the Amaroo extension) in 2012. The changes promote overtaking for the varied racing categories that run at Sydney Motorsport Park.

It’s now a relatively simple 90-degree corner instead of a tricky little right before turning left. Again, try not to carry too much speed into the apex as you’ll only hamper your exit speed, which in turn makes you slow into turn Seven.

Turn Seven

This is a high-speed corner that’s easy to lose a lot of speed through. Brushing the brake under the bridge is all that’s needed as the aim is to keep the momentum up.

It’s worth noting that there are some mid-corner undulations in the surface as you start to pick up the throttle. However, they don’t upset the balance too much. Still, remaining progressive with your right foot yields the best results and you can allow the car to gravitate naturally to the edge of the track on exit.

MOTOR Tip

Stay off the inside kerbs, apart from Turns Six, Nine and 10. Because of the long, flowing nature of most of the corners, if you pound inside kerbs the car starts to porpoise and become unsettled. However, it also depends what rubber you’re on as something like a 45 series tyre is easy to damage.

Section Five: The Hairpin

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Turn Eight

The approach to the Turn Eight hairpin is affected by your exit to Turn Seven. Despite the track being relatively wide, you only want to bring the car back to about the middle of the road on the approach to Eight.

It’s worth noting that Turn Eight is a slightly downhill corner, so try to do most (if not all) of your braking prior to turning in. You can still trail the brake in to keep the front loaded if required.

Turn Nine

Turn Nine is a fast corner which sets up your run through 10 and 11. Get this wrong and you will be slow down the pit straight. Lift on entry and then hold the throttle steady through Nine. It’s a late apex in order to give you a better approach into 10. If you arrow in too early the car will push too far to the left and compromise the next entry. Depending on the car you’re in you’ll generally be downshifting.

MOTOR Tip

Not moving to the outside of the track as you approach the hairpin doesn’t negatively impact your corner speed. This is because, like a few sections of Sydney Motorsport Park, it’s a reasonably early turn-in to the apex. Understeer can be an issue at T9 if you overshoot, but there is also ample runoff.

Section Six: The Run Home

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Turn 10

When you get Nine right, you can carry a lot of speed through Turn 10. This is also one of the corners around Sydney Motorsport Park where you do want to use a reasonable amount of kerb.

It requires commitment because as you approach the kerb you want to be easing off the brakes so the front axle isn’t compressed when you hit it. If it is, the impact will throw you off line. Once settled, flow the car all the way to the outside of the track – you can also use the concrete strip.

Turn 11

It’s important to treat Turns 10 and 11 as two separate corners. If you try and make it one big corner you will apex too early at 11 and lose speed down the straight. Aim to be as wide as you can and apply a minimal amount of brake, mainly for weight transfer to the front for better turn in.

Reapply the accelerator later so you can regain full throttle sooner. Also try to hold the apex as long as you can as it’s easy to run over the exit kerb.

MOTOR Tip

You don’t want your line through Turn 10 to dictate your turning point for Turn 11. Treat them as two separate corners, with an emphasis on getting the best exit for the run to the start/finish line. Turn 11 is one of the most important corners on the track to get right because it leads on to the longest straight.

It's the 'home of motorsport' for good reason

SMP offers various ways to improve your skills on and off the racing track

They say practice makes perfect. With various track layouts, a drag strip down the front straight, wet skid pan, figure eight drift and driver-training circuit as well as an off-road course, what more do you need?

As a hub for motorsport and driver training, it doesn’t get much better than this with various club track days year-round and an extensive list of events on the skid pans.

There are four track configurations, the main being the 3.93km Gardner GP Circuit which has a 4000-seat grandstand. A right-hander on entry to Turn Six was deleted in 2012, while the track was extended to create the full-length Brabham Circuit (4.5km).

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The additional 830m branches out from the southern end, which can also be sectioned off for drifting events where it becomes the Amaroo Circuit (1.8km). It can be run in combination with the Druitt Circuit (2.8km), while the entire venue can run under lights at night.

There are myriad places to spectate at events like Supercars and World Time Attack, with the main pit building and grass-covered banks available as well as the grandstand. It’s about 40km east of the Sydney CBD on the M4, with generous accommodation options.

Interestingly, while Nico Hülkenberg holds the official lap record of 1:19.142 around the Gardner GP Circuit in his Lola A1GP steed, Daniel Ricciardo is faster. At the Top Gear festival in 2014, Ricciardo piloted a 2011 RB7 at a cracking pace, recording a 1:13:08. However, Nico keeps the mantle given his effort was recorded in a race.