70 YEARS OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST DEDICATED MOTOR RACING CLUBS
by Paul Marinelli
You may not have heard of PIARC, but I can guarantee that you have spectated, watched on TV or competed at a motor racing event that this amazing motor racing club has had an integral involvement with across the past seven decades.
Let’s ride a time machine back to March 26, 1952, the day of a public meeting convened at Melbourne’s Savoy Hotel to discuss a design proposed for a motor racing circuit located at Victoria’s Phillip Island. This was the brainchild of six forward-thinking local businessmen: Winston Maguire, Ben Denham, Vern Curtain, John Elliot, Bill Evans and Herbert Watchorn. With the plan accepted, a committee of 15 people was established during that meeting, forming the Phillip Island Auto Racing Club (PIARC). Few would have realised at this time how integral this club would be in the decades to come in the organisation and operation of major motorsport events across Australia and all over the world. The now world famous Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit layout can also be traced back to these original PIARC pioneers. The circuit has been hailed as pure motorsport engineering brilliance in creating the ultimate racer’s racetrack, but according to local legend the story of the circuit’s design was somewhat less technical than all that. The story goes that after downing several refreshing beverages, members of that original PIARC group walked across the stunning 300-acre seaside site with sticks and flags, mapping out
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the circuit’s now legendary, super-fast and challenging layout. Whatever the case, inebriated or otherwise, they had created an incredible motor racing circuit that saw its first races held in December 1956. The Victorian seaside circuit also established the precursor to the Bathurst 1000, the Armstrong 500 Touring Car race, in 1960 and ran the event on three occasions through to 1962. Local automotive aftermarket exhaust manufacturer and motorsport enthusiast Len Lukey bought the circuit, which was in a state of disrepair, after the 1962 Armstrong 500. Lukey leased the circuit back to PIARC at no cost — the club then set out to repair the circuit using their own labour and fundraising. The circuit reopened for racing in October 1967 and 11 years of successful motor racing followed, with anything and everything racing at the popular venue including Formula 5000, Formula 2, touring cars, sports cars and motorcycles. All proceeded well until Lukey passed away in 1978. Sadly PIARC did not have the funds to buy back the property and the circuit was closed that year. Despite its closure, PIARC’s efforts to bring the circuit back to life continued. The club continued running competitive motoring events across other venues including Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway, using Phillip Island for historic rallies and club sprint events. In 1985 the circuit was acquired by Placetak Pty Ltd, with the view to make it a quality motorsport facility.
