Phillip Island

In 1951, a group of six local businessmen decided to build a new track. About 2 km away from the original circuit, it still bears the corner name signs of the original circuit. As the piece of available land was on the edge of the coast, the track is known for its steep grades - the highest 57 metres - which caused cost overruns and delays in track opening. The new track hosted its first race in 1956, but after extensive damage from the 1962 Armstrong 500, the circuit could not afford repairs and the race moved to Bathurst. In 2006 and 2007, Phillip Island hosted the grand finale of the V8 Supercars Championship Series, as well as a regular MotoGP and Superbike round. In 2008, Phillip Island hosted the L&H 500, replacing Sandown as the host track of V8 Supercar's 500km race.A multi-million dollar re-development was done late 2006, completed by the Linfox Group, who now own the track. The new facilities will also feature a karting circuit. Phillip Island was previously the host of the Australian Grand Prix from 1926 to 1936 and since the upgrades in the late 1980's, there has been speculation that the circuit would host a race of the Formula One Championship. Recent discussions suggest that this could happen as soon as 2011 or sometime within that decade. Director of the Philip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Andrew Fox, stated that they are interested in hosting a Formula One Grand Prix in the future. Although he admitted that there is a lot to be done to make the track suitable for Formula One racing, he stated that they are willing to make the investments for this.