Melbourne Speedbowl

Melbourne Speedbowl (also known by several other names) was a motorsport venue, located on Geelong Road in Brooklyn, Victoria, Australia. The site today is industrial buildings on Fleet Street in Laverton North.

Melbourne Speedbowl

Location	Brooklyn, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates	37°50′34″S 144°47′03″E / 37.84278°S 144.78417°E / -37.84278; 144.78417
Opened	circa.1965

History

The site which was originally a greyhound racing track was owned by a Mr. Wilson and he built a speedway track, which he named Brooklyn Speedway, with the intention of running Dirt track racing. In 1965, it was bought by three businessmen for A$ 250,000 and later opened for hot rods and stock cars.^[1]

The venue then saw motorcycle speedway and sidecars introduced, the solo track record was set by riders such as Eric Boocock and Bert Harkins during 1968.^[1]

Various promoters took over the track and it was renamed several times.^[2]

The track became a significant venue for important events, including qualifying rounds of the Speedway World Championship starting in 1976^[3][4] and the Victorian Individual Speedway Championship on eleven occasions from 1966 to 1981.^[5]

Names and years

• Brooklyn Speedway (?–1965)
• Melbourne Speedway (1965–1972)
• Northern Park Raceway (1972–1978) promoted by Phil Page
• U.S.A.C Brooklyn Speedway (1978–1979) promoted by Paul Camilleri
• Western International Raceway (1980–1982) promoted by Mick & Glenda King
• The Melbourne Speedbowl (1982–1988) promoted byr Richard Newnham

References

1. "Melbourne (Vic)". speedwayandroadracehistory. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
2. "The History of the Melbourne Speedbowl". Optus. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
3. "World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
4. "World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
5. . Speedway Champions. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2024.