Southport Road Circuit, the site of the 1954 Australian Grand Prix, is a challenging track on public roads. Thanks to track modder Tyrone Hesbrook, the track lives on in Assetto Corsa.
In 1954, the Australiand Grand Prix was still over 30 years away from being on the Formula One calendar. The event would only make its F1 debut in 1985 at the Adelaide Street Circuit, but that does not meen that it was the first-ever Australian Grand Prix. In fact, it started all the way back in 1920s at Phillip Island and moved to different locations in the years after.
Southport Road Circuit traced on today's roads. Surfers Paradise Street Circuit is located at Macintosh Island at the northeast/top right of the map. Image: Google Maps
In 1954, the roulette ball that had previously landed on Bathurst, Point Cook and even Albert Park, where the F1 GP is run today, chose Southport as the location. Located on the Gold Coast, you may have a different track in mind for that area - the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit that IndyCar and Supercars used and use is just a stone's throw away from the former Southport Road Circuit.
Officially measuring 5.698 miles (9.17 kilometers, so the map tracing the former course above is slightly shorter), the track was laid out on public road running through a - at the time - sparsely populated area, which is hard to imagine with the cityscape having long taken over since. The roads were extremely narrow, too, which led to two no-passing zones being determined as it would have been to expensive to widen the roads. 1950s safety measures in a nutshell.
Not that you really wanted to dip a wheel of the road, anyway. On both sides, the roads were lined by rough gravel, which led to enormous amounts of dust when running into them - a detail that @Tyrone - Nukedrop Mods has included in their version of the track for Assetto Corsa as well.
If you do, it makes for a good glimpse into how scary the track must have been to race on. When running on your own, it is not a problem - most of the track is fairly open, so you can often see what is coming up. But once you share the circuit with opponents, there will likely be big clouds of dust, making it an absolute necessity to know every bit of the layout by heart.
The AI tends to run onto the dusty edges of the track quite frequently, either when slightly cutting corners or when they are running side by side, and that means you will not see anything but dust. An unthinkable thing in today's world of racing, and for good reason.
Lex Davison in his HWM Jaguar that would see him take the win at Southport in 1954.
The field was an interesting mix of cars, with many drivers fielding a 'Special'. There also was the pre-war Maserati 8CM of Fred Zambucka, a Ferrari 125, and a Cooper T23 driven by none other than Sir Jack Brabham, who at the time still had yet to make his F1 debut.
While period-appropriate, the Ferrari 500 F1/F2 seen in the screenshots did not race at Southport. However, it is a very good car to drive at the track, as you can throw it around with a good bit of confidence once you got used to the track layout.
Exhibit A in the case of severe Australian dust being kicked up.
One thing is certain, though: Throwbacks like this, even to little known circuits like Southport, are an incredibly quality that sim racing possesses thanks to the talented modders who recreate them. And it is not always easy, as references, especially from the 1950s and earlier, are often hard to come by - something @Sergio Loro and I also noticed when recreating my local hometown track, the Prinzenpark circuit in Brunswick, Germany.
Accordingly, a tip of the cap to Tyrone is in order in this case as well.
Did you know about the Southport Road Circuit before the Assetto Corsa mod? Let us know in the comments below!
In 1954, the Australiand Grand Prix was still over 30 years away from being on the Formula One calendar. The event would only make its F1 debut in 1985 at the Adelaide Street Circuit, but that does not meen that it was the first-ever Australian Grand Prix. In fact, it started all the way back in 1920s at Phillip Island and moved to different locations in the years after.
Southport Road Circuit traced on today's roads. Surfers Paradise Street Circuit is located at Macintosh Island at the northeast/top right of the map. Image: Google Maps
In 1954, the roulette ball that had previously landed on Bathurst, Point Cook and even Albert Park, where the F1 GP is run today, chose Southport as the location. Located on the Gold Coast, you may have a different track in mind for that area - the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit that IndyCar and Supercars used and use is just a stone's throw away from the former Southport Road Circuit.
Officially measuring 5.698 miles (9.17 kilometers, so the map tracing the former course above is slightly shorter), the track was laid out on public road running through a - at the time - sparsely populated area, which is hard to imagine with the cityscape having long taken over since. The roads were extremely narrow, too, which led to two no-passing zones being determined as it would have been to expensive to widen the roads. 1950s safety measures in a nutshell.
Not that you really wanted to dip a wheel of the road, anyway. On both sides, the roads were lined by rough gravel, which led to enormous amounts of dust when running into them - a detail that @Tyrone - Nukedrop Mods has included in their version of the track for Assetto Corsa as well.
Southport Road Circuit For Assetto Corsa: Updated To v2.0
Their Southport Gold Coast - 1954 Australian Grand Prix track mod has recently been updated to version 2.0, fixing a few issues, reducing the texture file size, adding pit lane AI, among other things. Originally, the track had been released in January of 2023, with a 'League' update in April of that year minimizing the bumpiness and dustiness of the track edges - so if you want the proper "where to I even go?" experience, make sure to choose the 'Authentic' layout.If you do, it makes for a good glimpse into how scary the track must have been to race on. When running on your own, it is not a problem - most of the track is fairly open, so you can often see what is coming up. But once you share the circuit with opponents, there will likely be big clouds of dust, making it an absolute necessity to know every bit of the layout by heart.
The AI tends to run onto the dusty edges of the track quite frequently, either when slightly cutting corners or when they are running side by side, and that means you will not see anything but dust. An unthinkable thing in today's world of racing, and for good reason.
Lex Davison in his HWM Jaguar that would see him take the win at Southport in 1954.
1954 Australian Grand Prix: First Of 4 For Davison
The real 1954 Australian Grand Prix was won by Lex Davison, who would go on to win the event three more times, albeit in other locations as 1954 was the only time Southport hosted the GP. He was the only one to complete the full 27-lap race distance, and of the 28 cars that lined up on the grid, only 12 saw the checkered flag.The field was an interesting mix of cars, with many drivers fielding a 'Special'. There also was the pre-war Maserati 8CM of Fred Zambucka, a Ferrari 125, and a Cooper T23 driven by none other than Sir Jack Brabham, who at the time still had yet to make his F1 debut.
While period-appropriate, the Ferrari 500 F1/F2 seen in the screenshots did not race at Southport. However, it is a very good car to drive at the track, as you can throw it around with a good bit of confidence once you got used to the track layout.
Exhibit A in the case of severe Australian dust being kicked up.
One thing is certain, though: Throwbacks like this, even to little known circuits like Southport, are an incredibly quality that sim racing possesses thanks to the talented modders who recreate them. And it is not always easy, as references, especially from the 1950s and earlier, are often hard to come by - something @Sergio Loro and I also noticed when recreating my local hometown track, the Prinzenpark circuit in Brunswick, Germany.
Accordingly, a tip of the cap to Tyrone is in order in this case as well.
Did you know about the Southport Road Circuit before the Assetto Corsa mod? Let us know in the comments below!
