Gnoo Blas Race Circuit

From The Orange Wiki

The Plan to build the Gnoo Blas track was hatched in April 1952 by a group of people associated with the annual Orange Cherry Blossom Festival with lots of prompting from the Australian Sporting Car Club, which had had a row over Mt Panorama at Bathurst and wanted somewhere else to race. Part of the simple triangle of quiet country roads selected for the track was in the Orange city area and the remainder in neighbouring Canobolas Shire.

The roads were reconstructed and sealed with a light coat of bitumen carried out by both Councils under the supervision of their engineers Bill Holness and Alf Stephen. Building the track wasn’t made any easier by opposition from some Orange people who were fearful their Council rates would go up to pay for the track while others said the City needed better amenities first like a swimming pool and new footpaths.

The road was never very wide but most of Australia’s best drivers raced at Gnoo Blas at one time or another, including Jack Brabham, who ran a variety of cars and held the lap record until the second last meeting. Brabham also recorded the first 100 mph lap in Australia there.

Gnoo Blas hosted the first international race meeting in Australia along with the first Australian Touring Car Championship, won by David McKay from Bill Pitt and Ron Hodgson, all in Jaguars. For some reason or another, Gnoo Blas also boasted the first photo finish for cars but history doesn’t records whether it was used!

The opening car meeting attracted 12,500 people on Anniversary Day, Monday 26 January 1953 and followed a motorcycle meeting on the previous Sunday when riders had to content with sand spread on the surface to help soak up the new bitumen.

Local newspaper Central Western Daily described the new track as ‘the biggest single community enterprise in the history of Orange and district. Its construction and the planning of the meeting was a tough fight, particularly in the early stags, for a few progressive citizens with fair in a big idea. . . ‘ but he new track had a far from rosy future. It faced problem after problem in the eight years it was open. Tough opposition came from neighbouring Bathurst, whose local member of parliament Gus Kelly, the NSW Chief Secretary at the time, did his best to make sure Gnoo Blas didn’t become a serious rival for Mt Panorama and put every obstacle, including the introduction of the Speedways Act, in its way.

But Gnoo Blas weathered the early storms and ran its second meeting n Easter Monday, 6 April 1953 with 65 year old grandfather Tom Sulman winning five of the eight races on the program in his 1496cc s/c Maserati.

The meeting was also the debut road meeting for a young Jack Brabham in a 1000cc Vincent HRD-engined Cooper, who managed a third to Sulman and Bill Murray (Alfa Alvis) in one race.

There was no racing in 1956 and 1957 but with new safety requirements met, it resumed in January 1958 after volunteers worked late in the night under car and truck lights putting up new fencing. Around 10,000 people turned up to see Jack Brabham easily win the South Pacific championship in his Cooper Climax. He also set a new lap record of 2 minutes 12 seconds, an average speed of 102mph.

In January 1960 the first Australian Touring Car Championship, now the V8s, was run at Gnoo Blas along with the first race for the new class for Grand Touring cards, David McKay won from Bill Pitt and Ron Hodgson, all in Jaguars, in an action packed race. McKay recorded 132.7mph on the long straight.

But dwindling crowds and the fact the Cherry Blossom racing committee still owed the Orange Council around £7000 for the original road construction and about £1000 to private debenture holders, the writing was on the wall. Orange Light Car Club, which had been left with a debt of several thousand pounds to the Total Oil Company on behalf of the ASCC and the Cherry Blossom car racing committee, ran the final meeting in October 1961.

Fast facts about Gnoo Blas

Track opened – January 1953 Track closed – October 1961 Distance – 3.75 miles (6.34km)

Lap Record – Cars Set by Jon Leighton in a Cooper Climax in October 1960. Time: 2 minutes, 7.4 seconds. Average Speed: 105.2 mph (178.1km/h)

Lap Record – Motor Cycle Set by Eric Hinton on a Norton in June 1960 Time: 2 minutes, 23 seconds Average Speed: 95mph (152.88km/h)

Fastest Flying Eighth was set by Reg Hunt in a Maserati in January 1956 at 161.8mph (273.93km/h) Fastest Motorcycle Flying Eighth set by Eric Hinton on a Norton at 149 mph (239.79 km/h)

Admission charges to the races were set at six shillings (60 cents) for adults and three shillings (30 cents) for children car drivers were to pay an extra two shillings (20 cents) parking fee.

The total cost to build the Gnoo Blas track was initially £14,000 ($28,000) but abnormally wet weather slowed the work, blowing the total cost of the rack to around £24,000 (48,000).

Races were to be held every 30 to 40 minutes and between them through-traffic would be allowed on Forest Road, the main straight, under escort, to ‘ensure there was no loitering . . . ‘

The line up of competitors included Jack Brabham, who ran a variety of cars and who held the lap record until the final meeting, Stan Jones (Maybach), Reg Hunt (250F Maserati), Prince Bira of Siam (Maserati), Peter Whitehead and Tony Gaze (Ferraris), Alec Mildren, Jack Myers, Bill Paterson, Curly Brydon, Dick Cobden, Jack Murray, Bill Murray, Ted Gray, Bob Jane and many more.

• Gnoo Blas Race Circuit (n.d.).Orange City Council, Orange NSW.