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The Thunderdome In the late 60s NASCAR was a growing sport, after visiting the USA Bob Jane alongside his brother Bill saw this as an opportunity and wanted to introduce the sport to Australia. After two years of planning and four years of construction at an investment cost of million, Australia's only 24 degree banked super speedway was opened on August 3, 1987. The first race was only a couple of weeks later when a 300km touring car race was run on the combined Thunderdome and National circuits, which was won by Terry Shiel and John Bowe in a Nissan Skyline, the only time a Japanese car has won a race held on the Thunderdome. The first race to use only the Thunderdome was on February 28, 1988, it was also the first time a NASCAR event had been held outside of North America. This massive event was televised Nationally and featured a great list of drivers from the Winston Cup, including Bobby Allison, Neil Bonnett, Michael Waltrip, Harry Gant, Morgan Shepherd, Dave Marcis, Rick Wilson and some of Australia's top touring car drivers. In his Pontiac Grand Prix, Neil Bonnatt claimed first prize. The race was so successful that many of the same drivers returned for another race at the Thunderdome that December, along with three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford. Both NASCAR and AUSCAR events were held at the Thunderdome up until they were both shut down in 2001. With new free to air sport channels and the success of Marcus Ambrose in the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup series, there is now a stronger following of Australian NASCAR fans. With the popularity of the sport growing day by day tells us that the 1st oval track built outside of the U.S. needs to be enjoyed by those who just cannot get the satisfaction of watching NASCAR on TV. They need to see, smell and feel the Thunder.

This is where we're all going to become legends!! The Bend’s motor racing circuit is Australia’s only circuit to comply with the latest FIA Grade 2 and FIM Category A standards. The challenging 7.77km long GT circuit is the second longest permanent race track in the world (second only to the Nordschleife, Nurburgring) and combines technical corners, fast flowing sections and an aggregate rise and fall of 85 metres to ensure exciting racing and an enjoyable drive.