The Adelaide Motorsport Festival was created by the Sporting Car Club of SA with Tim Possingham engaged to deliver the event and was run by the club from 2014 until 2018.
The first event in 2014 attracted a small crowd of 1800 people, growing to in excess of 45,000 in 2018.[3]
The event did not run from 2019 to 2021 due to state government funding cuts.[4] At this time the club sold the event to Tim Possingham, an entrepreneur and motorsport competitor of some 40 years.[5] In the run up to the 2022 South Australian state election, opposition leader Peter Malinauskas announced that the Adelaide Motorsport Festival and the Adelaide 500 would be revived if he was elected as state premier.[6]
After winning the 2022 state election, Malinauskas announced the Adelaide Motorsport Festival would return with the 2023 edition running on March 25 and 26, 2023.[7]
The Adelaide Motorsport Festival consists of demonstration track events and displays of modern, collectable, historic and vintage cars in Victoria Park along with the Gouger Street Party.[8]
The Adelaide Motorsport Festival kicks off with the annual Gouger Street Party on the Friday night of the event. The free community event begins with the Peak Hour of Power – a high-powered parade of exotic, wild and rare vehicles that runs from Victoria Park through the city to Gouger Street to give the green flag to a massive weekend of motorsport. Featuring more than 20 of the hero-cars of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival the Peak Hour of Power literally stops traffic for this multi-million dollar spectacle. Partygoers mingle among the cars and stars, with a DJ, driver appearances and more creating a fun and festive atmosphere.
On the Saturday and Sunday, the Victoria Park Sprint takes place at Victoria Park. Multiple categories of vehicles take part in the demonstration runs, ranging from classic Formula 1 cars, V8 Supercars, touring cars, sportscars, rally cars, motorbikes, electric cars and more.[9] Each category is on track for 10 minutes, with cars released at 30-second intervals in a super sprint format. There are also multiple demonstrations over the course of the event, such as at the 2018 event where drag races took place between three different cars, each racing against a Red Bull Air Race aeroplane.[10]
Valtteri Bottas speaking in the Grand Marquee at the 2023 Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
The Adelaide Motorsport Festival combines high-octane action on-track with a laid back picnic races atmosphere off-track. There are hundreds of cars on displays from various manufacturers, car clubs and more. Fans can get up close to the cars and roam the paddock area, getting up close to classic Formula 1 cars, touring cars and more. Display areas include the like of the E-Motion Zone, featuring the latest in motoring and motorsport electric technology.
The Adelaide Motorsport Festival's Grand Marquee is the place to meet the stars of the event, see and hear about the latest motoring products and technology with talks from leading industry figures, and so much more. Located in the heart of the precinct in Victoria Park, access into the Grand Marquee is included with an Adelaide Motorsport Festival ticket.
The corporate villas at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival feature premium trackside seating, gourmet catering, and more bar facilities, from car dealers and manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Zagame Automotive and more.
Valtteri Bottas at the 2023 Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Star drivers who have attended the Adelaide Motorsport Festival include:[11]
Valtteri Bottas, who drove the 2016 Bathurst 1000-winning Holden VF Commodore and an Alfa Romeo GTV Group A touring car at the 2023 Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Damon Hill, the last winner of the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide in 1995 and Formula 1 world champion in 1996.
Liam Lawson, who drove a Rodin FZED, Porsche 962 and Ford SuperVan 4.2 at the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Stefan Johansson, who raced at the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide between 1985 and 1989 and returned to drive the Ferrari 156/85 he raced in 1985.
Alister McRae, a former World Rally Championship rally driver and brother of world champion Colin McRae, driving an original 1993 Subaru Impreza at the event in 2018, a sister car to the one driven by his brother.
Alan Jones, the 1980 Formula 1 world champion who drove in the Australian Grand Prix in 1985 and 1986, taking part in the 2019 Adelaide Rally in a McLaren 720S.
Pierluigi Martini, who raced in Adelaide between 1985 and 1994, featuring in 2017 driving his Minardi M 189 Formula One car, which raced at the grand prix in Adelaide in 1989.
Ivan Capelli, who raced in Adelaide between 1985 and 1990, attended the event in 2016 and 2018 driving a Leyton House CG891 March Formula One car, which he had driven at the 1989 Australian Grand Prix. The Italian Formula One podium finisher set a lap record with the CG891 on the Adelaide Motorsport Festival track in 2018.
Hayden Paddon, World Rally Championship winner, who drove his Hyundai Kona EV Rally car at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
A number of Australian touring car and V8 Supercars drivers have taken part in the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, including:
Benetton B190 - The Benetton B190, when won the 1990 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, returning to the same circuit 34 years later at the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Mazda 767B - The iconic Mazda 767B, powered by a quad-rotor 2.6-litre rotary engine, which raced at Le Mans and other sportscar events, appearing at the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Ferrari 156/85 - The two Scuderia Ferrari cars that raced in the 1985 Formula 1 season and first Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide in 1985, with former driver Stefan Johansson getting back behind the wheel of the car at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Lotus 97T Renault - The 1985 Lotus that Ayrton Senna drove at the 1985 Australian Grand Prix, which returned to Adelaide at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Lotus 99T Honda - The 1987 Lotus that Ayrton Senna drove at the 1987 Australian Grand Prix, which joined the Lotus 97T at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Leyton House CG891 - Ivan Capelli raced this car in the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide in 1989 and drove the car again at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival in 2016 and 2018.[14]
Brabham BT60B Judd - The last-ever Brabham grand prix car, which having failed to make it to the Australian Grand Prix in 1992 made its first appearance at the 2023 Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Brabham BT58 Judd- The last Brabham grand prix car to score a podium in Formula in 1989, with two BT58s on track at the 2023 Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Arrows A21 - Mark Webber was a test driver for Arrows when this car was being developed in 2000. It was notable for being a full-carbon car, including the tub, wishbones, brakes and even the gearbox casing.
T51 Cooper - The T51 made its F1 debut at Monaco in 1959 with Sir Jack Brabham taking the win. This is the car Sir Jack famously pushed over the line to finish fourth at Sebring after leading most of the race and giving him the points to win his first driver's championship.
555 Prodrive Subaru -The 1993 Subaru Impreza 555 is chassis #4 from that year's World Rally Championship campaign, and is the only one from that year still with its original shell. A sister car to the one driven by the legendary WRC champion Colin McRae, it was campaigned by Markku Alén and Ari Vatanen in 1993 before winning the 1994 Asia Pacific Rally Championship with New Zealander Possum Bourne at the wheel. This was also Subaru's very first Impreza 555 Group A manufacturers' and drivers' championship double.
Brabham BT62 - Adelaide's own supercar, the Brabham BT62 first surfaced early in 2018, but it had not been seen at speed in public until the Adelaide Motorsport Festival later that year. With a 5.4-litre mid-mounted V8 making 700 hp and a kerb weight of just 972 kg, the car proved to be extremely quick.
Lotus 12 - The first Lotus ever raced in Formula One and Graham Hill's first grand prix drive. Hill campaigned this Lotus 12 in Formula 2inEurope in 1957, before it was entered in the Monaco GP in 1958. It also raced in the Dutch and Belgian GPs that year.
Adelaide Motorsport Festival gained international attention in 2017 with its first promotional film.[15] The following films have been produced:
Race to the City[16] was filmed on the streets of Adelaide and featured three Formula 1 cars, a Holden Dealer Team Torana A9X, and a World Superbike-spec Ducati ridden by three-time world champion Troy Bayliss. Drivers included multiple Bathurst 1000 winner John Bowe and Supercars drivers Cameron Waters and Tim Slade. Cyclist Stuart O'Grady had a cameo role. The film was produced with a budget under $25,000.[17]
The Adelaide Motorsport Festival saw an increase in attendance since its debut in 2014.[21] The 2024 event saw a growth of over 42 percent from the previous year with 40,022 in attendance at the event.[22] Highlights of the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival can be viewed here.
