More than 100 venues across Australia are inspected annually to ensure they meet ongoing safety standards for motorsport events.

Motorsport Australia’s work to inspect its tracks frequently is led by Motorsport Australia’s General Manager of Motorsport Operations, David Stuart.

Stuart has been the governing body’s lead track inspector for the past six years, on the ground and scrutinising tracks to ensure they meet acceptable standards for a permit to be issued. His experience and expertise in conducting track inspections is underpinned by a strategic framework built on global best practice.

“The FIA produces a document predominantly for circuits that have an FIA homologation, and that is where an FIA inspector comes out, inspects the circuit, and assesses that the suitability of the circuit and the build of the circuit is in accordance with those guidelines,” Stuart said.

“Motorsport Australia adopts those guidelines for our Championship events.

“It’s a collaborative approach between the FIA and Motorsport Australia as the recognised National Sporting Authority (ASN) in Australia.”

The inspection process is extensive, and will focus on areas such as marshals’ posts, pits, the paddock, medical centres, advertising structures, other facilities and the track itself. However, each venue will be inspected against the type of events they typically host to make sure they meet logistical requirements and are fit for purpose.

There are three classifications of race tracks in Australia; Category A, Category B and Category C. There are 10 Category A tracks in Australia licenced to host a variety of racing events because of their critical infrastructure such as pit lanes, trackside barriers and medical facilities. These tracks include Mount Panorama, Winton Motor Raceway, Sydney Motorsport Park, Phillip Island and Wakefield Park Raceway.

The FIA will visit each of these tracks on a three-year frequency, while Motorsport Australia visits each track annually.

Other tracks which can cater to large-scale events fall into the B category. These include tracks such as Mallala Motorsport Park in South Australia, Calder Park Motorsport Complex in Victoria, Morgan Park Raceway in Queensland, and Collie Motorplex in West Australia.

Category B circuits are not subject to the same stringent level of safety standards compared to Category A circuits. However, all Motorsport Australia Speed licence holders are permitted to participate on Category B tracks.

All remaining tracks, classified as Category C tracks, can host speed events such as sprints, hillclimbs, and regularities.

Stuart praised Australia’s circuit management bodies, stating how important the work they do is to make motorsport events possible.

“We hold a good relationship with all the tracks around Australia, we’re in constant dialogue with them,” Stuart said.

“Those A Level tracks that we have, we know that they’re always going to be meeting those compliance requirements.

“If those tracks want to do any work or any upgrades themselves, they do that through us, through Motorsport Australia.

“If they contact us and say, ‘we want to remove this barrier and upgrade it all, or we want to change this, or we’d like to install a new tile wall along this area’, we help them make that possible, without compromising on track safety standards.”

Stuart’s secondary roles as a Race Director of the Porsche Carrera Cup and Deputy Race Director for the Supercars Championship gel well with his Motorsport Australia duties, allowing him to conduct track inspections during his travels for those roles alongside Motorsport Australia Motorsport Events Manager, David Mori.

“Track inspections are the major part of our permitting process, because if Motorsport Australia and the FIA don’t conduct them, we can’t issue a permit,” Stuart said.

“So it underpins our safety and insurance frameworks considerations in issuing a permit and I think it’s quite an important piece of the puzzle from Motorsport Australia.

“We’re very lucky in Australia regarding the standard of safety when it comes to our tracks, a lot of hard work goes into making sure we maintain a high benchmark of safety and it shows at our permitted events.”

To achieve national coverage, Stuart is supported by a dedicated team of regional-based track inspectors who ensure safety standards are understood, satisfied and consistent across ever aspect of the sport.