Most people know it as three roads around the hospital, Gosling Creek reservoir and sporting fields but to car enthusiasts it has become a mecca.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And now its fame is reaching new levels thanks to coverage in a TV show, sim videos and from car clubs and fans keen to drive around it when they come to Orange.
The Gnoo Blas racing track, a six-kilometre clockwise triangular journey on Huntley, Bloomfield and Forest roads, only existed for eight years from 1953-1961, but Gnoo Blas Classic Car Club president Denis Gregory, said it was becoming increasingly known.
“What’s happened is it is sort of more popular now than it was at the time, which is a strange phenomenen,” he said.
“There has been a resurgence of interest.”
The track features in the first episode of new ABC TV real estate show, Escape From The City, which has just started screening, and is available on iview.
MAP: Where the circuit goes ...
Sydney couple Will and Briana Thomas, who are looking to buy a house in Orange, are also car enthusiasts and are taken on a drive of the old track by Mr Gregory and car club members.
“That is a good plug for [Gnoo Blas] when it goes nationally,” he said.
The track also features in several simulated videos available on YouTube where videomakers have created hot laps, and even races, around the track.
Mr Gregory said the annual Gnoo Blas Classic Autofest, which is on February 16, was aimed at preserving the history of the venue.
He said motoring fans who attend the event also want to drive around the old track.
Mr Gregory said he was regularly asked by car clubs who visit Orange to speak to members about the history of the track.
“They come here because of the old racetrack,” he said.
Mr Gregory said the roads are largely the same as they were in the heyday.
“They can drive around and basically see what it was like. All the back part [Bloomfield Road] is identical, nothing has changed. It is narrow and it is wild,” he said.
Mr Gregory said apart from a detour around the Brandy Creek bridge and road improvements in front of the hospitals and at the intersection of Forest and Huntley roads, the track has been preserved.
It hosted the first Australian Touring Car Championship race, which is now the Supercars championship, in 1960.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE NEWS?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below …