World wide history of street circuits

[Ray Bell]

I think it's Quorn Hall... and it should be clarified that the shorter Nowra circuit was around the access roads near the control tower... now airstrip component at all.

Mallala was also access roads, the actual airstrips were grass, while the roads were sealed!

[David McKinney]

Other New Zealand airfield circuits have included:
Ohakea - hosted the first NZ Grand Prix (1950) and an annual race most years until 1962. Has also run occasional historic meetings since the early 1980s
Seagrove - used for club racing 1946-52
Nelson - club grasstrack racing in the 1950s
Whenuapai - historic meetings since around 1982

Don't know if anyone's listed the NZ street circuits:
Mairehau - 1951-57
Southbridge - two meetings 1957
Dunedin (3 versions 1953-65 and another for historic events since 1984)
Waimate - 1959-66
Renwick -1960-66
Timaru - one meeting 1967
Napier (Port Ahuriri) several meetings between 1958 and 1964
Mount Maunganui - 2 meetings 1962-63
Matamata - 1964-65
Orakei - a one-off meeting 1933
Paritutu - several meetings late 1960s/early '70s
Wingate - one meeting 1954
Wellington - from 1984 or 1985 until ??
Hamilton - historic meetings in the 1990s
Queenstown - historic meetings 1990s

[Rob29]

Originally posted by strad
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! How about parking lot tracks??? Remeber Las Vegas? HAHAHAHAHAHA

Reno,Meadowlands,Changwon

[Vitesse]

Airfields extracted from my post above and omitting ones you already listed:

Bishopscourt (N.Ireland), Boreham, Castle Combe, Charterhall, Davidstow, Ibsley, Turnberry & Winfield

[strad]

I hate to be picky but being from Phoenix, I can't believe you don't remember the battle between Senna and Alesi...one of the reasons I was high on Alesi for a time....

""At the start of 1989 Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone negotiated a five-year deal with the city of Phoenix, Arizona, to run a street race in the city's downtown area. The intention was to use the race to promote Phoenix and liven up its image as a place where people went to retire. Local interest was virtually non-existent, however, and the crowds stayed in the rich suburbs when F1 arrived for the first time in the baking heat of the midsummer of 1989. Alain Prost won a dominant victory for McLaren.

The following year the race was moved to be the opening event and there was an exciting battle between Ayrton Senna's McLaren and new boy Jean Alesi in a Tyrrell. Senna duly drew away to win the race. He did so again at the start of 1991, but after that F1 left and never returned.""

[Stoffer Green]

A bit late in the day, I know, but there was racing at Blandford Army camp in Dorset in the early 1950s. Somewhere there is a photograph of a Cooper 1100 on the roof of one of the army huts!

[Nivola]

Here is a list of Tracks in Western Australia.
All the ifomation has come from that immortal book called "Around The Houses" by Terry Walker.

Albany = Street Track atleast 2 changes in its race life from 1936-1940 and then from 1958-1963. Still used for regularity runs on a different layout again. (I think)

Applecross = Street Track run once on the 11th November 1940. The Patriotic Grand prix

Beverly Airstrip = 1947 Cranston Trophy

Brooklands(Perry Lakes) = First Artificial Racing Track in Australia 1932-1940

Bunbury = Street Track 1938 1946 1960 1962 1963 three layouts.

Busselton = Airstrip 1955-1957

Caversham = Airstrip 1946-1968 two tracks

Collie = Street Track 1960-1961

Dowerin = Dry Lake 1929 1937-1939

Geraldton = Street Track 1965

Goomalling = Street Track 1943-1955

Lake Perkolloli = Lake/Dry Lake 1924-1931 1934-1937 Two Tracks

Mooliabeenie = Street Track 1945-1955?????? one layout

Narrogin = Street Track 1948-1949 1952-1954

Northam = Street Trach two layouts 1952-1956

Pearce = Raaf airbase 1950

Pingelly = Street Track 1939-1941

Toodyay = Street Track 1929-1947???????

Wannerroo Park = 1968?-present day. Home of Western Australian Sporting Car Club

There where probably more plus there are all the hill climb tracks and so on.

[Gonfra]

Don't forget Crystal Palace in London - used very much in the sixties and bits of it are still visible

[Vitesse]

Sorry Gonfra, but the Palace doesn't fit the criteria of a street track - public roads closed for the race. It was a purpose-built track dating from 1937. As you say, some of the post-war circuit is still visible in Crystal Palace Park and, if you search really carefully, you can find traces of the pre-war layout too.

[Rob29]

Time this thread was reopened. No one has yet mentioned the new event at Cagliari,Sardinia for Euro F3000 on Oct 6.

[Speed Demon]

Before we start the old 'does anyone have a track map' question, the answer is yes! I'll be adding it to e-tracks today...

[Peter Scillitoe]

Has anyone mentioned Changwon in South Korea? The circuit is three years old and hosts an international F3 race the weekend after Macau. The circuit is on public roads in and around a sports complex. I have been fortunate to have been involved with the running of the event in each of it's three years, and may be going back in November for this year's race.

[Mal]

Which came first at Brooklands - The Track of the Airfield? I think it was the track - if so is it unique in being a track that became an airfield?

[Rob29]

Think you would be right Mal. Aeroplanes were pretty well unknown in UK when constuction started. I believe Brooklands is the birthplace of both car racing & powered aviation in England.
Re;Changwon,from TV coverage I regarded it as a car park circuit. If you have been there Peter,perhaps you can tell us exactly where it is in Korea.I am looking at the possibly of going to Macau someday and might concider going on to Korea.

[Vitesse]

Originally posted by Mal
Which came first at Brooklands - The Track of the Airfield? I think it was the track - if so is it unique in being a track that became an airfield?

The track opened in 1906, the airfield in 1910.

[Peter Scillitoe]

Originally posted by Rob29
Re;Changwon,from TV coverage I regarded it as a car park circuit. If you have been there Peter,perhaps you can tell us exactly where it is in Korea.I am looking at the possibly of going to Macau someday and might concider going on to Korea.

Changwon is in the south of South Korea, about 40 minutes drive north from the coastal city of Pusan (or Bhusan as they retitled it for the World Cup). The nearest airport is Pusan (Bhusan). To avoid going any further off thread, please email me direct if you want further information on Changwon. Nearer the time of the race, and assuming that I do go again this year, I may start a thread under 'Single Seaters'.

[TimD]

I really hate to be picky, Vitesse, but the Brooklands track was officially opened in July 1907, a few days after Edge's record attempt in the Napier.

I concur with 1910 for the first fixed aircraft activity there, though.

[DNQ]

Did anyone ever recompile the initial list with all the corrections/additions/changes?

[mandretti39]

I could be wrong, but street circuits that I haven't seen mentioned are the old Nurburgring and Spa. Are they street circuts, or are they just very big road courses?

[Barry Boor]

Definitely road circuits, NOT street circuits.

The definitions are blurred but a true STREET circuit, IMHO, has to be entirely contained within a town or city.

Once it touches countryside, it becomes a ROAD circuit.

Of course there are exceptions but as a general rule I think this definition works quite well.