71 replies to this topic

[Rob Semmeling]

Racing circuits almanac

Rather than drivers, riders, cars or motorcycles, I find circuits by far the most interesting aspect of motor racing - the places where it all happens. I'm probably in the minority with this, but their shapes, diversity and sheer number utterly fascinate me.

This is my attempt at compiling a list of various facts & figures concerning motor racing circuits. There is no real point to it other than to have a bit of fun and provide an easy overview. Maybe all of this is old news, maybe you will pick up a few new facts along the way, I don't know.

I'm hoping it will be expanded (or corrected where necessary), but most of all that some of you will find it interesting, since it took me a month of Sundays to write it all down...


First

The first ever racing circuit – a closed course as opposed to a course running from A to B – is often believed to have been the 1.0 mi dirt oval of the Rhode Island State Fair Park, located in Narragansett Park, Rhode Island, United States. It was first used for an automobile race in September 1896.

The course was originally a horse racing track. Numerous similar dirt track ovals, typically one mile in length, came into being in the United States from 1900 onwards.

However, the 1878 Green Bay to Madison road race over 201 miles in Wisconsin, United States, included a special stage, where the remaining two steamers had to lap a 1 mile sprint against each other on the horse racing oval of Oshkosh Fairgrounds, thus being the first recorded closed-course race - provided steam racing is taken into account of course. For more details, see the story posted by Don Capps below.


The first non-oval racing circuit may have been the 171.8 km Course de Perigueux, used on 1 May 1898 for a race of the same name. The course started in Perigueux, and passed through Mussidan, Bergerac and Le Bugue before heading back to Perigueux. It was completed only once, so calling it a closed circuit depends on whether or not start and finish were in the exact same place.

The Course du Catalogue at Melun, near Paris in France was a 72.41 km / 45 mi long triangular course over closed public roads used in 1900. Two laps were completed on this circuit.

The first international circuit is believed to have been the Circuit des Ardennes, with start-finish near Bastogne, Belgium. When it was first used in 1902, this course over closed public roads measured 86.08 km / 53.5 mi.

The first purpose-built racing circuit is claimed to be Lakeside Auto Speedway in San Diego, California, United States. This 2-mile dirt oval opened on 20 April 1907.

The first purpose-built paved racing circuit was Brooklands, near Weybridge in England. The facility opened on 17 June 1907 as a 4.45 km / 2.767 mi long course with steeply banked corners.

Also noteworthy is the Detroit Driving Park at Grosse Point in Michigan, United States. It was built in 1893 as a 1-mile dirt oval for gentlemen drivers to test their automobiles. Strictly speaking, it was therefore not purpose-built for racing, but races did take place here from 1901 onwards.


Oldest

The oldest racing circuits still in use are:

• [/list][list=1]
• The 1-mile dirt oval at Indiana State Fairgrounds, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, was first used 19 July 1903. The circuit is still active today.
  
• The 1-mile dirt oval at New York State Fairgrounds, in Syracuse, New York, United States, was first used 10 September 1903. The circuit is still active today.
  
• The 1.032 mi / 1.66 km mile dirt oval known as the Milwaukee Mile, located in the Wisconsin State Fair Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, was first used for racing 11 September 1903 and has seen racing every year since then. Originally a dirt track, it was paved in 1954.
  [/list=1]
  It should be noted that Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, United States, is also still in use today, having staged its first race on 20 August 1901. However, this was very much a one-off, for racing otherwise only started in 1914.
  
  The famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in Indianapolis, United States, was first used in 1909 and has seen racing nearly every year since then.
  
  All of these circuits have never altered their actual layout, although of course substantial improvements were made with regards to track surface and safety, as well as spectator- and other facilities.
  
  
  The oldest non-oval circuit still in use is the Isle of Man Mountain Course, which has been used since 1911 for motorcycle races, with only slight modifications to its layout. The course was also used for a car race in 1908.
  
  The oldest non-oval permanent circuit still in use is the Autodromo di Monza, which opened in 1922.
  
  Sections of the nowadays entirely permanent Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium were already used in 1921, when it was still a temporary road course. Likewise, sections of the currently partly-permanent, partly temporary Circuit de la Sarthe at Le Mans, France were also first used in 1921.
  
  
  Fastest
  
  The world's fastest ever racing circuit is the Auto Club Speedway - formerly the California Speedway - near Fontana, California, United States.
  
  Gil de Ferran lapped the 3.265 km / 2.029 mi superspeedway in 30.255 = 388.457 kmh / 241.428 mph with his Reynard-Honda during qualifying for the Malboro 500, on 28 October 2000.
  
  The Auto Club Speedway is thereby marginally faster than the similar superspeedways of Indianapolis and Michigan.
  
  The fastest ever non-oval racing circuit was the 19.286 km / 11.986 m AVUS in Berlin, Germany. Bernd Rosemeyer lapped the circuit in 4.04,2 = 284.314 kph / 176.703 mph with his streamlined Auto Union Type-C during practice for the Avusrennen on 29 May 1937.
  
  The fastest non-oval racing circuit currently in use is the Autodromo di Monza, near Milan, Italy. Rubens Barrichello lapped its 5.793 km / 3.600 m in 1.20,089 = 260.395 kph / 161.838 mph with his Ferrari F2004 Formula 1 car during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, on 11 September 2004.
  
  All of these records are unofficial, for they were set during practice or qualifying. Official records can only be recorded during actual races.
  
  
  A special mention should go to the Fort Stockton test circuit in Texas, United States. A.J. Foyt lapped the approximately 12.411 km / 7.713 mi long oval with an average speed of 413.711 kph / 257.123 mph with an Oldsmobile Aerotech, during a successful world record attempt on 27 August 1987.
  
  This is the highest average speed ever recorded on a closed course. However, the Fort Stockton test circuit is not used for any racing.
  
  
  Longest
  
  The longest ever racing circuit by far may have been the 1079.820 km / 671.0 mi long Giro di Sicilia circuit used from 1948-1950 for the Targa Florio road race. The course had to be driven once, so calling it a closed circuit depends on whether or not start and finish in Palermo were in the exact same place.
  
  The Grande Circuito Madonie, located on the Italian island of Sicily, and used for the Targa Florio road race from 1906-1911 and once more in 1931, comprised closed public roads with a length of 148.050 km / 92.0 mi or 148.832 km / 92.5 mi depending on source. Competitors had to complete three or four laps.
  
  The longest racing circuit currently in use is the Isle of Man Mountain Course, located on the Isle of Man between Great Britain and Ireland. This circuit is used annually for the TT motorcycle races and measures 60.718 km / 37.73 mi using closed public roads.
  
  The longest ever permanent racing circuit was the Nürburgring, near Adenau, Germany. Its longest configuration measured 28.290 km / 17.582 mi between 1967 and 1982.
  
  The longest ever oval racing circuit seems to have been Miramas in France, with a length of 5.0 km / 3.1 mi. The oval was used in the 1920s and 1930s, but has since been converted into a state of the art BMW test track!
  
  The longest current oval racing circuit is the Autodromo Rafaela in Argentina. It was built in 1952 as a dirt oval of 4.662 km / 2.897 mi and paved in 1966. It has hosted an Indianapolis-style race over 300 miles among other races.
  
  The Talladega Superspeedway, in Talladega, Alabama, United States is sometimes thought to be the biggest oval, but as far as length is concerned, it is shorter than Rafaela, with 4.28 km / 2.66 mi. Talladega opened in 1969 and is currently still in use.
  
  There are several oval test tracks much longer than Talladega, but these are not used for racing. The longest may be the 8.5 mi / 13.679 km high-speed oval at Uvalde Proving Grounds in Texas, United States.
  
  
  
  The world's longest (semi) permanent racing circuits - thus excluding circuits used solely for testing - as of August 2008 are the following. Only circuits of six kilometres or longer are listed.
  [list]

• Nürburgring - Germany
  
  The longest possible configuration measures approximately 25.96 km / 16.14 mi, consisting of the Nordschleife combined with the Grand Prix course. This layout is currently not used, but the annual ADAC 24-hours race uses a 25.378 km / 15.773 mi variant.
  
• Eurospeedway Lausitzring - Germany
  
  The longest possible configuration is the so-called "Strecke 8" or "Langstrecke", which combines the Grand Prix road course with the ajacent Dekra test oval to form an 11.3 km / 7.02 mi course. This circuit has presumably never actually been used, with the possible exception of testing, although of course parts of it are in regular use for racing.
  
• Miller Motorsports Park - United States
  
  The longest possible configuration is the Full Course, measuring 7.218 km / 4.486 mi. It has been used by the American Le Mans Series from 2006-2007, but as of 2008 the series uses the shorter Perimeter Course.
  
• Spa-Francorchamps - Belgium
  
  The circuit measures 7003.95 metres / 4.353 mi. Parts of the circuit were formerly public roads, but the circuit is now entirely permanent.
  
• Virginia International Raceway - United States
  
  The longest possible configuration measures approximately 6.64 km / 4.13 mi - the official length is 4.2 mi but this seems too long - and is used for track days and driving seminars. It is known as the Grand Course East.
  
• Monticello Motor Club - United States
  
  The longest possible configuration measures 6.597 km / 4.1 mi. This is a private, members-only facility that opened in the summer of 2008.
  
• Road America (Elkhart Lake) - United States
  
  The circuit measures 6.513 km / 4.048 mi.
  
• Reno-Fernley Raceway - United States
  
  The longest possible configuration measures approximately 6.440 km / 4.002 mi.
  
• Mount Panorama (Bathurst) - Australia
  
  The circuit measures 6.213 km / 3.861 mi. While the circuit was more or less purpose-built for racing, strictly speaking it is temporary or semi-permanent.
  [/list=1]
  It might be interesting to add long permanent circuits of the future:
  [list]

• The Gotland Ring in Sweden is planned to be a 7.4 km / 4.6 mi circuit by 2009, and a 28 km / 17.4 mi (!) circuit by 2012. Track map here (PDF file).
  
• Prairie Hills Motorsports Club in Indiana, United States is currently deing developed. The facility will allow 3600 (!) possible configuration for a total of 7 mi / 11.2 km. The longest circuit will reportedly measure 5.95 mi / 9.57 km. Track map here (PDF file).
  
• Genoa Motorsports Park in Colorado, United States is currently being developed. The full course is planned to be 5.86 mi / 9.429 km long. The original design was apparently even longer at 6.26 mi / 10.07 km. Track map here (PDF file).
  
• Victory Lane near Savannah, George, United States is currently being build. The full course is planned to be 4.5 mi / 7.24 km and will be named Phil Hill Motor Sports Complex. All configurations will be bi-directional. This will be a private, non-spectating track. Track map here (under amenities > motor sports complex).
  
• Alpine Motorsports Club, near Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States is is planned to be 4.2 mi / 6.76 km long. It should open in 2009. Track map here.
  
• Racers Ranch in Texas, United States is planned to be approximately 4.0 mi / 6.4 km. There is no track map available.
  
• Potrero de los Funes in Argentina will be operational by November 2008 to host the FIA GT series (pending homologation) and measure 6.186 km / 3.844 mi. It will likely be a semi-permanent facility. Track map here.
  
• Kansas City International Motorsports Park, near Kansas City, United States, is planned to be a 3.75 mi / 6.004 km long circuit by February 2010. Track map here.
  [/list=1]
  
  This list was compiled in early August 2008.
  
  
  
  Shortest
  
  The shortest racing circuits are 1/20 mi – 80 metres – long ovals, used mainly in the United States and Canada. There are also figure-8 circuits of the same length.
  
  The shortest non-oval racing circuit may have been Le Mas du Clos in France, which measured a mere 400 metres for a few years following its opening in 1963. However, the circuit seems to have been used for private competitions, testing and training only.
  
  The Roskilde Ring in Denmark was only 670 metres in length from 1955-1957. The Longridge circuit, located in a quarry near Longridge, England, was used for motorcycle racing from 1973-1978 and measured merely 692 metres.
  
  Obviously, there are numerous karting circuits that are considerably shorter. There might also be shorter circuits not used for racing, but rather only for testing or demonstrations.
  
  
  Width
  
  The world's widest non-oval racing circuit is believed to be Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia: the 5.542 km / 3.444 mi course is at least 16 metres / 52.49 feet wide along its entire length.
  
  It is possible there are or were airfield circuits even wider along their entire length.
  
  
  Corners
  
  The circuit with the highest number of corners supposedly was the aforementioned Giro di Sicilia circuit used from 1948-1950 for the Targa Florio road race due to its length of over 1000 kilometres, although the number of bends is unknown.
  
  The Grande Circuito Madonie on Sicily, also used for the Targa Florio, reportedly comprised over 800 bends.
  
  The most twists and turns on a permanent circuit could be found at the Nürburgring, which had nearly 180 changes of direction in its longest form mentioned above.
  
  
  
  On the contrary, there were several circuits with a circular shape and thus with merely one bend, either to the left or right.
  
  The earliest of such circuits presumably was the 1.0 mi Los Angeles Coliseum Motordrome near Playa del Rey, California, United States. This wooden board track was used from 1910-1913.
  
  Another early example includes the 2.77 mi / 4.46 km circuit using the main street in Corona, California, which was used in 1913, 1914 and 1916.
  
  Perhaps the most famous circular circuit was 1.0 mi Longhorne Speedway, near Levittown, Pennsylvania in the United States. Used from 1926-1971, it was also known as "The Big Left Turn". Originally a dirt track, it received an asphalt surface in 1965.
  
  Although never used for racing, the Nardo test circuit in Italy deserves a special mention, for it is an approximately 12.465 km long perfect circle. This may well be the world's longest continuous bend. It does not require steering input at relatively low speeds.
  
  
  
  The circuit with the highest number of bends in only one direction may be the Sofia street circuit in Bulgaria, used at least from 2006 on. This features seven bends, all of which are righthanders – although it arguably also includes a very slight kink to the left. Track map here.
  
  
  Also noteworthy: the 2.87 mi / 4.6 km Greenwood Roadway near Des Moines, Iowa, United States, was active from 1963-1966 and featured seven or eight righthanders in succession, depending on how one counts. However, the circuit also included several bends to the left.
  
  A non-oval permanent circuit with bends in only one direction does not seem to have existed.
  
  
  Most circuits
  
  The country with the most racing circuits must surely be the United States of America, where some 6848 ovals, road courses and figure-8 tracks have existed since the late 19th century, by count of Alan E. Brown (2003).
  
  Edit: as Darren Galpin points out below, the total number is even greater and somewhere around 7000.
  
  
  Location
  
  The world's northernmost racing circuit seems to be Arctic Circle Raceway, near Mo-I-Rana, Norway. As the name suggests it is located near the Arctic circle.
  
  The world's southernmost racing circuit seems to be Teretonga Park, near Newfield in southern New Zealand.
  
  
  Danger
  
  The most dangerous racing circuit strictly by number of recorded fatalities of competitors, is by far the Isle Of Man Mountain Course with at least 228 fatalities in the period 1911-2007. This is despite the fact the public road course is only used once every year for motorcycle races.
  
  Edit: as Barry Boor points out below, the circuit is used twice a year.
  
  The most dangerous permanent racing circuit by the same definition is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with at least 55 fatalities in the period 1909-2003.
  
  
  Miscellaneous
  
  Racing circuits - as opposed to test circuits such as Fiorano - that pass over/underneath themselves are surprisingly rare, particularly permanent venues. In random order:
  [list]
• Suzuka, Japan
• Central Circuit, Japan
• Hämeenlinna/Ahvenisto, Finland
• Tallinn (street circuit), Estonia
• Autobahnspinne Dresden-Hellerau (street circuit), Germany
• Autobahnspinne Bautzen (street circuit), Germany
• Norisring (street circuit, 1949-1951), Germany
• Monza (full course including oval), Italy
• Autodromo El Zonda, Argentina
• Autodromo General San Martin, Argentina
• Autodromo Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentina
• Brasilia (street circuits, 1962 & 1966-1970), Brazil
• Las Palmas (street circuit, 2000), Peru
• Sofia (street circuit), Bulgaria
• Havirov (street circuit 1971-1995), Czech Republic
• Ostrava (street circuit 1973-1990), Czech Republic
• Most (street circuit 1979-1982), Czech Republic
• Palanga (street circuit), Lithuania
• Oran Park, Australia
• Paramount Ranch, United States

The Brasilia street circuit used in 1962 and the Sofia street circuit in Bulgaria seem to be the only circuits that have two completely seperate overpasses. It's worth noting there are also stadium circuits, such as those used for the "Race of Champions" at Wembley and Paris-Bercy, which include overpasses.


Books

By my count, there are over 300 books about racing circuits. These can be more general or about one circuit in particular, although books in the latter category tend to be more about the races at the circuit in question rather than the track itself.

Of the books that treat circuits in a more general sense, I'd particularly recommend:

• Joe Saward, The World Atlas Of Motor Racing, 1989
• Alan E. Brown, The History of America's Speedways: Past & Present, 1984 (updates reprints 1994 and 2003)
• Harold L. Osmer, Where They Raced: Auto Racing Sites in Southern California 1900-1996, 1996 (updated reprint 2000)
• Gordon Eliot White, Lost Race Tracks: Treasures of Automobile Racing, 2002
• Pete Hylton, Ghost Tracks: A Historic Look At America's Lost Road Racing Tracks, 2007
• Terry Walker, Fast Tracks: Australia's Motor Racing Circuits 1904-1995, 1995

In addition, the websites by Daniel King and Darren Galpin, among several others, are obviously also invaluable resources, which I trust everyone knows already.

[D-Type]

How is the length of a circuit usually measured? On the centre line of the 'road', or on the shortest distance a car could take, ie clipping all the apexes?

How about Rockingham (UK) as an example of a non-oval permanent circuit with bends in only one direction? Technically, Daytona and other D-shaped circuits also fit the bill.

Are you sure about the 1/20 mile or 80m circuits? It seems incredibly short. 1/4 mile (400m) or 1/5 mile (320m) seems the practical minimum.

Avus is a curiosity as it was (I think) originally built as an oval race track and was later incorporated into the autobahn system.

[HDonaldCapps]

However, Darren Galpin reports that the 1878 Green Bay to Madison road race over 201 miles in Wisconsin, United States, included a special stage, where the remaining two steamers had to lap a 1 mile sprint against each other on a closed (?) oval - thus possibly being the first recorded closed-course race between motorised vehicles!


Rear View Mirror article on the Wisconsin event.

[Barry Boor]

It should be mentioned that the Isle of Man is actually used TWICE a year.

The T.T. races are in the earlier part of the summer but there is also the Manx Grand Prix series (for amateur riders IIRC) in September.

Both events cover a two week period.

[Rob Semmeling]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling
Most circuits

The country with the most racing circuits must surely be the United States of America, where some 8200 racing venues of all types and kinds have existed since the late 19th century, by count of Alan E. Brown.

First of all a correction: the 2003 edition of Alan Brown's Big Bible lists 6848 racing venues (excluding drag strips) for the United States alone. The book also includes Canada which slipped my mind earlier.


D-Type: yes, 1/20 mile is rediculously short, but they are indeed used. Laptimes are around six to seven seconds!

I think circuits are always measured on their centreline, or alternatively, on the left and right edges, then taking the average of that.

The problem is a lot of circuits do not seem to have been measured very precisely, especially in the States where the length is often rounded off to one decimal only.

Greenwood Roadway, to name just one example, is variously reported as having been 3.0 to 3.2 miles long - yet when I measured it with Google Earth (the measuring tool is reportedly extremely accurate), it turned out as 2.87 miles only.

I don't consider AVUS an oval, for it had a hairpin as well as a kink to the right.

Thank you for that link Don, but the article is only viewable if you have a subcription, which I don't.

[HDonaldCapps]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling
Thank you for that link Don, but the article is only viewable if you have a subcription, which I don't.

Drat, I wasn't sure if the article was before or after the subscription thing started.... so, an excerpt of the relevant part:

Back at the Beginning

The credit for the first motor contest is usually given to the Paris to Rouen concours of 22 July 1894. Although a steam-driven de Dion-Bouton of is usually credited as the first place finisher, the jury - yes, jury - decided to split the prize of 2,000 Francs between Robert Peugeot and René Panhard - the trial being for the manufacturers rather than the drivers. However, there was a similar contest in the same month 16 years before in the United States.

In 1875, the Wisconsin State Legislature created the ingredients for what could be correctly called a motor contest. The Madison Wisconsin State Journal of 24 July 1878, states that the legislature "offered a prize of $10,000 for a perfect steam wagon for general agricultural and hauling purposes to be able to stand such tests as a board if three Commissioners should propose; among other things, the contesting machines were to make a 200 mile trip along the country roads of the State, due north and south, haul a heavy wagon behind them, be able to plow, run threshing machines, and perform other feats such as the ingenuity or wisdom of the Commissioners might suggest."

Although the challenge was issued in 1875, it was not until the Summer if 1878 that "the great steam wagon contest," as 15 July 1878 issue of the Green Bay Daily State Gazette called it. The contest started from Green Bay on 15 July, a Monday, without the route to the destination, Madison, being clear to any of those concerned. Although it had been hoped that all six of the steam wagons entered would be participating in the endurance and capabilities contest, only two finally turned up at the starting point, the corner of Broadway and Dousman in Green Bay. The Sunday morning freight train from Oshkosh arrived with the entry from A.M. (Ans.) Farrand and Frank Schemer which was built at the J.F. Morse foundry in that town. The Madison entry of a Mr. Baker was in fine working Saturday before it was to be shipped to Green Bay from Watertown that evening after being driven there.

On Monday morning the Madison Wagon had not arrived and Mr. Baker conferred with the Commissioners and both Farrand and Cowles as to how to proceed. The steam wagon had not yet arrived at Watertown. It was decided that the Madison Wagon could, if possible, enter the contest at Fort Atkinson. There was also a Milwaukee Wagon, but it ran into problems prior to the start. Built by James Sheriff - the engine, and Richard Davis - the boiler, for Dr. Karouse of Sun Prairie, the single cylinder system failed to work properly and had to be scratched.

Looking like a fire engine pump of the day, the steam wagon was essentially a boiler on a carriage with the rear wheels driven by a chain drive system. The rear wheels were four feet eight inches in diameter and the front wheels have a diameter of four feet. The Oshkosh Wagon, as it was quickly labelled, weighed in at about 5,000 pounds. The inventor, Farrand was assisted by Eck. Gallagher and John Owen with Schermer also along for the journey.

The other steam wagon, built by E.T. Cowles, was driven in town on Sunday morning from his farm at Wequiock, not far from Green Bay. It was broadly similar in design to the Oshkosh Wagon, but had a horizon boiler and a rather complicated, overly complex (independent) suspension system and used a gear-driven transmission. That afternoon, the Cowles Wagon steamed up Washington Street and drew a considerable crowd in the process. Even at this late hour the exact route and even the exact starting time on Monday morning was an open question.

The starting time was originally announced on Monday morning as 9 o'clock, but the start was not until 11 o'clock due to the Cowles Wagon breaking through a culvert on its way to the starting point. The accident necessitated repairs to the governor and therefore a delay in the start. In the meantime, the two participants and Commissioners agreed to a plan where the Oshkosh Wagon stayed to the roads on the west side of the river and the Cowles Wagon to those on the east side of the river. The two would meet at Depere for a dinner and a reception hosted by the town in honour of the occasion.

The conditions laid down by the Wisconsin State Legislature were fairly straight forward to earn the $10,000 prize: the steam wagon had to be able to run at a speed of at least five miles in an hour of working time; be capable of climbing a grade of 200 feet to the mile; and demonstrate their practicality and applicability to general road and farm use. The Commissioner were tasked to attach heavy loads to the wagons, "test them in various ways," and conduct a "ploughing" match as they passed through Jefferson County at Olin's farm. The route to be followed was to follow the C&NW Rail Road as far south as Janesville and then from there to Beloit and finally into Madison, where the Commissioners would made a decision as the awarding of the prize monies.

The Oshkosh Wagon headed south from the corner of Broadway and Dousman towards Appleton, 89 miles away, while the Cowles Wagon was trundled off to the foundry to repair the injector which failed soon after the start. The initial hope was that it would catch up with the Oshkosh Wagon either that evening or the next morning. The Oshkosh Wagon arrived in Appleton on Tuesday at midday after spending the night in Wrightstown. As Farrand and crew were arriving in Appleton, Cowles was departing Green Bay - his machine leaving town with several toots from its whistle to the amusement of the townspeople. However, the Cowles Wagon was soon directed to take the freight train from Depere to Oshkosh.

On Wednesday morning, the Oshkosh Wagon departed Appleton shortly after 9 o'clock and arrived 80 minutes later in Menasha and then set of for Neenah, the "Flower of the Fox," where the crew enjoyed a luncheon at the Russell House. The start was delayed until after 1 o'clock as the Commissioners trued to ascertain the location of the "Green Bay machine." It was at this point that the Commissioners directed Cowles to proceed to Oshkosh. Heavy rains on a new road had made the progress of the steam wagon virtually impossible.

On Thursday, 18 July, the Cowles Wagon finally reached Oshkosh at just before 10 o'clock in the evening courtesy of a flatcar on the C&N Railway. The Oshkosh Wagon had arrived there under its own power, covering the 14 miles in two hours. Meanwhile, the Madison Wagon finally arrived in Watertown on Thursday and was directed to proceed to Oshkosh to participate in a series of tests. First thing on Friday morning, however, the Cowles Wagon had to spend time at the Morse machine shop and foundry undergoing repairs on a number of problems that seemed to be plaguing the steam wagon.

The program of events on Saturday was announced on Friday afternoon and would commence with a hauling test. This was predicated on the Madison Wagon arriving and the repairs to the Cowles Wagon being completed in time. The tests given by the Commissioners would be held at the Jones & Fosters lumber yard, after which the steam wagons would depart on their journey to Madison. Any machine not ready to depart at 1 o'clock in the afternoon would simply have to leave as soon as it could and catch up with the other(s) as quickly as possible.

The tests at Oshkosh got underway with the Green Bay Wagon finally ready to perform after spending the entire previous day being repaired. Without any word as to where the Madison Wagon was or when it would arrive, the Green Bay and Oshkosh steam wagons squared off against one another on Saturday morning. The first test was to haul a load of approximately three tons from the Foster & Jones lumber mill to the Oshkosh Fair grounds. Each steam wagon hitched a wagon to the machine and was then asked to negotiate the roads around the lumber mill, the route being one block around the mill on the loose sawdust which comprised the road surface.

After circling the block, the steam wagons headed for the Fair grounds hauling their loads. The Green Bay Wagon was in the lead with the Oshkosh Wagon trailing closely behind. After creeping closer to the Green Bay Wagon, the Oshkosh Wagon pulled out to pass the lead steam machine. Unfortunately, a wheel of the loaded wagon struck a hole on the outer edge of the road and the impact broke the log chain attaching the wagon to the steam machine. After a quick inspection, a toggle was devised to attach the wagon once again to the steam machine. When the Oshkosh Wagon started to pull off with its load, the jerk of the acceleration broke a pin, which necessitated one of the crew hastening to the machine shop to obtain a replacement.

This delay and the late start caused by the wait for the Madison machine led the Commissioners to ask that the loads be carried about on the streets of the town rather than being hauled to the Fair grounds as originally intended. This led to further excitement for the Oshkosh Wagon. With what was described as "considerable headway" in the Green Bay Daily State Gazette in its Sunday 21 July edition, the engineer of the Oshkosh machine was forced to suddenly "hold back" on the power after encountering a frightened horse in front of the Beckwith House. Without any means to effectively brake the heavily loaded wagon it was hauling, the lumber wagon veered sideways, the tongue being snapped off and the wagon crashing into the sidewalk and breaking one of the front wheels.

The load in the lumber wagon hauled about town by the Oshkosh Wagon tipped the scales at 9,100 pounds. Although the load of the Green Bay Wagon was not weighed, it was determined to roughly equal in weight. After dinner, the two steam wagons proceeded to the Fair grounds for the next test on the agenda.

The Commissioners asked each of the steam wagons to complete a lap of the one mile horse racing track. The Oshkosh Wagon did its initial laps of the track with a set of outside tires - or "shoes," in place, with a best time of 4 minutes and 35 (or 36) seconds being recorded. The Green Bay Wagon made three attempts and did not complete any of them without stopping for with overheated journals, a lack of power ("steam") or other mechanical problems. However, the Cowles crew soon thought that they had solved the problems.

Both steam wagons then lined up to do a lap head-to-head. At the start, the Green Bay Wagon got away much more quickly than the Oshkosh Wagon. The Cowles machine was obviously faster on the track, pulling away to open a gap of what was estimated to be nearly a quarter of a mile! As the steam wagon closed in on the distance post (the finishing post), it suddenly made a loud "Bang!" and coasted to a stop and refused to budge. The Oshkosh Wagon then sailed past the distance post with a time of 4 minutes and 41 seconds, accomplishing this time without its "shoes" in place.

This is perhaps the first recorded contest of self-propelled machines on a closed circuit. It certainly was a race since the object was to establish which of the machines could make it to the distance post first. This does lend a degree of validity to the old saying concerning the origin of motor racing: it was the result of the owner of the second automobile asking the owner of the first if he would like to see how fast they could go…. It must be noted that despite the extreme heat, the race - which is what Madison Wisconsin State Journal called it - attracted a considerable crowd.

After the laps of the Fair ground track were completed, repairs to the Green Bay machine commenced. The Commissioner had set 5 o'clock as the departure time for the steam machines to renew their journey to Madison by way of Waupun, 34 miles away. Each crew was allowed to determine the roads to be used. The actual starting time ended up being 7 o'clock. The newly repaired Cowles machine got barely two miles outside Oshkosh when it stopped, the problem being traced to the driving gears. The gears were removed and rushed to the Morse workshop where, once again, repairs were undertaken. The bearing were turned and the steam wagon was able to head south towards Waupun and arriving there at about 8 o'clock in the morning on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Oshkosh Wagon had proceeded towards Waupun and arrived there at just after 3 o'clock that morning. It had stopped for nearly two hours waiting for the moon to rise, there being no provisions for lighting its path. It had taken six hours and 25 minutes of travel time to cover the distance. It then departed at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and entered Watertown, 82 miles away, four hours and 30 seconds (!) later. On Monday, it arrived in Fort Atkinson at half past 11 o'clock that morning, covering the 21 miles in two hours and 10 minutes. The Oshkosh then sat awaiting word from the Commissioners concerning the test scheduled for that location.

On its way to Waupun, the Green Bay Wagon had another series of mishaps which slowed its progress considerably. It finally managed to reach Watertown, but the Oshkosh Wagon was now far ahead.

The Oshkosh Wagon participated in a plowing trial outside Fort Atkinson on the farm of a Mr. Snell. The Commissioners stated that the trial was conducted in a very satisfactory manner. The steam wagon used a gang of two plows to plow most of a 60-acre field, with a crowd of over 500 on hand to watch the event. After the trial, the steam wagon headed south to Janesville and reached Milton Junction, 13 miles, in two hours and 15 minutes. It then covered the eight miles to Janesville in an hour and two minutes. The Oshkosh crew arrived in Janesville at about 9 o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, the 24th, and the Cowles crew finally managed to arrive at 7 o'clock in the evening.

The Oshkosh Wagon did not linger long in Janesville. It set out for Madison, 40 miles away. After seven hours and eight minutes, it reached the State Capital that night, at about the same time that the Green Bay machine was arriving in Janesville. On Thursday morning, as crowds gathered to watch the Oshkosh Wagon perform laps around the Capital Park, the Cowles machine was reported to be heading for Madison.

The Oshkosh Wagon covered the 201 miles from Fort Howard in 33 hours and 27 seconds, beating the target time of 40 hours - five miles per hour - by a healthy margin. During the entire journey, the steam wagon pulled a wagon weighing 3,500 pounds. The Oshkosh Wagon weighed 4,800 pounds and when carrying enough coal and water for eight miles, the weight was 6,600 pounds. Its best time was the 57 mile stretch between Johnson's Creek and Fort Atkinson, which was covered in 11 hours and 30 minutes.

Eventually, two of the Commissioners travelling with the Green Bay Wagon arrived in Madison and reported that the machine was in a ditch outside Jefferson. While the Cowles crew struggled with their machine in a ditch, the Farrand crew proudly displayed their machine and performed laps around the streets of Madison. Needless to say, you can figure out the winner of these endurance trial.

References

Newspapers:
Green Bay, Wisconsin The Daily State Gazette

Madison, Wisconsin The Wisconsin State Journal

Books:
Allan E. Brown, The History of America's Speedways Past & Present (Second Edition), Comstock Park, Michigan: Allan E. Brown, 1994.

Peter Helck, The Checkered Flag, New York: Castle Books, 1961.

[Jim Thurman]

Originally posted by D-Type

Are you sure about the 1/20 mile or 80m circuits? It seems incredibly short. 1/4 mile (400m) or 1/5 mile (320m) seems the practical minimum.

Yes, these would be for Quarter Midgets for kids.

However, 1/8-1/12 miles have seen Micro/Modified Midgets or Mini Sprints in addition to Karts and Cycles. I'm aware of 1/8 mile ovals having races for Mini Stocks. Full Midgets have raced on 1/5 to 1/8 miles.

And full sized Stock Cars and open wheel classes have run quite often on 1/5 to 1/6 mile ovals. I'm aware of one track listed as 1/8 mile in Nevada that briefly raced Stock Cars.

Measuring has always been inexact and often dubious.

In doing some track archaeology, I stopped at the site of the old Auburn (CA) fairgrounds track. I stood there, at the edge of what was now a rodeo ground, with one turn still visible as a slight berm. Even taking into account the aluminum bleachers could have been moved forward, the presence of a bluff rising above what would have been the backstretch (mentioned in race reports) gave a definitive boundary. There is no way it could have been a 1/4 mile as listed. I told someone: "Maybe, maybe they could have gotten a 1/5 mile in there, but I wonder if it was smaller yet." A few years later and I read an item in a regional racing paper where it mentioned the track had been lengthened and "would now be a true 1/5 mile." They raced Modifieds and Stock Cars weekly there.

[fines]

Full-size Midgets also raced on 0.1-mile indoor circuits, even major sanctioning bodies!

And, as Jim has rightly pointed out, US track sizes are rough estimates, at best. Very few tracks were measured at all (always half a car's width - 3 feet? - from the inside edge!), and even if they were, the length was usually "rounded" up or down. I've seen a few documents giving accurate measurements, and they were usually about 5 to ten percent off the advertised figure - talk about "long" and "short" miles!;)

[Rob Semmeling]

Thanks Don, that's really crystal clear.

So the 1-mile horse racing track at Oshkosh Fairgrounds became the world's first (closed) racing circuit on Saturday 20 July 1878 - provided steam car racing is taken into account of course.

[JohnB]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling
The oldest non-oval circuit still in use is the Isle of Man Mountain Course, which has been used since 1911, with only slight modifications to its layout.

First used for the motorcycle T.T. in 1911, but the cars used it first in 1908 for the 'Four-inch' race, having used longer circuits from 1905 to 1907 - see the last track map on Darren Galpin's site here:
http://www.silhouet....cks/manxtt.html

[wolf sun]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling
I find circuits by far the most interesting aspect of motor racing - the places where it all happens. I'm probably in the minority with this, but their shapes, diversity and sheer number utterly fascinate me.

Belonging to the same minority, I´ve got two questions:

1. Which circuit features the steepest incline (to be actually used in a race, so Steilstrecke or Brooklands` Test Hill, etc. are out)?

2. Which circuit features the biggest difference between its lowest and highest point(s)?

(While thinking about the subject, another question - "why can´t Hermann Tilke work at Scalextric instead?" - cropped up, but I digress...)

[Darren Galpin]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling


First of all a correction: the 2003 edition of Alan Brown's Big Bible lists 6848 racing venues (excluding drag strips) for the United States alone. The book also includes Canada which slipped my mind earlier.

There are plenty of other venues not listed in the book - I've found them while researching early US racing and have been updating Allan Brown with them. You could easily add a hundred or more venues to that total.

[Rob Semmeling]

Thank you for the additions, John and Darren. I have edited the first post.

Will Allen be publishing an updated print Darren? I also noticed Rattlesnake Raceway, CA is missing from the 2003 edition, but I assume Allen knows about that circuit by now.

I have added a little miscellaneous section to the first post about circuits that pass over/underneath themselves. There are suprisingly little, although if I overlooked any I'd of course like to know!

Originally posted by wolf sun
1. Which circuit features the steepest incline (to be actually used in a race, so Steilstrecke or Brooklands' Test Hill, etc. are out)?

2. Which circuit features the biggest difference between its lowest and highest point(s)?

Good questions, of course. However, I deliberately left these out because there's just insufficient data to come up with an answer.

The Steilstrecke was not used for racing, but it was for related events including regularity/reliability trials. Otherwise, the usual suspects like Eau Rouge/Raidillon or Quiddelbacher-Höhe come to mind, but who knows what was found elsewhere? For example, the hill just before start-finish at Road America looks steep, but I've never seen any figures for it.

As for the second question: I can imagine that distinction belongs to one of the Targa Florio circuits given their length. But elevation difference alone does not say all that much. It also depends on length and how the elevation changes are distributed over the circuit.

[Darren Galpin]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling
Will Allen be publishing an updated print Darren? I also noticed Rattlesnake Raceway, CA is missing from the 2003 edition, but I assume Allen knows about that circuit by now.

I don't know if a reprint is planned, but one is usually done every 10 years or so, so 2013???

[simonlewisbooks]

On the most Dangerous circuit -
The TT course is used only twice a year but for a lot of races and with fields that are very big over races that are very long by motorcycle standards. The amount of rider-miles covered in those two meetings is enormous.
In terms of deaths : per mile : per rider , which would be a fairer assessment, it may well not be the most dangerous track out there. Some little used venue may well scoop that one on such a basis.

Oddly the rather similar Targa Florio course claimed only a very small number of lives (3?) before it's demise in 1977 and might count as one of the safer venues in racing history... but then , as we all know, you can get statistics to prove almost anything if applied in the 'right' way.

[JohnB]

Another question, possibly for your 'longest' section, which I was thinking about for absoultely no reason:-
What's the longest circuit used for a race with a massed start? I think (though of course I stand to be corrected) most of the early circuit races and later races such as the Targa Florio started competitors at regular time intervals or by handicap, so maybe the Nurburgring is a candidate, but were there longer ones?

[Barry Boor]

Pescara, certainly.

[Rob Semmeling]

The German Grand Prix took place at the 28.265 km circuit combining Nord- and Südschleife from 1927-1929 (it was named "Grand Prix of Nations" the latter year).

There were three classes: up to 1500cc, up to 3000cc, and over 3000cc. The big class got underway first, then the other two would follow with intervals of a few minutes. The two smaller classes usually had a decent number of entries, so surely that could be called a mass start.

The combined circuit was also used for motorcycle racing 1927-1931, with up to 41 riders getting away at once (500cc class at 1927 European Grand Prix). Later, it staged the Marathon de la Route events from 1965-1970. Although arguably not a race, it did have a mass start.


Another question I have been thinking about: the world's northern- and southernmost circuits. Arctic Raceway in Norway comes to mind regarding the former, while Tasmania or New Zealand might feature the latter?

Edit: looks like Teretonga Park, New Zealand might take that honour.

[fines]

Just spotted an error - I'm only surprised that Jim Thurman didn't catch that one: the oldest circuit still in use is not the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis (WI), aka the "Milwaukee Mile", but the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis (IN) by a few weeks.

[Jim Thurman]

Originally posted by fines
Just spotted an error - I'm only surprised that Jim Thurman didn't catch that one: the oldest circuit still in use is not the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis (WI), aka the "Milwaukee Mile", but the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis (IN) by a few weeks.

Michael, that distinction has always caused such a hassle and debate, that it usually hasn't been worth pointing out...at least on other forums So now you know why there was no comment from me...well, until now

[HistoricMustang]

As much as I hate to admit it the shortest lived purpose built circuit could very well be in my back yard.

The 3 mile Augusta International Raceway road course.

Only two events. The November 1963 NASCAR event and the March 1964 USRRC event.

Jim Hall: "You should have seen this space age successor to Tobacco Road. It is a drivers course and God help the airport jaded weekend warrior who gets loose at AIR".

Oh well.........................

Henry

[JohnB]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling
The German Grand Prix took place at the 28.265 km circuit combining Nord- and Südschleife from 1927-1929 (it was named "Grand Prix of Nations" the latter year).

There were three classes: up to 1500cc, up to 3000cc, and over 3000cc. The big class got underway first, then the other two would follow with intervals of a few minutes. The two smaller classes usually had a decent number of entries, so surely that could be called a mass start.

Yes, I'd call that a massed start. Must admit, I was thinking of the Nordschleife when I said the Nürburgring, so I'd forgotten Pescara, but as you point out the combined circuit was longer.

[uechtel]

Rob, did you consider taking up a race track in the first floor of a building...

http://www.dasracingteam.ch/video.htm

Just click on the top right links for "race inn" in the "CH-Motorsport" column to see what I mean ;)

Or do you only count FIA-sanctioned events...

Are there any know circuits in higher storeys?

[simonlewisbooks]

Originally posted by HistoricMustang
As much as I hate to admit it the shortest lived purpose built circuit could very well be in my back yard.

The 3 mile Augusta International Raceway road course.

Only two events. The November 1963 NASCAR event and the March 1964 USRRC event.

Jim Hall: "You should have seen this space age successor to Tobacco Road. It is a drivers course and God help the airport jaded weekend warrior who gets loose at AIR".

Oh well.........................

Henry

There was a short oval in Northern England sometime in the early 90s , Shildon, built to replace the defunct Aycliffe stock car track. The base was laid , the fence was in place and the spectator banks built . It just needed tarmac and final clearance from the local planners....you can guess what happened with next!
To top it all the fencing was stolen and apparently sold for scrap and in frustration the promotors abandond the site which is still visible today at the top of this aerial photo..
(http://maps.google.c...027122&t=k&z=16 )

Wonder how many other tracks were abandoned before completion?

[Rob Semmeling]

Thanks for that correction Michael, judging by the dates in Brown's book the Indiana State Fairgrounds track is indeed slightly older. It's all about the details!

Regarding the shortest lived purpose-built circuit: there was the Miami-Fulford Speedway, a wooden board track. It opened in February 1926, but before another race could be run a hurricane destroyed it in September. So exactly one meeting was held there.

And Markus: that's great stuff! Amazing how fast that Lancia Delta (?) is around Peter's kart track - which it still is, right? Kart tracks are a completely seperate kettle of fish, as far as I'm concerned.

[Darren Galpin]

Originally posted by uechtel
Rob, did you consider taking up a race track in the first floor of a building...

http://www.dasracingteam.ch/video.htm

Just click on the top right links for "race inn" in the "CH-Motorsport" column to see what I mean ;)

Or do you only count FIA-sanctioned events...

Are there any know circuits in higher storeys?

There used to be a kart track in Unterturckheim, Stuttgart, which was around the fifth floor or so of a multi-storey car-park, at least when I went there in 1996.....

[D-Type]

Does Fiat's test track on the factory roof count? I believe that a couple of races were held there.
On another thread I think there was reference to a hillclimb up the ramps of a multi-storey car park. In Paris?

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by D-Type
Does Fiat's test track on the factory roof count? I believe that a couple of races were held there.

Urban myth ....

Originally posted by D-Type
On another thread I think there was reference to a hillclimb up the ramps of a multi-storey car park. In Paris?

Rampe de Banville. There was an article about it by Joe Saward in Motor Sport, May 2007, based pretty much on a piece he wrote for Grandprix.com.

http://www.grandprix...ft/ftjs034.html

[Jim Thurman]

Originally posted by simonlewisbooks


There was a short oval in Northern England sometime in the early 90s , Shildon, built to replace the defunct Aycliffe stock car track. The base was laid , the fence was in place and the spectator banks built . It just needed tarmac and final clearance from the local planners....you can guess what happened with next!

Wonder how many other tracks were abandoned before completion?

Thanks for passing that story along. I thought that sort of thing only went on in the U.S.

With such a huge number of small ovals in the U.S., there have been several examples of tracks completed but never used as well as tracks that only saw a limited (or very limited) number of races.

Allan Brown's book mentions several, including a track in Arkansas that was built but never raced on, but I'll pass along a few that I recall, just from California...

Porterville Spinners Airport Speedway. Had a fairly long history as a flat track motorcycle track, but only held 6 auto races, all in 1988.

Thunder Park, Sacramento. Hosted 6 auto races in late 1979 and a few Kart races in early 1980 before the county would not re-new use permits.

Willits Speedway. Opened in late 1969 as a dirt track, ran 3 or 4 races (until the weather turned poor for the Winter). Paved for 1970, I believe only 3 events were held as large chunks of the asphalt came up.

San Diego Speedway, a 1 mile dirt circle (1947). Slim field turned up for a Big Car race and spectators were unhappy (to put it mildly). Race promoted by 1935 Indy 500 winner Kelly Petillo. That was the only race.

Blackstone Bowl, Fresno (1947). A high banked oval, reportedly 38 degrees. Ridiculously fast and terribly bumpy. Don Radbruch, who posted to TNF, told me he showed up, watched some cars practicing and said "No way" to driving. Very small field of cars, maybe only one race.

Feather River Speedway, Oroville. A 5/8 mile triangular dirt track that hosted only 1 race, an ARA Sprint Car race on July 4, 1953. A smaller oval was built for local racing. They managed a season and a half of racing on the 5/16 mile oval before the track manager sold the track preparation equipment (bulldozer and grader) and left...without telling anyone, even the track owner(!). Drivers showed up for the weekly races to find an unprepared track and no track manager.

[HistoricMustang]

Originally posted by D-Type
Does Fiat's test track on the factory roof count? I believe that a couple of races were held there.

Here she is:

http://historicmusta...splay&thread=41



Henry

[Rob Semmeling]

Another correction: turns out today that Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway is in fact not the world's longest oval used for racing.

The Autodromo Rafaela in Argentina was built in 1952 as a dirt oval of 4.662 km / 2.897 mi. It was paved in 1966, and has hosted an Indianapolis-style race over 300 miles.

Rafaela has an interesting motor racing history, dating back to 1919:

http://www.lacremaes...tomovilismo.htm
http://www.rafaela.c...o/autodromo.htm

Are there any members from Argentina out there who can tell us more about this country's numerous fascinating racing circuits?


P.S. I'd like to edit the first post but is is not allowed due to a time limit. Twinny, can you do something about that?

[Frank Verplanken]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling

The longest ever oval racing circuit is the Talladega Superspeedway, in Talladega, Alabama, United States, measuring 4.28 km / 2.66 mi. It opened in 1969 and is currently still in use.

I think Miramas was 5.0 kms long in its racing days. Not sure of its length and shape now as (IIRC) a BMW testing ground tho.

[Rob Semmeling]

You're right Frank! Thank you for pointing that out. I shall send Twinny a PM so hopefully I can edit the first post.

Although now a state of the art test centre, the Miramas oval does not seem to have changed in terms of length and shape judging from Google Earth. In fact, the outline of the chicanes is still visable too.

[fbarrett]

Friends:

If you want to know about U.S. tracks, Allan Brown's book is worthwhile. Thanks to this thread, I just bought a copy (from Tom Warth, who may have more) and found that out.

I do have one little-known track to add, though, Little Indy, a tiny dirt oval south of Grand Junction and north of Naturita in far Western Colorado. It's abandoned now, but the faded old sign survives along the highway, and you can still make out the basic form of the track from the weed-covered earthen banks. When a friend and I stopped to look, though, a grumpy old codger ran us off. So much for automotive history.

Frank

[Barry Boor]

Ah, the Grumpy Old Codger! He used to live next door to me.

[FrankB]

Originally posted by D-Type
On another thread I think there was reference to a hillclimb up the ramps of a multi-storey car park. In Paris?

In the late 80s / early 90s there was a time trial of some sort in one of the multi-storey car parks near Aston University. It must have had some kind of official sanction rather than just a bunch of boy racers as the car park was closed to the public and the police, although present, didn't seem in the least concerned about the tyre screaming activity going on over their heads.

[Rob Semmeling]

Our moderator Stuart (Twin Window) has kindly edited the first post, so it is now more comprehensive and correct! Thank you Twinny and all who contributed.

Originally posted by fbarrett
I do have one little-known track to add, though, Little Indy, a tiny dirt oval south of Grand Junction and north of Naturita in far Western Colorado.

Glad you found this thread of some use, fbarret. Why not inform Allan of the Little Indy track, I'm sure he'll appreciate it. Here is his website: http://www.speedwaysonline.com.

[Rob Semmeling]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling
A non-oval permanent circuit with bends in only one direction does not seem to have existed.

Thinking about this again, the Italian circuit of Enna-Pergusa arguably fits the bill, as it had only righthand turns in its original form from 1959-1969.

[Barry Boor]

I have this nagging thought that Enna was actually run anti-clockwise..... but I've been wrong before, many, many times.

[Rob Semmeling]

Well, both Daniel King's website and Guido de Carli's track database have it as clockwise, Barry.

Must have been a terrifyingly fast circuit back then.

[Barry Boor]

Fair enough. I did say, didn't I?

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling
.....A non-oval permanent circuit with bends in only one direction does not seem to have existed.....

Also a candidate for the fastest possible lap speed on a non-oval circuit, we have another to fill this bill:

Leyburn, Queensland, Australia. From memory 4.3 miles, with two airstrips joined by one tight bend, one huge curve (that I always reckoned was designed so a Liberator bomber could take the bend if it lost an engine just as it was supposed to take off), a taxiway and two further left hand bends.

When I suggested to Lionel Ayers that it would have been quick in a modern car, he reckoned that his Rennmax with a 5-litre Repco V8 would have lapped there at 160mph if it had a decent surface. What a turbo F1 car would do is anybody's guess, with the lap distance including three straights of over a mile each.

[Terry Walker]

Some candidates for permanent non-oval turn-in-one-direction circuits include:

Prewar German Grenzlandring - a sort of enlongated egg shape - still exists, but does it qualify as permanent?

Caversham in Western Australia's little-used triangle Circuit, part of the larger complex, probably qualifies. It was used for the first two or three six-hour races before they were switched to the more demanding "D" circuit. It's still there, but hasn't been used since the late 50s.

Sitges near Barcelona is close. More, however, like a sausage.

[Rob Semmeling]

Thanks for your input, guys.

Leyburn and Caversham are good ones, although airfield circuits arguably might not be considered permanent. Perhaps I should have written "permanent and purpose-built". The Grenzlandring was neither I believe.

Sitges has a slight kink in the backstraight that goes in the opposite direction of the two banked turns. And in any case, I'd certainly call it an oval.


Terry: will you be publishing updates for your excellent 'Fast Tracks' book on your website?

[Terry Walker]

I'm deep in another project at the moment, so updates have to wait. A new project is so much more interesting than an old one: like chewing gum (or a new wife).

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling
.....The Grenzlandring was neither I believe.....

The Grenzlandring was, as I understand it, a concrete ring used as a tank marshalling area by the German army...

Huge.

[Mark A]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling
You're right Frank! Thank you for pointing that out. I shall send Twinny a PM so hopefully I can edit the first post.

Although now a state of the art test centre, the Miramas oval does not seem to have changed in terms of length and shape judging from Google Earth. In fact, the outline of the chicanes is still visable too.

Layout and shape are identical to the original layout, in fact the original grandstands (minus roof) were still there until 1999 when they were knocked down and a new workshop (for F1) was built which did include a short section of replica grandstand.
The original time keepers building is also still there now with a glass control tower style top floor where the positions boards were situated in the past.

The chicanes have the original surface still intact (with grass growing through the concrete gaps) but the remainder of the oval was resurfaced some time ago, there is a bit of a step down onto the chicane surface, track control got upset when I once used the SE chicane on a lap Both 180deg bends have what could only be classed as a camber as it certainly isn't enough to call them banked.

It's been 8 years since I was last there but although many other areas have been updated the original oval with the dynamic platform (tarmac lake) doesn't look like it has changed in that time. In a standard road car back then 130mph was possible round those bends. The track is occasionally used for F1 testing when connected to the handling circuit to the west of the oval.

[Mal9444]

Rob: is there a reason you have left out the Northern Ireland road circuits? If you include the IoM Mountain course, a road circuit used exclusively for bikes, you need to include my own home backyard, Dundrod. Used briefly for cars (1950-55) it is still used at least twice annually for bikes, and is IIRC 7.2 miles long. Then there are the other N. Ireland bike circuits, such as Portrush, although they may not be long enough to feature.

Dundrod has about 19 corners and bends, not quite half of which are left-handers - again IIRC.

[Rob Semmeling]

If I've left out anything, Malcolm, it's only because of ignorance!

The thread is basically about extremes - the longest, fastest, most twisty etc etc. Where does Dundrod fit in? Impressive as it is, it doesn't seem to be the most extreme circuit strictly in terms of numbers.

My 'longest current circuits' list only includes permanent venues of six kilometres and over, that's why Le Mans, for example, also isn't there.

[Rob Semmeling]

Originally posted by Rob Semmeling


Also noteworthy: the 2.87 mi / 4.6 km Greenwood Roadway near Des Moines, Iowa, United States, was active from 1963-1966 and featured seven or eight righthanders in succession, depending on how one counts. However, the circuit also included several bends to the left.

It occured to me the other day the infamous Ceasar's Palace circuit in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, is also noteworthy in this respect. It featured seven lefthand turns in succession.