Rockingham will close at the end of this year

Yes, it is true. One of Britain’s best loved and widely used racetracks will be closing forever at the end of this year.

Over the years Rockingham Motor Speedway has been a regular venue for the BTCC and British Formula 3. The 1.48 mile oval and 1.98 mile road circuits were also a place for thousands of petrol heads to hone their driving skills in their own cars on track days.

An aerial shot showing the Rockingham grounds and the various in-field circuits. Credit – John Fielding

 

The lap record for the oval circuit is 24.719 seconds, held by Brazilian Tony Kanaan in a Lola-Ford B1/00. Rockingham’s in-field long circuit lap record is 1m 18:627, by Jack Harvey in his Formula Three Dallara-Volkswagen F312.

The atmosphere of Rockingham is what set it apart from other British-based circuits. It was the first banked oval-shaped circuit since Brooklands closure in 1939 and has seating for 52,000 spectators, most of whom can view the majority of the racing on the in-field tracks.

It is a great shame for British motorsport that Rockingham has been deemed financially unsustainable but for the meantime its doors are still open for track days until the end of the year. To experience a track unlike any other in the U.K. book yourself in and take your ‘track-weapon’ or even ‘daily driver’ out to give this historic circuit a proper send off.

Rockingham attendance was usually high for BTCC weekends. Credit – EMDN