Thruxton Circuit

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Thruxton

Location	Andover, United Kingdom
Time Zone	GMT
Major events	British Truck Racing, British Touring Car Championship, British F3, British Superbikes
Circuit length	3.793 kilometres (2.356 miles)
Turns	11
Lap record	1:01.96 (Earl Goddard, Fred Goddard Racing, 2000)

Thruxton Circuit is a notable attraction for visitors to the Hampshire village of Thruxton, originally built in 1940 as a World War II airfield and home to both the RAF and USAF, it was used for troop-carrying aircraft and gliders during the D-Day landings. In 1946 it was decommissioned; motorcycle racing started in 1950 followed by cars in 1952. In 2007 there will also be 4 bicycle races and more information about this can be found at the British Cycling website.

[edit] Motorsport Activities

Owing to planning restrictions, the circuit can only run 12 days of motorsport each year. Currently, three are devoted to motorbike racing, with a weekend dedicated to the British Superbike championship, Britain’s premier motorcycle racing category; with the third day being used for club racing. The remainding days are devoted to car racing with weekends being used for the TOCA British Touring Car Championship, the British Formula 3 and British GT package and the new for 2006 Dunlop Great and British Festival, which features rounds of the British Truck Racing Championship, the International Truck Racing Challenge as well as the staples of the festival, including the Radical endurance races. Two separate one day meetings are run for amateur championships of the BARC, one of which is entitled the ‘Thruxton Classic’, which features races for Classic Touring Cars, Classic Formula Ford 1600 and Formula Ford 2000. The remaining day is allocated to other organising clubs, such as the 750 Motor Club and Historic Sports Car Club. Owing to the relative infrequency of race meetings, Thruxton continues to be a popular part of the motorsport calendar.

[edit] Points of Interest

During race weekends, a radio commentary service entitled Radio Thruxton operates on the Medium Wave band on 1602kHz. This has commentators at the key points of the track, namely, the aforementioned Chicane and Complex as well as a pit reporter, who conducts interviews with the race winners.

Outside of motor racing, the circuit offers a driving school for aspiring racing drivers, plus featured as the venue for BBC3’s series ‘Stars and Fast Cars’

Coordinates: 51°12′37″N, 1°36′2″W

British motor racing circuits
Anglesey - Brands Hatch - Cadwell Park - Castle Combe - Croft - Donington Park - Goodwood - Knockhill - Lydden - Mallory Park - Oulton Park - Pembrey - Rockingham - Silverstone - Snetterton - Thruxton