1.
Formula One
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Formula One is the highest class of single-seat auto racing that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile. The FIA Formula One World Championship has been the form of racing since the inaugural season in 1950. The formula, designated in the name, refers to a set of rules, the F1 season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held worldwide on purpose-built F1 circuits and public roads. The results of each race are evaluated using a system to determine two annual World Championships, one for drivers, one for constructors. The racing drivers are required to be holders of valid Super Licences, the races are required to be held on tracks graded 1, the highest grade a track can receive by the FIA. Most events are held in locations on purpose-built tracks, but there are several events in city centres throughout the world. Formula One cars are the fastest road racing cars in the world. Formula One cars race at speeds of up to approximately 375 km/h with engines currently limited in performance to a maximum of 15,000 RPM, the cars are capable of lateral acceleration in excess of five g in corners. The performance of the cars is very dependent on electronics – although traction control and other driving aids have been banned since 2008 – and on aerodynamics, suspension, the formula has radically evolved and changed through the history of the sport. F1 had a global television audience of 425 million people during the course of the 2014 season. Grand Prix racing began in 1906 and became the most popular internationally in the second half of the twentieth century. The Formula One Group is the holder of the commercial rights. Its high profile and popularity have created a major merchandising environment, since 2000 the sports spiraling expenditures and the distribution of prize money favoring established top teams have forced complaints from smaller teams and led several teams to bankruptcy. On 23 January 2017 it was confirmed that Liberty Media had completed its $8 billion acquisition of Delta Topco, the Formula One series originated with the European Grand Prix Motor Racing of the 1920s and 1930s. The formula is a set of rules that all cars must meet. Formula One was a new formula agreed upon after World War II during 1946, the first world championship race was held at Silverstone, United Kingdom in 1950. A championship for constructors followed in 1958, national championships existed in South Africa and the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Non-championship Formula One events were held for years, but due to the increasing cost of competition
2.
South Africa
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
3.
Tyrrell Racing
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The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the early 1970s, when it won three Drivers Championships and one Constructors Championship with Jackie Stewart. The team never reached such heights again, although it continued to win races through the 1970s and into the early 1980s, the team was bought by British American Tobacco in 1997 and completed its final season as Tyrrell in 1998. Tyrrell Racing first came into being in 1958, running Formula Three cars for Ken Tyrrell, throughout the 1960s, Tyrrell moved through the lower formulas, variously giving single seater debuts to John Surtees and Jacky Ickx. But the teams most famous partnership was the one forged with Jackie Stewart, Tyrrell ran the BRM Formula Two operation throughout 1965,1966 and 1967 whilst Stewart was signed to the Formula One team. Tyrrell then signed a deal to run Formula Two cars made by French company Matra, Stewart was a serious contender, winning several Grands Prix in the Tyrrell-run Matra MS10. The cars most innovative feature was the use of aviation-inspired structural fuel tanks and these allowed the chassis to be around 15 kg lighter while still being stronger than its competitors. The FIA considered the technology to be unsafe and decided to ban it for 1970, for the 1969 championship, the Matra works team decided not to compete in Formula One. Matra would instead focus its efforts on Ken Tyrrells Matra International team and build a new DFV powered car with fuel tanks. Stewart won the 1969 title easily, driving the new Cosworth-powered Matra MS80 which corrected most of the weaknesses of the MS10, stewarts title was the first won by a French chassis, and the only one won by a chassis built in France. It was an achievement from a team and a constructor that had only entered Formula One the previous year. For the 1970 season following Matras merger with Simca, Tyrrell were asked by Matra to use their V12 rather than the Cosworth, Simca was a subsidiary of the American company Chrysler, a rival of Ford. Stewart tested the Matra V12 and found it inferior to the DFV, Tyrrell was still sponsored by French fuel company Elf, and Tyrrell would retain the traditional French blue racing colours for most of the rest of its existence. Tyrrell and Stewart ran the March-Fords throughout 1970 with mixed success, while Derek Gardner worked on the first in-house Tyrrell Grand Prix car at the woodshed in Ockham, the Tyrrell 001, which bore much resemblance to the MS80, emerged at the end of 1970. It earned Stewart a pole position in the Canadian GP but suffered mechanical failures in all of its 3 race starts, the nearly identical Tyrrell 003 won both Drivers and Constructors Championships in 1971, with strong driving from Jackie Stewart and François Cevert. Stewarts 1972 challenge was ruined by an ulcer, but he returned to full fitness in 1973. He and Cevert finishing 1st and 4th in the Championship, tragedy struck on 6 October 1973, as Cevert was killed in practice for the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Stewart, who was to retire at the end of the season, at the end of the season Stewart made public his decision to retire, a decision that was already made before the US Grand Prix
4.
Brands Hatch
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Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near Swanley in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts many British and International racing events. Gerhard Berger once said that Brands Hatch is the best circuit in the world, Paddock Hill Bend is a renowned corner. The longer Grand Prix layout played host to Formula One racing, including such as Jo Sifferts duel with Chris Amon in 1968. Noise restrictions and the proximity of residents to the Grand Prix loop mean that the number of race meetings held on the extended circuit are limited to just a few per year. The full Grand Prix Circuit begins on the Brabham Straight, an off-camber, slightly curved stretch, despite the difficulty of the curve, due to the straight that precedes it, it is one of the tracks few overtaking spots. The next corner, Druids, is a bend, negotiated after an uphill braking zone at Hailwood Hill. After the straight, the circuit climbs uphill though the decreasing-radius Surtees turn, the most significant elevation changes on the circuit occur here at Pilgrims Drop and Hawthorn Hill, which leads into Hawthorn Bend. The track then loops around the woodland with a series of mid-speed corners, most notably the dip at Westfield and Dingle Dell, the British Rallycross Circuit at Brands Hatch was designed and constructed by four-times British Rallycross Champion Trevor Hopkins. 0.9 miles long and completed around 1981, unlike earlier rallycross courses at Brands Hatch, cars start on the startline then veer right and downhill on the loose at Paddock Hill Bend. From Cooper Straight, the cars swoop up the old link road, Brands Hatch was originally the name of a natural grassy hollow that was shaped like a amphitheatre. Using the natural contours of the land, many cyclists from around London practised, raced, the first actual race on the circuit was held in 1926, over 4 miles between cyclists and cross-country runners. Within a few years, motorcyclists were using the circuit, laying out a three-quarter-mile anti-clockwise track in the valley. They also saw the advantage of competing in a natural arena just a few hundred yards from the A20, and with the passage of time, the first motorcycle races were very informal with much of the organisation being done on the spot. Initially the racing was on a strip approximately where Cooper Straight came to be when the track was tarmacked. In 1932, four local motorcycling clubs joined forces and staged their first meeting that March, motorcycle racing quickly resumed after World War II and in 1947, Joe Francis persuaded the BBC to televise a grass track meeting, the first motorcycle event to be televised on British TV. Following World War II, cinders were laid on the track of what was by then known as Brands Hatch Stadium and that was until 1950 when the 500 Club managed to persuade Joe Francis, that the future for his stadium lay in car and motorcycle road racing. The group behind 500 c. c. single-seater racing cars was the 500 Club and it, together with the owners, amongst those giving the demonstration was a very young Stirling Moss
5.
Sports car racing
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Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going models, a type of hybrid between the purism of open-wheelers and the familiarity of touring car racing, this style is often associated with the annual Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race. First run in 1923, Le Mans is one of the oldest motor races still in existence, other classic but now defunct sports car races include the Italian classics, the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia, and the Mexican Carrera Panamericana. Most top class sports car races emphasize endurance, reliability, and strategy, longer races usually involve complex pit strategy and regular driver changes. These makers top road cars have often very similar both in engineering and styling to those raced. This close association with the nature of the cars serves as a useful distinction between sports car racing and touring cars. The 12 Hours of Sebring,24 Hours of Daytona, and 24 Hours of Le Mans were once considered the trifecta of sports car racing. In the 1920s, the used in endurance racing and Grand Prix were still basically identical, with fenders. Cars such as the Bugatti Type 35 were almost equally at home in Grands Prix and endurance events, but specialisation gradually started to differentiate the sports-racer from the Grand Prix car. As mainly Italian cars and races defined the genre, the category was called Gran Turismo, as long distances had to be travelled, reliability and some basic comfort were necessary in order to endure the task. After the Second World War, sports car racing emerged as a form of racing with its own classic races. Top Grand Prix drivers also competed regularly in sports car racing, from 1962 sports cars temporarily took a back seat to GT cars with the FIA replacing the World Championship for Sports Cars with the International Championship for GT Manufacturers. The US scene tended to feature small MG and Porsche cars in the smaller classes, the combination of mostly British chassis and American V8 engines gave rise to the popular and spectacular Can-Am series in the 1960s and 1970s. Clubmans provided much entertainment at club-racing level from the 1960s into the 1990s, after a relative period of decline in the 1980s a British GT Championship emerged in the mid-90s. Road races such as the Mille Miglia included everything from stock touring cars to World Championship contenders, the Mille Miglia was the largest sporting event in Italy until a fatal accident caused its demise in 1957. The Targa Florio, another road race, remained part of the world championship until the 1970s. Between the late 1960s and late 1970s, Matra and Renault made significant, the competition at Le Mans even made it to the movie screens, with Steve McQueens film Le Mans. This era was seen by many as the highpoint of sports car racing, with the technology, a peculiarly American form of sports car racing was the Can-Am series, in which virtually unlimited sports prototypes competed in relatively short races
6.
1982 Indianapolis 500
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The 66th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30,1982. Gordon Johncock, who had won the rain-shortened 1973 race, was the winner. Rick Mears finished second by a margin of 0.16 seconds, in racing circles, the 1982 race is largely considered one of the best 500s in history, although it was marred by the fatal crash of Gordon Smiley during time trials. Johncock and Mears dueled over most of the final 40 laps, with Johncock holding off Mears on the final lap in a historic victory. The race is remembered for a controversial crash at the start triggered by Kevin Cogan, which took out Mario Andretti, damaged the car of A. J. Foyt. Officially the race was part of the 1981-82 USAC season, however, championship points for the 1982 Indy 500 were not awarded towards the CART title. For the first and only time in Indy history, a trio of brothers qualified for the same race, Don, Bill, and Dale Whittington all made the field, with Don finishing a strong 6th. Dale crashed out before the start, and never completed a lap in his career. Four-time Indy winner A. J. Foyt started on the front row, though he was caught up in the Cogan incident, his car was hastily repaired and he went on to lead 32 laps. Among many stories going into the 1982 month of May was the return of A. J. Foyt to the cockpit. In July 1981, Foyt had been involved in a crash at the Michigan 500, suffering a compound fracture to his right arm. Foyt was sidelined for months for recovery. The two key fixtures from the controversial 1981 race took different paths for 1982, bobby Unser took a sabbatical from racing, and would ultimately retire from the cockpit. Mario Andretti on the hand, was back with Patrick Racing, this time running a full season in the CART series. This would be the first time in years that Andretti would be spending the entire month in Indianapolis. One major rule change regarding time trials was implemented for 1982, all cars would be allowed only two warm up laps for qualifying, down from three, which had been the rule since 1946. On pole day, Saturday May 15, Kevin Cogan, driving for Penske Racing set a new track record of 204.638 mph. A few minutes later, he was beaten by his Penske teammate Rick Mears, Mears secured the pole position with a four-lap average of 207.004 mph
7.
Indianapolis 500
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The Indianapolis 500 is an automobile race held annually at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. The event is held over Memorial Day weekend, which is typically the last weekend in May and it is contested as part of the Verizon IndyCar Series, the top level of American Championship Car racing, an open-wheel formula colloquially known as Indy Car Racing. The name of the race is often shortened to Indy 500, the event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, which comprises three of the most prestigious motorsports events in the world. The official attendance is not disclosed by Speedway management, but the permanent seating capacity is upwards of 250,000, the inaugural running was won by Ray Harroun in 1911. The race celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, and the 100th running was held in 2016, alexander Rossi is the defending champion. The most successful drivers are A. J. Foyt, Al Unser, the active driver with the most victories is Hélio Castroneves, with three. Rick Mears holds the record for most career pole positions with six, the most successful car owner is Roger Penske, owner of Team Penske, which has 16 total wins and 17 poles. For a list of races and winners, see List of Indianapolis 500 winners, the Indianapolis 500 is held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5 mile oval circuit. Drivers race 200 laps, counterclockwise around the circuit, for a distance of 500 miles, since its inception in 1911, the race has always been scheduled on or around Memorial Day. Since 1974, the race has been scheduled for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, practice and time trials are held in the two weeks leading up to the race. Traditionally, the field consists of 33 starters, aligned in a grid of eleven rows of three cars apiece. The event is contested by Indy cars, a formula of professional-level, single-seat, open cockpit, open-wheel, as of 2015, all entrants utilize 2.2 L V6, twin-turbocharged engines, tuned to produce a range of 550–700 horsepower. Chevrolet and Honda are the current engine manufacturers involved in the sport, firestone, which has a deep history in the sport, dating back to the first 500, is the exclusive tire provider. The race is the most prestigious event of the IndyCar calendar and it has been avouched to be the largest single-day sporting event in the entire world. Likewise, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway itself is regarded as the worlds largest sporting facility in terms of capacity, the total purse exceeded $13 million in 2011, with over $2.5 million awarded to the winner, making it one of the richest cash prize funds in sports. Due to safety issues, the race is not held in wet conditions, in the event of a rain delay, the race will be postponed until rain showers cease, and the track is sufficiently dried. If rain falls during the race, officials can end the race, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex was built in 1909 as a gravel-and-tar track and hosted a smattering of small events, including ones for motorcycles. The first long distance event, in conditions, was the 100-lap Prest-O-Lite Trophy in 1909
8.
Formula Ford
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Formula Ford is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers, Formula Ford has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone into formula racing after karting. The series typically sees professional career minded drivers enter alongside amateurs, success in Formula Ford can lead directly to other junior formulae such as a Formula Renault 2.0 or a Formula Three seat. Formula Ford is not a one-make championship and it allows freedom of chassis design, engine build and numerous technical items of specification on the car. This opens the door to many manufacturers, large and small. Many other single-seater formulae impose fixed specifications, only two other professional single seater racing formulae in the world offer the same freedom of chassis and engine build, Formula Three and Formula One. Many aspiring Formula One stars looked to schools in the hope of learning the craft. However, although there was no shortage of aspiring drivers, these schools had much trouble avoiding bankruptcy. The 1-litre Formula Three engines, the 1. 1-litre Coventry Climax FJ and later the Ford Anglia 105E, furthermore, these engines were incredibly fragile and had a tendency to self-destruct. All these factors contributed to a maintenance and upkeep cost of the schools. In 1963, Geoff Clarke, the owner of Motor Racing Stables and this brought him in contact with John Webb, managing director of developments at Brands Hatch. At about this time, two of the school’s Lotus Formula Junior chassis were fitted with a standard 1498cc Ford pushrod engine as featured in the recently introduced Cortina GT saloon. The 1500 Cortina, with its reliability and horsepower output fairly close to “F3 proper” proved a resounding success in the school. The earliest experiments with radial tires bore fruit as well, the students of the day did not care that these were not the engines or racing tyres. Not only would make ideal school cars, but would also provide a new entry level formula for a race series. They felt if they called it “Formula Ford they could get backing from Ford itself, Webb was on the phone the next day to Ford competition manager Henry Taylor, who agreed to provide Clarke and MRS with 54 Cortina GT engines at £50 each. Webb also approached the Royal Automobile Clubs competition director, to establish rules for this new class, late in 1967, Ford announced the new Formula Ford class to the world. Clarke then set about approaching existing race car constructors to build the first Formula Fords, both Bruce McLaren and Jack Brabham turned down the idea, Colin Chapman however dusted off the obsolete Lotus 31 Chassis and reinvented it as the Lotus 51
9.
Circuit Park Zandvoort
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Circuit Park Zandvoort is a motorsport race track located in the dunes north of Zandvoort, Netherlands, near the North Sea coast line. There were plans for races at Zandvoort before World War II, however, a permanent race track was not constructed until after the war, using communications roads built by the occupying German army. Instead, it was 1927 Le Mans winner, S. C. H. Sammy Davis who was brought in as a track design advisor in July 1946 although the layout was partly dictated by the existing roads, the circuit was inaugurated on August 7,1948. The following year the race was called the Zandvoort Grand Prix, the 1952 Dutch Grand Prix was a round of the World Drivers Championship for the first time. There was no GP at Zandvoort in 1954, but 1955 saw the first proper Formula One race counting for the World Championship, in January 1987 this plan got the necessary green light when it was formally approved by the Noord-Holland Provincial Council. However, only a couple of months later a new problem arose, again the track, owned by the municipality of Zandvoort, was in danger of being permanently lost for motorsports. However, a new operating company, the Stichting Exploitatie Circuit Park, was formed and started work at the realization of the reconstruction plans. In 1995, CPZ got the A Status of the Dutch government and this project was finished in 2001 when, after the track was redesigned to a 4.3 kilometers long circuit and a new pits building was realized, a new grandstand was situated along the long straight. One of the events that is held at the circuit, along with DTM and A1GP, is the RTL Masters of Formula 3. A noise restriction order was responsible for this event moving to the Belgian Circuit Zolder for 2007 and 2008, however, the race returned to its historical home in 2009. Circuit Park Zandvoort played host to the first race in the 2006/07 season of A1 Grand Prix from 29 September–1 October 2006, the Dutch round moved to TT Circuit Assen in 2010. A1GP bankrupted before its season and the Dutch round was replaced with Superleague Formula. The circuit gained popularity because of its fast, sweeping corners such as Scheivlak as well as the Tarzanbocht hairpin at the end of the start/finish straight, Tarzanbocht is the most famous corner in the circuit. Since there is a camber in the corner, it provides excellent overtaking opportunities and it is possible to pass around the outside as well as the easier inside lane. On the other hand, many different stories about Tarzan Corner are known, in the history of the circuit, several fatal accidents have occurred. In August 1959 a 26th World Championships Road Race was held here, andré Darrigade of France won the 180 mi race, Tom Simpson was 4th. Since 2008, the course has been used as the venue for the Runners World Zandvoort Circuit Run, the 2010 edition of the race attracted Lornah Kiplagat, a multiple world champion, who won the ladies 5 km race. May 2013 starting 3 p. m. a 24-hours cycle race open for public for soloists, June 2015 the Cycling Zandvoort - 24-uurs race over 4307-m-laps took place
10.
Cosworth
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Cosworth is a high-performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing and mainstream automotive industries. Cosworth is based in Northampton, England, with North American facilities in Indianapolis and Mooresville, Cosworth has collected 176 wins in Formula One as engine supplier, ranking second with most wins behind Ferrari. The company was founded as a British racing internal combustion engine maker in 1958 by Mike Costin, both of the co-founders being former employees of Lotus Engineering Ltd. Cosworth initially maintained a relationship with Colin Chapman and the initial revenues of the company came almost exclusively from Lotus. When the company was founded in 1958, Duckworth left Lotus, the first Cosworth-designed cylinder head was for SCA series with a SOHC reverse-flow configuration similar to the Coventry Climax FWE engine. This resulted in the DFV, which dominated Formula One for many years, from this time on, Cosworth was supported by Ford for many years, and many of the Cosworth designs were owned by Ford and named as Ford engines under similar contracts. Another success by the BD series in the 1970s put Cosworth on a growing track, the company went through a number of ownership changes. In 1998, Vickers sold Cosworth and Pi Research to Ford, in September,2004 Ford announced that it was selling Cosworth and Pi Research, along with Cosworth Racing Ltd and its Jaguar Formula One team. On 15 November 2004, the sale of Cosworth was completed, to Champ Car World Series owners Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven, Cosworth Technology was then renamed as MAHLE Powertrain on 1 July 2005. Since 2006, Cosworth has diversified to provide engineering consultancy, high performance electronics, Cosworth supplied engines to one F1 team in 2013, the Marussia F1 Team. The following is the list of products with cylinder heads modified. In addition to the above, Cosworth designed and provided the work for Lotus Elan Special Equipment optional road engines with special camshafts. The final model of the initial series was the MAE in 1965. MAE used one barrel of a two barrel Weber IDA downdraft carburetor with the other barrel blanked off, the domination of this engine was absolute as long as these regulations lasted until 1968. As Cosworth had a serious difficulty meeting the demand, the MAE was mainly sold as a kit and this experience led to the later FVA/DFV contract to be drawn where the responsibility of development rested with Cosworth, and the manufacturing right and responsibility rested with Ford. There also were some specially cast iron heads with similar dimensions to these brazed heads with Titanium alloy valve spring retainers called the Screamer Head for MAE in later years, a year before the introduction of the MAE, the single overhead cam two valve SCA was introduced. Cylinder head to block sealing was by a head gasket incorporating Cooper Rings, the SCA initially had two 40DCM2 Weber twin-choke downdraft sand-cast carburetors mounted on top to produce 115 hp, which was replaced by Lucas fuel injection in 1966, eventually reaching 140 hp. Longer stroke SCB was built to compare against 1498 cc Mk and it was the results of this four valve development work that formed the basis for many of the Cosworth engines that followed
11.
Oulton Park
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Oulton Park Circuit is a motor racing track in the small village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about 5 miles from Winsford,13 miles from Chester city centre,8 miles from Northwich and 17 miles from Warrington with a rail connection along the Mid-Cheshire Line. It occupies much of the area which was known as the Oulton Estate. The track is set in the grounds of Oulton Hall, which were used as a staging camp by General Patton prior to the Normandy landings. At this time the famous boxer Joe Louis gave exhibition bouts at Oulton Park in the vicinity of the Deer Leap section of the circuit, the track is characterised by rapidly changing gradients, blind crests and several tight corners. The full circuit is 2.8 mi, the highest part of the course is Hill Top. Paddock facilities are reasonable in size with large areas of hard-standing, the race track can be adapted for shorter courses. The British Touring Car Championships uses all of the Cascades Corner and Lakeside and this hairpin cuts out all of the Island section of the circuit and takes the cars straight back over Hill Top. Beginning in 2007, all the circuits marshalling stations were redesigned with protective cages and this was to prevent incidents similar to those seen in the 2006 season when cars had collided with marshalling posts. A cage-protected marshals station was built at the bottom of the back straight near the chicane preceding Knickerbrook. In the early 18th Century the Oulton Estate comprised a manor house, by the end of the century this farmland was converted into a park, which now is the site of Oulton Park. Some buildings that were part of the estate still exist to this day, by the early 1950s England had a goodly number of motor racing tracks but the northwest was not well served. The members of the Mid-Cheshire Car Club took it on themselves to rectify the situation, the circuit they developed was on the estate of the Grey-Egerton family. With Sir Philip Gray-Egertons permission, a circuit was mapped out starting early in 1953 and by August the new track was in existence, measuring a sinuous 1.504 miles, almost rectangle in shape. The main event of the day as the 33-lap 49. 6-mile Formula Two race which was won by Tony Rolt driving Rob Walker’s Connaught A Type, the supporting Formula III event was divided into three 10-lap heats and a 17-lap final which went to Les Leston. It was a joint motorcycle and car event, the Wirral 100 Motor Club joining the Mid-Cheshire Car Club in organising it, the car side of the day was confined to three Formula III races and a final which was won by Glaswegian Ninian Sanderson from Ken Tyrrell. By April 1954, the track had grown to 2.23 miles in length, at Easter 1975, another circuit layout measuring 1.654 miles came into use. Oulton Park is unique amongst the new post-World War II circuits in that it is true road circuit whilst its contemporaries were, with one exception, converted airfields
12.
Mallory Park
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Mallory Park is a motor racing circuit situated in the village of Kirkby Mallory, just off the A47, between Leicester and Hinckley, in central England. Originally used for grass-track until 1955, a new, basically oval hard-surfaced course was constructed for 1956, with the car circuit measuring only 1.35 miles it is amongst the shortest permanent race circuits in the UK. However, chicanes introduced to reduce speeds in motorcycle events mean that the Superbike Circuit is now slightly longer, shorter UK circuits are Lydden Hill, Brands Hatch Indy circuit, Scotlands Knockhill and Silverstones diminutive Stowe circuit. The circuit has a number of formations, founded on a basic one-mile oval, with the majority of configurations including the extension to the tight. At the other end of the lies the long right-hand Gerards Bend. Gerards is about a third of a long and turns through nearly 200°. It was named after local racing hero Bob Gerard, who opened the newly reconstructed circuit on 25 April 1956, unusually, there are a number of large lakes occupying approximately half of the circuit infield. Despite its short length and Shaws Hairpin, the tightest corner of any UK track, to reduce speeds for motorcycle racing a pair of chicanes have been introduced, together with a revised exit to Gerards. In 2003 a new complex was added toward the end of Gerards curve and this sequence of bends was designed to reduce speeds on entry to Edwinas, and to prevent motorcycles from colliding as they jockey for position into the chicane. Mallory Park does not have any true permanent garage facilities, although there are a handful of open garages in the pitlane. The estate at Mallory Park has many connections, the oldest being the unique Anglo-Saxons defended moat which is now known as Kirkby Moats. Fast forward to the 18th century, when in 1762, Sir Cleoberry Noel became Viscount Wentworth, the title descended on the distaff side. Lord Byron married into the Wentworth family and it is said on his visits to Mallory, the last occupant of Kirkby Hall was Herbert Clarkson who died in 1941, when it was sold. During the Second World War, the circuit started life Royal Air Force Station Kirkby Mallory, a standby landing ground during WWII and closed in 1947. The hall was a house which was demolished in 1952, leaving only the stable block. The estate of 300 acres was sold by auction in 1953 and was bought by a Mr. Moult of Derby who planned to have horse racing on the disused pony trotting track. Following the war, Mallory became a pony trotting circuit in the late 1940s, after the financial collapse of the equestrian club responsible for the circuit, the track was hired by various motorcycle clubs for grass track motorcycle and motorcycle sidecar racing. For example, between September 1949 until 1954, the Leicester Query Motorcycle Club held grass track races, in 1955, the estate was purchased by Clive Wormleighton, under whose influence, the present tarmac was constructed at a cost of £60,000 in 1956
South African
Grid Racing
Emilio de Villota
Obermaier Racing
Euro Racing
A.O. Racing
Lyn St. James
Cathy Muller
Ron Fellows
