Rockingham Motor Speedway

This article is about a race track in England. For the former NASCAR track in Rockingham, North Carolina, see Rockingham Speedway.

Rockingham Motor Speedway

The "oval" speedway The road courses
Location	Northamptonshire, England
Coordinates	52°30′54″N 0°39′27″W
Opened	2001
Major events	BTCC British Superbikes British F3 Pickup Truck Racing British GT Championship
Oval Circuit
Length	1.47 mi (2.38 km)
Turns	4
Banking	3.5 – 7.9º
Lap record	0:24.719 (Tony Kanaan, Lola–Ford, 2001, CCWS)
International Super Sports Car Long Circuit
Surface	Tarmac
Length	2.05 mi (3.299 km)
Turns	13
Banking	7.0º (turn 1)
International Super Sports Car Circuit
Surface	Tarmac
Length	1.94 mi (3.12 km)
Turns	12
Banking	7.0º (turn 1)
National Circuit
Surface	Tarmac
Length	1.70 mi (2.74 km)
Turns	9
Lake Circuit
Surface	Tarmac
Length	0.67 mi (1.08 km)
Turns	5
Handling Circuit
Surface	Tarmac
Length	0.97 mi (1.56 km)
Turns	4

Rockingham Motor Speedway's Main Grandstand

Rockingham is the UK's most modern^{[citation needed]} motorsport venue and Europe's fastest racing circuit, hosting corporate driving days, driver training, conferencing & exhibitions, vehicle manufacturing events, track days, testing, driving experiences and motorsport. It is also the only intermediate oval in the UK and unique in its quadrilateral shape.

Located in Northamptonshire, Rockingham falls under the control of two local authorities. The main entrance is in Corby but the actual track is situated in East Northamptonshire.

Rockingham is accessible from the A1, M1, A14, A43 and A6116 and is 30 minutes from Bedford.

The nearest train station is Corby, which is two miles from the circuit and runs an hourly direct service to London St Pancras International.

History

It was opened by the Queen on 26 May 2001. Rockingham is Europe's fastest banked oval racing circuit, with the lap record for the 1.47 miles (2.37 km) oval set at 24.719 seconds by Tony Kanaan in his Lola–Ford Champ Car on 22 September 2001 – an average speed of 215.397 miles per hour (346.648 km/h). Rockingham is the first purpose-built banked oval in the UK since Brooklands in 1907. It has an all-seating capacity of 52,000, and has both an oval (North American style), and a road circuit (most common in European countries).

Structural characteristics

The length of the oval circuit is a total of 1.47 mi (2.37 km), and the length of the main road course is 1.94 mi (3.12 km). In total, there are fourteen configurations of track, which can be used for anything from touring cars to motorcycles to rally cars.

The site has seen declining crowds in the past few years and has been struggling to keep hold of some of its major events. However in 2008, a crowd in excess of 40,000 showed up for the BTCC event, a record for this event at Rockingham.

Events

British Formula 3

• Rockingham has held rounds of the British F3 championship in 2002 and 2003, before becoming a regular venue from 2007 onwards.
• Previous winners of this race include ex F1 driver Nelson Piquet, Jr.

Previous Results

British GT Championship

• Rockingham has held rounds of the British GT championship since 2006.

The Rockingham Stages

On 12 December 2004, the first Stage Rally, the Rockingham Stages, was held at the venue. This was jointly promoted by Middlesex County Automobile Club and Thame Motorsport Club. Cars are separated into classes as follows:

Class	Regulations
Class 1	2wd up to 1400cc
Class 2	2wd 1401-1600cc
Class 3	2wd 1601-2000cc
Class 4	2wd 2001cc+
Class 5	4wd

The rockingham Stages results
Year	Date	Overall Winner		Class 1		Class 2		Class 3		Class 4		Class 5		Class 7 (Historic)
2009	5 & 6 December	Steve Simpson Simon Hunter	Hyundai Accent WRC	Ian Burton Bill Smith	Fiat Uno	Stuart Bliss Richard Marsh	Honda Civic	Pete Rayner Richard Bonner	Ford Escort MkII	Robert John Dennis Alun Griffiths	Ford Escort	Keith Jones Denny Harris	Subaru Impreza	John Kirkpatrick Jonathan Turnbull	Sunbeam Lotus
2008	December	Steve Simpson Simon Hunter	Hyundai Accent WRC	Ian Burton Bill Smith	Fiat Uno	Mark Chapman Kevin Harbour	MG ZR	Andy Baker Neil Thomson	Peugeot 205 GTi	Richard Upton Paul Bareham	Ford Sierra Cosworth	Dick Mauger Steve McNulty	Ford Focus WRC	Russell Brookes Sean Moriarty	Talbot Sunbeam
2007	December	Steve Simpson Simon Hunter	Hyundai Accent WRC	Aron Rayner Scott Rayner	Citroën AX	Tim Seipel Martin Haggett	MG ZR	Andy Corner Ade Camp	Peugeot 205 GTi	Richard Upton Paul Bareham	Ford Sierra Cosworth	Martin Parkinnson Mark Freeman	Subaru Impreza

British Touring Car Championship

• After the first event at the venue in 2003 it has become a regular venue for the BTCC in 2007. Since the return in 2007 the event has been held round the International Super Sports Car layout.

Previous Winners

Pickup Truck Racing

• Rockingham plays host to many of the races in the Pickup Truck Racing series.

Past Events

Oval Racing

From 2001 to the end of 2007, Rockingham ran American-style Stockcar racing, originally know as ASCAR, the series changed name to "Days of Thunder", and then to SCSA (Stock Car Speed Association), before re-branding to the MAC Tools V8 Trophy for its final season in 2007.

All cars were UK variants of the American "ASA National-Tour" Howe Racing chassis, running with either Ford, Chevrolet or Pontiac bodies. A change of circuit ownership for 2006 saw the promotion of the series disappear. Valiant efforts by teams in 2007 saw an upturn in its fortunes, but the organising club (BRSCC) offered no support and amalgamated it with a road course series which led to the demise of both championships before the end of 2008.

Relics of the series are still used by Rockingham Motor Speedway to promote itself - with two SCSA cars on display on the infield near Turn 1, and at least one two-seat ASCAR is used on "experience days" for passenger rides on the oval.

British Superbike Championship

The British Superbike Championship held rounds at Rockingham from 2001 to 2003.

BSB Rockingham results
Year	Round		Date	Pole Position	Winning Rider	Winning Team
2003	7	R13	6 July	Shane Byrne†	Yukio Kagayama	Rizla Suzuki
		R14		Shane Byrne†	Yukio Kagayama	Rizla Suzuki
2002	7	R13	23 June	John Reynolds	Michael Rutter	Renegade Ducati
		R14		John Reynolds	Michael Rutter	Renegade Ducati
2001	?	R1	30 September	Steve Hislop	Sean Emmett	Reve Red Bull Ducati
		R2		Steve Hislop	Michael Rutter	Team Kawasaki
† Qualification canceled due to dangerous track conditions. Grid decided by championship positions.

CART

CART races were held at the track in 2001 and 2002, and were won by Gil de Ferran and Dario Franchitti respectively. The races were known as the Rockingham 500.

Cart Rockingham 500 results
Year	Rd	Name	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning driver	Winning team	Report
2002	15	Sure For Men Rockingham 500	Kenny Bräck	Jimmy Vasser	Dario Franchitti	Team KOOL Green	Report
2001	17	Rockingham 500	Kenny Bräck	Patrick Carpentier	Gil de Ferran	Team Penske

Non Motorsport Events

• The Learning Grid Rockingham Festival in the first week of July promotes science and engineering to school pupils.

• It is the location where Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, 'Beat The Boys' contest is held.

• on 17th September 2011 it will host the first ever Stobart Fest run by The Stobart Group

Lap Records

Oval lap records

Series	Date	Driver	Time
Champ Car	2001	Tony Kanaan	24.719s
Pickup Truck Racing	2006	Steve Dance	39.887s
SCSA	2003	Ben Collins	34.475s

Road Course Lap Records

British Touring Car Championship

Lap records around the International Super Sports Car Circuit

Date	Session	Driver	Car	Time	Average Speed
24 April 2010	Qualifying	Tom Chilton	Ford Focus	1m 23.363sec	83.77 mph
18 September 2011	Race	Frank Wrathall	Toyota Avensis	1m 24.550sec	82.60 mph

British F3

Date	Session	Driver	Car	Engine	Time	Average Speed
30 September 2007	Race	Marko Asmer	Dallara F307	Mercedes	1m 12.620sec	96.17 mph
17 July 2010	Qualifying	Oliver Webb	Dallara F308	Mercedes	1m 12.147sec	96.80 mph

British GT

Date	Driver	Car	Class	Time	Average Speed
30 September 2007	Allan Simonsen	Ferrari 430	GT3	1m 21.874sec	85.30 mph
31 May 2009	Nigel Moore	Ginetta G50	GT4	1m 27.743sec	79.59 mph

Formula Ford

Date	Driver	Chassis	Time	Average Speed
17 July 2010	Tio Ellinas	Mygale SJ09	1m 21.058s	86.15 mph

External links

• Rockingham.co.uk – Rockingham Motor Speedway official site
• Rockingham Speedway – Description and Gallery
• BBCi: Rockingham Motor Speedway
• Learning Grid Rockingham Festival
• Pickup Truck Racing
• Satellite image by Google Maps

A panorama of Rockingham