Rockingham Motor Speedway
Rockingham Motor Speedway is a former racing motorsport venue in the United Kingdom, that hosted corporate driving days, driver training, conferencing and exhibitions, vehicle manufacturing events, track days, testing, driving experiences and motor racing. It claims to be Europe's fastest racing circuit, and was the first banked oval constructed in Britain since the closure of Brooklands in 1939. The venue hosted its last day of racing in November 2018 after being sold by its owners and will be redeveloped to become a logistics hub for the car industry.
The Circuit
Rockingham had 13 configurations of track, which could be used for anything from touring cars to motorcycles to rally cars. The circuit was overlooked by the 6280 seat Rockingham Building, a steel-framed, glass-fronted grandstand building containing suites, offices, bars and kitchens, and by four grandstands. Together the building and grandstands offered a total seating capacity of 52,000. The inner pit and paddock complex was accessed from the Rockingham Building via two pedestrian tunnels and there was a further spectator viewing area on top of the pit garages.The Oval Circuit
The 1.48 mile American-style banked oval circuit was wide and had a maximum bank angle of seven degrees and comprised four very distinct corners. Rockingham's oval was unique in the UK and one of only two speedways in Europe. The oval circuit could also be converted to a road course layout for events by positioning temporary chicanes and curves both on the main area and apron of the circuit.Over the weekend of 20–22 September 2001, the Champ cars came to England for the first time to contest the Rockingham 500, a round of the CART FedEx Championship Series. Since the event was just a week after the 11 September terrorist attacks and subsequent closing of US airspace, the event was in jeopardy. However, the logistics were worked out, with many of the teams stripping off their sponsors' logos as a mark of respect for the victims of the attacks. The race distance was also shortened to 300 km. Victory was snatched on the exit of Turn Four of the last lap by Gil de Ferran driving the Marlboro Team Penske Honda–powered Reynard 01i at a race average speed of 153.41 mph from Kenny Bräck at the wheel of the Team Rahal Lola-Ford Cosworth B1/00, and the Newman-Haas Racing Lola-Toyota B1/00 driven by Cristiano da Matta. The fastest lap, and therefore outright lap record was set by Patrick Carpentier in 25.551secs in the Player's Forsythe Racing Reynard-Cosworth. Carpentier became for first Canadian to ever hold the outright lap record at an English circuit.
The US-based series returned in September 2002. This was the last time Champ Cars raced at this facility. The race ran over the full distance of 500 km, Scotland's Dario Franchitti took the chequered flag in his Team KOOL Green Lola-Honda, beating Cristiano da Matta by just 0.986 of a second.
The International Super Sportscar Circuit (ISSC)
The ISSC was 1.94 miles long and between 18.3 and 11 metres wide, with a maximum bank angle of seven degrees at turn one. Rockingham's International Super Sportscar Circuit was used by the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship as well as for most other car race events. The circuit combined long straights, sweeping high-speed bends with a lower speed, highly technical infield layout. Average lap speeds around the circuit ranged from 1m 24s in the BTCC to 1m 12s in British F3.Wet Handling Facility
The site had a wet handling area with a kick plate which was used to simulate a variety of driving conditions including ice, rain and slippery wet leaves. These different road conditions were simulated at much slower speeds than in normal driving and in a fully controlled environment. The area was designed to give drivers a greater understanding of the latest ABS, traction control and crash mitigating technologies, and the way that they affect vehicle control.History
Construction of Rockingham started late in 1999, with the opening meeting planned for May 2001.Rockingham Motor Speedway was constructed on a British Steel works brown field site as a banked oval with the intention of bringing the American oval racing across the Atlantic for the first time. The opportunity was taken to use the infield for further circuits.
After almost ten years of planning and 23 months of construction work, Rockingham opened for business on Monday 15 January 2001. It was formally opened by the Queen on 26 May 2001.
The end of racing
After the sale of the venue, Rockingham held a "super send off" to mark its final day as a racing circuit on 24 November 2018. Much of the site will become a logistics hub for automotive logistic companies.Records
Oval lap records
Rockingham is Europe's fastest banked oval racing circuit, with the lap record for the oval set at 24.719 seconds by Tony Kanaan in his Lola-Ford Champ Car on 22 September 2001 – an average speed of. Rockingham was 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 and a racing circuit.| Series | Date | Driver | Car | Time |
| Champ Car | 22 September 2001 |  Tony Kanaan | Lola-Ford B1/00 | 24.719sec |
Road course lap records
International Super Sports Car Circuit
Lap records around the International Super Sports Car Circuit| Series | Date | Driver | Car | Time |
| British Formula Three | 30 September 2007 |  Marko Asmer | Dallara-Mercedes F307 | 1m 12:620 |
International Super Sports Car Long Circuit
Lap records around the International Super Sports Car Long Circuit| Series | Date | Driver | Car | Time |
| British Formula Three | 10 June 2012 |  Jack Harvey | Dallara-Volkswagen F312 | 1m 18:627 |
Major racing results
CART Championship
| Year | Race | Driver | Constructor |
| 2001 | Rockingham 500 + | Gil de Ferran | Reynard Motorsport Honda 01i |
| 2002 | Sure For Men Rockingham 500 |  Dario Franchitti | Lola Cosworth B2/00 |
+ Race shortened due to lack of practice.
British Formula Three season
British Touring Car Championship
British Superbike Championship
+ Qualification cancelled due to dangerous track conditions, grid decided by championship positions.Other events
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.| Year | Overall Winner | co-driver | Car |
| 2004 | John Stone | Lee Carter | MG Metro 6R4 |
| 2004 | John Stone | Lee Carter | MG Metro 6R4 |
| 2005 | Steve Simpson | Mark Booth | Hyundai Accent WRC |
| 2006 | Steve Simpson | Simon Hunter | Hyundai Accent WRC |
| 2007 | Steve Simpson | Simon Hunter | Hyundai Accent WRC |
| 2008 | Steve Simpson | Simon Hunter | Hyundai Accent WRC |
| 2009 | Steve Simpson | Simon Hunter | Hyundai Accent WRC |
| 2010 | Tony Racey | Paul Heath | Subaru Impreza |
| 2011 | Pete Rayner | Aron Rayner | Ford Escort Mk.II |
| 2012 | Paul King | Alicia Miles | Ford Escort RS |
Oval racing
From 2001 to the end of 2007, Rockingham organised and funded American-style Stockcar racing on the oval. Originally known as ASCAR, the series changed name to "Days of Thunder", and then to SCSA, 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 end of promotion and funding for the series, and low grids in 2007 led the organising club to amalgamate it with a road course series, and eventually to the demise of both championships before the end of 2008.Other activities
The circuit was operational 357 days a year and the majority of events that took place at the venue were not motorsport competitions. Events ranged from manufacturer product launches to dealer training, track days and testing, and corporate and experience days.City Auction Group
The City Auction Group holds an auction weekly at the circuit.Filming
Television
- Fifth Gear
- Wheeler Dealers
- Saturday Night Takeaway
- The Grand Tour
- Top Gear
Magazines and newspapers
Education
The Learning Grid Rockingham Festival in the first week of July promotes science and engineering to school pupils.Shows and exhibitions
The venue has a sizeable showground area which has hosted the following shows:- The French Car Show
- The Site Equipment Demonstration Show
- Greenfleet
- The LCV Show
- Stobart Fest
- Japfest 2