Aintree Motor Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in the village of

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. I ...

Metropolitan Borough of Sefton The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It was formed on 1 April 1974, by the amalgamation of the county boroughs of Bootle and Southport, the municipal borough of Crosby, the urban districts of ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The circuit is located within the

Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, bordering the city of Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over ...

and used the same grandstands as horse racing. It was built in 1954 as the " Goodwood of the North", hence the fact the two venues had so many things in common. The track was well surfaced and relatively flat – ranging from in elevation.

History

The circuit has hosted the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Cha ...

five times, in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangs ...

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

and

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

. In addition to the Grands Prix, which were organised by the

British Automobile Racing Club The British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) is one of the biggest organising clubs for auto racing in the United Kingdom. History The Cyclecar Club was formed in 1912, running races for the small and light motorbike powered vehicles at Brooklands ...

, the circuit also held eleven non-championship Formula One races, known as the

Aintree 200 The BARC 200 was an annual motor race organised by the British Automobile Racing Club from 1954 to 1984. it was a revival of the pre-war 200 mile races organised at Brooklands and Donington Park by the BARC's predecessor, the Junior Car Club, and ...

, first won by

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of com ...

in 1954 with the last winner being

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in , , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name. Brabham was a R ...

, in April 1964 (Brabham had made his Formula One debut at the circuit in the 1955 British GP). Aintree was the location for the famous race in 1955 in which Moss won his first British Grand Prix, driving a Mercedes. Two years later, he and Tony Brooks became the first British drivers to win both the British Grand Prix and a round of the Formula One World Championship whilst driving a British car, a Vanwall. The 1957 Grand Prix was also given the honorific "

European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a count ...

" title and was the premier Formula One event of the season, attracting 150,000 spectators. The full Grand Prix circuit was last raced on in 1964, but part of it – the Club Circuit – is still open, having been operated by the Aintree Circuit Club from the mid-1960s to the late 1990s. In the 1980s the 108 Car Club ( St. Helens) brought rallying back to Aintree Circuit revitalising the circuit's use with new and innovative ideas. A limited amount of motor sport continues today in the form of car sprints, track days and motorcycle racing on the Club Circuit. The motorcycle events have been organised by Aintree Motor Cycle Racing Club since 1982, who run six events at Aintree each year. The car events are organised by Liverpool Motor Club in the form of three sprints, in April, June and September and two track days in May and August on the club circuit. Nick Algar, the 2010 British Sprint Champion, set a new course record of 35.82 seconds on the sprint course on 26 June 2010 in a Gould GR55 3500cc. The record was previously set by Roy Dawson on 8 September 2007 in the same car, in a time of 36.03 seconds. Nick Algar's speed through the finish line speed trap was , although he did manage a speed of on an earlier timed run that day. In addition, the Club Circuit sees occasional use by visiting events such as the Greenpower Electric Car Races for Schools, Sporting Bears Motor Club giving Dream Rides for charity, and also bicycle racing. The Club Circuit itself is situated within the Aintree Grand National Course, and in turn, contains a public nine-hole golf course operated by Aintree Racecourse.

Race lap records

The fastest official race lap records at the Aintree Motor Racing Circuit are listed as:

References

External links

Aintree Circuit ClubLiverpool Motor ClubAintree Motor Cycle Racing ClubAintree - Description and Image GalleryCourse guide on GG.COMCourse guide on At The RacesAintree Motor Racing Circuit on Google Maps (Historic Formula 1 Tracks)
{{Authority control British Grand Prix Formula One circuits Motorsport venues in England