Raceway Venray, formerly known as Circuit de Peel, is a
motorsport
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
racing circuit in
Venray
Venray or Venraij (; li, Venroj) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, the Netherlands.
The municipality of Venray consists of 14 towns over an area of , with 43,494 inhabitants as o ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. The track consists of a banked half mile oval with a flat quarter mile oval inside and features a karting track using portions of both along with dedicated sections. The track host its own local championships, national championships in cooperation with the
Midland Circuit in
Lelystad
Lelystad () is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands, and it is the capital of the province of Flevoland. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who engineered the Afsluitdi ...
and
Circuit de Polderputten in
Ter Apel
Ter Apel (; Gronings: ''Troapel'') is a village with a population of 8,866 residents in the municipality Westerwolde in the northern Netherlands, in the province Groningen in the region Westerwolde. The town lies on the stream Ruiten Aa, which ...
.
The track is owned by
Harry Maessen, a local business owner who is also involved in several other motorsports projects, including the
BRL V6
The Benelux Racing League V6, better known as BRL V6, was a touring car racing series held in The Netherlands and Belgium between 2004 and 2009. It is the heavier variant on the BRL Light. For 2010, BRL cars were allowed into the Dutch Supercar C ...
and
BRL Light series,
Funpark Meppen and
Acceleration 2014
Acceleration 2014 was a multi-day festival combining top class car and bike racing with live music and other entertainment. The festival was organised by the International Sport Racing Association (ISRA), based in the Netherlands, and was held ...
.
History
M.C.V. Janslust
In 1961 the local people started hosting
motocross
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.
History
Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...
races in the village of
Heide, Venray. The goal was to raise money for a church, the current church of
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
. More than a hundred motocross racers attended the first event June 25, 1961. Motocross Club Janslust was founded to host the races under the sanctioning of the Roman Catholic Dutch Touring Club (the Roman Catholic variant of the
Royal Dutch Touring Club
The Royal Dutch Touring Club ANWB (), known simply as ANWB (), is a travelers' association in the Netherlands, supporting all modes of travel. It provides test reports, travel services and roadside assistance and is comparable to the German '' A ...
). The motocross became a yearly event. More than twenty years the annual motocross was run. However, in 1983 the organisation was dissolved. The motorcross of 1982 was canceled due to bad weather. The loss of 6,500
guilders
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empir ...
was a heavy burden for the organisation. The board of the organisation decided to end the motorcross activities.
Stichting Motor Cross Venray
After the dissolution of M.C.V. Janslust motorcross halted in the area. Former members Johan van Dijck, Jan Derikx and Harry Maessen founded a new
private foundation
A private foundation is a tax-exempt organization not relying on broad public support and generally claiming to serve humanitarian purposes. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest private foundation in the U.S. with over $38 billion ...
in 1983, Stichting Motor Cross Venray. The owner of the track in Heide did not allow any new motorcross activities. The new foundation first wanted to host races at
Castenray but eventually settled in
Ysselsteyn. The foundation expanded the already existing facilities of Motor Cross Club Venray which had been in use since 1977. The track was expanded to a length of 1,500 meters and renamed ''Circuit de Peel''. The track was located near the
Lieutenant General Best Barracks
Lieutenant General Best Barracks ( nl, Luitenant-generaal Bestkazerne), formerly De Peel Air Base ( nl, Luchtmachtbasis De Peel), is a Royal Netherlands Army guided missile base in the Netherlands. It currently has only one, though not actively ...
. The first race of the new organisation was held in 1984. Under sanctioning of the
KNMV and the
FIM
FIM may refer to:
Organizations and companies
* Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation
* Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States
* Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media
* ...
the first race was held on February 5, 1984. The international Pullshaw Nederland Trophy was attended by many international riders such as
Kees van der Ven
Kees van der Ven (born 1956/57) is a Dutch former professional motocross racer and team manager.
Van der Ven was one of the top competitors in the F.I.M. motocross world championships in the 1980s, winning 17 Grand Prix motocross races in the ...
and
Heinz Kinigadner. In its first years most races at Circuit de Peel were sanctioned by the
International Motor Bike Association.
Start of oval racing
![Circuit De Peel te Venray](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Circuit_De_Peel_te_Venray.svg)
At the end of 1989 the Circuit de Peel lost its licence to host the
Motocross World Championship
FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), divided into two distinct classes: MXGP and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus two laps per ...
Grand Prix. As this reduced the income of the track Harry Maessen decided to add an
oval track
Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traff ...
. On the 18th of August 1990 the inaugural races at the oval track were held. The track was 470 meters long and was made out of concrete. Track owner Maessen participated in the Super Stock class. In 1991 the first
Superstox
Superstox is a type of single seat formula racing, similar to Sprint car racing developed in the 1960s in the United Kingdom. Racing is 'contact' whereby drivers can use the front bumper to help dislodge any car in front. Like most other form ...
World Championship was held by the
Spedeworth organisation.
Darren Innocent won the prestigious race at Circuit de Peel. The track was paved with asphalt in the winter of 1995/1996. A
karting
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
track was laid out in the infield of the oval track and also an
autocross
Autocross (also called "Solo", "Auto-x" or "Autoslalom") is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface. It is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competitio ...
event was hosted at the oval. In 1999 the track started working with another oval track in the province of
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
the
JaBa Circuit. The coöperation made it possible for racing drivers to run both track championships without missing races. After the closure of
Circuit de Berckt the Circuit de Peel had a big increase in drivers and spectators. The track was extended to a length of 520 meters.
In 2005 stockcar racing in mainland Europe suffered a major loss. During the highly prestigious
Stockcar F1 World Cup at Circuit de Peel one of the drivers suffered a fatal accident.
Piet Keijzer from
Helmond
Helmond (; called ''Héllemond'' in the local dialect) is a city and municipality in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant in the Southern Netherlands.
Helmond is home to several textile and metal companies. The Vlisco fa ...
had a flat tire in the outside lane. Keijzer spun and whilst approaching the infield had a head-on collision with
Ed Neachell. Keijzer died from injuries sustained in the crash. It was the first and only deadly racing accident at Circuit de Peel.
Illegality
The racetrack was never included in the
land-use planning
Land use planning is the process of regulating the use of land by a central authority. Usually, this is done to promote more desirable social and environmental outcomes as well as a more efficient use of resources. More specifically, the goals ...
but the municipality allowed the circuit to operate in order to prevent motorcyclists taking to the woods and causing more nuisance. Since 1993 the track lied within the "Ecologische Hoofdstrucuur", a network of nature reserves with restrictions on what could be done inside them, was implemented by the Dutch Government and the provinces, leading to the circuit not only operating without a license but also in an area where it could never be allowed to. During an inspection by the
Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment
The Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment ( nl, Ministerie van Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieu or ''VROM'') was a Dutch ministry. It was responsible for policies on public housing, spatial planning, the env ...
the commission decided that the track had to seize its activities. The council of the local province decided that a replacement venue had to be found before the track would be closed. It was decided that a new venue had to be found before 2006 or a fine of €200,000 would be imposed. Three new venues were proposed, these were all declined. In January 2006, however, the
King's Commissioner Léon Frissen allowed the track to continue activities for six months. The case in which various ecological societies demanding the local government to close the racetrack even went to court. The track was closed by the court in 2008. Two races were allowed to be run on the illegal race track. This caused a stir in local politics, both races were eventually canceled. In March 2008 Maessen built an oval track near the town of
Oirlo without permission of the municipality. The entrepreneur Maessen was ordered to demolish the track within one week, an order which he obeyed. An illegal, unorganized, kart race was held on March 16. This caused further political unrest, especially from the
SP. After the incident the council of the municipality decided to close of the old track with containers. The track was demolished in November 2008.
New circuit
![Stienes Longin Raceway Venray 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Stienes_Longin_Raceway_Venray_2016.jpg)
In February 2007 an agreement was reached to move the old circuit De Peel across the road from the old complex. For this move a pig farm had to be moved. Maessen bought the pig farm and surrounding plot for €1,100,000. In return, the pig farmer bought a plot to continue his farm from Maessen for €410,000.
The new quarter mile oval opened on Whit Monday 2009 with a demonstration event. The 2009 season only saw one race weekend at the track for the World Cups for
BriSCA Formula 1 and
Formula 2 Stock Cars. For the 2010 season the track only opened for the World Cup weekend again. Between the 2010 World Cup and the races on Whit Monday in 2011, the track was severely overhauled and the half mile oval was built around the quarter mile oval, which now had to share half of the width of its front stretch with the outer oval, a feature not liked by drivers in short-track classes. Although the track still had no full license, event licenses were obtained for four events in each of the 2011, '12 and '13 seasons. Over the 2011-2012 winter the short oval was shortened by bringing the straights closer together and a wall was constructed between the inner and outer oval.
At the end of 2013 a license was obtained allowing for 11 days of limitless noise and limited noise from events on other days. Ahead of the 2014 season the turn 1 grandstand was covered. The 2014 racing schedule expanded to seven races and first featured two rounds of the UK's
Pickup Truck Racing
Pickup truck racing is a form of auto racing which involves modified versions of pickup trucks on Race track, racing circuits, mostly Oval track racing, oval tracks. Race pickup trucks are mechanically similar to coupé-shaped Stock car racing, s ...
Series. Midway through the season the infield grandstand was moved from the backstretch of the inner oval to turn 4 and part of a pedestrian bridge over the exit of turn 4 of the outer oval was constructed in order to allow spectators to go to and from the infield during races as well, though the bridge was not completed in 2014. Motocross also made its return in 2014, with the otherwise empty infield of turns 3 and 4 along with the back stretch of the oval being converted to a motocross track for the MON's International Youth Weekend. The full karting circuit was likewise first used in 2014, though sections inside the short oval's walls had been used previously already.
Series and events
The primary spectator events at the track are stockcar races on the inner and outer ovals. During these, several races for local championships are held, though some events feature races for guest series. Besides these events, the track is also used for racing and drifting courses, club meetings, kart races and courses and races and motocross races.
Regular Series
Several local championships are held at the track. Some categories also run at associated tracks for which a separate championship is also awarded encompassing all tracks. Each local championship has a feature event at one race day each year. The following classes have local championships in Venray:
LMV8 Supercup
The LMV8 Supercup is the regular series at the half mile oval. It is the successor of the
European Late Model Series. The LMV8 Supercup was introduced in 2013. The series features modern
late model
A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.)
The precise definition ...
, such as
Lefthander,
Tanner and
Howe
Howe may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Howe (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Howe Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo (1788–1845), Irish peer and colonial governor
Titles
* Earl Howe, two titles, an ext ...
, and older
ASCAR chassis. All cars must be fitted with
GM crate engine
A crate is a large shipping container, often made of wood, typically used to transport or store large, heavy items. Steel and aluminium crates are also used. Specialized crates were designed for specific products, and were often made to be reusa ...
or
GM LS1 engine
"LS engine" is the colloquial name given to the third and fourth generation small-block V8 gasoline engine used in General Motors' vehicles. The name evolved from the need to differentiate the Gen 3/Gen 4 small blocks from the original Gen 1 ...
. The inaugural season featured many drivers from the ASCAR series 2015 series such as
Kieran Dynes
__NOTOC__
Kieran Dynes (born 18 December 1970) is an Irish auto racing driver. He last competed in the European Late Model Series. He has also raced in the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) and the ARCA Racing Series in the United Sta ...
. Dynes suffered a hard crash at Raceway Venray after which he retired from racing The following season more Dutch drivers joined the series such as
Barry Maessen
Barry Maessen (born November 12, 1976 in Ysselsteyn) is a Dutch racecar driver. Maessen is the son of BriSCA F1 racer, circuit developer and entrepreneur Harry Maessen. The Dutch driver will be the first Dutch racing driver in the NASCAR Whele ...
and
Joey Hanssen. The championship in 2014 was a battle between Big Tuned Racing teammates Frank Wouters and Patrick den Biggelaar. Den Biggelaar won in 2014, while Wouters won the championship in 2015. 2015 series champion Frank Wouters holds the official half mile track record, beating the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series as well as Pickup Truck Racing.
Inner oval
*
BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars
BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars is a class of single-seater stock-car-racing in the UK with custom-built cars, with races conducted on walled oval tracks of either shale or tarmac of approximately a quarter-mile in length. The cars are of an open w ...
, Dutch Tarmac Series with NOV Lelystad, qualifying for
World Final
*
BriSCA Formula 2 Stock Cars
BriSCA Formula 2 Stock Cars is a class of single seater auto racing in the UK. Cars are custom-built and race on oval tracks of either shale or tarmac of up to a quarter-mile in length. The tracks they race on are surrounded by either steel pla ...
, Dutch Tarmac Series with NOV Lelystad, qualifying for
World Final
*
NHRRG National Hot Rods, NHRRG Cup with NOV Lelystad and NNO Ter Apel
Guest Series
Several events also have guest appearances from other series that might not have a local championship at Raceway Venray but instead run races at several tracks.
Outer Oval
*
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series
The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (formerly known as Racecar Euro Series and Euro-Racecar NASCAR Touring Series) is an official NASCAR stock-car racing series based in Europe. It is one of NASCAR's three international-sanctioned series, alongside th ...
*
Pickup Truck Racing
Pickup truck racing is a form of auto racing which involves modified versions of pickup trucks on Race track, racing circuits, mostly Oval track racing, oval tracks. Race pickup trucks are mechanically similar to coupé-shaped Stock car racing, s ...
Inner Oval
*
Spedeworth 2 Litre Hot Rods, in conjunction with NNO Ter Apel, run clockwise
*
2 Litre Saloon Stock Cars
*
BriSCA National Ministox
*
BMW 325i Cup, in conjunction with NNO Ter Apel
Former series
European Late Model Series
The European Late Model Series used to be a regular guest but before the 2013 season the series split resulting in the Late Model V8 Supercup run by Raceway Venray as a local championship and the
CAMSO V8 series run by
CAMSO
Camso, formerly known as Camoplast Solideal, is a Canadian company that is a manufacturer and service supplier of products for off-the-road vehicles. They serve the material handling, construction, agriculture and powersport industries. Camso ma ...
at its own track in
Warneton
Warneton (; nl, Waasten) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille.
Bounding communes and places
*Warneton, Belgium (part of Comines-Warneton)
* Comines, east
*Quesnoy-sur-Deûle ...
and at
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
,
Hednesford
Hednesford (pronounced ) is a historic market town in the Cannock Chase (district), Cannock Chase district of Staffordshire, England. Cannock Chase is to the north, the town of Cannock to the south and Rugeley to the southwest.The population ...
and
Lydden Hill. In 2013 eight ELMS races were competed.
Patrick den Biggelaar was the most successful driver winning five races.
BRL V6
The BRL V6 was a series founded by track owner Harry Maessen in 2004. The series used silhouette
Ford Mondeo
The Ford Mondeo is a large family car manufactured by Ford since 1993. The first Ford model declared as a "world car", the Mondeo was intended to consolidate several Ford model lines worldwide (the European Sierra, the Telstar in Asia and Austra ...
bodies mounted on tube chassis. The cars were powered by
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
4.0L V6 engine. The series ran at regular circuits, such as
Zandvoort
Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...
and
Zolder
The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium.
History
Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, a ...
, between 2004 and 2009. Following 2009 the cars were allowed to enter the
Dutch Supercar Challenge
The Supercar Challenge is a motor racing series centered on the Benelux. A special feature is that touring cars, GTs and Sportscars can all participate on an equal basis within the same class, enabled by very open regulations. The championship was ...
. For 2010 Maessen decided to host a new BRL V6 series at Raceway Venray on the new half mile oval. Many well known Dutch racing drivers participated, such as
Cor Euser
Cornelius "Cor" Euser (born April 25, 1957) is a Dutch racing driver from Oss. His son Michael is also a racing driver
Career
After winning several Formula Ford titles in 1980 and 1981, Euser went to the FIA European Formula Three Championship p ...
and
Donny Crevels
Donny "The Don" Crevels (born 6 February 1974 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch racing driver. He has raced in such series as Le Mans Series, V8Star Series and the FIA GT Championship.
In 1998, he won the Italian Formula Three Championship with Prema Pow ...
. The first two seasons were won by former
Formula Ford Festival
The Formula Ford Festival is an annual meeting of Ford-powered single-seat racing cars which is held at the end of the British racing season, at the Brands Hatch motor racing circuit in the county of Kent, in Southern England. The events are hel ...
winner
Jacky van der Ende, the 2013 season was won by
Renger van der Zande
Renger van der Zande (born 16 February 1986) is a Dutch racing driver who currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Chip Ganassi Racing. He is the son of the 1978 National Dutch Rallycross Champion Ronald van der Zan ...
.
Formula Toyota
Classes that had previously run as local championships but have since not run at Venray include Formula Toyota, which last ran in 2010.
Stockcar F1 and F2 World Cup
![F1 Stock Car Racer - Flickr - mick - Lumix](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/F1_Stock_Car_Racer_-_Flickr_-_mick_-_Lumix.jpg)
Since the tracks initiation several prestigious non-championship races have been held at Circuit de Peel and subsequently Raceway Venray. The
BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars
BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars is a class of single-seater stock-car-racing in the UK with custom-built cars, with races conducted on walled oval tracks of either shale or tarmac of approximately a quarter-mile in length. The cars are of an open w ...
made their debut at Raceway Venray in 1992. The first World Cup race was held in 2001. The World Cup is a highly prestigious battle between British drivers and drivers from continental Europe. The high tensions have resulted in many heavy crashes and injuries. In 2005 the event was marred by the deadly crash of Piet Keijzer. In 2014 another heavy crash involving Dutch driver Theo van Lier and British driver Tom Harris occurred. Van Lier suffered heavy injuries and was transported by
air ambulance
Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...
to the
Radboud UMC. In 2016 the World Cup F1 was won by Dutch driver Roy Maessen (nephew of track owner Harry Maessen), the first Cup F1 win for a Dutch driver since 2009.
Notes
Keijzer was awarded the World Cup posthumously after his fatal crash during the 2005 main event.
Motocross World Championship results
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series results
Track records
Track records on the 0.5 miles (0.88 km) oval are as follows.
Track records on the 0.25 miles (0.33 km) oval are as follows.
Track records on the 0.25 miles (0.44 km) oval before re-configuration were as follows.
See also
* Other Oval Circuits in Europe:
**
Eurospeedway
The Lausitzring (formally known as the Dekra Lausitzring for ownership reasons) is a race track located near Klettwitz (a civil parish of Schipkau, Oberspreewald-Lausitz district) in the state of Brandenburg in northeast Germany, near the bor ...
** ''
Rockingham Motor Speedway
Rockingham Motor Speedway is a former racing motorsport venue in Rockingham, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom, near the town of Corby. It hosted professional and club races, as well as testing, track days, driver training, exhibition ...
''
** ''
Tours Speedway
Tours Speedway is an oval speedway located in Tours, France. The track is located at the parkingplace of the Parc des expositions east of the city. It was first used in 2012. The only event raced on the track is the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.
On ...
''
[It was a temporary track built on purpose for Nascal Whelen and the city of Tours has discontinued this initiative after 2018.]
References
External links
*
Raceway Venray race resultsat Racing-Reference
{{NASCAR Whelen Euro Series racetracks
Motorsport venues in Limburg (Netherlands)
Sport in Venray
NASCAR tracks