Dundrod Circuit is a motorsport street circuit used for the RAC Tourist Trophy for

sports cars A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

between 1950 and 1955 and for the motorcycle Ulster Grand Prix from 1953 onwards. It is situated near the village of

Dundrod Dundrod () is a small village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 167 people. It is within the Lisburn City Council area. Buildings Sport Dundrod Circuit is the location to Dundrod M ...

in Lisburn,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The nearby

Clady Circuit Clady Circuit situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland describes a motor-cycle road racing street circuit used for the Ulster Grand Prix. The Clady Circuit was used between 1922 and 1939 and an amended shorter circuit between 1947 and 1952. ...

also in County Antrim was used for the Ulster Grand Prix between (1922–1952) before moving to the Dundrod Circuit.

History

The Dundrod Circuit ( gle, Dún dTrod) in Co Antrim, first used in 1950 for the RAC Tourist Trophy automobile race and the Formula One (non-championship) Ulster Trophy (

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

–1953), was in length and later amended for the 1965 racing season to with the addition of the Lindsay Hairpin. For the

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

racing season the Clady Circuit was abandoned for motor-cycle racing and the Ulster Grand Prix as part of the FIM Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship and was moved to the nearby Dundrod Circuit in Co Antrim. The circuit comprised public roads closed for racing including a section of the secondary B38 Hannahstown Road between

Glenavy Glenavy () is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, 17 kilometres north west of Lisburn on the banks of the Glenavy River. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 5,697 people. In early documents it was known as Lena ...

and

Hannahstown Hannahstown is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on the outskirts of Belfast. It gives its name to a townland, parish and a suburb of Belfast. According to the United Kingdom Census 2011 it had a population of 6,498. History ...

, Co Antrim, the secondary B101 Leathemstown Road from Leathemstown Corner to

and the B154 Quarterland/Tornagrough Road from Cochranstown to the road junction of the B38 Upper Springsfield Road/Hannahstown Road at the Lindsay Hairpin. After 1955 cars stopped racing there due to no less than 3 fatalities during the 1955 TT race and safety concerns with the narrow, high-speed nature of the circuit, and since then it has only been used for motorcycle racing. The photo below shows the original much tighter hairpin, with the modern hairpin, known now as the Lindsay Hairpin, being slightly further back up the road.

Speed and race records

The lap record for the Dundrod Circuit is 3 minutes and 17.928 seconds at an average speed of set by Dean Harrison riding a

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R is a motorcycle in the Ninja sport bike series from the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki, the successor to the Ninja ZX-9R. It was originally released in 2004 and has been updated and revised throughout the years. It co ...

during the 2017 Ulster Grand Prix. The race record for the Dundrod Circuit is an average speed of set by

Bruce Anstey Bruce Anstey (born 21 August 1969 in New Zealand) is a professional motorcycle road racer. He is a former lap record holder on the world-famous Snaefell Mountain Course with a time of 17 minutes 6.682 seconds, at an average speed of set du ...

during the 2017 Ulster Grand Prix. The lap record for the RAC Tourist Trophy on the Dundrod Circuit is 4 minutes and 42 seconds at an average speed of held by

Mike Hawthorn John Michael Hawthorn (10 April 1929 – 22 January 1959) was a British racing driver. He became the United Kingdom's first Formula One World Champion driver in 1958, whereupon he announced his retirement, having been profoundly affected by the ...

driving a Jaguar D-Type set during the

1955 RAC Tourist Trophy The 1955 RAC Tourist Trophy took place on 17 September, on the roads around Dundrod, (County Antrim, Northern Ireland). It was also the fifth round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship, however it was the first championship race following ...

. The race record for the RAC Tourist Trophy on the Dundrod Circuit is 7 hours, 3 minutes and 12 seconds an average speed of for 84 laps (622.96 miles/1002.518 km) during the 1955 RAC Tourist Trophy race held by the works Daimler-Benz entry of Stirling Moss/ John Fitch driving a

Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (W 196 S) was a 2-seat sports racing car that took part in the 1955 World Sportscar Championship before a catastrophic crash and fire at Le Mans later that year ended its domination prematurely. The car ...

. The 1971 Ulster Grand Prix held on the Dundrod Circuit was won by Australian

Jack Findlay Cyril John Findlay (5 February 1935 – 19 May 2007) was an Australian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is noted for having one of the longest racing careers in Grand Prix history spanning 20 years, as well as one of four rid ...

in what was the Ulster Grand Prix's last year as part of the FIM Grand Prix international motorcycle racing calendar. Findlay's victory on a Suzuki was also notable for marking the first 500cc class win for a motorcycle powered by a

two stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

engine.

Race lap records

The fastest official race lap records at the Dundrod Circuit are listed as:

Notes

References

External links