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, northeast of Liverpool city centre. In 2011 the parish had a p ...

Metropolitan Borough of Sefton The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It was formed on Local Government Act 1972, 1 April 1974, by the amalgamation of the county boroughs of Bootle and Southport, the municipal borough of Crosby, ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The circuit is located within the

Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England, near to Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three da ...

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 (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...

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 Yijian ...

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

and

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

. 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, motor racing in the United Kingdom. History The Cyclecar Club was formed in 1912, running races for the small and light Motorcycle, motorbike pow ...

, 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 British Automobile Ra ...

, first won by

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...

in 1954 with the last winner being

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , and , ...

, 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 the British Grand Prix and a round of the Formula One World Championship in a British car, the

Vanwall Vanwall was a British motor racing team and racing car constructor that was active in Formula One during the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall ...

. 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 countr ...

" 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 motorsport 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, which runs six events at Aintree each year. The car events are organised by Liverpool Motor Club in the form of three sprints, in May, June and September, and two track days in April 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 run that day. His record still stands despite several drivers attempting to beat it. 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