Clady Circuit situated in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

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. North ...

describes a motor-cycle

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on p ...

street circuit A street circuit is a motorsport racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Airport runways and taxiways are also sometimes part of street circuits. Facilities such as the ...

used for the

Ulster Grand Prix The Ulster Grand Prix is a motorcycle race that takes place on the Dundrod Circuit made up entirely of closed-off public roads near Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first races took place in 1922 and in 1935 and 1948 the Fédération Internati ...

. The Clady Circuit was used between 1922 and 1939 and an amended shorter circuit between 1947 and 1952.

History

The Clady Circuit, ( ga, Clóidigh; i.e. ''Washing river'') first used in 1922 for the Ulster Grand Prix was in length in County Antrim. The original course start line was situated near

Loanends Loanends is a Hamlet (place), hamlet located in the townlands of Grange of Carmavy and Ballymather Lower, near Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The settlement's name derives from the term 'loan-end', which transla ...

Primary School on the secondary B39 Antrim to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

Road. The event held on public roads closed for racing including the secondary B39 ''Seven Mile Straight'' between Antrim and Clady Corner including ''Christy's Brae'', the primary A52 Belfast to Crumlin Road between Clady Corner and Thorn Cottage, a tertiary road north from Thorn Cottage to Greenmount near the town of Antrim (including a section of

RAF Aldergrove Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove or more simply JHC FS Aldergrove is located south of Antrim, Northern Ireland and northwest of Belfast and adjoins Belfast International Airport. It is sometimes referred to simply as Alder ...

) and from Greenmount to Muckamore Corner with the road junction of the B39 'Seven Mile Straight.' The Clady Circuit was shortened in 1947 to a length of with the omission of the Aldergrove section from Thorn Cottage to Greenmount. The ''short'' Clady Circuit now ran from Clady Corner to Nutts Corner on the primary A52 Belfast to Crumlin Road and used a section of the primary A 26

Banbridge Banbridge ( , ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of ...

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

Road from Nutts Corner to Muckamore House near Antrim. For the 1953 racing season the Clady Circuit was abandoned for motor-cycle racing and the

as part of the FIM Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship was moved to the nearby Dundrod Circuit in Co Antrim.

Speed and Race Records

The lap record for the ''short'' Clady Circuit is 9 Minutes and 21 seconds at an average speed of set by

Les Graham Robert Leslie Graham (14 September 1911 – 12 June 1953) was a British motorcycle road racer who competed in the 1930s and 1940s. He won the inaugural Grand Prix motorcycle racing 500 cc World Championship in 1949. Early Career (1929 ...

riding a 500cc MV Agusta 4C during the 1952 Ulster Grand Prix. The lap record for the 1922–1939 Clady Circuit is 12 minutes and 17.8 seconds at an average speed of by Dorino Serafini riding a 500cc

Gilera Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio. History In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was, at t ...

motor-cycle during the 1939 Ulster Grand Prix. The race record for the ''short'' Clady Circuit is an average speed of set by Cromie McCandless riding a 500cc Gilera also during the 1952 Ulster Grand Prix.

Sources

{{MotoGP circuits Defunct motorsportsport venues in Northern Ireland Grand Prix motorcycle circuits Sports venues in County Antrim Motorcycle Road Racing Venues

History

Speed and Race Records

See also

Sources