 Post-war Circuit (1953–1972) | |
 Pre-war Circuit (1937–1939) | |
| Location | Crystal Palace Park, London, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°25′17″N0°4′10″W / 51.42139°N 0.06944°W /51.42139; -0.06944 |
| Opened | 21 May 1927; 98 years ago (1927-05-21) |
| Closed | 1974 |
| Major events | Formula One (non-championship) Formula Two London Grand Prix (motorsport) London Trophy BTCC British Formula Three Sports car racing |
| Post-war Circuit (1953–1972) | |
| Length | 2.240 km (1.392 mi) |
| Race lap record | 0:48.400 ( Mike Hailwood,Surtees TS10,1972,F2) |
| Pre-war Circuit (1937–1939) | |
| Length | 3.219 km (2.000 mi) |
| Race lap record | 2:11.900 (Pat Fairfield,ERA C-Type, 1937,Voiturette) |
Crystal Palace circuit is a formermotor racing circuit inCrystal Palace Park in theCrystal Palace area of south London, England. The route of the track is still largely extant but the roads are now mainly used for access to theCrystal Palace National Sports Centre located in the park, and to events within the upper parts of Crystal Palace Park. Some parts of the track are closed off but part is used for an annual Sprint Meeting held on the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, until 2017, when it was held on the August holiday weekend.
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The circuit opened in 1927 and the first race, for motorcycles, was on 21 May 1927. The circuit was 1 mi (1.6 km) long, and ran on existing paths through the park, including an infield loop past the lake. The surface had tarmac-covered bends, but the straights only had hard-packed gravel.
Improvements begun in December 1936 increased the circuit to 2.000 mi (3.219 km), and tarmac covered the entire length. 20 cars entered the first London Grand Prix on 17 July 1937, a race eventually won byPrince Bira in hisERA R2BRomulus at an average speed of 54.36 mph (87.48 km/h).[1] Later that year, during theInternational Imperial Trophy meeting also won by Bira, theBBC broadcast the first evertelevised motor racing.
With the outbreak ofWorld War II, the park was taken over by theMinistry of Defence, and it would not be until 1953 that race meetings could take place again. The circuit had been reduced in length to 1.390 mi (2.237 km), bypassing the loop past the lake, and pressure from the local residents led to aninjunction which reduced motor sport events in the park to only five days per year. A variety of races took place, includingsports cars,Formula Three, theLondon Trophy forFormula Two, and non-championshipFormula One races.
Average speeds continued to rise over the years, with the first 100 mph (160 km/h) lap average set in 1970 by that year's Formula One world champion,Jochen Rindt. Also in 1970, the injunction limiting race days expired and racing was increased to 14 days a year. However, driver safety was coming into focus in the early seventies and it became clear that racing around a park at 100 mph (160 km/h) was not safe. Expensive improvements were undertaken, but it was not enough to save the circuit. The last International meeting was in May 1972, the final lap record going toMike Hailwood at an average speed of 103.39 mph (166.39 km/h).[2]
The final meeting was held on 23 September 1972, but club events still continued until the circuit's final closure in 1974.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2022) |
The circuit's location within Greater London made it a popular venue for both film and television settings,The Italian Job filmed on the startline at Crystal Palace for the scene showing initial testing of the Mini Cooper getaway cars and in the paddock area for the scene where a security van is "blown-up". The Crystal Palace transmitter tower can be seen in the background of this scene. The circuit was also used inRon Howard's filmRush, to recreate the last corner accident betweenJames Hunt andDave Morgan,[3] and for parts of theUFO episode "The Responsibility Seat".
The first known contemporary motion picture having captured the postwar Crystal Palace circuit isJoseph Losey's 1957 film noir classic,Time Without Pity, featuring driverLeo McKern lapping in aMercedes 300 SL coupé.[4]
Although the circuit no longer exists (as an actual racing circuit), it can be driven virtually in theGrand Prix Legends historical motor racing computer simulation game, for which it was recreated in detail. It was later converted to several other racing simulation programs, including the popularrFactor.
The circuit was used for the prologuetime trial of theTour of Britaincycle race on 9 September 2007, and is used regularly for summer road race league events, normally held on Tuesday evenings.
In 1997, the Sevenoaks & District Motor Club started a series of sprint events. The event was attended by some of the star drivers and cars from the past; Bentleys, Bugattis, Ferraris, Porsches, Jaguars and many Lotuses raced the circuit once more. The latter marque even chose one of these Palace events to reveal its latest sports car. The events lasted three years before being stopped due to park development work. Following discussions with local council and the London Development Agency, sprint racing again started at the park, with the two-day event held 30–31 May 2010. This event was repeated on the same or adjacent weekend each year, until 2017, when it was held on the August Bank Holiday weekend. The event was suspended in 2018 but took place in May 2019. It was scheduled to take place again in May 2020 but was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The event was also suspended in 2021 and 2022.[5]
The fastest official race lap records at Crystal Palace circuit are listed as:
| Category | Time | Driver | Vehicle | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post-war circuit: 2.240 km (1953–1972)[6] | ||||
| Formula Two | 0:48.400[7] | Mike Hailwood | Surtees TS10 | 1972 Crystal Palace European F2 round |
| Sports 2000 | 0:51.800[8] | Terry Croker[a] Jeremy Lord[a] Guy Edwards[a] | Lola T210[a] Lola T212[a] Lola T212[a] | 1971 Crystal Palace MN GT race |
| Formula Three | 0:53.000[9] | Jody Scheckter | Merlyn MK 21 | 1971 Crystal Palace British F3 round |
| Group 4 | 0:54.600[10] | Frank Gardner | Lola T70 Mk.III GT | 1967 Crystal Palace B.A.R.C. GT race |
| Formula One | 0:57.200[11] | Innes Ireland | Lola Mk4 | 1962 Crystal Palace Trophy |
| Group 3 | 1:00.300[12] | David Piper | Ferrari 250LM | 1965 Crystal Palace Grand Touring race |
| Pre-war circuit: 3.209 km (1937–1939)[6] | ||||
| Voiturette | 2:11.900[13] | Pat Fairfield | ERA C-Type | 1937 Crystal Palace Voiturette race |
