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 Superbike Circuit (2006–present) | |
| Location | Leicestershire,UK |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 52°35′55″N1°20′16″W / 52.59861°N 1.33778°W /52.59861; -1.33778 |
| Broke ground | 1956 |
| Opened | 26 April 1956; 69 years ago (1956-04-26) (as hard-surfaced course) |
| Major events | Current: Mallory Park Race of the Year (1958–1981, 1986–1992, 1994–2008, 2011, 2014, 2016–2018, 2021–present) Former: BSB (1987–2002, 2004–2010) Motocross World Championship (2008–2009) VSR V8 Trophy (2008) BOSS Formula (1996–1997) BSCC (1958, 1960, 1967–1969, 1971–1972, 1974–1976, 1978–1982) British F3 (1964–1982) Formula 5000 (1969–1975) Formula Two (1972–1973) ETCC (1963–1964) |
| Website | https://www.malloryparkcircuit.com/ |
| Car Circuit (1956–present) | |
| Length | 1.350 mi (2.173 km) |
| Turns | 5 |
| Race lap record | 37.92 (Nick Algar, Gould GR55, 2009, British Sprint Championship) |
| Superbike Circuit (2006–present) | |
| Length | 1.410 mi (2.269 km) |
| Turns | 13 |
| Race lap record | 0:55.845 (Ryuichi Kiyonari,Honda CBR1000RR,2007,BSB) |
| Motorcycle Short Circuit (2003–present) | |
| Length | 1.390 mi (2.237 km) |
| Turns | 10 |
| Race lap record | 0:50.660 (Bradley Ray,Suzuki GSX-R1000,2017,Superbike) |
| Oval Circuit (1956–present) | |
| Length | 1.000 mi (1.609 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Race lap record | 0:33.840 (Ian Fewings,Ford Mondeo, 1995,Super Touring) |
Mallory Park is amotor racing circuit situated in the village ofKirkby Mallory, just off theA47, betweenLeicester andHinckley, in central England. Originally used forgrass-track until 1955, a new, basically oval hard-surfaced course was constructed for 1956, with a later extension forming a loop with ahairpin bend.[1]
With the car circuit measuring only 1.350 mi (2.173 km) it is amongst the shortest permanent race circuits in the UK. However, chicanes introduced to reduce speeds in motorcycle events mean that the Superbike Circuit is now slightly longer, at 1.410 mi (2.269 km). Shorter UK circuits areLydden Hill,Brands Hatch Indy circuit, Scotland'sKnockhill andSilverstone's diminutive Stowe circuit.
The circuit has a number of formations, founded on a basic one-mile oval, with the majority of configurations including the northerly extension to the tight, 180°Shaw's Corner. When used without the hairpin-loop, to achieve the shorter-length lap (one mile) configuration, the link section was known asCastrol Chicane.[2]
At the other end of the circuit lies the long right-handGerard's Bend. Gerard's is about a third of a mile long and turns through nearly 200°. It was named after local racing heroBob Gerard, who opened the newly reconstructed circuit on 25 April 1956. Unusually, there are a number of large lakes occupying approximately half of the circuit infield. Despite its short length and Shaw's Corner, also known as The Hairpin, the tightest corner of any UK track, (other than the hairpin onCadwell Park's short circuit,) Mallory is a fast circuit. To reduce speeds for motorcycle racing a pair of chicanes were introduced, together with a revised exit to Gerard's.Edwina's was added toward the end of the straight following Gerard's, named after former managing director of the circuit Edwina Overend, and theBus Stop Chicane on the descent to the sweeping left kink, theDevil's Elbow, a blind, downhill,off camber left-hander before the start–finish line onKirkby Straight. In 2003 a new complex was added toward the end of Gerard's curve. This sequence of bends was designed to reduce speeds on entry to Edwina's, and to prevent motorcycles from colliding as they jockey for position into the chicane.[3] Mallory is the only major oval course remaining in Britain following the closure ofRockingham Motor Speedway.[4]
Mallory Park does not have any true permanent garage facilities, although there are a handful of open garages in the pitlane.
The estate at Mallory Park has many historical connections, the oldest being the unique Anglo-Saxons defended moat which is now known asKirkby Moats, while a Roman road passes through the estate. Fast forward to the 18th century, when in 1762,Sir Edward Noel became Viscount Wentworth, the title descended on the distaff side.Lord Byron married into the Wentworth family and it is said on his visits to Mallory, he wrote beneath the shade of the Lebanon cedar tree which still stands in the grounds ofKirkby Hall. The last occupant of Kirkby Hall wasHerbert Clarkson who died in 1941, when it was sold.
During theSecond World War, the circuit started life as Royal Air Force Kirkby Mallory, a satellite landing ground (SLG) and closed in 1947. The hall was a large house which was demolished in 1952, leaving only the stable block and the coach house which now forms the circuit offices, workshops, hotel, pub and restaurant.
The estate of 300 acres was sold by auction in 1953 and was bought by a Mr. Moult of Derby who planned to have horse racing on the disused pony trotting track. Following the war, Mallory became apony trotting circuit in the late 1940s, which defined the outline of the oval track still in use today. After the financial collapse of the equestrian club responsible for the circuit (Kirkby Mallory Racing Association), the track was hired by various motorcycle clubs for grass track motorcycle and motorcycle sidecar racing. For example, between September 1949 until 1954, the Leicester Query Motorcycle Club held grass track races. In 1955, the estate was purchased by Clive Wormleighton, under whose influence, the present tarmac was constructed at a cost of £60,000 in 1956. Upon completion of the building work, a circuit test was held on 26 April, when local Grand Prix driverBob Gerard andMaurice Cann respectively conducted aCooper-Bristol Formula Two car and aMoto Guzzi motorcycle around the track, Gerard managing an 81 mph lap.[5]
The very first race was held on 29 April, when the Leicester Query Club organised a motorcycle meeting. A large crowd in excess of 20,000 spectators attended theGrand Opening event on 13 May 1956. 248 riders arrived in Leicestershire for this meeting, which sawGeorge Salter set the first lap record at a speed of 84.08 mph, riding aNorton bike. Cars first appeared at the Whit Monday meeting, the event being organised by theNottingham Sports Car Club. The first car race victory went to D. Rees in an Austin.[5]
Many famous racing stars have raced at Mallory over the years, indeed a youngJohn Surtees raced against his father,Jack Surtees. While Jack was a successful grass track racer at Mallory, John went on to be only World Champion on both two and four wheels.[5]
Famous competitors who have raced at Mallory, includeJohn Surtees who won the first ‘Race of the Year’ in 1958. While, the 1960 race, sawMike Hailwood win and set a new lap record of 89 mph. Both Hailwood and Surtees, along with Jim Clark and Colin Chapman are commemorated with Statues at the front gate. Around this time, Clive Wormleighton added the lakes, which were formed by adding the sluice gate across the Brook.[5][6]
Clive Wormleighton continued to run the circuit very successfully until 1962 when ownership passed toGrovewood Securities in July, the previous owner remaining in a consultancy capacity until the end of September. Before this, on 11 June 1962 Mallory Park saw it first non-championship Formula One (International 2000 Guineas) race, won byJohn Surtees aboard aLolaMk4 from the privately entered Lotuses ofJack Brabham andGraham Hill. Surtees was now a major race winner at Mallory on both 2 and 4 wheels.[5]
Over the next two years, a considerable amount of money was spent on Mallory with the building of new spectator stands and a new commentators’ press and timekeepers’ boxes. Further developments took place raising the standard of the track. Crowds grew and in 1962, over 50,000 people paid to see thePost TT International Motor Cycle meeting, when Mike Hailwood won, improving the lap record to 91.70 mph. This led to itRace of the Year andSidecar race of the Year being sponsored bythe Daily Mail. Under the control of Grovewood Securities, Mallory enjoyed its golden days in the 1960s and 1970s with some of the greatest names in motorsport competing there. Amongst these, a young Austrian who arrived for the Whit Sunday meeting in 1964, for his first race in England in a newFormula TwoBrabham –Jochen Rindt. He askedDenny Hulme if he could follow him round to learn the circuit and then proceeded to set fastest time in qualifying; despite being delayed in the race, he finished third behind the reigning World Champion,Jim Clark and his experienced team-matePeter Arundell.[5][6]
Throughout the Sixties and Seventies, the circuit hosted almost every major British car and bike championship. However, on occasions there were European Championship events. For example, 12 March 1972, saw FIAEuropean Formula Two Championship, with Dave Morgan winning in his Reeves RacingBrabham-Ford BT35, from the future Ferrari pairing ofNiki Lauda andCarlos Reutemann.
1970 saw Mallory used as a venue for cycle racing with theWorld road race championships being run on a road course starting and finishing at Mallory and incorporating the circuit (reversed) each lap. The professional event was won by ill-fated BelgianJean-Pierre Monseré.[7]
Formula Two returned again 1973, this time Morgan could only finish third. The victor was Frenchman,Jean-Pierre Jarier in his worksMarch-BMW 732. Second wasDave McConnell.
After a little over 20 years, the owners of Mallory Park offered the estate for sale; no doubt the expense of bringingBrands Hatch (which Grovewood also owned) up to current Grand Prix standards had some effort on the decision and the re-opening ofDonington Park, which was only some 20 miles away, may have influenced the decision. Mallory was once more on the market but, reportedly with a restriction in its future use for motor sport on its future use for motor racing, although planning permission had been obtained for the erection of 30 dwelling on the estate.[5]
Meanwhile, famously theBay City Rollers tartan army played a concert during a BBC-organised 'Fun Day' on 18 May 1975, on a stage specifically constructed in the middle of the lake.[8]
Edwina Overend was the competitions secretary of the Midlands Centre of theBritish Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC); during the close of the 1982 season, the expected cessation of racing at Mallory loomed large and various time wasters had come and gone, Overend approachedChris Meek with a view to his purchasing the estate. Meek was a well-known racing driver and businessman who effected the purchase late in 1982, and reopened the circuit on 29 May 1983, the first race of the new era being organised by the750 Motor Club.[clarification needed]
In late 1983, the reported owners – Motor Circuit Developments (MCD) announced that the circuit would close due to restriction of usage – being limited to race-days only – meant the circuit was not viable without alternative-use of the track for practice days.[9]
There was no interruption to the programme and Mallory went from strength to strength, apart from a hiccup from in December 1985 when the local borough council served a Noise Nuisance Order which restricted use of the circuit to 40 days a year. On Sundays there is an absolute curfew and no racing engines must be run after 6 pm.[5]
In late 1987, Edwina and Ron Overend trading as Mallory Park (Motorsport) Ltd., negotiated a long term lease with Chris Meek's Titan Properties to ensure the future of racing at Mallory.[10]
Mallory Park has hosted all major motor racing formulae to be contested in post-war England –European Formula Two Championship,British Formula One Championship,Group 7 sport cars, EuropeanFormula 5000,British Formula Three Championship andBritish Saloon Car Championship. In the 1981 programme the name ofDamon Hill appears as one of the ‘Ams’ in theYamaha RD350 Pro-Am series.[5]
TheBritish Superbike Championship was last hosted at Mallory for the 2010 season, where it was used since 1995 (with the exception of 2003).[11][12]
Annually in October, The Festival of Sidecars takes place. No solo machines compete, butsidecars of all categories are entered, including three-wheelers such as those made by theMorgan Motor Company.
From the mid-1990s, the BRSCC promoted EuroCars, V6 and V8 saloon-outline cars which had graduated from the stock car circuits. At Mallory Park, they ran anticlockwise on the oval circuit.[5]
The history of the 100-mile-per-hour (160 km/h) lap at the Leicestershire circuit is interesting; the first one was a long time coming, for it was not until 1966 that it finally happened when on 29 May, Denny Hulme took aLola T70 round in 47.6sec at a speed of 102.10 mph (164.31 km/h). Two years later,Roy Pike established the first Formula Three 100 mph (160 km/h) lap in a Titan, which he took round in 48sec (101.25 mph (162.95 km/h)). The lap record fell again to John E Miles in 1964 who drove a Turner Cosworth Mk2 VUD 701, winning the British Championship outright, beating the mighty AC Cobra's. With coming of the large capacity single-seater like the Formula 5000 and Formula One cars, the outright record continue to fall until, in 1979,Ricardo Zunino took anArrowsA1 round in 40.065sec at an incredible 121.32 mph (195.25 km/h). 22 years after the 100-mile-per-hour (160 km/h) late,Vincenzo Sospiri established the first such lap in aFormula Ford when he drove aVan Diemen RF88 at 100.41 mph (161.59 km/h) in 48.44sec.[5]
By the end of the 20th Century, the outright lap record on the full circuit, which still stands to the credit ofJohan Rajamäki, driving a Formula OneFootwork-JuddFA13 in the BOSS Formula at 127.12 mph (204.58 km/h) in 38.23secs. it was set on 5 May 1997.[5]
On the oval circuit, the record has stood since May 1995, the credit of a V6Ford Mondeo Eurocar ofIan Fewings at 106.51 mph (171.41 km/h) in 33.840sec.[5]
While on two wheels, the full lap record was set during the 2017 ‘Race of the year’ at 50.660s, at 97.86 mph (157.49 km/h), byBradley Ray abroad aSuzuki GSX-R1000.
In the karting world John Riley in his Division 1Superkart set the lap record of 44.071s,[13] at 110.30 mph (177.51 km/h) in June 2006. At this point he was already the lap record holder in the Formula 250 NationalSuperkart class with a laptime of 45.141s,[13] at 107.66 mph (173.26 km/h) set in August 2001.
As of October 2017, the fastest official race lap records at the Mallory Park are listed as:
Adjacent to the road course is a purpose-builtmotocross circuit which played host to the Grand Prix of Great Britain in 2008. The event was being organised by off-road promotions company RHL, who originally planned to use the former Grand Prix circuit atFoxhill, near Swindon, until it became apparent that the infrastructure at the Wiltshire venue would not be sufficient for such a high-profile event.
The event was seen as a success by fans, with over 30,000 fans in attendance over the weekend. However, the Grand Prix only returned once more in 2009.
The circuit has been unused since late 2013 and has fallen into disuse. Motocross activities ended due to noise concerns and, in the interests of improving relations with the local community, the new owners of the circuit have no plans to recommence Motocross.
The park is used as a venue forTriathlon training, with thetarmac circuit offering traffic-free conditions for endurance training incycling anddistance-running. The lake enablesopen water swimming.[26][27][28] Occasionally, family cycling fun-events are held.[29][30][31]
| Year | Class | Winners | Runner-up | 3rd place |
| 1951 | 500cc |  ENGDick Tolley | ENGFred Wallis | ENGAlbert Hull |
| 350cc | ENGSyd Mintey | ENGSyd Mintey | ENGNammon Baldwin | |
| Right-hand Sidecars | ENG Cyril Smith &Wilf Wilstead | ENGBill Boddice &Bill Storr | ENGW. Mares & ANOther | |
| 1953 | 500cc | ENGAustin Cresswell | ENGLen Bayliss | ENGAlf Hagon |
| 350cc | ENGSyd Mintey | ENGFred Wallis | ENGAlf Hagon | |
| Right-hand Sidecars | ENGDerek Yorke & George Mason | ENGE. Davis &ANOther | ENG Charlie Freeman &J. Cheisnell | |
| 1954 | 500cc | ENGAlf Hagon | ENGSyd Mintey | ENGMartin Tatum |
| 350cc | ENGAlf Hagon | ENGSyd Mintey | ENGMartin Tatum | |
| Right-hand Sidecars | ENG Bill Evans &Ron Jones | ENGBrian Stonebridge &ANOther | ENGH. Carter &ANOther |
The BRSCC'sEuropean Formula 5000 Championship, organised in the UK but taking in events across Europe, was first contested in 1969. The title sponsorship moved from Guards to Rothmans to Shellsport before the series let in F1, F2 and F. Atlantic cars for 1976.
| Year | Race | Driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Guards Formula 5000 Championship Rd.4 | Peter Gethin | McLaren-Chevrolet M10A |
| 1970 | Guards European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.8 | Peter Gethin | McLaren-Chevrolet M10B |
| 1971 | Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.1 | Mike Hailwood | Surtees-Chevrolet TS8 |
| Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.7 |  Graham McRae | McLaren-Chevrolet M10B | |
| Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.9 | Mike Hailwood | Surtees-Chevrolet TS8 | |
| 1972 | Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.2 | Alan Rollinson | Lola-Chevrolet T300 |
| Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.9 | Steve Thompson | Surtees-Chevrolet TS8 | |
| 1973 | Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.2 | Graham McRae | McRae-Chevrolet GM1 |
| Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.7 | Keith Holland | Trojan-Chevrolet T101 | |
| Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.10 |  Brett Lunger | Trojan-Chevrolet T101 | |
| 1974 | Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.2 | David Hobbs | Lola-Chevrolet T330 |
| Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.11 | Bob Evans | Lola-ChevroletT332 | |
| Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.17 | Guy Edwards | Lola-ChevroletT332 | |
| 1975 | Shellsport European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.9 |  Teddy Pilette | Lola-Chevrolet T400 |
| Shellsport European Formula 5000 Championship Rd.15 | Teddy Pilette | Lola-Chevrolet T400 |
| Year | Race | Rider | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Grand Prix of Great Britain MX1 |  Jonathan Barragán | KTM |
| Grand Prix of Great Britain MX2 |  Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | |
| 2009 | Grand Prix of Great Britain MX1 | David Philippaerts | Yamaha |
| Grand Prix of Great Britain MX2 |  Marvin Musquin | KTM |
