 Full Circuit (1989–present) | |
| Location | Carmarthenshire, Wales, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°42′20″N4°19′14″W / 51.70556°N 4.32056°W /51.70556; -4.32056 |
| FIA Grade | 4[a] |
| Owner | Welsh Race Drivers' Association |
| Operator | British Automobile Racing Club |
| Opened | 21 May 1989; 36 years ago (1989-05-21) |
| Major events | Current: Welsh Sports and Saloon Car Championship (1991–2019, 2021–present) Former: British Formula Renault Winter Series (2004, 2010) Formula Renault BARC (1995–2006) British Formula 3 Championship (1992–1999) FIA European Rallycross Championship (1997–1998) British Superbike Championship (1990, 1994) British Touring Car Championship (1992–1993) |
| Full Circuit (1989–present) | |
| Length | 2.343 km (1.456 mi) |
| Turns | 8 |
| Race lap record | 0:50.079 ( Brian Smith,Dallara F397,1997,F3) |
Pembrey Circuit is a motor racing circuit nearPembrey village,Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is the home of Welshmotorsport, providing racing for cars, motorcycles, karts and trucks. The circuit's facilities have also been used for a single-venuerally.
The stimulus for the creation of a racing circuit atPembrey was the closure of the motor racing facility atLlandow nearCardiff. Port Talbot Motor Cycle Racing Club were the first organisation to put on racing events at this circuit. In 1981 theWelsh Race Drivers' Association (WRDA) was formed with the expressed intention of developing a new race circuit in Wales. At the same time the formerRAF airfield atPembrey, which had been used as a chicken farm, was acquired byLlanelli Borough Council. Following a representation by the WRDA the decision was taken to construct a racing circuit at the venue. The first race meeting was held on 21 May 1989, and the winner of the first race at the circuit was Nigel Petch in an MGB.
In 1990 theBARC signed a 50-year lease to operate the circuit on behalf of Carmarthenshire County Council.
The circuit is popular for testing, mainly due to its variety of fast sweeping corners and tight hairpins. It is often referred to as a drivers favourite. Formula One teams have tested at the circuit including McLaren and their driversAyrton Senna andAlain Prost in the late 1980s.Arrows,Benetton,Jordan andWilliams all tested at Pembrey in the early 1990s withBAR being the last Formula One team to test at Pembrey in 1998. The Seat and VX Racing BTCC teams have tested there in previous years, as hasNigel Mansell in aGP Masters car. These F1 cars are likely to have set times faster than the official lap record, and indeed locals at the circuit still talk of the sensational unofficial lap record set by Ayrton Senna. However, convention dictates that the official lap record is the fastest lap set under racing conditions, so that honour goes to ArgentineFormula 3 driver, Brian Smith, who in aDallara F397 set a time of 50.079 seconds in 1997.
Senna's lap time in testing was 44.43.[1]
In recent seasons the circuit has been a popular venue for GT and F3 teams to test at, not only because of the quality of the circuit, but also due to the less stringent noise restrictions in place than at other British circuits.
The circuit has two different sections, an all tarmac race circuit and a rally cross circuit utilizing some of the race circuit with an addition off-road surface. The circuit is operated by theBritish Automobile Racing Club (BARC) under the terms of a 50-year lease from Carmarthenshire County Council. A third configuration was also used in 1996, which was that of a short oval. This followed the race circuit from the Start/Finish straight, through the first two corners of the track, before turning left at the third corner and returning to the Start/Finish straight. There were plans to include a quarter mile drag strip, but this never came to fruition.The proposed Drag Strip never got off the ground.
The circuit has hosted theBritish Touring Car Championship twice, in 1992 and 1993 at which time the championship was the most popular motorsport series in the UK outsideFormula One.Formula 3 races have also been run at Pembrey Circuit, and indeed many recent Formula 1 drivers including Jenson Button raced at Pembrey in their early F3 days. Pembrey twice hosted theEuropean Rallycross Championship in 1997 and 1998. Top-level Superbike racing has also been hosted at Pembrey, in 1990 and 1994.
Over the winter of 2005/06 a new pit lane was constructed. Highlights on the current calendar (2018) include rounds of the BritishRallycross Championship and two rounds of the British Truck Racing Championship, organized by the BTRA. The circuit serves as the main venue for theWelsh Sports and Saloon Car Championship, which has been particularly successful in recent years attracting a wide range of cars and averaging grids of over 20. In addition, theBritish Motorcycle Racing Club, the British Drift Championship and two single venue rallies, amongst others, were held in February and October.[2][3]
Following an incident at the 1989 San Marino Grand Prix, theAlain Prost/Ayrton Senna war began to build up speed after the Frenchman said that McLaren had a pre-race agreement that whoever led into the first turn should stay there, which was ironically suggested by Senna. In Prost's view, Senna had broken this agreement by passing him partway round the first lap after the restart. The following week McLaren were testing at Pembrey, andRon Dennis (team principal) summoned both drivers to attend, as he was determined to re-establish law and order. Senna was refusing to apologise, andJo Ramírez even heard that “he’d apparently said that the deal had been not to actually pass Prost by slipstreaming before that the move was allowable!” He really only apologised because of the pressure under which Dennis put him at Pembrey, and for the good of the team but he wasn’t happy about it.[4][5][6]
| Year | Date | Winning driver | Car | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 15 August – Race 1 |  Kristian Kolby | Dallara F399 | Fortec Motorsport |
| 15 August – Race 2 |  Jenson Button | Dallara F399 | Promatecme UK | |
| 1998 | 16 August – Race 1 |  Mario Haberfeld | Dallara F398 | Paul Stewart Racing |
| 16 August – Race 2 | Luciano Burti | Dallara F398 | Paul Stewart Racing | |
| 1997 | 17 August – Race 1 | Brian Smith | Dallara F397 | Fortec Motorsport |
| 17 August – Race 2 |  Nicolas Minassian | Dallara F397 | Promatecme | |
| 1996 | 1 September – Race 1 | Nicolas Minassian | Dallara F396 | Promatecme |
| 1 September – Race 2 | Jonny Kane | Dallara F396 | Paul Stewart Racing | |
| 1995 | 24 September – Race 1 |  Ralph Firman | Dallara F395 | Paul Stewart Racing |
| 24 September – Race 2 | Oliver Gavin | Dallara F395 | Edenbridge Racing | |
| 1994 | 21 August – Race 1 | Jan Magnussen | Dallara F394 | Paul Stewart Racing |
| 21 August – Race 2 | Jan Magnussen | Dallara F394 | Paul Stewart Racing | |
| 1993 | 22 August - Race 1 | Oliver Gavin | Dallara F393 | Edenbridge Racing |
| 21 August – Race 2 | Gil de Ferran | Dallara F392 | Paul Stewart Racing |
| Year | Date | Winning driver | Car | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 27 June |  Joachim Winkelhock | BMW 318i | BMW Motorsport Team |
| 1992 | 9 August | Tim Harvey | BMW 318is | M Team Shell Racing |
| Year | Date | Category | Winning driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 28 June | Division 1 |  Per Eklund | Saab 900 T16 4x4 |
| Division 2 | no starters present | |||
| 1400 Cup |  Jean-Michel Laurant | Peugeot 1066 XSi | ||
| 1997 | 15 June | Division 1 |  Ludvig Hunsbedt | Ford Escort RS2000 T16 4x4 |
| Division 2 | Elvind Opland | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 3 | ||
| 1400 Cup | Jean-Michel Laurant | Peugeot 106 XSi |
As of May 2022, the fastest official race lap records at the Pembrey Circuit are listed as:
| Category | Time | Driver | Vehicle | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Circuit: 2.343 km (1989–present)[9] | ||||
| Formula Three | 0:50.079[10] | Brian Smith | Dallara F397 | 1997 Pembrey British F3 round |
| Formula Renault | 0:53.057[11] | Joni Wiman | Barazi-Epsilon FR2.0-10 | 2010 Pembrey Formula Renault UK Winter Series round |
| Superbike | 0:59.280[12] | Jim Moodie | Yamaha YZF750 | 1994 Pembrey British Supercup round |
| Super Touring | 1:00.720[13] | Will Hoy | Toyota Carina | 1992 Pembrey BTCC round |
| Truck racing | 1:10.355[14] | Ryan Smith | Daimler Truck 12000 | 2022 1st Pembrey BTRC round |