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- Wasilla, AK
I created this thread to draw attention to the disused and demolished racetracks of the world. Some fell by the wayside because of political turmoil, some were abandoned and sold in pursuit of profit. Regardless, post it here.
1950s - Mellaha Lake (Libya) was killed by increasing political turmoil - an American military base had to go somewhere, and the track was the chosen place.
1955 - Bremgarten (Switzerland) was abandoned following the Swiss motorsports ban, which, unfortunately, is still in force today.
1960s - Westmead (South Africa) fell into disuse and was redeveloped as a business park.
1960s or 70s - Funabashi (Japan) fell into disuse, may or may not still exist.
1960s or 70s - Monza (Italy) was not demolished and in fact continues to hold F1 races to this day, but for safety reasons the track's infamous banked section was skipped, bringing the total length down quite a bit. It's still sitting there, never demolished and never repaired, and to the best of my knowledge there are no plans either way. Just think, though... NASCAR running on a revised and upgraded Monza oval. That would be quite a sight, for sure.
1976 - Levin (New Zealand) closed down, may or may not still exist.
1977 - Osterreichring (Austria) was given a chicane, turning the fastest turn on the course into the slowest.
1978 - Keimola Motor Stadium (Finland) was abandoned and used as a tire dump. Now little more than a vacant lot.
1982? - Hockenheim (Germany) given three chicanes to keep speeds down.
1988 - Zwartkops (South Africa) partly torn up to make room for a highway, which of course was never built. The two sides of the track are now relinked, but the north section is shortened for no apparent reason.
1989 - Sandown (Australia) was not demolished, but a twistier infield section was disused for some reason, resulting in a simplistic layout measuring just under two miles.
1990 - Westwood (Canada) was demolished. Suburban sprawl claims another victim...
1994 - Baypark (New Zealand) closed down, replaced by a housing estate.
1995 - Osterreichring (again) got Tilked and became a shorter, tighter, slower track retaining some pavement and the basic outline of the original. It was renamed the A1-Ring and the story continues under that heading.
1998 - Amaroo Park (Austriala) was demolished and turned into - you guessed it - a housing development. Yeah, it was a short and simple track, but a track it was - and correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Austrialia have, like, a ton of undeveloped land they could have used?
2002 - Hockenheim (again) (Germany) had insufficient access for emergency vehicles and no way to provide more, so the circuit owners turned to Hermann Tilke for an A-grade ruination.
2003 - Shah Alam (Malaysia), being, as it was, owned by a Sultan with no particular loyalty to motorsports, it was doomed as soon as Johor and Sepang began to siphon off races. On top of that, safety began to present an issue, so rather than put down the money for upgrades, the Sultan sold it to a private corporation, who predictably dynamited the track and built a housing estate.
2004 - A1-Ring (again) was nearly ruined by environmentalists. Red Bull was going to do the motorsports world a great service by massively upgrading and extending the course, but environmental protestors stopped them in the middle of it (no idea what their objections are/were), leaving the track with no grandstands or pit buildings, but with a big trench across the front straight, dug in preperation for the construction of a new tunnel. Eventually, they completed most of the upgrades and reopened it, but the planned extension came to nothing. Maybe someday...
2004 - Nasu (Japan) closed for reasons unexplained. In all fairness, it was a fairly small, useless track, but still... it's a racetrack, dude.
2007 - Burke Lakefront Airport (USA) hosted its final race. The airport still exists and is operational, so the layout remains physically possible to use, but attempts to revive the Grand Prix of Cleveland have so far come to nothing.
2010 - Oran Park (Australia) closed down and knocked down, taking a fair bit of history with it. When I heard about the demolition, I couldn't believe what they did, but there are indeed houses where there was once a racetrack. Apparently, the owners didn't have much loyalty to motorsports other than for the money it brought them, so when greater potential profits were detected at another facility, they didn't see any problem with selling 40-50 years of racing history to the government. Only one problem - government and cars never mix well. They definitely didn't this time.
2011 or later - Portland International Raceway (USA), a fairly historic track, is now facing tough competition from a new facility a few hours away. There have already been talks of getting rid of it, and a more modern (which almost certainly means stupid and over-designed, though according to available maps the layout holds promise) circuit within a reasonable distance could end up providing the perfect excuse to sacrifice PIR to suburban sprawl. The track still exists and is (as far as I know) active, but if I were you I'd prepare to shed manly tears.
Unknown - Pukekhoe Park (New Zealand) was not demolished, but a fairly significant chunk of pavement was disused instead of being integrated into the main circuit. Reasons cited are the bypassing of a sweeper, and proximity to a residential area limiting track width & runoff area. Isn't it amazing how often racetracks and residential areas conflict?
Unknown - Wigram (Christchurch) (New Zealand) is or was located on a former military airfield. Racing ceased when the facility was sold to a private owner who apparently didn't care for racing. I don't know if the facility still exists.
This is an incomplete list for time reasons. If there's one in Africa, Asia, Austrialia, or Austria I missed, let me know. If you have more detailed information as to why a track was abandoned/destroyed, let me know.
1950s - Mellaha Lake (Libya) was killed by increasing political turmoil - an American military base had to go somewhere, and the track was the chosen place.
1955 - Bremgarten (Switzerland) was abandoned following the Swiss motorsports ban, which, unfortunately, is still in force today.
1960s - Westmead (South Africa) fell into disuse and was redeveloped as a business park.
1960s or 70s - Funabashi (Japan) fell into disuse, may or may not still exist.
1960s or 70s - Monza (Italy) was not demolished and in fact continues to hold F1 races to this day, but for safety reasons the track's infamous banked section was skipped, bringing the total length down quite a bit. It's still sitting there, never demolished and never repaired, and to the best of my knowledge there are no plans either way. Just think, though... NASCAR running on a revised and upgraded Monza oval. That would be quite a sight, for sure.
1976 - Levin (New Zealand) closed down, may or may not still exist.
1977 - Osterreichring (Austria) was given a chicane, turning the fastest turn on the course into the slowest.
1978 - Keimola Motor Stadium (Finland) was abandoned and used as a tire dump. Now little more than a vacant lot.
1982? - Hockenheim (Germany) given three chicanes to keep speeds down.
1988 - Zwartkops (South Africa) partly torn up to make room for a highway, which of course was never built. The two sides of the track are now relinked, but the north section is shortened for no apparent reason.
1989 - Sandown (Australia) was not demolished, but a twistier infield section was disused for some reason, resulting in a simplistic layout measuring just under two miles.
1990 - Westwood (Canada) was demolished. Suburban sprawl claims another victim...
1994 - Baypark (New Zealand) closed down, replaced by a housing estate.
1995 - Osterreichring (again) got Tilked and became a shorter, tighter, slower track retaining some pavement and the basic outline of the original. It was renamed the A1-Ring and the story continues under that heading.
1998 - Amaroo Park (Austriala) was demolished and turned into - you guessed it - a housing development. Yeah, it was a short and simple track, but a track it was - and correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Austrialia have, like, a ton of undeveloped land they could have used?
2002 - Hockenheim (again) (Germany) had insufficient access for emergency vehicles and no way to provide more, so the circuit owners turned to Hermann Tilke for an A-grade ruination.
2003 - Shah Alam (Malaysia), being, as it was, owned by a Sultan with no particular loyalty to motorsports, it was doomed as soon as Johor and Sepang began to siphon off races. On top of that, safety began to present an issue, so rather than put down the money for upgrades, the Sultan sold it to a private corporation, who predictably dynamited the track and built a housing estate.
2004 - A1-Ring (again) was nearly ruined by environmentalists. Red Bull was going to do the motorsports world a great service by massively upgrading and extending the course, but environmental protestors stopped them in the middle of it (no idea what their objections are/were), leaving the track with no grandstands or pit buildings, but with a big trench across the front straight, dug in preperation for the construction of a new tunnel. Eventually, they completed most of the upgrades and reopened it, but the planned extension came to nothing. Maybe someday...
2004 - Nasu (Japan) closed for reasons unexplained. In all fairness, it was a fairly small, useless track, but still... it's a racetrack, dude.
2007 - Burke Lakefront Airport (USA) hosted its final race. The airport still exists and is operational, so the layout remains physically possible to use, but attempts to revive the Grand Prix of Cleveland have so far come to nothing.
2010 - Oran Park (Australia) closed down and knocked down, taking a fair bit of history with it. When I heard about the demolition, I couldn't believe what they did, but there are indeed houses where there was once a racetrack. Apparently, the owners didn't have much loyalty to motorsports other than for the money it brought them, so when greater potential profits were detected at another facility, they didn't see any problem with selling 40-50 years of racing history to the government. Only one problem - government and cars never mix well. They definitely didn't this time.
2011 or later - Portland International Raceway (USA), a fairly historic track, is now facing tough competition from a new facility a few hours away. There have already been talks of getting rid of it, and a more modern (which almost certainly means stupid and over-designed, though according to available maps the layout holds promise) circuit within a reasonable distance could end up providing the perfect excuse to sacrifice PIR to suburban sprawl. The track still exists and is (as far as I know) active, but if I were you I'd prepare to shed manly tears.
Unknown - Pukekhoe Park (New Zealand) was not demolished, but a fairly significant chunk of pavement was disused instead of being integrated into the main circuit. Reasons cited are the bypassing of a sweeper, and proximity to a residential area limiting track width & runoff area. Isn't it amazing how often racetracks and residential areas conflict?
Unknown - Wigram (Christchurch) (New Zealand) is or was located on a former military airfield. Racing ceased when the facility was sold to a private owner who apparently didn't care for racing. I don't know if the facility still exists.
This is an incomplete list for time reasons. If there's one in Africa, Asia, Austrialia, or Austria I missed, let me know. If you have more detailed information as to why a track was abandoned/destroyed, let me know.
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