Abandoned Racetracks

[Morbid65]

Does anyone know if they planted a new one? I have no idea how long oak trees take to grow and what not, but it would be cool if in however many years, we had a new oak tree there.

I do know that they used the old tree to create the trophies for when ALMS/IMSA returned to the circuit, which is neat.

If I'm remembering correctly, it was said that they have no plans for planting another one in the same spot, mainly for safety reasons. Since it's a relatively low speed corner, it wasn't too dangerous and was fine since it was already there, but leaving something iconic that is already there is a lot different than deliberately placing something that will eventually become quite solid a few feet off of the edge of the circuit. Insurance companies generally have little interest in sentiment.

I think another one was planted outside of the track though, and there was carving made in a piece of the original Oak Tree that was to be put where it used to stand.

They also made keychains out of Oak Tree that you could buy, but I can't remember if they were only offered to the Driving Club members or if they were for public sale as well.

I don't know if anything ever came of it, but they also had partnered up with Virginia Tech to attempt to clone Oak Tree and make saplings that they were going to give (sell?) to the community/fans so that you could plant your own.

Edit: Ah, here's the story about the new oak tree being planted. It was actually grown from an acorn from the original, which is pretty cool.

http://www.yourgv.com/news/local_ne...cle_370f6aae-dc51-11e4-a889-6b137432ff70.html

 

[Grand Prix]

Found this cool video of the current state of the pre-1970 Spa-Francorchamps circuit. It has commentary of Lucien Bianchi with English subtitles and an Aston Martin DB4 soundtrack taken from a 1962 film. He has some good tips there for those of us still learning the track in simulators. 👍 They apply best to 50s and early 60s F1 cars.



Not much appears to have changed.

 

[Liquid]

A very rare configuration of Old Monza. It even runs in the opposite direction of all other configurations, as far as I know.

Florio Circuit

 

[Downhill Dino]

Are there pictures of the outer chicane? I wonder what that looked like for a high banking corner.

 

[TheCracker]

Are there pictures of the outer chicane? I wonder what that looked like for a high banking corner.

I had a look in the Classic Motorsport Photos thread, but it's quite extensive now and a lot of early pictures are no longer hosted, but there are a lot of old Monza shots in there.

Other high-banked circuits that have added chicanes to slow things down - Daytona 24hr layout, Montlhery in France etc, have usually added them to the flat infield on the edge of the track rather than on it itself which i think would end up being pretty dangerous. If you look at a Google Maps view of Monza as it is now, you can see a slight clearing in the trees, just before an underpass, where i imagine it was placed at the time.

Montlhery:

 

[Grand Prix]

Are there pictures of the outer chicane? I wonder what that looked like for a high banking corner.

Found some footage for you from 1938, run in the normal direction. Chicane is at 4:22.

As far as I'm aware there were only two chicanes in the 1938 configuration, so this might be what we are looking for. 1935-1937 had multiple chicanes like Monza has now, with the addition of the southern half of the oval, and two chicanes on the banking. The chicanes were used in these years to reduce the straight line speed advantage of the German cars.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Okay, this is my first time in this thread, but I've started to get interested in abandoned race tracks. This is one I recently learned about, sorry if it's been posted already. I like Augusta's scenery, I would love for this to appear in a racing game someday.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusta_International_Raceway

 

[Jimlaad43]

In case anyone hasn't seen it, this guy on Youtube has spent the last few weeks searching for a mythical "Airbase Speedway" which held a NASCAR race in 1951, but seems to have disappeared from all records since. An interesting watch.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

SlapShoes has honestly become one of my favorite youtube channels to watch since discovering him months back.

 

[RazorSharkz]

I highly suggest that series of videos. Lots of cool research went into looking for a track that almost no one has heard of.

 

[senamic]

One of these days I am going to have to get out with the camera to do a walk of the old Caversham Circuit. It hosted the Australian Grand Prix in 1957 and 1962 (they were Formula Libre races, and the 57 race was the first ever round of the Australian Driver's Championship). International fans would be interested to hear that Bruce McLaren won the 62 race in a Cooper T62 (and Jack Brabham also ran in that year, retiring his Repco Brabham BT4 late in the race).
The layout used for most racing was the "D Layout", which was the following:

The circuit ran clockwise, so from the start it opened with the right hander of Anson and finished on Lockheed. There was also the triangle circuit, where 6 hour Le Mans races were held a few times:

A few other layouts were used over the years, but one amusing one (from the source of the above image), is the following:
"...on another occasion the main straight alone was used for a "Southport" race, in which the cars U-turned at either end, making a very long narrow oval."
Racing half a century ago was really something. Of note is the disagreement over corner names - it appears that there were names inspired by various US and Australian service aircraft and manufacturers originally, with commercial interests coming in to sponsor corners, or regulars giving sections nicknames as time went on (I am slightly doubtful that Bugatti were chomping at the bit to sponsor a corner in then semi rural Western Austalia).
These days the track is in quite the state of disrepair, with this aerial shot being the most recent picture I can find of Caversham Airfield:

As it stands, some of the land of the track is currently slated for housing development, but the WA Vintage Sports Car Club has been fighting for well over a decade to preserve and one day restore Caversham Circuit for historic and classic events. Things are currently up in the air, but if you would like the most up to date article I am aware of it can be found at this link. Things look a bit grim (as the minister responsible for this has been rather fond of the idea of low cost housing in that area), but I hope that at least somebody got some benefit from reading about a less discussed part of Australian racing history. If I am ever able to do an original track walk I would be sure to share the photos here, if people were interested.

 

[Pete05]

One of these days I am going to have to get out with the camera to do a walk of the old Caversham Circuit. It hosted the Australian Grand Prix in 1957 and 1962 (they were Formula Libre races, and the 57 race was the first ever round of the Australian Driver's Championship). International fans would be interested to hear that Bruce McLaren won the 62 race in a Cooper T62 (and Jack Brabham also ran in that year, retiring his Repco Brabham BT4 late in the race).
The layout used for most racing was the "D Layout", which was the following:

The circuit ran clockwise, so from the start it opened with the right hander of Anson and finished on Lockheed. There was also the triangle circuit, where 6 hour Le Mans races were held a few times:

A few other layouts were used over the years, but one amusing one (from the source of the above image), is the following:
"...on another occasion the main straight alone was used for a "Southport" race, in which the cars U-turned at either end, making a very long narrow oval."
Racing half a century ago was really something. Of note is the disagreement over corner names - it appears that there were names inspired by various US and Australian service aircraft and manufacturers originally, with commercial interests coming in to sponsor corners, or regulars giving sections nicknames as time went on (I am slightly doubtful that Bugatti were chomping at the bit to sponsor a corner in then semi rural Western Austalia).
These days the track is in quite the state of disrepair, with this aerial shot being the most recent picture I can find of Caversham Airfield:

As it stands, some of the land of the track is currently slated for housing development, but the WA Vintage Sports Car Club has been fighting for well over a decade to preserve and one day restore Caversham Circuit for historic and classic events. Things are currently up in the air, but if you would like the most up to date article I am aware of it can be found at this link. Things look a bit grim (as the minister responsible for this has been rather fond of the idea of low cost housing in that area), but I hope that at least somebody got some benefit from reading about a less discussed part of Australian racing history. If I am ever able to do an original track walk I would be sure to share the photos here, if people were interested.

With the plans the Minister has up his sleeve, it might be a good idea to do the walk & photos before it’s too late and the opportunity is gone forever.

 

[senamic]

With the plans the Minister has up his sleeve, it might be a good idea to do the walk & photos before it’s too late and the opportunity is gone forever.

Her sleeve*
That being said, I will probably get in touch with the Classic Sports Car Club again over the spring, I think a summer track walk will be in order. Additionally, I am contemplating learning whatever the current generation of track editor is, so that I can at least preserve the circuit in some way.

 

[Jimlaad43]

A 6 hour race on a triangular circuit? That must have got boring for the drivers very quickly.

 

[TenEightyOne]

A 6 hour race on a triangular circuit? That must have got boring for the drivers very quickly.

I'm guessing the layout was more like UK airfield circuits where some perimeter roads could be used too? Otherwise... yes, pretty dull

 

[Pete05]

A 6 hour race on a triangular circuit? That must have got boring for the drivers very quickly.

It would have to be more interesting than a 'Southport' race - racing up and down a runway with U-turns at both ends.

 

[senamic]

A 6 hour race on a triangular circuit? That must have got boring for the drivers very quickly.

I'm guessing the layout was more like UK airfield circuits where some perimeter roads could be used too? Otherwise... yes, pretty dull

It is worth remembering the time when this circuit was in its prime was an era that most racing in WA was hillclimbing, desert top speed runs and dirt speedway. The Triangle Layout was used for 6 hour Le Mans style endurance races in an era when an endurance race was 8 sedans driving around a short dirt oval in a paddock for a couple of hours, instead there was sealed surface racing with dozens of vehicles. It is also worth noting that as far as I am aware the Triangle layout was only used a few times in its "pure" form, with temporary chicanes erected later. The endurance racing culture locally at the time was less around drivers lapping a difficult track for a long duration of time, and more about prolonged car breaker sprint races. Quite frankly, if you were used to driving a heavily modified 50s Holden or Ford around some bloke's paddock all afternoon, a triangle of runways would have been a godsend for racing. I would suggest looking at the D Layout though, a 2.2 mile sealed course in one of the most remote cities on the planet in that day and age was indeed something special.

 

[KubaKozal]

Hi!

Are there pictures of the outer chicane? I wonder what that looked like for a high banking corner.

If you look at a Google Maps view of Monza as it is now, you can see a slight clearing in the trees, just before an underpass, where i imagine it was placed at the time.

Remember that the old banking was not so steep, and was torn down in late 30s.
Present banking was built in the 50s, and it has ben moved a few meters to the north.

Found some footage for you from 1938, run in the normal direction.

While most sources claim that the 1934 circuit was ran clockwise, this footage shows that it was rather anti-clockwise:

Banked corner at 1:18 is propably old version of Parabolica...

 

[Nico_Ble99]

A local race track that has been abandoned since 1984. The then privately owned Motodrom Gelsenkrichen (otherwise called Almaring) has hosted tons of Autospeedway and motorcylcle races between 1969 and 1984. The unofficial name of Almaring was given due to it's location, with the Alma coke facility being almost next to it. The circuit is still there today (while vegetation has claimed most parts of the circuit), and some bits of Armco or tyre barriers are still there. On average, 150 to 200 drivers brought their machines and gave it their all every race day. The good thing is: the whole circuit is not closed to the public, it's entirely open for exploring. And by local, I mean it's just a 30 minute drive until I get there. Probably going there soon for some exploring.

Man, I wish I would have lived when the circuit was still in use. Must have been awesome.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

I just remembered this track, Marlboro Motor Raceway. It was built back in 1954 and SCCA events took place here, but apparently got closed in 1969 for safety reasons. Summit Point Motorsports Park replaced it.

The safety concerns were this:

Summit Point boasted greater safety and a much more accommodating landscape. One major safety concern at Marlboro was its two opposing straights on the south and east sides of the circuit. Oncoming traffic was generally separated by nothing more than a grass median and contemporary wood and tire barriers. Due to the track's location and orientation, addressing the facility's safety flaws would have been costly and tedious.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlboro_Motor_Raceway

Oh and someone recreated the track as a mod for Assetto Corsa:

 

[Pete05]

I just remembered this track, Marlboro Motor Raceway. It was built back in 1954 and SCCA events took place here, but apparently got closed in 1969 for safety reasons. Summit Point Motorsports Park replaced it.

The safety concerns were this:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlboro_Motor_Raceway

Oh and someone recreated the track as a mod for Assetto Corsa:

You can see from the old footage taken at Cappy's Corner, how close the cars ran in opposite directions & the safety concerns mentioned.

Although it looks like a nice track, the wrong type of accident where a car was launched towards the dividing fence doesn't bare thinking about the potential outcome

 

[Nico_Ble99]

I found some videos of the Almaring I posted about yesterday, enjoy!

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Although it looks like a nice track, the wrong type of accident where a car was launched towards the dividing fence doesn't bare thinking about the potential outcome

Yup, it was likely for the best to close the track.

---
Part of me wants to explore Marlboro Raceway as it's at most only a 2 hour drive from my house. The only problem is that it's closed off and I don't want to risk getting in trouble for trespassing.

 

[Pete05]

Yup, it was likely for the best to close the track.

---
Part of me wants to explore Marlboro Raceway as it's at most only a 2 hour drive from my house. The only problem is that it's closed off and I don't want to risk getting in trouble for trespassing.

You could try finding out who owns the property & seek permission.

You never know, they might say yes.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

You could try finding out who owns the property & seek permission.

You never know, they might say yes.

That's true they might, I'll give it a try one day.

 

[TenEightyOne]

That's true they might, I'll give it a try one day.

Tell them you want to take photos and write about the circuit and that your article will be submitted to GTPlanet

 

[Northstar]

Another S1apSh0es video. This guy seems pretty good at this, hopefully he keeps it up.

 

[Nico_Ble99]

Decided to finally do some exploring at the Almaring today. Here are some shots I took while I was there:

It feels a bit bit surreal walking on a race track. I'm surprised how well everything still is, I could only imagine the cars going 'round the place.

 

[Liquid]

A picture now 8 years out-of-date but still interesting to look at.

Ostkurve, Hockenheimring (2012)

 

[Pete05]

A picture now 8 years out-of-date but still interesting to look at.

Ostkurve, Hockenheimring (2012)

I watched the 1970 German GP highlights over the Easter break.

I was interested to see how the Ostkurve looked like it had been re-profiled away from the original layout that hugged the guardrail & only metres away from the trees.
Although the footage was black & white, you could see the darker, newer tarmac also in evidence at the chicanes before & after the Ostkurve.