Have you been thinking about treating yourself or someone you know to a track day soon? As well as being incredibly exhilarating for car fanatics, a track day give you an idea of what it’s like for a professional driver behind the wheel.
Thankfully the UK is lucky enough to have a huge range of tracks up and down the country that are ideal for those wanting to get involved in a track day. Whether you want to drive your favourite Mercedes Benz, or a number of vehicles, have a look below at the stats for the top 5 racing circuits in the UK.
Brands Hatch
Location: Kent – South East
Length: 2.433 miles
Record time: 1:09.593 – Nigel Mansell (1986)
Best Section: Paddock Hill Bend
Once described by Gerhard Berger as “the best circuit in the world”, Brands Hatch hosted the British Grand Prix in even-numbered years between 1964 and 1986, while Silverstone took on the odd-numbered years. During this time the track saw the likes of Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost and even Ayrton Senna in his early days.
Nowadays, the track is used for a huge range of different events away from F1, including F3 championships, BMCRC Club Bike Championships, Superbike Championships, British Truck Racing and even cycling events. It has a number of track day options for those looking to follow in the footsteps of famous racing legends.
Donington Park
Location: Leicestershire – East Midlands
Length: 2.498 miles
Record time: 1:18.029 – Ayrton Senna (1993)
Best Section: Starkey’s Straight
Famous for being the first permanent park circuit in England, Donington Park was built in 1933 and has enjoyed a lengthy history of hosting major motorsports championships, though has only hosted one major F1 Grand Prix in 1993, where it welcomed Ayrton Senna, Damon Hill and Alain Prost.
The track has tried and failed to host the British Grand Prix on a number of occasions, more recently in 2010 when the bid fell through and it remained at Silverstone. It therefore has concentrated on hosting F3 Championships, Superbike Championships, WorldSBK, Superleague Formula and Truck Racing.
Goodwood
Location: Chichester – South East
Length: 2.367 miles
Record time: 1:18.217 – Nick Padmore (2015)
Best section: Lavant Straight
Well-known for the Festival of Speed hill climb that takes place every year in late June/early July, Goodwood has become a very popular motorsports track in the UK, welcoming classic cars and modern races in equal measure.
Along with the Festival of Speed, the track also hosts the three-day Goodwood Revival in September where vintage cars and motorcycles from the original period of 1948-66 all compete. It is the tradition that visitors dress in period clothing to match the vintage style of the day!
Oulton Park
Location: Cheshire – North West
Length: 2.692 miles
Record time: 1:24.68 – Gareth Rees (1996)
Best section: Knickerbrook
Despite never hosting an F1 Grand Prix, Oulton Park is one of the most active circuits in the UK today, with it’s very own Gold Cup being an incredibly popular and frequent racing event. Not least because the event attracted talent such as Stirling Moss, Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart dating back to 1954.
The track has also hosted prestigious events such as the European Formula 5000, Formula Two Championships, British Formula 3000, British Formula Three, British Touring Car Championship and the British Superbike Championships.
Silverstone
Location: Northamptonshire/Buckinghamshire – East Midlands
Length: 3.661 miles
Record time: 1:30.621 – Lewis Hamilton (2017)
Best section:
The current home of the British Grand Prix means that this track is one of the most sought after for fans of F1 and many other motorsport disciplines in the UK. It has hosted in one way or another since 1948, so has a rich history of world-class drivers taking to the circuit. The rights to the Grand Prix almost went to Donington Park in 2010, but due to economic difficulties remained at Silverstone.
Known as the “Home of British Motor Racing”, Silverstone has been redeveloped many times since first hosting the Grand prix, but has continued to provide the best facilities and most exciting track in the UK. This ensures popularity from modern-day race fans and is subsequently the most sought after circuit for track days, for those following in the footsteps of current world champion Lewis Hamilton.
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Sourced images:
Brands Hatch by John Chapman – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66382590
Donington Park by Gustavo Girardelli – Contains map data © OpenStreetMap. Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39468656
Goodwood by Will Pittenger – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8353849
Oulton Park by Will Pittenger – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oulton_Park.svg#licensing, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40849350
Silverstone by AlexJ – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21935998