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Circuit
Bedford Autodrome is a private motor-racing and driving-test complex at Thurleigh, near Bedford, England, built on the former RAF/RAE Thurleigh airfield. The airfield was a Second World War bomber base, home to the United States Army Air Forces' 306th Bombardment Group, and later became a Royal Aircraft Establishment flight-test site whose trials included low-speed research for the Concorde programme. Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision (MSV) group converted part of the airfield into the current driving venue in 1999. Its circuits are built with large run-off areas and no Armco barriers, so the venue is designed for road-car and corporate driving rather than wheel-to-wheel racing in front of spectators. Several interlinking circuit configurations run from short layouts used for specific categories of car up to a full circuit of roughly 3.8 miles (6.1 km). The autodrome is the permanent test base of the GB3 and GB4 single-seater championships, and MSV's PalmerSport corporate driving experience operates from the site across several of its circuits. It also hosts manufacturer testing and car and motorcycle track days, and served as an official training site ahead of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Operated by: MotorSport Vision (MSV)
Bedford Autodrome guide
History
Bedford Autodrome occupies part of the former Thurleigh airfield, a Second World War bomber base that was home to the United States Army Air Forces' 306th Bombardment Group from 1942. After the war the site passed to the Royal Aircraft Establishment, which used it for flight trials including low-speed research for the Concorde programme. In 1999 Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision group converted part of the airfield into a driving venue, and the circuits opened as Bedford Autodrome. The site also served as an official training base ahead of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The circuit
The circuit layouts are built from several interlinking sections that combine into configurations of different lengths, from short circuits used for specific categories of car up to a full circuit of roughly 3.8 miles (6.1 km) used for the largest track days. Large run-off areas and the absence of Armco barriers mean the circuits are built for road-car and corporate driving rather than racing in front of spectators. The venue is the permanent test base for the GB3 and GB4 single-seater championships, and operator MotorSport Vision's PalmerSport driving experience runs across several of the circuits, each paired with a different category of car.
Sources: Wikipedia, official site (bedfordautodrome.co.uk), MotorSport Vision, PalmerSport