Upcoming meetings
- Nov29
- Aug14–15
Circuit
Croft Circuit is a motor racing venue at Dalton-on-Tees in North Yorkshire, England, and the principal motorsport venue in the north-east of the country. The site opened in 1941 as RAF Croft, a satellite bomber airfield used by Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster squadrons, and closed for flying in 1946. Local enthusiasts raced informally on the disused runways and perimeter roads before a consortium bought part of the site in 1962 and built a permanent track, which opened in August 1964 as Croft Autodrome. The venue later hosted rallycross alongside circuit racing, and after a quiet period for circuit racing in the 1980s it was redeveloped twice in the 1990s, reopening in its modern form in 1995 and gaining an extended, upgraded layout in 1997. That work produced the current 3.423 km (2.127-mile), sixteen-turn Full Circuit, together with a shorter Club Circuit A of 1.997 km (1.241 miles) and eight turns; a further configuration recorded in some catalogues could not be confirmed as currently offered from the operator's site or other independent sources. Croft is run today as Croft Circuit, a trading name of BARC (Croft) Ltd, part of the British Automobile Racing Club, and is a long-standing fixture on the British Touring Car Championship calendar. It also runs club race meetings, track and test days, driving experiences and corporate hospitality through its Hangar 50 event space.
Operated by: Privately operated (BARC affiliated)
Croft Circuit guide
History
Croft began as RAF Croft, a satellite bomber airfield that opened in 1941 and closed to flying in 1946. Local racers used its runways informally after the war, and in 1962 a consortium of enthusiasts bought part of the site to build a permanent circuit, opening it as Croft Autodrome in August 1964. The venue became known for rallycross as well as circuit racing through the late 1960s and 1970s, and circuit racing lapsed for a period in the 1980s while rallycross continued. Two rounds of redevelopment in the 1990s reopened the circuit in its modern form in 1995 and delivered an extended, upgraded layout in 1997, and it has been a fixture on the British Touring Car Championship calendar ever since.
The circuit
The current Full Circuit is 3.423 km (2.127 miles) with sixteen turns, mixing fast sweeps with tighter infield sections across what was once the airfield's runways and perimeter roads. A shorter Club Circuit A, 1.997 km (1.241 miles) with eight turns, omits part of the lap for club racing and testing. Croft is run today as a trading name of BARC (Croft) Ltd, part of the British Automobile Racing Club.
Sources: Croft Circuit (official site); Wikipedia