Thruxton Circuit

Motorsport venue
Name = Thruxton |

Location = Hampshire, England
Events = BTCC, Pickup Truck Racing, British F3, British Superbikes
Length_km = 3.793
Length_mi = 2.356
Turns = 11
Record_time = 1:01.96
Record_class = EuroBOSS
Record_driver = Earl Goddard
Record_team = Fred Goddard Racing
Record_year = 2000

Thruxton Circuit is a notable attraction for visitors to the village of Thruxton in Hampshire, England, originally built in 1940 as RAF Thruxton, a World War II airfield and home to both the RAF and USAF, it was used for troop-carrying aircraft and gliders during the D-Day landings. In 1946 it was decommissioned and from 1950 it was used for motorsport. Motorcycling was the first sport to be staged there, with motor racing following in 1952.

Motorsport Activities

Owing to planning restrictions, the circuit can only run 12 days of motorsport each year. Currently, three are devoted to motorbike racing, with a weekend dedicated to the British Superbike championship, Britain’s premier motorcycle racing category; with the third day being used for club racing. The remaining days are devoted to car racing with weekends being used for the TOCA British Touring Car Championship, the British Formula 3 and British GT package and the new for 2006 Dunlop Great and British Festival, which features rounds of the British Truck Racing Championship, the International Truck Racing Challenge as well as the staples of the festival, including the Radical endurance races. Two separate one day meetings are run for amateur championships of the BARC, one of which is entitled the ‘Thruxton Classic’, which features races for Classic Touring Cars, Classic Formula Ford 1600 and Formula Ford 2000. The remaining day is allocated to other organising clubs, such as the 750 Motor Club and Historic Sports Car Club. Owing to the relative infrequency of race meetings, Thruxton continues to be a popular part of the motorsport calendar.

Points of Interest

During race weekends, a radio commentary service entitled Radio Thruxton operates on the Medium Wave band on 1602 kHz. This has commentators at the key points of the track, namely, the aforementioned Chicane and Complex as well as a pit reporter, who conducts interviews with the race winners.

Outside of motor racing, the circuit offers a driving school for aspiring racing drivers, plus featured as the venue for BBC3’s series ‘Stars in Fast Cars’.