Westwood Motorsport Park

Motorsport venue
Name = Westwood Motorsport Park
Nicknames = Mountain High Racing


Location = Coquitlam, British Columbia
Broke_ground = 1957
Opened = 1959
Closed = 1990
Owner = Province of British Columbia
Operator = Sports Car Club of British Columbia
Events = Formula Atlantic Series
Trans-Am Series
Player's GM Challenge Series
Layout1 = Road Course
Length_km = 2.9
Length_mi = 1.8
Turns = 8

Westwood Motorsport Park (or Westwood Racing Circuit) was a convert|1.8|mi|km|2 8-turn road racing circuit located in Coquitlam, British Columbia on the southern slopes of Eagle Mountain (known locally as "Eagle Ridge"). The track was built and operated by the Sports Car Club of British Columbia (SCCBC). Construction of Westwood began in 1957, and the first race was held on July 26th, 1959, making it the first purpose-built permanent road course in Canada.

Westwood hosted many different professional race series over the years, including long stints with the Formula Atlantic Series, Trans-Am Series, and Player's GM Challenge Series. Champion drivers to have raced professionally at Westwood include Formula 1 World Champion Keke Rosberg, Indianapolis 500 winners Bobby Rahal and Danny Sullivan, as well as other famous names including Gilles Villeneuve and Michael Andretti.

The track, which was located on leased provincial crown land, eventually fell victim to urban development. The track finally closed in 1990 to make way for the Westwood Plateau housing development and a pair of golf courses.

Trivia

The December 12th, 1988 episode of MacGyver, titled "", was primarily filmed at Westwood (where it was referred to as the "Westwood Springs Race Course"). The Player's GM Challenge Series served as the backdrop of the story.

References

* Johnston, Tom, "Westwood, Everyone’s Favourite Racing Circuit", Granville Island Publishing, ISBN 978-1-894694-49-0

External links

*http://www.etracksonline.co.uk/Features/stories/canadaspioneer.html
*http://www.sccbc.net/about.htm