Forgotten Race Tracks - Rockingham Speedway - Corby Northamptonshire

#abandoned #racetracks #rockingham #corby

Corby seems to suffer one set back after another, the poor little thing. What seemed great at the start, just never really seemed to work out.

Rockingham Speedway was the dream of one man, Peter Davies. He wanted to bring NASCAR style racing to England and set about creating his perfect racetrack.

Things didn't go so well for Peter or the racetrack and that's what I've come to look at in this episode.

FULL ONBOARD RACING VIDEO -

If like me, you enjoy motorsport, history and looking at pieces of tarmac... you'll love "Forgotten Race Tracks" where we take a look at some of the old and abandoned race tracks around England.

From Drag strips to Formula 1 circuits, in this short series, we'll be investigating what remains of Britain's motor racing history.

[JMH]

I’ve been there to watch the BTCC several times and was amazed just how massive it was and how much seating there is. It’s beautiful and so sad to see it never succeeded.

[davidmears]

I was fortunate enough to take part in one of the last meetings at Rockingham in 2018, a Citroen C1 race. I'd never been there before but soon got used to the circuit layout & found it quite challenging with a good variety of corners, straights & a couple of hairpins each with an abrupt change of camber / gradient. Such a shame that that this forward looking circuit has now closed, probably for good.

[althejazzman]

I drove there at the last ever public track day in November 2018. I'm glad to see that it still stands. I can't imagine why people thought it was boring. There are plenty of old airfield tracks with no elevation changes. Rockingham had some brilliant challenging corners and of course the unique banking.

[david]

I did a lot of my motorsport timekeeper training at Rockingham, behind the scenes it was a hell of a facility that easily rivaled any other circuit (save for the new Silverstone race control). Every time I went it was gutting to see such a huge investment and barely any spectators to enjoy it.

[trainswithnickyt]

I was a Spotter here back in the day, initially for the pickups, but also for the cars for their last 2 seasons and it's such a shame to see how it ended up. I used to refer to it as my home away from home, working on setups and racing on the Saturday, socialising til 3am, before rising before 7 and going for a walk/jog around the track and doing it all again for a 2nd day. I slept well on the Sunday night, I can tell ya. I met some fantastic people over the years and if it ever returns as a racing facility, i'll be at the front of the queue for tickets, just to be able to go stand at the back of the main stand and relive all the fond memories I have.

[FatLeonard]

Top Gear went there a few times back in the good old Clarkson days, I believe they shot some of the Alfa Romeo challenge there

[dprid]

I went to the first Indy Car race held there in 2001. We sat for ages whilst they desparately tried to dry the track of the water that was seeping up through the tarmac, and we did eventually get a shortened race, shortened even further by the fact it was getting dark (and bloody cold as I recall). The track didn't work well though, because there was basically only a single racing line, so the demon overtake by Gil de Ferran to take the lead on the last lap was virtually the only racing overtake of the whole race. They fixed the water problem and the new surface made for better racing the next year, but I watched it on TV rather than driving halfway up the country for it. Quite frankly it always amazed me that anyone ever thought it would be financially viable in the first place - it was in the wrong location and was based around a style of racing that the UK had very little experience of. Yes, they managed to stagger on for a few extra years by making better use of the infield track, but it really was a bit of a white elephant from day 1.

[waynesmith]

I went to Rockingham many times to watch btcc, it was my favourite track because you could see the whole lap from the stands, but my best memory was being there the first meeting after David Leslie was killed in a plane crash in 2008, to show respect everybody made lots of noise, those aluminium stands really made a lot of noise, made my spine tingle. Rip.

[GlennValet]

Everyone used to stamp their feet in the stands along to Queen's "We will rock you" - One of my lasting memories of my dad is him stamping his feet deliberately out of time to put people off! The thing that killed the circuit off wasn't lack of races as such but the selling off of the land behind the circuit to build houses. They inevitably complained about the noise as has happened at Mallory Park, thus ending any serious race schedule.

[damiencordner]

I've got the first ever programme in the loft. I come from Corby additional issues that plagued the Speedway was the noise it generated. Local residents from surrounding villages complained. Therefore the track was limited to how many events it could hold. When it first opened we used to get free tickets regularly to the track. The first events showcased 50 Cent, Sugarbabes, Daniel Beddingfield and a few others to help promote the venue. It's a shame as from a spectator's view it was a fantastic venue.

[BunkerMonkeyUK]

I did a two-seater oval experience there in 2004, life changing! I don't think you can go that fast anywhere else since. <3 the place!

[catsdad]

It was an amazing place to watch racing, like a massive scalextric set. The BTCC and GT cars were both fantastic to watch. Not forgetting the view on top of the pit buildings to see the driver changes. Shame it failed .

[theonlywoodyshoes]

I used to work for a large telecommunications company, and many years ago attended the final round of their “driver of the year” competition at Rockingham.

I did get to drive some nice cars, got a go on the skid pan (with a kicker plate at the entry), got a nice day out off work... oh and got to see a certain journalist with the initials VBH roll a hot hatch on one of the corners they were filming at.

I came 9th out of 12, but for a company with over 100, 000 employees and over 7000 entrants that year I was happy with the outcome.

So sad that we keep losing these infrastructure elements, along with small local airports and branch railway lines.

[Hanzilla]

You should add Crystal Palace circuit to the list. Great video series. I am so sad I never experienced Rockingham Speedway, it looks like an excellent circuit, and 13 layouts is insane. Such a pity it could not be saved and that it never really gained enough popularity.

[TheHintonator]

I did a couple of bike track days at Rockingham. I'll always remember, on the first hairpin, a chap behind me slid off his brand new CBR 600RR. Happy times.

[SeegzB]

I was at the last BTCC race their.. I liked that you could see the whole track.. but the massive empty grandstands did reduce the atmosphere.

[o.s.racing]

This vid leaves a small lump in the throat. Back around 2006-2007 BTCC held a media day and I sneaked off work to go for the day, plus I did my only ever single seater experience there in pouring rain. What about a series visiting the many current race circuits, your fun history will make a great series!!!! I'd be happy to help, though my wife and children say I'm more a hinderance if I'm honest :-)

[PurityVendetta]

This really does seem to be a metaphor for a country in terminal decline. Motorsport venues and live music venues, two pastimes close to my heart seem to be closing down left, right and centre. For sure, a sad state of affairs indeed. As you say, it could all have been so good if only...
On a more positive note, on the whole these videos do cheer my up with the quirky content and you style of delivery. Please keep up the good work.

[malcolmriviere]

Great video. About 10 years ago I had the opportunity to drive 3 laps of the circuit in my dream car, an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. The icon is me driving the green AM at Rockingham. A great day out even if I didn’t get anywhere near half the speed of the race cars!

[hmknz]

Cool video, remember going here when I was younger