Croft Circuit

Croft Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near Dalton-on-Tees in North Yorkshire, England.[1] The tarmac circuit is 2.127 mi (3.423 km) long and is based on the lands of an airfield, but has long since moved on from being a basic airfield circuit. The circuit holds meetings of the British Touring Car Championship, British Rallycross and Pickup Truck Racing race series.

Croft Circuit
LocationNorth Yorkshire, England
Time zoneGMT (UTC+0)
BST (April–October, UTC+1)
Coordinates54°27′21″N 1°33′46″W
FIA Grade3
Opened1964 (re-opened 1995)
Closed1981
Major eventsCurrent:
BTCC (1997–present)
TCR UK (2018–2019, 2023)
Former:
BSB (2004–2011)
British F3 (1997–2005, 2007–2008)
British GT (1997–2002, 2005, 2007)
Main Circuit (1997–present)
Length3.423 km (2.127 miles)
Turns16
Race lap record1:13.656 (Mexico Sergio Pérez, Dallara F308, 2008, F3)
Club Circuit 'A' (1997–present)
Length1.997 km (1.241 miles)
Turns8
Autodrome (1995–1996)
Length2.897 km (1.800 miles)
Turns13
Autodrome (1964–1981)
Length2.816 km (1.750 miles)
Turns12

History

The first records of racing at Croft date back to the 1920s, but it was after the Second World War that Croft circuit became a significant motorsport venue.

At the beginning of the Second World War an airfield named RAF Croft was built on the site now occupied by the circuit. RAF Croft also known as Croft Aerodrome, was mainly used as a bomber airfield. It was home to a number of different aircraft types including Wellington, Lancaster, Whitley, Stirling and Halifax bombers.

There were a number of notorious accidents mainly involving returning bombers missing their runway. One bomber made it all the way back from Germany only to crash into a tree at Atley Hill, about 4 mi (6.4 km) away; all the crew were killed. The dead stump of the tree survived as a grim memorial on Atley Hill until it was grubbed out by the landowner in the mid 1990s.

Croft Aerodrome was home to a number of squadrons including 419 Squadron from Canada. The platforms at the nearby Eryholme railway station were often crowded with airmen and ground crew during the war years. The verges along the public access road to Croft Aerodrome were used to store racks of bombs and other military equipment, a fascinating attraction to local children at the time.

At the end of hostilities the aerodrome was abandoned by the RAF, it is still possible to see some military era buildings and structures surviving on nearby farmland, though most of the major structures such as hangars have been demolished and used as hardcore in the nearby villages of North Cowton, Dalton-on-Tees and Croft-on-Tees.

In 1947 businessman and councillor John Neasham acquired the lease to the land and formed Darlington and District Aero Club. However, the club folded after only 5 years and the airfield fell into disuse.

During the late 1940s and into the 1950s, Darlington & District Motor Club held Motor Race Meetings on various layouts utilising the runways and perimeter roads and then in 1962 Bruce Ropner and fellow enthusiasts bought half the venue at public auction, completing a track on the site in July 1964. The first meeting in August 1964,[2] attracted a crowd of between 30,000 and 50,000 people.

Over the years the circuit has played host to many famous names and has hosted national and international meetings. However, slowly attention focussed on circuits in the south of England such as Brands Hatch, Silverstone and Lydden and in December 1967 Croft began hosting Rallycross. The events were utilised by ITV's World Of Sport and were televised live. Whilst Rallycross was considered to be a winter sport, circuit racing continued. By 1981 the profitability had fallen and with the circuit requiring a total resurfacing, it closed to circuit racing. Local farmer, George Shield, agreed a lease to run Rallycross and, in conjunction with Darlington & District Motor Club, successfully developed the track for this sport. Croft held the FIA Internations-Cup events of 1987 and 1990 as well as the 1994 British round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship.

With the attention brought by Rallycross the decision was taken to reintroduce tarmac racing and became a popular host of motorcycle and car racing.

Corners 1 & 2
Fabrizio Giovanardi at the complex

In 1997 the circuit underwent a major transformation – the circuit was extended to 2.127 mi (3.423 km) and new pits, paddock complex, control tower and spectator areas were constructed.

British Touring Cars and British Superbikes soon came to the circuit. British Superbikes remained a regular feature until 2011, while British Touring Cars remain a regular feature on the calendar.

A regular Monster Energy British Rallycross Championship fixture continues the long history of Rallycross at Croft. The MSA British RallyCross Grand Prix featured at Croft in 2013.

Controversy

In 2000, an official complaint was upheld by local residents over the noise produced by the racing car engines. This was claimed to be having an effect on some people's health, although Darlington Borough Council later quashed this, Croft Circuit gives a number of free tickets to local residents as compensation for the noise.

The circuit lost a court case in April 2008 and the claimants were awarded a total of £149,600 in compensation for the noise suffered but their request for an injunction against the existing operation of the circuit was refused. Both parties appealed this judgement. The appeal was heard on 15 January 2009 with the decision being made on 26 January 2009. The claimant's appeal was upheld; the injunction was granted and was the only substantive impact of the case. "Noisy days" were limited to 40 days. This had been the primary objective of the claimants and the outcome of the lawsuit was that the 40-day injunction was granted instead of monetary damages. The damage payments were therefore reduced to a nominal level, though the circuit was still liable for legal costs. The primary reasoning behind this outcome was that the circuit could make no reasonable case that its economic survival would be affected by this injunction. The circuit continues to operate its major race days which account for the vast majority of its revenue. (Feb 2009)

A copy of the appeal judgement can be found at http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2009/15.html. (Feb 2009)

Major races

Croft has been staging major races since 1996. They are the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), along with support series Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, Renault Clio Cup, Historic Car Racing, and Ginetta Junior Championship: and formerly hosted the UK Formula Renault, UK Formula BMW, SEAT Leon Cupra Championship.

The British Superbike Championship left the calendar following the 2011 season and is not yet scheduled to return to Croft.

Croft last featured on the F3/GT calendar for the 2007 and the 2008 season.

Lap records

As of September 2023, the fastest official race lap records at the Croft Circuit are listed as:

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleEvent
Main Circuit: 3.423 km (1997–present)
Formula Three1:13.656[3]Sergio PérezDallara F3082008 Croft British F3 round
GT11:16.759[4]Tim SugdenMcLaren F1 GTR1999 Croft British GT round
Formula 41:17.465[5]Alex DunneTatuus F4-T-4212022 Croft British F4 round
Superkart1:18.601[6]Matt RobinsonAnderson Division 1 Superkart2023 Croft Historic Race Weekend
Porsche Carrera Cup1:19.540[7]Dan CammishPorsche 911 (991 II) GT3 Cup2021 Croft Porsche Carrera Cup GB round
BSB1:19.695[8]Ryuichi KiyonariHonda CBR1000RR2007 Croft BSB round
Ferrari Challenge1:21.493[9]Jamie ClarkeFerrari 488 Challenge2019 Croft Ferrari Challenge UK round
Super Touring1:21.611[10]Rickard RydellFord Mondeo Zetec2000 Croft BTCC round
NGTC1:21.781[11]Colin TurkingtonBMW 330i M Sport2020 Croft BTCC round
Formula BMW1:21.810[12]James SuttonMygale FB022004 Croft Formula BMW UK round
TCR Touring Car1:22.784[13]Jac ConstableAudi RS 3 LMS TCR2023 Croft TCR UK round
BTC Touring1:25.749[14]James ThompsonBTC-T Vauxhall Astra Coupe2002 Croft BTCC round
Super 20001:26.297[15]Gordon SheddenHonda Civic2010 Croft BTCC round
Autodrome: 2.816 km (1964–1981)
Group 71:04.800[16]Chris CraftMcLaren M8C1970 RAC Croft Interserie round
Group 41:08.000[17]Trevor TaylorLola T70 Mk.IIIB GT1969 Wills Trophy
Group 5 prototype1:09.400[18]Jeremy LordLola T2121973 Croft MN GT round
Group 5 sports car1:09.900[19]Peter BrownFerrari 512 M1972 Croft MN GT round
Formula 31:15.400[20]Jim MooreCooper T761965 BARC Croft Formula Libre race
Group 31:17.400[21]John Coundley[lower-alpha 1]
Brian Redman[lower-alpha 1]		Tojeiro EE[lower-alpha 1]
Jaguar E-Type[lower-alpha 1]		1965 BARC Croft GT race
Clubman1:23.000[22]David PrestonLotus Seven1965 BARC Croft Sports/Clubman race
Group 11:25.600[23]Bob SmithAustin Mini Cooper S1965 BARC Croft Handicap race

Rallying
Renault Clio Rally car competing at Croft Circuit's Christmas Stages Rally 2019
Renault Clio Rally car competing at Croft Circuit's Christmas Stages Rally 2019

Croft Circuit has hosted stage rallies since at least 1983[24] including 2 stages in the Network Q RAC Rally 1996.

From 2001 Croft Circuit has frequently hosted the Christmas Stages Rally organised by Northallerton Automobile Club and Jack Frost Stages Rally organised by Darlington & District Motor Club. Both events used the circuit and roads within the venue during the winter months.

In 2021 British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) boss Ben Taylor issued a statement announcing "that Croft Circuit will not host rallying or rallycross events next season". This came under much criticism from fans and competitors.[25]

However, on 4 September 2022 Northallerton Automobile Club and Darlington & District Motor Club announced a return of stage rallying to Croft Circuit with the Swift Signs & Shirts Winter Stages Rally running on Sunday 27 November 2022.[26]

Notes
  1. Both drivers took the same lap time independently.

References
  1. "Croft – Motor Sport Magazine database". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  2. Lloyd, Chris (26 July 2019). "Turning Point in History". Darlington & Stockton Times. No. 30–2019. p. 54. ISSN 2516-5348.
  3. "2008 Croft British F3 – Round 4". Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  4. "British GT Croft 1999". Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  5. "2022 ROKiT F4 British Championship Certified by FIA Round 14 – Classification" (PDF). 25 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  6. "2023 Superkarting UK – Superprix" (PDF). 2 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  7. "Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain 2021 Round 9 – Classification" (PDF). 19 September 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  8. "2007 Croft BSB Race 2 Statistics". Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  9. "2019 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli UK – Croft – Race 1 – Classification – Amended" (PDF). 20 July 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  10. "BTCC 2000 » Croft Round 13 Results". Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  11. "BTCC 2020 » Croft Round 21 Results". Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  12. "BTCC – Round 6 – Croft – 2004 Formula BMW UK Championship – Provisional Result – Round 11". 24 July 2004. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  13. "2023 TCR UK Touring Car Championship Croft Race 7 – Classification" (PDF). 7 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  14. "BTCC 2002 » Croft Round 11 Results". Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  15. "BTCC 2010 » Croft Round 13 Results". Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  16. "Interserie Croft 1970". Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  17. "Wills Trophy Croft 1969". Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  18. "MN GT Croft 1973". Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  19. "MN GT Croft 1972". Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  20. "BARC Croft [Formula Libre] 1965". Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  21. "BARC Croft [GT+1.15] 1965". Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  22. "BARC Croft [Sports/Clubman] 1965". Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  23. "BARC Croft [Handicap A] 1965". Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  24. "SS 4+5 – Croft stage map | Mintex International Rally 1983 [BRC] 🌍". Rally-Maps.com. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  25. "Croft Circuit boss responds to criticism over Christmas Stages and Jack Frost rallies". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  26. "Facebook Winter Stages Rally post". Facebook. 4 September 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
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