Gimli Motorsports Park

Gimli Motorsports Park is a multi-track motorsports facility located in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada. The 95-hectare facility features a 1/4-mile dragstrip, a 1.3-mile road racing course, a one-kilometre karting track and a two-kilometre motocross track. The park hosts events for motorsports groups including the Winnipeg Sports Car Club, Drag Racing Association of Manitoba, Manitoba Roadracing Association (Superbikes), and the Manitoba Karting Association.[1]

Gimli Motorsports Park
LocationGimli, Manitoba, Canada
Time zoneUTC-6 (UTC-5 DST)
Coordinates50°37′35″N 97°3′5″W
Broke ground1972
Opened1973
Major eventsAtlantic Championship
Player's Manitoba
(1972-1977)
Canadian Superbike Championship
(1985-1988)
Road Course
Length2.09 km (1.3 miles)
Turns8
Drag Strip
Length0.4 km (.25 miles)
Karting Track
Length1.0 km (0.62 miles)
Turns13
Race lap record35.501 (John Buzza, , 2015, DD2)
Motocross Track
Length2 km (1.24 miles)

History

On August 6, 1972 the Winnipeg Sports Car Club organized the first road racing event on one of the original decommissioned parallel runways of RCAF Station Gimli which had closed the previous year in September 1971. Racing switched to the current dedicated 2.09 km (1.30 mi) course in 1973. Gimli Industrial Park Airport continues to operate on the second runway of the World War II airfield.[2]

Gimli Motorsport Park was the site of the infamous Gimli Glider incident in 1983, an aviation accident in which Air Canada Flight 143, a Boeing 767, ran out of fuel and landed on the former runway, then operating as the race track during a Formula Ford race. There were no serious injuries reported, and the plane suffered minimal damage.[3]

From 1990 to 1996, Gimli Motorsports Park was the host of the Sunfest rock festival, which was attended by tens of thousands of people every August.

Interlake Dragway

Interlake Dragway is a 1/4-mile IHRA sanctioned drag strip located inside the road course. Drag racing started at the facility in 1978, and has previously operated under the names Dragways International, Viking Dragway, and Gimli Dragway.[4]

Former series and major race winners

CASC Atlantic Championship

Gimli Motorsport Park hosted the CASC Player's Challenge Series (Formula B / Atlantic Championship) from 1972 to 1977 including Gilles Villeneuve's first victory in Formula Atlantic on June 22, 1975.

Year Date Driver Car
1972 August 6 Canada Richard Craig Hill Lotus 69B [5]
1973 August 5 Canada Ric Forest Brabham BT-35 [6]
1974 June 23 United States Tom Klausler Lola T-360 [7]
1975 June 22 Canada Gilles Villeneuve March 75B [8]
1976 June 13 Canada Gilles Villeneuve March 76B [9]
1977 June 26 United States Bobby Rahal March 77B [10]

See also

References
  1. "Motorsports central". riderswestmag.com. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  2. "Gimli Motorsports Park". autocourse.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  3. "Gimli Motorsports Park". Wikimapia. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  4. "Gimli Dragway". North American Motorsports Pages. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  5. "1972 CASC Formula B Player's Championship Series". autocourse.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  6. "1973 CASC Formula B Player's Championship Series". autocourse.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  7. "1974 CASC Player's Challenge Series". champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  8. "1975 CASC Player's Challenge Series". champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  9. "1976 CASC Player's Challenge Series". champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  10. "1977 CASC Labatt Challenge Series". champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
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