Utah Motorsports Campus

Utah Motorsports Campus is a race track facility located in Grantsville near Tooele, Utah, United States. It operated under the name of Miller Motorsports Park from 2006 until October 2015.[1] The course has hosted auto, motorcycle, bicycle and kart racing, along with corporate events.

Utah Motorsports Campus
Location2901 North Sheep Lane
Grantsville, Utah 84074
United States
Time zoneUTC-7 (UTC-6 DST)
Coordinates40°34′30″N 112°22′29″W
Capacity8,000 Grandstand Seats + Trackside Seating
OwnerMitime Investment and Development Group (Subsidiary of Geely)
Broke ground26 April 2005 (2005-04-26)
Opened1 April 2006 (2006-04-01)
Construction costUS$100 million
ArchitectAlan Wilson
Former namesMiller Motorsports Park (April 2006–October 2015)
Major events
Current:
Former:
Websitewww.utahmotorsportscampus.com
Full Course (2006–present)
SurfaceAsphalt
Length4.486 miles (7.220 km)
Turns23
Race lap record2:18.128 (Germany Timo Bernhard, Porsche RS Spyder Evo, 2007, LMP2)
Outer Course (2006–present)
SurfaceAsphalt
Length3.048 miles (4.905 km)
Turns14
Race lap record1:32.815 (France Simon Pagenaud, Acura ARX-02a, 2009, LMP1)
East Course (2006–present)
SurfaceAsphalt
Length2.200 miles (3.539 km)
Turns15
Race lap record1:30.355 (United States Garrett Gerloff, Yamaha YZF-R1, 2019, Superbike)
West Course (2006–present)
SurfaceAsphalt
Length2.200 miles (3.52 km)
Turns10

Track

The Full course is a 23-turn (28-apex), 4.486 mi (7.220 km) road circuit run counterclockwise. The front stretch can see vehicles reaching speeds of 200 mph (321.9 km/h). Smaller configurations of the track can be made from the full course, including a 3.048 mi (4.905 km) outer course that does not use the tighter infield lay-out, as well as two 2.2 mi (3.5 km) layouts that each use half of the full course and can be run simultaneously. The Full course was the longest road racing facility in North America until the 2014 extension of Thunderhill Raceway Park. It is about 0.5 mi (0.80 km) longer than the previous holder, Road America. The Outer course is one of the fastest road courses in North America, with AMA Superbikes posting average speeds over 100 mph (160 km/h).

During the annual Tour of Utah bicycle race, the park is known for hosting the tour's "trademark" time-trial stage.[2]

History

The facility was named Motorsports Facility of the Year on November 8, 2006, by the Professional Motorsport World Expo in Cologne, Germany.[3]

On August 22, 2007, Miller Motorsports Park announced a three-year deal to bring the FIM Superbike World Championship to the track; the Superbike World Championship will race at the track for the first time on June 1, 2008, with the AMA Superbike Championship. To avoid direct comparisons between World Superbike and AMA Superbike, and because of sponsorship issues, the two championships will race on different configurations of the circuit. World Superbike will use the Outercourse, while AMA Superbike and its support classes will use the Full course.[4]

The American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series did not return to the Utah Grand Prix for 2011, and a K&N Pro Series West race was substituted. It was also announced that AMA Superbike would return to the track in 2011 with World Superbike.

The off-road racetrack hosted a round of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series from 2010 to 2018. A return was scheduled for 2020 prior to its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6] The inaugural Nitro Rallycross round took place at the track in September 2021.[7]

Lease

It was announced on May 8, 2015, that the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies would not renew the lease on the land in Tooele County, Utah on which the park sits. The last day of operation would be October 31, 2015.[8]

According to local news sources, as of July 17, 2015, there were several offers being considered by the Tooele County commissioners that would provide for the facility to continue operation.[9]

On October 13, 2015, Tooele County voted to approve the sale of Miller Motorsports Park to Mitime Investment and Development Group (a subsidiary of Chinese car manufacturer Geely) for $20 million. The track will be renamed and known as Utah Motorsports Campus. Mitime officially took over the property on October 31, 2015.[10]

On December 17, 2015, an order filed in the 3rd District Court vacated the sale of Miller Motorsports Park to Mitime Investment and Development Group, saying Tooele County shortchanged another bidder by unlawfully selling the property at a price significantly below fair market value.[11]

On February 1, 2016, Mitime took over the management of the facility on behalf of Tooele County. This was a temporary agreement for 2016 while the county went through the process of selling the facility. In May 2016, there were pending legal challenges to the sale, but the facility opened for business as the Utah Motorsports Campus.[12] In November 2018, the sale to Mitime was completed. Mitime is a subsidiary of the Geely Holding Group of China.[13]

Maps

Track records

As of July 2023, the fastest official race lap records on the Utah Motorsports Campus (formerly Miller Motorsports Park) are listed as:

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleDate
Full Course: 7.220 km (2006–present)
LMP22:21.749[14]Timo BernhardPorsche RS Spyder Evo2007 Utah Grand Prix
LMP12:22.919[14]Allan McNishAudi R10 TDI2007 Utah Grand Prix
Formula Atlantic2:29.564[15]Carl SkerlongSwift 016.a2008 Utah Formula Atlantic round
GT1 (GTS)2:36.650[16]Stéphane SarrazinAston Martin DBR92006 Utah Grand Prix
DP2:37.323[17]Raphael MatosRiley Mk XX2008 Porsche 250 Presented by Bradley Arant
GT22:44.403[16]Jaime MeloFerrari F430 GTC2006 Utah Grand Prix
Outer Course: 4.905 km (2006–present)
LMP11:32.815[18]Simon PagenaudAcura ARX-02a2009 Utah Grand Prix
LMP21:32.816[19]Simon PagenaudAcura ARX-01b2008 Utah Grand Prix
Formula Atlantic1:38.553[20]Simona de SilvestroSwift 016.a2009 Utah Formula Atlantic round
GT1 (GTS)1:43.434[19]Jan MagnussenChevrolet Corvette C6.R2008 Utah Grand Prix
LMPC1:43.881[21]Gunnar JeannetteOreca FLM092010 Utah Grand Prix
DP1:43.908[22]Scott PruettRiley Mk XX2010 Utah 250
Star Mazda1:44.471[23]John EdwardsStar Formula Mazda 'Pro'2008 Utah Star Mazda round
World SBK1:48.045Carlos ChecaDucati 1098R2010 Utah World SBK round
GT21:48.305[19]Patrick PiletPorsche 911 (997) GT3-RSR2008 Utah Grand Prix
Superbike1:49.200[24]Cameron BeaubierYamaha YZF-R12018 MotoAmerica Championship of Utah
GT31:49.409[25]Álvaro ParenteBentley Continental GT32018 Utah Pirelli World Challenge round
Stock 10001:49.776[26]Cameron BeaubierYamaha YZF-R12016 MotoAmerica Championship of Utah
World SSP1:51.702Kenan SofuoğluHonda CBR600RR2010 Utah World SSP round
Supersport1:52.264[27]J. D. BeachYamaha YZF-R62017 MotoAmerica Championship of Utah
Porsche Carrera Cup1:53.597[28]Robert ToddPorsche 911 (992) GT3 Cup2023 Utah Porsche Sprint Challenge North America round
TA21:56.172[29]Brody GobleFord Mustang Trans-Am2022 Utah Trans-Am West Coast round
GT41:58.977[30]George KurtzAudi R8 LMS GT42018 Utah Pirelli World Challenge round
TCR Touring Car1:59.212[31]Michael James LewisHyundai i30 N TCR2018 Utah Pirelli World Challenge round
East Course: 3.539 km (2006–present)
Superbike1:30.355[32]Garrett GerloffYamaha YZF-R12019 MotoAmerica Championship of Utah
Supersport1:32.256[33]Hayden GillimYamaha YZF-R62019 MotoAmerica Championship of Utah
Stock 10001:32.353[34]Andrew LeeKawasaki Ninja ZX-10R2019 MotoAmerica Championship of Utah

References

  1. "Miller Motorsports Park | Motocross | Karting | Corporate Events". www.millermotorsportspark.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  2. "Tour of Utah, already 'America's toughest stage race,' opens Tuesday with its best field yet". VeloNews.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
  3. 2007 Miller Motorsports Park schedule announced Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine motorsport.com retrieved on September 23, 2007.
  4. World Superbike And AMA To Run Different Courses During 2008 Event At Miller roadracingworld.com retrieved on September 14, 2007
  5. "Seven Events For Lucas Oil Off Road Series". Speed Sport. November 1, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  6. "Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series announces updated 2020 schedule". Racer. May 8, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  7. "Nitro Rallycross unveils inaugural calendar; broadcast schedule". Racer. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  8. "Miller Motorsports Park to cease operations". Deseret News. 9 May 2015.
  9. "Tooele County evaluating several offers to purchase Miller Motorsports Park". 17 July 2015.
  10. "Sale of Miller Motorsports Park finalized". 14 October 2015.
  11. "Judge: Sale of Miller Motorsports Park invalid; Tooele Co. acted unlawfully".
  12. Tribune, Steve Luhm The Salt Lake. "Motorsports: Ownership fight doesn't stop Utah Motorsports Campus racing". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  13. "Geely Purchases Utah Motorsports Campus". Utah Motorsports Campus.
  14. "American Le Mans Series Salt Lake City 2007". Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  15. "Markus Niemela Scores First Atlantic Victory in Utah". 22 September 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  16. "American Le Mans Series Salt Lake City 2006". Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  17. "2008 SUNRICHGOURMET.COM 1000". Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  18. "American Le Mans Series Salt Lake City 2009". Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  19. "American Le Mans Series Salt Lake City 2008". Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  20. "Miller Motorsports Park, May 17 Mai 2009 Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix IMSA Atlantic Championship powered by Mazda Round 2/Epreuve 2". Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  21. "American Le Mans Series Salt Lake City 2010". Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  22. "2010 Utah 250". Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  23. "2008 Star Mazda Championship Utah Statistics". Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  24. "2018 MotoAmerica Championship of Utah Superbike Race 2 Results" (PDF). 22 July 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  25. "Grand Prix of Utah GT SprintX Round 9 - Saturday 11th August 2018 - Classification - Final" (PDF). 11 August 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  26. "2016 MotoAmerica Championship of Utah Stock 1000 Race 1 Results" (PDF). 25 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  27. "2017 MotoAmerica Championship of Utah Supersport Race 1 Results" (PDF). 24 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  28. "2023 Porsche Sprint Challenge North America Utah Motorsports Campus Race 1 Results - Final". 14 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  29. "Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli October 14–16 2022 Utah Motorsports Campus Trans Am West Round 7 Official All Classes Race Results" (PDF). 16 October 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  30. "Grand Prix of Utah GTS SprintX Round 10 - Sunday 12th August 2018 - Classification - Final" (PDF). 12 August 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  31. "Grand Prix of Utah TCR Round 9 - Saturday 11th August 2018 - Classification - Final" (PDF). 11 August 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  32. "2019 MotoAmerica Championship of Utah Superbike Race 2 Results" (PDF). 16 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  33. "2019 MotoAmerica Championship of Utah Supersport Race 2 Results" (PDF). 16 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  34. "2019 MotoAmerica Championship of Utah Stock 1000 Race 1 Results" (PDF). 16 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
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