History of Castle Combe

Castle Combe -  a former airfield turned into a race circuit, what is the history behind it?

(Image credit to Castle Combe)

 Castle Combe Circuit is located in Wiltshire and was based on the perimeter track of a former WW2 airfield. The circuit opened for racing in 1950. It was between 1956 and 1961 that the circuit was used for motorcycle racing but was then converted to motor racing some years later.

On the Original Circuit which was in use from 1950-1997 which was 2.961 km (1.840 mi), the fastest lap was set by Nigel Greensall during the Big Open Single Seaters event in 1997 where he drove the Tyrrell 022 F1 car and set a lap time of 0:50.590.

The owners had to change the layout of the circuit for 1998 following the death of a spectator, this meant installing two new chicanes in order to slow the cars down, making the Full Circuit with Chicanes  2.977 km (1.850 mi). 

(Image credit to Wikipedia)

Castle Combe also used to host British F3 a few times between 1951-1973 and then brought back in 2001. However it was in 2005 that the circuit was issued with a noise nuisance order which meant that both the British Formula Three Championship and British GT Championship were prevented from returning.

In the current day, Castle Combe hosts trackdays, as well as a home-circuit championship.

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