Rockingham to close

[Dixy]

Just heard this will be the last season and all motor sport will cease from the end of 2018.
Always thought Indi was for Yankee girlies until I did track days there.

[rfn]

Yes, heard this this afternoon too. A shame!

[AmosMoses]

Real shame, wonder if MSV can save it?

[The Selfish Gene]

I heard it was a rumour - and at the BTCC this weekend they said it wasn't closing.............

something about building houses on it.

[Shiv_P]

Any links?

[littleredrooster]

AmosMoses said:

Real shame...

Sorry, I disagree; IME, they deserve everything that's coming.

Poor venue with rubbish management that do not understand the first thing about customer service. I wrote a long letter of complaint after attending a BSB round there some years ago and got a very dismissive reply which essentially said that I was an idiot for expecting more.

[n3il123]

As far as I am aware it is just a rumour at the moment unless things have progressed in the last week or so.

As far as MSV are concerned I think that they would struggle with having so many circuits under their control, the Donington lease had to go before the CMA before it was agreed so I think another circuit acquisition would be a real struggle.

[rfn]

n3il123 said:

As far as I am aware it is just a rumour at the moment unless things have progressed in the last week or so.

As far as MSV are concerned I think that they would struggle with having so many circuits under their control, the Donington lease had to go before the CMA before it was agreed so I think another circuit acquisition would be a real struggle.

Received an email today confirming all motorsport, corporate and retail activities would stop at the end of this year. Not sure that it's a rumour anymore - signed by Peter Hardman (CEO).

[The Selfish Gene]

that's a shame

[n3il123]

rfn said:

Received an email today confirming all motorsport, corporate and retail activities would stop at the end of this year. Not sure that it's a rumour anymore - signed by Peter Hardman (CEO).

Fair enough... in that case things have changed in the last couple of weeks!

[RobM77]

Crumbs, that's a shame. I took part in one of the very first races there. Someone I know had to retire and when he pulled off the track there was no grass, just topsoil and grass seed, he and the car returned to the pits covered in it

[HustleRussell]

littleredrooster said:

Sorry, I disagree; IME, they deserve everything that's coming.

Poor venue with rubbish management that do not understand the first thing about customer service. I wrote a long letter of complaint after attending a BSB round there some years ago and got a very dismissive reply which essentially said that I was an idiot for expecting more.

It was a pretty good circuit and presented a different challenge being anti-clockwise and ice rink slippery in wet conditions.

[RobM77]

HustleRussell said:

littleredrooster said:

Sorry, I disagree; IME, they deserve everything that's coming.

Poor venue with rubbish management that do not understand the first thing about customer service. I wrote a long letter of complaint after attending a BSB round there some years ago and got a very dismissive reply which essentially said that I was an idiot for expecting more.

It was a pretty good circuit and presented a different challenge being anti-clockwise and ice rink slippery in wet conditions.

It was an interesting circuit, yes, but I thought that it lacked the charisma and interest of circuits like Oulton, Brands or Cadwell. Even compared with featureless places like Silverstone, it lacked the sense of 'going somewhere', because the tracks were all coiled up into a small area, rather like a giant Race of Champions layout. That said, I don't mind it for one round a year, I just wouldn't get the same sense of excitement I get threading between the trees of Oulton or Cadwell, or storming around somewhere vast like Silverstone GP.

[DanielSan]

Expect it to appear on 28 days later by January 2nd then

[geeks]

It's a big shame, while its rarely anyone's favourite everyone seems to enjoy racing there. Also this increases Palmers foothold on UK Club Motorsport, which I think is a bad thing on the whole!

[andy97]

Taken from the BARC Clubmans Championships own FB site:

"Rockingham Motor Speedway

Notice:
A sale of Rockingham Motor Speedway Ltd has now completed and as a result, there will be changes in business operations at the venue.

We would reassure all customers that these changes will not impact any aspect of events scheduled to run during 2018, nor the opportunity to stage further events this year. Until the end of the year, the Rockingham team will remain 100% committed to delivering the venue and associated services as professionally and proudly as ever before.

We thank you for your continued support and a further statement will follow shortly."

[williamp]

Shame, but the wrong type of circuit, built in the wrong place, built for the wrong reasons.

[loskie]

From a spectator's point of view both on site and tellyvisual (see what i did there?) it's deadly boring. Knockhill ,oulton or brands are streaks ahead. And yes if competitors have sponsorship spectators are important.

[MitchT]

The point of Rockingham is that it's an oval. Other than two Champ Car races (in 2001 and 2002) there hasn't been any oval racing there that I'm aware of. If there was an Indy race there every year I'd be on it but there isn't and there are already enough circuits in the UK doing "road course" type racing.

[Turn7]

I was gobsmacked they even got it built tbh, didnt they run a UK type Nascar series that bombed ?