Brits on Pole

Are you keen to find out if the venue you are visiting is a flat airfield circuit, in which case you need to pack a stepladder, or an undulating parkland track, in which case the camping stool and the beer cooler will do just fine? We can help. We can help you find some of the UK’s best-regarded karting venues if you fancy a go yourself. And yes, we can even show you where Top Gear is filmed, as it happens…

Check circuit locations on our Google Map here or scroll down for more information on each, now listed in alphabetical order. Or click here to find out about lap records.

British racing circuits map

Anglesey

The Anglesey (Trac Mon) Circuit is a 1-mile racetrack in the north of the principality that was opened in 1997 then redeveloped in 2006 to offer a number of different track layouts. It will be particularly familiar to viewers of motoring show Fifth Gear, which used it regularly. It hosts events including British Automobile Racing Club and British Racing and Sports Car Club events. More here…

Bedford Autodrome

Designed on a disused airfield by ex-Formula One racer turned motorsport promoter Jonathan Palmer, it offers four separate circuits and more than five miles of track in nearly 400 acres. It’s set up for corporate performance driving rather than racing and thus designed to ensure anyone having a go in a fast car can spin in perfect safety with no ill-effects. The owners describe it as “the best place on Earth to drive fast cars fast.” More here…

Brands Hatch

This 3.2-mile Kent circuit was built on farmland and therefore can boast a bit of natural incline and excellent views for spectators. Despite hosting some thrilling Formula One racing over the years, it is currently restricted by noise legislation from using its full circuit layout for more than a few days a year. However it still boasts some excellent events, including A1GP, DTM and motorcycle racing. More here…

Cadwell Park

Located in Lincolnshire, Cadwell Park is part of Jonathan Palmer’s Motorsport Vision empire and is described as “the mini Nurburgring” on its own web pages. A popular bike circuit, it hosts two rounds of the British Superbike Championship as well as modified car events including Time Attack, classic and vintage car and bike events plus Superkarts. More here…

Castle Combe

This 1.85-mile former airfield circuit in Wiltshire is on land that was formerly part of the Castle Combe estate and has a motorsports history stretching back to 1950. However, in 2005 it was issued with a noise nuisance order that prevented the British Formula Three Championship, British GT Championship and British Touring Car Championship from returning. However, local saloon cars, GT and Formula Ford championships remain active and popular. Since 2001 Rallyday, an annual demonstration event for rally cars, has been held at the circuit. More here…

Croft

This 2.1-mile circuit near Darlington is built on a former aerodrome and has been used for racing since the 1920s, often courtesy of the Darlington and District Motor Club. Nevertheless a recent court case ruled that the circuit could only operate 40 days of “noisy activity” a year as a result of complaints from residents. It currently hosts British F3, British Touring Cars and motorbike racing. More here…

Daytona Milton Keynes

This popular outdoor karting venue boasts two floodlit race tracks – a 1360m International Circuit with 11 corners which its owners say is widely considered to be one of the best circuits in the UK. Its slightly shorter National Circuit also provides a challenging drive including technical corners and overtaking opportunities. For smaller groups, beginners and juniors there is the 375m North Circuit. Daytona also runs three other indoor and outdoor karting venues – Lydd in Kent, Manchester and Sandown Park racecourse in Surrey. More here…

Donington Park

Rescued from obscurity by Tom Wheatcroft during the 1970s, the 2.5-mile East Midlands Donington Park circuit is put forward by racing purists as one of the most challenging and thrilling in the country, not least because of its undulating track. It was the first permanent park circuit in Britain and has been operating since 1931, despite a period of post-war disuse. It hosted a single F1 race, the European Grand Prix, in 1993, at which Ayrton Senna set a lap record that remains unbeaten under race conditions. The circuit, after a problematic period under Donington Ventures Leisure Limited and its failed bid to host the British Grand Prix, has been restored from its subsequent disrepair and is now triumphantly hosting racing once more. More here…

Dunsfold Aerodrome

This isn’t actually a racing circuit in the same sense of any of the others. It is, however, known up and down the land as the home of the inspired buggering about done by the boys at Top Gear. Remember the home-made police cars? Lewis Hamilton’s face off with the Stig? Clarkson shredding the tyre on that Bentley? All Dunsfold. It had been earmarked by the owners for development into an eco-town under the former government but the housing plans were rejected. More here…

Goodwood

A Sussex country estate and historic racing venue belonging to Lord March, for six days every year Goodwood becomes the focus of British motorsports attention. In July it hosts the Festival of Speed, an annual hillclimb event featuring a historic selection of motor racing vehicles. It was started in 1993 by the present Earl of March in order to bring motor racing back to the Goodwood estate. In September is the Goodwood Revival, a three-day festival featuring cars and motorcycles that would have competed during the circuit’s active years of 1948-1966. It is one of the world’s most popular motor race meetings and the only UK event to actively recreate the golden era of motorsport from the 1950s and 1960s, even featuring period costume among spectators. More here…

Kirkistown Motor Racing Circuit

This 1.5-mile circuit has an unusual claim to fame – it’s the only race track to have once been rated as a ship in the Royal Navy, thanks to its location on the former RAF Kirkistown which was briefly in Navy hands as HMS Corncrake 2. Founded in 1948, and the home to the 500 Motor Racing Club of Ireland since 1953, Kirkistown’s proud boast is that it is the fastest, best-loved and only club-owned circuit in Ireland. More here…

Knockhill

This 1.3-mile circuit in Fife, Scotland, is the country’s national centre for motorsport and plays host to a wide range of events including British Touring Cars, Rallycross and motorbike racing as well as hosting Scottish Motor Racing Club (SMRC) club events. It offers an off-road track and a rally course as well as its road circuit. More here…

Mallory Park

This 2.2-mile circuit is part of an East Midlands quartet also including Donington, Silverstone and Rockingham, and is situated off the A47 between Hinckley and Leicester. Its configurations include the full circuit, an oval circuit, a short bike circuit and a superbike circuit. In some of these it is among the shortest permanent circuits in the UK. It also has a separate, and recently-renovated, motocross track which has proved very successful. It was originally used from the 1940s for pony-trotting and, after that fell into abeyance, it became popular for motorbikes. A tarmac racing circuit was laid in 1955. Mallory Park has been run since 2005 by the BARC, and one unusual event to take place there is an annual Festival of Sidecars, usually held in October. More here…

Mondello Park International Racing Circuit

Yes, we know it’s in Ireland and not the UK, but it seemed churlish not to include the Republic’s only international motorsport venue and its incredibly twisty FIA-licenced 2.4 mile track. Occasionally the venue for BTCC and British F3 rounds, Mondello has been built up in recent years from club circuit to its present status by owner Martin Birrane, who is also the man behind Lola. More here…

Oulton Park

This 2.7-mile undulating circuit in the grounds of Oulton Hall, Cheshire, was developed specifically for motor racing by a local car club, attracted huge crowds during its 1950s heyday and is known to drivers for being spectacularly unforgiving. It also has, in Knickerbrook, one of the best-named corners of any UK race track. Events held at the circuit include British Touring Cars, British F3 and motorbike racing. More here…

Pembrey Motor Racing Circuit

Known as the home of Welsh motorsport, Pembrey is located near Llanelli in Carmarthenshire and plays host to car, bike, kart and truck racing. It is sited at the former RAF Pembrey airfield and was developed through the Welsh Race Drivers’ Association to bring about the expansion of racing facilities in the Principality. Racing was first held there in 1989 and it has since been used for Formula One testing. It also boasts a rallycross circuit. More here…

Rockingham Motor Speedway

This 1.5-mile oval circuit in Northamptonshire is a real rarity in Europe, although it does have a 2.3-mile infield road course as well. As such it is very flexible and hosts a wide range of events from truck racing to motorbikes with the BTCC a regular date on its calendar. The track has hosted genuine US oval racing with CART events held there and Tony Kanaan setting a lap record in 2001. More here…

Rye House Kart Raceway

The kart circuit on which F1 stars like Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Anthony Davidson and many other drivers learned their trade, is one of the oldest in the country. It hosts a wide range of events and is home to the Hoddesdon Kart Club. More here…

Santa Pod Raceway

Near Wellingborough in Northants, Santa Pod is the home of European Drag Racing and also hosts the FIA European Drag Racing Championships. It has a packed race season catering to all tastes including performance, modified, classic and single marque as well as offering public track days. More here…

Silverstone

A 3.2-mile circuit on a former airfield split between Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire, Silverstone is a trifle flat and basic for some tastes. But its recent revamp has been hailed as a huge step forwards, the Becketts complex is arguably among the best sections of track in motorsport, and the circuit is also notably fast – including the new sections. Owned by the British Racing Drivers’ Club, Silverstone is marketed as the home of British motorsport and has an impressive calendar of events as well as good road access. It is currently the only British circuit certified to host Formula One racing and has done so continuously since 1987. More here…

Snetterton

This 1.9-mile former airfield circuit near Thetford suffers from two problems common to most of Norfolk – it is flat as a pancake and reached via the notorious A11. If visiting, decide on your ideal leaving time then move it back four hours, as traffic can be terrible. Used for British Touring Cars and British F3 as well as motorbike racing, it is a popular test venue and has recently benefited from a major redevelopment to bring it up to international standard and introduce elevated viewing. Snetterton has recently come to the attention of Breckland District Council over noise complaints and thus must limit the amount of time that unsilenced vehicles can use the track (is this sounding familiar yet?). More here…

Three Sisters Race Circuit

This popular kart circuit is based at the Three Sisters Recreation Area in Greater Manchester, an area of ponds and woodlands that was reclaimed from coal mining waste in the 1970s. The ‘three sisters’ were three huge spoil heaps. The circuit itself can be used in four different configurations up to 1,600m long and it plays host to a wide range of racing events and driving experiences. More here…

Thruxton

This 2.4-mile circuit in Hampshire is another former aerodrome that was used first for motorcycle and then for car racing. Planning restrictions mean it is only allowed to host 12 days of racing every year, but it still manages to put on BTCC, British F3, GT, club and truck racing as well as motorbike events. More here…