Llandow Circuit is a small, family owned and run motorsport circuit at

Llandow Llandow ( cy, Llandŵ) is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 726. The village is located south west of Cardiff. The community includes the villages of Sigingstone and ...

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

, south west of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, used mainly for supercar experience days, testing, track-days and events. The lap record is held by Martin Jessopp at 41.4 seconds - set on September 16, 2009 on his Ducati 1198RS British Superbike. Jessopp wasn't aware of a record or that he was being timed, and his Ducati was still running long gearing for the North West 200 a week prior, where Jessopp hit 208 mph a top speed record, not exactly ideal for Llandow. Monoposto Racing Club lap record was 00:36.0 set by Alan Baillie in his Viking Mk1A in 1974 Llandow Kart Circuit, run by South Wales Karting Centre, is adjacent to the main circuit.

History

Llandow Circuit began life as an airfield during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

RAF Llandow Royal Air Force Llandow or more RAF Llandow is a former Royal Air Force station situated near the village of Llandow, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, 15 miles west of Cardiff. It opened in 1940 and closed in 1957. It was while training at this ...

was home to

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 ...

s and part of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environ ...

, but the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

decommissioned it in 1957. In 1961 Jack Evans, a local farmer, bought an parcel which included air raid shelters, gun turrets and stretches of runway. With the help of the

South Wales Automobile Club South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

he linked the runways to form a oval track which was opened by

Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...

in 1963. Car and motorbike events during the 1960s and 1970s drew crowds of 3,000–4,000, and competitors included

Roger Clark Roger Albert Clark, MBE (5 August 1939 – 12 January 1998) was a British rally driver during the 1960s and '70s, and the first competitor from his country to win a World Rally Championship (WRC) event when he triumphed at the 1976 RAC Rally. ...

Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter (born 29 January 1950) is a South African business proprietor and former motor racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980, winning the Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari. Scheckter remains the only Af ...

and

Andy Rouse Andrew Rouse (born 2 December 1947) is a British racing driver, most notably in the British Saloon Car Championship. He won the BSCC in 1975, 1983, 1984 and 1985. Andy Rouse is one of the most successful drivers ever to appear in the BSCC. Hi ...

. The circuit fell into disrepair, losing its track licence in 1977, thus in the 1980s, stock car racing, grass tracking and sheep grazing became more usual uses. A race and rally school, go-karting and general testing continued until the owners resurfaced and reshaped the track with a -wide strip of tarmac, enabling the

Motor Sports Association Motorsport UK, formerly known as the Motor Sports Association (MSA), is a national membership organisation and governing body for four-wheel motorsport in the United Kingdom. Legally, it is a not-for-profit private company limited by guarantee. ...

Sprint license to be regained in 2001. The circuit is now a popular venue for track days. The circuit remains privately owned by the descendants of Jack Evans.

Circuit details

*Length: *Width: *Noise Limitation: 105 dB *Lap Record - 41.4 Seconds - Martin Jessopp - 2009 - Ducati 1198R

Housing plan

In July 2007 Persimmon and Barrat unveiled plans to replace the circuit with a new housing estate of 2,700 homes, two schools and a community centre, but as of 2022 this has not happened.

References

External links

*
Video of a car doing a lap at Llandow
(YouTube) *

Go Bridgend news article about new housing development
{{coord, 51.4316, N, 3.4978, W, region:GB_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Motorsport venues in Wales