Karlskoga Motorstadion, also known as Gelleråsen Arena, is the oldest permanent

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The circuit is located north of

Karlskoga Karlskoga () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Karlskoga Municipality, Sweden. It is located within Örebro County, 45 km (28 mi) west of Örebro, and 10 km (6 mi) north of Degerfors. With a 2020 population o ...

. The layout is such that the whole track can be seen from all spectator areas. It is currently authorised for European Championship rounds of

road racing Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a race track, closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily c ...

and

Swedish Touring Car Championship Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) was a touring car racing series based in Sweden, but also with rounds in Norway. They began operating in 1996, heavily influenced by the British Touring Car Championship and the success of BTCC racing on ...

events.

History

Built in 1949 as a dirt track, the inaugural race was the first

Kanonloppet Kanonloppet ("the cannon race") is an annual auto racing, motor race, run at the Karlskoga Motorstadion in Gelleråsen in the outskirts of Karlskoga, Sweden. The first races were run in 1950 and 1952, and then from 1954 onwards it was an annual eve ...

on 4 June 1950. For the second Kanonloppet in 1952, the surface had been paved with asphalt and the length was . It was extended to in 1953 with the addition of the ''Björkdungskurvan'' section (later renamed to ''Tröskurvan''). In 1958 it was additionally extended to with the ''Velodromkurvan'' section (Velodrome bend). In

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

non-championship

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

events were hosted here, which saw the likes of

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...

Jim Clark James Clark (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British racing driver from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Clark won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with Lotus, and—at the time of his death—held the ...

and

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , and , ...

battle it out on-track. 1967 a race called

Swedish Grand Prix The Swedish Grand Prix () was a round of the Formula One World Championship from 1973 to 1978. It took place at the Scandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp ( Gislaved Municipality), about from Jönköping, in Småland, Sweden. The first race to hold ...

was held there, won by

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young "Jackie" Stewart (born 11 June 1939) is a British former racing driver, sports broadcasting, broadcaster and motorsport executive from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Scottish people, Scot" ...

. In

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, the circuit hosted the

Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix The Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix was a motorcycling event that was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season in various stints from 1958 to 1990. Formerly used circuits File:Scandinavian Raceway 1968–1974.svg, Anderstorp, used in 1968� ...

won by

Barry Sheene Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer and television sports presenter. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between and , most prominently as a member of the Su ...

. The circuit was forced to close for two years after a crash on 8 August 1970 during a touring car event. Two cars, a Ford Escort and a

BMW 2002 The BMW 02 Series is a range of sporty compact executive cars produced by German automaker BMW between 1966 and 1977, based on a shortened version of the New Class Sedans. The first 02 Series produced was the 1600-2 (later renamed 1602) in 1966. ...

, locked together at the flat out right hander before the straight leading up to the ''Velodromkurvan'', and went off the track at high speed, bounced over the banking and into the crowd, killing five spectators. After a period of decay, the track went through major renovation work during the 1990s and 2000s. In 1992, the track length was shortened to . The pit area was moved and the facilities were improved. There was also several safety improvements, including a redesign of the ''Tröskurvan'' and the complete removal of the velodrome section. This shortened the track to its current length of . In 2017, the last corner was modified and the track length was shortened to . File:Karlskoga motorstadium 1.jpg, Photo from the track

Lap records

As of August 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Karlskoga Motorstadion are listed as:

Notes

References

External links

* {{ETCC circuits Motorsport venues in Sweden Grand Prix motorcycle circuits Buildings and structures in Karlskoga Municipality Sports venues in Örebro County