# Karlskoga Motorstadion

Karlskoga Motorstadion, also known as Gelleråsen Arena, is the oldest permanent motorsport race track in Sweden. The circuit is located 6 km (3.7 mi) north of Karlskoga. 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 and Swedish Touring Car Championship events.

## History

Built in 1949 as a 1.55 km (0.96 mi) dirt track, the inaugural race was the first Kanonloppet on 4 June 1950. For the second Kanonloppet in 1952, the surface had been paved with asphalt and the length was 1.600 km (0.994 mi). It was extended to 2.000 km (1.243 mi) in 1953 with the addition of the Björkdungskurvan section (later renamed to Tröskurvan). In 1958 it was additionally extended to 3.172 km (1.971 mi) with the Velodromkurvan section (Velodrome bend).
In 1961, 1962 and 1963 non-championship Formula One events were hosted here, which saw the likes of Stirling Moss, Jim Clark and Jack Brabham battle it out on-track. 1967 a race called Swedish Grand Prix was held there, won by Jackie Stewart. In 1979, the circuit hosted the Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix won by Barry Sheene.
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, 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 2.530 km (1.572 mi).
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 2.400 km (1.491 mi). In 2017, the last corner was modified and the track length was shortened to 2.350 km (1.460 mi).
* Photo from the track

## Lap records

As of August 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Karlskoga Motorstadion are listed as:
| Category | Time | Driver | Vehicle | Event |
| Full Circuit: 2.350 km (2017–present) |||||
| Porsche Carrera Cup | 1:03.470 | Lukas Sundahl | Porsche 911 (992) GT3 Cup | 2024 2nd Karlskoga Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia round |
| Superbike | 1:03.723 | Christoffer Bergman | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 2023 1st Karlskoga Pro Superbike round |
| Formula 4 | 1:04.730 | Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen | Mygale M14-F4 | 2023 Karlskoga F4 Danish Championship round |
| Formula Renault 1.6 | 1:04.918 | Linus Granfors | Signatech FR1.6 | 2023 Karlskoga Formula Nordic round |
| Supersport | 1:06.042 | Sebastian Losciale | Honda CBR600RR | 2023 1st Karlskoga Pro Superbike SSP round |
| TCR Touring Car | 1:06.781 | Robert Huff | Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR | 2020 Karlskoga TCR STCC round |
| GT4 | 1:06.939 | Emil Skärås | Toyota GR Supra GT4 | 2022 Karlskoga GT4 Scandinavia round |
| Supersport 300 | 1:11.379 | Ty Henriksen | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | 2023 1st Karlskoga Pro Superbike SSP 300 round |
| NXT Gen Cup | 1:17.433 | Linus Granfors | LRT NXT1 | 2023 Karlskoga NXT Gen Cup round |
| Full Circuit: 2.400 km (2006–2016) |||||
| Formula Renault 2.0 | 1:01.841 | Daniel Roos | Tatuus FR2000 | 2009 1st Karlskoga Formula Renault 2.0 Sweden round |
| Silhouette racing car | 1:04.488 | Fredrik Ekblom | Volvo S60 TTA | 2012 1st Karlskoga TTA round |
| Porsche Carrera Cup | 1:04.809 | Robin Hansson | Porsche 911 (991 I) GT3 Cup | 2015 Karlskoga Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia round |
| Super 2000 | 1:06.797 | Fredrik Ekblom | BMW 320si | 2008 Karlskoga STCC round |
| Full Circuit: 2.530 km (1992–2005) |||||
| Formula Renault 2.0 | 1:03.634 | Frank Kechele | Tatuus FR2000 | 2004 Karlskoga Formula Renault 2000 Scandinavia round |
| GT1 (GTS) | 1:06.064 | Thed Björk | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | 2003 Gelleråsen Swedish GTR round |
| Super Touring | 1:06.586 | Carl Rosenblad | Nissan Primera GT | 2001 1st Karlskoga STCC round |
| N-GT | 1:07.285 | Thed Björk | Porsche 911 (996) GT3-R | 2001 Gelleråsen Swedish GTR round |
| Porsche Carrera Cup | 1:07.353 | Fredrik Ros | Porsche 911 (996) GT3 Cup | 2005 Karlskoga Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia round |
| Super 2000 | 1:09.606 | Richard Göransson | BMW 320i | 2004 1st Karlskoga STCC round |
| Full Circuit: 3.000 km (1958–1991) |||||
| Formula Two | 1:12.100 | Patrick Depailler | March 742 | 1974 Karlskoga F2 round |
| Group 7 | 1:16.200 | Chris Craft | McLaren M8C | 1970 Kanonloppet |
| Group 5 | 1:17.400 | Brian Redman | Lola T70 | 1969 Kanonloppet |
| Formula Three | 1:20.800 | Tim Schenken | Brabham BT28 | 1969 Kanonloppet |
| 500cc | 1:21.310 | Wil Hartog | Suzuki RG 500 | 1979 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix |
| 350cc | 1:22.216 | Gregg Hansford | Kawasaki KR350 | 1978 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix |
| 250cc | 1:23.500 | Gregg Hansford | Kawasaki KR250 | 1979 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix |
| Formula One | 1:24.100 | Innes Ireland | Lotus 24 | 1962 Kanonloppet |
| 125cc | 1:28.767 | Ángel Nieto | Minarelli | 1978 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix |
| Group 2 | 1:38.300 | Jackie Stewart Bo Ljungfeldt | Ford Lotus Cortina Ford Mustang | 1965 Karlskoga ETCC round |