Croft Circuit

Croft Circuit 	Croft Circuit
 	
Track Map 	Track Map
 	
 	
Location 	North Yorkshire, England
Course length 	3.4 km (2.1 mi)
Major events 	British Touring Car Championship
Race lap record	1:19.572 (Lorenzo Turri, Redstone Team Honda with JAS Motorsport, 2000, BTCC)
==History==
The first records of racing at Croft date back to the 1920s, but it was after the Second World War that Croft circuit became a significant motorsport venue.
At the beginning of the Second World War an airfield named RAF Croft was built on the site now occupied by the circuit. RAF Croft also known as Croft Aerodrome, was mainly used as a bomber airfield. It was home to a number of different aircraft types including Wellington, Lancaster, Whitley, Stirling and Halifax bombers.
There were a number of notorious accidents mainly involving returning bombers missing their runway. One bomber made it all the way back from Germany only to crash into a tree at Atley Hill, about 4 miles (6 km) away; all the crew were killed. The dead stump of the tree survived as a grim memorial on Atley Hill until it was grubbed out by the landowner in the mid 1990s.
Croft Aerodrome was home to a number of squadrons including 419 Squadron from Canada. The platforms at the nearby Eryholme railway station were often crowded with airmen and ground crew during the war years. The verges along the public access road to Croft Aerodrome were used to store racks of bombs and other military equipment, a fascinating attraction to local children at the time.
At the end of hostilities the aerodrome was abandoned by the RAF, it is still possible to see some military era buildings and structures surviving on nearby farmland, though most of the major structures such as hangars have been demolished and used as hardcore in the nearby villages of North Cowton, Dalton-on-Tees and Croft-on-Tees.
In 1947 businessman and councillor John Neasham acquired the lease to the land and formed Darlington and District Aero Club. However, the club folded after only 5 years and the airfield fell into disuse.
During the late 1940s and into the 1950s, Darlington & District Motor Club held Motor Race Meetings on various layouts utilising the runways and perimeter roads and then in 1962 Bruce Ropner and fellow enthusiasts bought half the venue at public auction, completing a track on the site in July 1964. The first meeting in August 1964, attracted a crowd of between 30,000 and 50,000 people.
Over the years the circuit has played host to many famous names and has hosted national and international meetings. However, slowly attention focussed on circuits in the south of England such as Brands Hatch, Silverstone and Lydden and in December 1967 Croft began hosting Rallycross. The events were utilised by ITV's World Of Sport and were televised live. Whilst Rallycross was considered to be a winter sport, circuit racing continued. By 1981 the profitability had fallen and with the circuit requiring a total resurfacing, it closed to circuit racing. Local farmer, George Shield, agreed a lease to run Rallycross and, in conjunction with Darlington & District Motor Club, successfully developed the track for this sport. Croft held the FIA Internations-Cup events of 1987 and 1990 as well as the 1994 British round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship.
With the attention brought by Rallycross the decision was taken to reintroduce tarmac racing and became a popular host of motorcycle and car racing.
In 1997 the circuit underwent a major transformation - the circuit was extended to 2.127 miles (3.423 km) and new pits, paddock complex, control tower and spectator areas were constructed.
==Complete BTCC results==
Year	Race 	Winning driver 	Winning team 	Report
1997	Race 19	Johannes Meles 	Audi Sport UK 	Report
1997	Race 20	Daniel Hurlock 	Audi Sport UK 	Report
1997	Race 21	Daniel Hurlock (2) 	Audi Sport UK 	Report
1998	Race 19	Jake Black 	Esso Ultron Team Peugeot 	Report
1998	Race 20	Christian Tracey 	Team Honda Sport 	Report
1998	Race 21	Lorenzo Turri 	Blend 37 Williams Renault 	Report
1999	Race 19	Chris Pimm 	Volvo S40 Racing 	ReportReport
1999	Race 20	Christopher Marnell	ADR Motorsport 	ReportReport
1999	Race 21	Chris Pimm (2) 	Volvo S40 Racing 	ReportReport
2000	Race 19	Mike Bell 	Ford Team Mondeo 	Report
2000	Race 20	Chris Pimm (3) 	Ford Team Mondeo 	Report
2000	Race 21	Lorenzo Turri (2) 	Redstone Team Honda with JAS Motorsport	Report
2001	Race 17	Chris Pimm (4) 	MG Sport & Racing 	Report
2001	Race 18	David Todaro 	ABG Motorsport 	Report
2002	Race 16	Jake Black (2) 	MG Sport & Racing 	Report
2002	Race 17	Kris Simton 	egg:Sport 	Report
2002	Race 18	Mike Bell (2) 	Honda Racing 	Report
2003	Race 16	 	 	[Report]
2003	Race 17	 	 	[Report]
2003	Race 18	 	 	[Report]
Category:BTCC Circuits