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34-634: Solvalla is a horse racing track located in Bromma , Stockholm , Sweden . It opened in 1927 and is the largest harness racing venue in the Nordic countries . The last Sunday in May, Solvalla annually hosts Elitloppet , one of the most prestigious international trotting events in the world. Elitloppet is always in the last Sunday in may. During the same weekend there are also the Group II races Sweden Cup and

68-497: A 1 ⁄ 8  mi (200 m) oval banked at 45 degrees (generating lap times of 8 seconds or less) and built from 1 in × 12 in (25 mm × 300 mm) lumber on edge, was "unquestionably the deadliest". On September 8, 1912, "Texas Cyclone" Eddie Hasha was killed at a motordrome in Newark, New Jersey in an accident which also killed another racer and four spectators, and injured ten more. The deaths made

102-512: A racecourse , is a nonpermanent track for sports, particularly road running , water sports , road racing , or rallying . Many sports usually held on race tracks also can occur on temporary tracks, such as the Monaco and Singapore Grands Prix in Formula One . Some evidence remains of racetracks being developed in several ancient civilizations. The most developed ancient race tracks were

136-553: A race the year before. To attract both competitors and fans, race promoters offered what were then considered sensational amounts of prize money - a total purse of $ 25,000 was not unusual around the time of World War I. After World War I, the Automobile Association of America 's Contest Board resumed and re-organized the National Championship system. From the beginning of the 1920 season to

170-427: A short course and a longer course which uses part of the shorter one, usually the main straight, such as Brands Hatch . The Le Mans road race venue is centred on a smaller permanent circuit within its complex. Surfaces include: Race tracks are primarily designed for road racing competition through speed, featuring defined start-finish lines or posts, and sometimes even a series of defined timing points that divide

204-569: Is Nardò where high-speed manufacturer testing often takes place, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway . Some oval tracks are variations on an oval shape, for practical reasons or to introduce varying difficulties such as Talladega (a tri-oval). Most race tracks have meandering circuits with many curves, chicanes and changes in height, to allow for a challenge in skill to the competitors, notably motocross and touring car racing – these tend to predominate throughout most of

238-596: Is an alternate term for a horse racing track, found in countries such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates. Race tracks built for bicycles are known as velodromes . Circuit is a common alternate term for race track, given the circuit configuration of most race tracks, allowing races to occur over several laps. Some race tracks may also be known as speedways , or raceways . A race course , as opposed to

272-949: The Earl of Derby created a horse-racing course on his estate at Epsom; the English Derby continues to be held there today. Racecourses in the British Isles are based on grass, known as turf tracks. In the United States, the race tracks are soil. With the advent of the automobile in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, race tracks were designed to suit the nature of powered machines. The earliest tracks were modified horse-racing courses. Racing automobiles in such facilities began in September 1896, at Narragansett Park in Cranston, Rhode Island . The Indianapolis Motor Speedway

306-719: The Monaco GP , and the Circuit de la Sarthe circuit in Le Mans , France. These are not permanent facilities built for racing (although parts of the Circuit de la Sarthe are purpose-built, and closed to the public). After World War II , many wartime airfields, particularly in Great Britain, were left without further use. This coincided with a post-war boom in motorsport, and many airfields were converted to race tracks, where

340-759: The hippodromes of the Ancient Greeks and the circuses ( circi ) of the Roman Empire . Both of these structures were designed for horse and chariot racing. The stadium of the Circus Maximus in Ancient Rome could hold 200,000 spectators. Racing facilities existed during the Middle Ages , and records exist of a public racecourse being opened at Newmarket , in London, in 1174. In 1780,

374-528: The 1920s, and included four Indianapolis 500 winners, three of which occurred at the Altoona track (another Pillsbury design) in Tipton, Pennsylvania , and three in the same years in which the driver won at Indianapolis. Winner of the 1919 Indianapolis 500 Howdy Wilcox died in an Altoona race on September 4, 1923, while co- 1924 winner Joe Boyer and 1929 winner Ray Keech both suffered fatal accidents at

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408-528: The 1920s. Board tracks proliferated in part because they were inexpensive to construct, but they lacked durability and required a great deal of maintenance to remain usable. Many of the tracks survived for as little as three years before being abandoned. With the onset of the Great Depression in the early 1930s, board track racing disappeared rapidly. However, several of its most notable aspects have continued to influence American motorsports up to

442-534: The circuit layout usually combined parts of the runways and the surrounding perimeter taxiways. The famous British track at Silverstone is a former Class A airfield , as are Castle Combe and Goodwood . The long runways were perfect for drag strips such as at Santa Pod Raceway . This type of track also appears on the popular motoring show Top Gear , which is filmed at Dunsfold Aerodrome , in Surrey, United kingdom Board track racing Board track racing

476-529: The city's Playa del Rey district. Based on the same technology as European velodromes used for bicycle racing, this track and others like it were constructed with 2-inch (51 mm) x 4-inch (100 mm) boards, often with turns banked at up to 45 degrees. In some cases, such as the track at Culver City , banking was 50 degrees or more. Longer tracks were later built – some up to 2 miles (3.2 km) long by 1915 - and lap speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour became commonplace. Interest in motorsport

510-407: The effect on car handling was pronounced. According to Pillsbury, a correctly engineered track could be driven without steering input from the driver – the car would steer itself, simply due to the track geometry. The effects of these changes were higher cornering speeds and higher G-forces on drivers, but not necessarily greater safety. Driver fatalities continued to mount on board tracks into

544-578: The end of 1931, the AAA sanctioned a total of 123 championship racing events on 24 different race tracks, and 82 of those races were run on wooden surfaces. (Of the remainder, 12 were on the bricks of Indianapolis, and the other 29 were on dirt tracks or road courses .) The first track in Playa del Rey was banked at a 3:1 pitch (about 20 degrees), but later tracks were built with higher banking and some motorcycle tracks were banked up to 60 degrees. Even though

578-420: The facility in the same years as their Indianapolis 500 wins – Keech's occurring only seventeen days after, on June 15, 1929. Gaston Chevrolet , winner of the 1920 Indianapolis 500 , perished that same autumn, on November 25, 1920, in a Thanksgiving Day race at Beverly Hills. Even when the cars did not crash, racing on a board track was exceedingly dangerous due to flying wood splinters and debris, and due to

612-418: The front page of The New York Times , and the press started calling the short 1/4 and 1/3 mile circuits "murderdromes". The 1913 motorcycle championship races were moved to a dirt track because dirt was safer. The national organization overseeing motorcycle racing banned all competitions on board tracks shorter than 1-mile (1.6 km) in 1919. One by one, the manufacturers withdrew their support due to

646-417: The negative publicity. A major contributor to the demise of board tracks was the high cost of maintenance. There was no suitable wood preservative available, and depending on climate, tracks needed new boards every five years on average. Resurfacing required as much as a million board feet of new lumber per 1.25 miles (2.01 km) of track, which would have cost around $ 125,000 at the prices prevalent at

680-563: The physics of such track designs were intuitively obvious, it was not until construction of the Beverly Hills track in 1919 that builders began to incorporate engineering knowledge that had been known to railroads for decades. At Beverly Hills, designer Art Pillsbury, who eventually worked on more than half of the championship-caliber board tracks nationwide, first employed the Searle Spiral Easement Curve , and

714-408: The present day, including: A technical emphasis on raw speed produced by the steep banking ; ample track width to allow steady overtaking between competitors; and the development of extensive grandstands or stadium-style spectator seating surrounding many of the courses. The first board track for motor racing was the circular Los Angeles Motordrome , built in 1910 in the area that would later become

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748-672: The primitive tire technology and head protection of the era. In one oral history taken from a driver, he told a tale of wooden shards driven into the faces of drivers and riding mechanics, and sudden catastrophic tire failures caused by track conditions. Cars were fitted with anti-splinter devices to protect their radiators. Other safety devices also hadn't been invented yet (seat belts, roll bars, or fire protection). Drivers often were ejected from their cars and would fall tens of feet (several meters). Drivers and riding mechanics often were driven over by their own or another car. Pete DePaolo wrote in his book Wall Smacker that racing on boards

782-426: The same track, or incorporating many tracks in one venue. Commonly, running tracks are incorporated within general use or soccer stadiums, either permanently visible or covered by stands or pitches. Many horse and motorsport tracks are configurable, allowing different routes or sections. Some venues contain smaller tracks inside larger ones, with access tunnels and bridges for spectators. Some racetracks incorporate

816-616: The stayer race Harper Hanovers Race , as well as Elitkampen for coldblood trotters . Since 2012 the venue has been used as a motor racing venue and hosts a round of the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship . Since the track's opening in 1927, there have been only 14 different driver champions at Solvalla. From 1934 until 1976, one of the three Nordin brothers won every year, with the exception of 1949 and 1975. Oldest brother Gösta won ten times, as did middle brother Gunnar. Youngest brother Sören Nordin

850-452: The time. Thus, during the last decade of the board tracks, carpenters would repair the tracks from below, sometimes even during a race, while the cars raced overhead at 120 mph (190 km/h) or faster. An additional factor was that as speeds increased, overtaking became more difficult - the fastest car would almost always win the race, as long as it held together long enough to finish. This led to spectators turning their attention to

884-574: The track into time sectors. A racetrack for cars (i.e. a car track) is a closed circuit, instead of a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads . Race tracks can host individual or team sports. Racetracks can feature rolling starts , or fixed starts, with associated equipment (starting blocks, cages, wheel traps etc.) They invariably feature a pit lane , and usually timing equipment. Some car tracks are of an oval shape, and can be banked, which allows almost universal spectator views or high speed racing (cycling, stock cars). A famous one

918-548: The way of permanent infrastructure other than the track; others incorporate spectator facilities such as grandstands , hospitality or facilities for competitors, such as pit lanes and garages, paddocks and stables. Several racetracks are incorporated into larger venues or complexes, incorporating golf courses, museums, hotels, and conference centres. Some racetracks are small enough to be contained indoors, for sports such as motocross , track cycling , and athletics . Many racetracks are multi-use, allowing different types of sport on

952-709: The world, but especially in Europe. Flatter meandering motorsport courses are sometimes called 'road circuits', originating in the fact that the earliest road racing circuits were simply closed-off public roads. Some car racetracks are specifically configured in a long straight, namely drag racing . True road circuits are still in use, e.g. the Australian GP has been run in Adelaide and continues to be in Melbourne on regular city streets. The most famous of these are

986-484: Was "a great sensation, tearing around a board speedway dodging holes and flying timber." On the motorcycling motordromes , the situation was also very dangerous and the danger was aggravated by the riders' lack of proper safety equipment. Fans sat above the top of the track, looking down at the racers. When a rider lost control, he could slip up off the track and into the crowd. Many fatalities occurred, often involving spectators. The velodrome at Nutley, New Jersey ,

1020-582: Was a type of motorsport popular in the United States during the 1910s and 1920s. Competition was conducted on circular or oval race courses with surfaces composed of wooden planks . This type of track was first used for motorcycle competition , wherein they were called motordromes , before being adapted for use by various different types of racing cars . The majority of the American national championship races were contested at such venues during

1054-415: Was exploding during this period and by 1929, at least 24 board tracks had been built around the country, although by 1931, 20 of the 24 had been shut down or abandoned, and from 1932 on there were no more championship-level races run on boards. The tracks were relatively inexpensive to construct compared to more permanent facilities – the total facility cost of the 2-mile (3.2 km) Tacoma Speedway

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1088-544: Was just $ 100,000 in 1915, compared to the $ 700,000 spent in 1909 just to pave the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway . Racing on these tracks often drew large crowds of paying spectators. In 1915, a crowd of 80,000 was reported in Chicago , three weeks after only 60,000 had attended the Indianapolis 500. Relatively small and isolated Tacoma (population 83,000 in 1910) had turned out 35,000 to see

1122-623: Was opened in August 1909. Beginning in the early 1900s, motorcycle races were run on high, banked, wooden race tracks called board tracks . During the 1920s, many of the races on the AAA Championship circuit were run on such board tracks. Modern racetracks are designed with spectator safety being paramount, following incidents of spectator and track marshals fatalities. These often involve run-off areas, barriers, and high fencing. Racetracks are used for: Some racetracks offer little in

1156-495: Was track champion 21 times. Their father Ernst J. Nordin was champion 1928 and 1929. After the dominance of the Nordins, Stig H. Johansson took over and claimed the champion title no less than 29 times between 1975 and 2005, his last year as a driver. 27 these titles were consecutive, from 1979 to 2005. Jorma Kontio is the reigning driver champion. Racetrack A racetrack is a permanent facility or building. Racecourse

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