Karlskoga Motor Stadium
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 Karlskoga , Sweden
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| Route type: | permanent race track | ||
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| Operator: | Karlskoga Motor Stadium | ||
| Start of building: | 1949 | ||
| Opening: | 1950 | ||
| Track layout | |||
| Route data | |||
| Important events: |
Motorcycle World Championship , Swedish Touring Car Championship , Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia, Camaro Cup | ||
| Route length: | 2,400 km (1.49 mi ) | ||
| Curves: | 11 | ||
| www.karlskogamotorstadion.com | |||
Coordinates: 59 ° 23 ′ 0 ″ N , 14 ° 30 ′ 58 ″ E
The Karlskoga Motorstadion (also Gelleråsens Motorbana or Gelleråsen ) is the oldest permanent motorsport racetrack in Sweden .
The route is about six kilometers north of the city of Karlskoga in the province of Örebro Lan and is currently homologated for the Swedish Touring Car Championship . It is designed so that you can see the entire area from all spectator seats.
history
The Karlskoga Motorstadion was opened in 1949 as a 1.55 km long dirt track slope. The first race was held on June 4, 1950 with the Kanonenrennen ( Swedish Kanonloppet ). This got its name from the arms manufacturer Bofors , which was based in Karlskoga and sponsored it . For the second Kanonloppet in 1952, the road was paved and the length of the slope increased to 1.6 km. In 1953 the Björkdungskurvan (later renamed Tröskurvan ) was built, which increased the length of the route to 2.0 km. In 1958 the Velodromkurvan section was added. Now the Karlskoga Motor Stadium had a length of 3.172 km.
From 1961 to 1963 the Kanonloppet races for Formula 1 were announced and attracted the most famous drivers of the time. However, they were not part of the world championship, but were invitation races . The winners were Stirling Moss on Lotus - Climax , Masten Gregory (Lotus BRM ) and Jim Clark Lotus-Climax. In 1967 , the Swedish Grand Prix was a run for the Formula 2 European Championship , which Jackie Stewart won at Matra .
On the morning of August 9, 1970, the most serious accident in Swedish motorsport history occurred as part of the popular Kanonloppet race. In the first race of the day, for touring cars up to 2000 cm³, the Ford Escort of the Finn Pekka Virtanen and the BMW 02 of the Swede Rune Tobiasson touched in the right bend on the back straight . The two cars went off the track, crashed into the embankment about 80 meters away and were thrown into the audience. The places there were considered to be relatively safe because of their great distance from the slopes. In addition, the visitors were distracted because shortly before the driver Erik Berger had strayed from the track at the same point and the run-off zone was covered in thick dust. Five spectators were killed in the accident, 32 were injured. Virtanen broke his leg while Tobiasson was uninjured. The race was stopped immediately. Two hours later, the event continued with the starting fields reduced to 16 vehicles each.
As a result of the tragedy, all races in Sweden were suspended until the tracks were inspected and found safe. The Karlskoga Motorstadion, which was supposed to be modified into a Formula 1 World Championship track, was closed for several years, rebuilt and 2.530 kilometers shortened.
In 1978 and 1979 the FIM - Motorcycle World Championship held the Swedish Grand Prix on the track.
After the Karlskoga Motorstadion more or less fell into disrepair, extensive renovation work was carried out in the 1990s and 2000s. The pit lane was relocated and the pit facilities improved. In addition, some improvements to the route safety took place, including the renovation of the Tröskurvan and the demolition of the Velodrom section. Since then, the shortened slope has a length of 2,400 km.
Winner of the motorcycle world championship races
| year | 125 cc | 250 cc | 350 cc | 500 cc | Carriages (Cat.B2A) |
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| 1978 |
 Pier Paolo Bianchi ( Minarelli )
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 Gregg Hansford ( Kawasaki )
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Gregg Hansford ( Kawasaki )
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 Barry Sheene ( Suzuki )
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| 1979 |
Pier Paolo Bianchi ( Minarelli )
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Graziano Rossi ( Morbidelli )
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Barry Sheene ( Suzuki )
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Jock Taylor / Benga Johansson ( Windle - Yamaha )
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References
Web links
- Official website. www.karlskogamotorstadion.com, accessed September 15, 2013 (Swedish).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Darren Galpin: Karlskoga Track Info. www.silhouet.com, accessed September 15, 2013 .
- ↑ Hans Peter Strand. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed on September 15, 2013 (English).