Keimolan Moottori Stadium
The Keimolan Moottori Stadium is a former racetrack in Finland . It was opened on June 12, 1966 in the Keimola district of Vantaa near Helsinki , not far from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport . The track was 3.3 km long and was built by one of the most famous Finnish racing drivers of the 1950s, Curt Lincoln . This was also Jochen Rindt's father-in-law .
The first big races were those of Formula 2 and Formula 3 . They were classified as the Grand Prix of Finland . In 1969 the Nordic Challenge came to Keimola. In terms of technical regulations, this was one of the predecessor series of the Interseries , which first stopped there in 1970 . The Nordic Challenge held its Finnish race on this route from 1970 to 1972. In addition to long-distance races for sports cars, Formula Vee and touring cars, as well as motorcycles and sidecars, were on the fast track.
Due to financial problems, attempts were made to attract more viewers with dragster races, rallycross events or rock concerts in the 1970s. A total of five FIA European Rallycross Championship races were held in Keimola, on June 9, 1974 (winner: Björn Waldegård , Sweden, Porsche Carrera RSR), and June 1, 1975 (winner: Dick Riefel, Netherlands, VW 1303S with Porsche Carrera engine ), May 30, 1976 (winner: Franz Wurz , Austria, Lancia Stratos HF), May 29, 1977 (winner: Herbert Grünsteidl, Austria, Renault-Alpine A310 V6) and on May 28, 1978 (winner TW division: Per -Inge Walfridsson , Sweden, Volvo 343 Turbo; GT Division winner: Olle Arnesson, Sweden, Porsche Carrera). However, since no further international and popular races could be held, the route had to close its doors in 1978.
The kart track, which was also built in the 1970s, remained open and was the practice site for the later Finnish Grand Prix stars Mika Salo and Mika Häkkinen .
In 1987 and 1988 illegal motorcycle races were also held on the closed track. The press became aware of this spectacle when a motorcyclist collided with an elk. That is why the route was soon made impassable through deep trenches. The racetrack still exists today, but is falling into disrepair. In 2004, for example, a fire set by young people playing with fireworks, which could only be brought under control after 3 days, destroyed large parts of the former paddock .
Web links
- The former racetrack on Google Maps
- Series of images and documents on the route from 1966 to 1978
Coordinates: 60 ° 19 ′ 5 ″ N , 24 ° 49 ′ 53 ″ E