The Rise and Fall of Rockingham Motor Speedway, England, UK (From Quarry to Speedway to Carpark)

By Kent Whitaker

Peter Davies had a passion for motorsports and decided to put his entrepreneurial skills, and funds, behind building a track. The location was on the grounds of an old quarry and steel facility in the town of Corby in Northamptonshire.

Davies bought the land in 1991 with a five-year window to begin construction. Davies traveled to the United States and took in several NASCAR and IndyCar circuits and even visited Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Davies envisioned the oval, a series of road course layouts, and fan friendly seating areas complete with food, private suites, and more. Davies also wanted F1 style racing, NASCAR, and even entertainment! However, bringing on investors proved difficult. He had courted several financial backers from the United States, but none signed on.

No Time Left and a Big Investor

Davies agreement with the local authorities was that construction on the site had to begin within five years. Davies and a small crew started moving dirt and pouring a small amount of concrete. That stopped the five-year clock.

Davies found additional money from Guy Hands who was a successful investor and who would go onto owning EMI. After almost two years of negotiation, Hands was on board and heavy construction began in the summer of 1999.

The Sacking of Peter Davies and the Queen

Hands was able to bring on additional investors and essentially gained control of the Board. Suddenly, Davies found himself on the other side of the catch fence – he was sacked after a board meeting. Hands put David Grace, five-time British Hillclimb Champion, as the new chief executive.

Davies was gone but the project moved forward. The track officially opened on Monday, January 15, 2001. A larger celebration, which included Queen Elizabeth, took place a few months later.

Troubles at the Track

Rockingham had issues from the beginning. The layout of the track was somewhat awkward with the long straights and low-banked turns. The track surface was prone to weeping water following rain. But the main issue was money.

The money negotiated for bringing the Champ Car races was too expensive and was almost impossible to recoup. Even with Champ Car, the ASCAR series, British Formula Three Series, motorcycle racing, and the truck racing series, the venue failed to draw enough fans.

The first Cart race had over 40,000 fans in attendance while only 25,000 showed up the next season. But the facility did have some bright days. New owners opened the calendar to events such as track days, testing sessions, and corporate events. The track was turning a small profit for the first time.

Racing Ends at Rockingham

The small profit was not enough. After a few more bleak seasons, and more management and ownership changes, the facility saw its last race in 2018.

It has since been sold to Constellation Automotive Group and they have turned Rockingham into a massive car park that houses used and surplus cars. Rockingham Motor Speedway only lasted from 2001 to 2018 and it is highly unlikely that it will ever be used for racing again.