Mosport International Raceway (formerly Mosport Park) is a multi-track facility located north of Bowmanville, Ontario. The facility features a 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course; a half-mile paved oval; and the new 1.5-mile Mosport Driver Development Centre, which was developed from the karting circuit built in 1997.

HistoryEdit

Mosport has hosted a wide variety of series throughout its history. The circuit has held Formula 1, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship, CanAm, Formula 5000, and many other sports car, open-wheel, and motorcycle series. The name "Mosport" is a contraction of Motor Sport, and came from the enterprise formed to build the track.

The circuit was the second purpose-built road race course in Canada, after the Westwood Motorsport Park in Coquitlam, British Columbia[1]. It was designed and built in the in the late 1950s, and held its first major race in 1961, the Player's 200, a sports car race bringing drivers from the world over to rural Ontario. Stirling Moss won the event in a Lotus 19. The hairpin complex consisting of two corners is named Moss Corner in his honour, as he suggested the layout of the corner, to be of greater challenge to the drivers and more interesting for the spectators.

CanAm first visited the track in its inaugural season in 1966, and hosted at least one event in every year of the series' history, except 1968. In 1967, Canada's centennial year, Mosport hosted Formula 1, IndyCar, and a 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix. F1's Grand Prix of Canada remained at the track until 1977.

Mosport has had a succession of owners since the original public company created to build the track. In 1998, the Panoz Motor Sports Group purchased the facility, and in 1999, the newly formed American Le Mans Series visited Mosport for the first time. For 2001, the entire circuit was repaved to meet FIA specifications, and is now 42 feet (12.8 m) wide. Drivers were consulted to ensure the character of the "old" track was kept; almost all the "racing lines" have been maintained.

Mosport has had several fatalities, both track crew, drivers and riders, the most recognized being German Manfred Winkelhock was killed in 1985 when his Porsche 962 crashed into a concrete wall. [2]

EventsEdit

• American Le Mans Series - Grand Prix of Mosport
• NASCAR Canadian Tire Series

The track also hosts vintage racing series, motorcycle racing, and Canadian Automobile Sport Club (CASC) amateur events and lapping days.

Formula One historyEdit

External linksEdit

• Official Site (partial source)
• Regional racing information
• Mosport Circuit (Spectator) guide at the Motorsport Wiki