For any racer that’s slid round Graceland with their heart in their mouth or only realized after crossing the finish line just how close to the wall you actually get its a sad farewell to Rockingham Circuit as it closes its doors as a racing venue.
My first visit to Rockingham was in 2001 to attend the FexEx CART World Series. The oval track was really fast and when there wasn’t racing to watch there were plenty of celebrities to spot.
I often take private clients to Rockingham to put themselves or their car through their paces. The international sports circuit is fantastic for teaching on. With so many different types of corner and camber, you can really see and feel the effect of using different techniques.
I often work for Supercar Drive Days and have driven a number of vehicles; but amongst my favourites are the Ariel Atom and of course driving the M3 Drift taxi is a real scream generator.
MINI Challenge included Rockingham as part of their season. In 2017 I was winner in my class – Cooper Am and scooped up 2 podiums that weekend. As my team in 2017, Hybrid Tune, will recall I was limping round with a broken gear box so it was a good achievement.
Running in 2018 in the Cooper S Class I took another podium. Even on the second place step I’m still the shortest!
For 2019 MINI Challenge will swap Rockingham out for Croft Circuit.
Farewell Rockingham it’s been ….. emotional
Thanks to Thrillpic Media for some of the images used.
Stuart McLaren 