Raceway Venray

Raceway Venray, formerly known as Circuit de Peel, is a motorsport racing circuit in Venray, Netherlands. The track consists of a banked half mile oval with a flat quarter mile oval inside and features a karting track using portions of both along with dedicated sections. The track host its own local championships, national championships in cooperation with the Midland Circuit in Lelystad and Circuit de Polderputten in Ter Apel.

The track is owned by Harry Maessen, a local business owner who is also involved in several other motorsports projects, including the BRL V6 and BRL Light series, Funpark Meppen and Acceleration 2014.

History

Old circuit

Circuit de Peel was originally built as a motocross track in 1977. No license to build or operate the circuit was obtained but the municipality allowed the circuit to operate in order to prevent motorcyclists taking to the woods and causing more nuisance. The circuit was even allowed to expand and after some time a dirt oval was laid out for autocross in the field to the north of the motocross track. The dirt oval would only be temporary though and would be abandoned in favor of a more permanent asphalt quarter mile oval and integrated karting track in 1989. The karting track consisted of two infield sections and a short outfield section outside turns 3 and 4 of the oval, along with a small chicane inside turn 1 of the oval and would be run both clockwise and anticlockwise. A small oval for radio controlled stockcars was also constructed.

In 2000 the "Ecologische Hoofdstrucuur", a network of nature reserves with restrictions on what could be done inside them, was implemented by the Dutch Government and the provinces, leading to the circuit not only operating without a license but also in an area where it could never be allowed to. Meanwhile Circuit de Peel had grown to be the most prominent circuit in the region after the closure of Circuit de Berckt in Baarlo in 1998. With the flagship event and much of the competitors being inherited by Venray, a dilemma emerged. On the one hand the circuit wasn't operating legally, on the other hand closing the circuit would only lead to greater nuisance and a shifting of competition to other tracks that were already running at capacity. An agreement was reached in 2002 that for the time being the circuit could only operate for eight hours each week. In 2003 an agreement was reached to allow the circuit to operate until January 1 2006. In 2006 a new agreement was reached to build a new circuit across the road just outside the EHS. The old circuit would operate through 2007 and was demolished sometime in 2008.

New circuit

A new quarter mile oval was built across the road from the old complex and opened on Whit Monday 2009 with a demonstration event. The 2009 season only saw one race weekend at the track for the World Cups for F1 and F2 stockcars. For the 2010 season the track only opened for the World Cup weekend again. Between the 2010 world cup and the races on Whit Monday in 2011, the track was severely overhauled and the half mile oval was built around the quarter mile oval, which now had to share half of the width of its front stretch with the outer oval, a feature not liked by drivers in short-track classes. Although the track still had no full license, event licenses were obtained for four events in each of the 2011, '12 and '13 seasons. Over the 2011-2012 winter the short oval was shortened by bringing the straights closer together and a wall was constructed between the inner and outer oval.

At the end of 2013 a license was obtained allowing for 11 days of limitless noise and limited noise from events on other days. Ahead of the 2014 season the turn 1 grandstand was covered. The 2014 racing schedule expanded to seven races and first featured two rounds of the UK's Pickup Truck Racing Series. Midway through the season the infield grandstand was moved from the backstretch of the inner oval to turn 4 and part of a pedestrian bridge over the exit of turn 4 of the outer oval was constructed in order to allow spectators to go to and from the infield during races as well, though the bridge was not completed in 2014. Motocross also made its return in 2014, with the otherwise empty infield of turns 3 and 4 along with the back stretch of the oval being converted to a motocross track for the MON's International Youth Weekend. The full karting circuit was likewise first used in 2014, though sections inside the short oval's walls had been used previously already.

Series and events

The primary spectator events at the track are stockcar races on the inner and outer ovals. During these, several races for local championships are held, though some events feature races for guest series. Besides these events, the track is also used for racing and drifting courses, club meetings, kart races and courses and races and motocross races.

Stockcar racing

Several local championships are held at the track. Some categories also run at associated tracks for which a separate championship is also awarded encompassing all tracks. Each local championship has a feature event at one race day each year. The following classes have local championships in Venray:

• Outer oval:
  • LMV8 Supercup
• Inner oval:
  • Stockcar F1, Dutch Tarmac Series with NOV Lelystad, qualifying for BRISCA World Final
  • Stockcar F2, Dutch Tarmac Series with NOV Lelystad, qualifying for BRISCA World Final
  • National Hotrods, NHRRG Cup with NOV Lelystad and NNO Ter Apel

Classes that had previously run as local championships but have since not run at Venray include Saloon Stockcars and Formula Toyota, which both last ran in 2010, and BRL-V6, which ran the outer oval in 2011 through 2013.

Several events also have guest appearances from other series that might not have a local championship at Raceway Venray but instead run races at several tracks.

• Outer Oval
  • NASCAR Whelen Euro Series
  • Pickup Truck Racing Series
• Inner Oval
  • Ministox
  • Spedeworth 2.0 litre Hotrods, in conjunction with NNO Ter Apel, run clockwise

The European Late Model Series used to be a regular guest but before the 2013 season the series split resulting in the LMV8 Supercup run by Raceway Venray as a local championship and the Camso V8 series run by CAMSO Warneton at its own track and at Ipswich and Lydden Hill.

See also

• Other Oval Circuits in Europe:
  • Eurospeedway
  • Rockingham Motor Speedway
  • Tours Speedway

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Raceway Venray.

• Official website

Coordinates: 51°31′15.07″N 5°52′40.55″E / 51.5208528°N 5.8779306°E / 51.5208528; 5.8779306