Shannonville Motorsport Park
Encyclopedia
The Shannonville Motorsport Park is a Canadian
motorsport
road course circuit. It is located 15 km east of Belleville, Ontario
, roughly midway between Toronto
and Montreal
, Quebec, near Highway 401
and along the former Provincial Highway 2.
It has many configurations, and its tight layout with lots of run-off space makes it a very good venue for race testing. Many race teams from Toronto and Montreal test at Shannonville in preparation for events held on street circuit
s, as the Shannonville raceway shares a lot of the same characteristics.
The raceway first started off as a dirt oval, with bedrock for a front straight. Much later, the 1.8 km "Nelson" circuit was built, named after the late John Nelson, owner of the circuit at the time. From there, the 2.23 km "Fabi" circuit was built north of the Nelson, and the two were linked to form the 4.03 km, 14-corner "Long Track". The Fabi circuit was named after Bertrand Fabi, a young Canadian driver who died while testing a Formula 3 car in England
. The Fabi circuit has a long backstraight that now doubles as a drag strip. A link was then made after the first corner on the Nelson circuit to the seventh corner of the Long Circuit, creating the 2.47 km "Pro Circuit" layout.
Currently, the Canadian Superbike series
makes a few visits there, as well as auto-racing body CASC (Regional Road Races). Drag racing
is also heavily featured there.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
motorsport
Motorsport
Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...
road course circuit. It is located 15 km east of Belleville, Ontario
Belleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...
, roughly midway between Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec, near Highway 401
Highway 401 (Ontario)
King's Highway 401, also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway and colloquially as the four-oh-one, is a 400-Series Highway in the Canadian province of Ontario stretching from Windsor to the Quebec border...
and along the former Provincial Highway 2.
It has many configurations, and its tight layout with lots of run-off space makes it a very good venue for race testing. Many race teams from Toronto and Montreal test at Shannonville in preparation for events held on street circuit
Street circuit
A street circuit is a racing circuit composed by temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Facilities such as the paddock, pit boxes, fences and grandstands are usually placed temporarily and removed soon after the race is over but in modern times the...
s, as the Shannonville raceway shares a lot of the same characteristics.
The raceway first started off as a dirt oval, with bedrock for a front straight. Much later, the 1.8 km "Nelson" circuit was built, named after the late John Nelson, owner of the circuit at the time. From there, the 2.23 km "Fabi" circuit was built north of the Nelson, and the two were linked to form the 4.03 km, 14-corner "Long Track". The Fabi circuit was named after Bertrand Fabi, a young Canadian driver who died while testing a Formula 3 car in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The Fabi circuit has a long backstraight that now doubles as a drag strip. A link was then made after the first corner on the Nelson circuit to the seventh corner of the Long Circuit, creating the 2.47 km "Pro Circuit" layout.
Currently, the Canadian Superbike series
Superbike racing
Superbike racing is a category of motorcycle racing that employs modified production motorcycles. Superbike World Championship is the international superbike championship, and national superbike championships are held in many countries as well, including the United Kingdom, the United States,...
makes a few visits there, as well as auto-racing body CASC (Regional Road Races). Drag racing
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
is also heavily featured there.