The circuit hosted the Formula One British Grand Prix five times between 1955 and 1962, specifically in 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961, and 1962. Organized by the British Automobile Racing Club, Aintree also held eleven non-championship Formula One races known as the Aintree 200. Stirling Moss won the inaugural Aintree 200 in 1954, and Jack Brabham was the last winner in April 1964. Brabham made his Formula One debut at Aintree in the 1955 British Grand Prix. The 1955 race marked Moss's first British Grand Prix victory, driving a Mercedes. In 1957, Moss and Tony Brooks achieved a significant milestone by winning the British Grand Prix and a round of the Formula One World Championship in a Vanwall, becoming the first British drivers to do so in a British car. The 1957 Grand Prix, also titled the "European Grand Prix", was a premier Formula One event of the season, attracting approximately 150,000 spectators.
The full Grand Prix circuit was last used for major racing in 1964. As Formula One cars evolved and safety standards increased, Aintree became less favored compared to newer circuits. However, a shorter 1.535 mi (2.470 km) Club Circuit remained in use, operated by the Aintree Circuit Club from the mid-1960s to the late 1990s. In the 1980s, the 108 Car Club (St. Helens) reintroduced rallying to the circuit. The Club Circuit is situated within the Aintree Grand National Course and encloses a public nine-hole golf course.
Motorsport continues at Aintree on the Club Circuit through car sprints, track days, and motorcycle racing. Motorcycle events have been organized by Aintree Motor Cycle Racing Club since 1982, with six events held annually. Car events, including three sprints and two track days, are organized by Liverpool Motor Club. The Club Circuit also hosts occasional visiting events such as the Greenpower Electric Car Races for Schools, Sporting Bears Motor Club's Dream Rides for charity, and bicycle racing.
The official Formula One lap record on the full circuit is 1:51.8, set by Jim Clark driving a Lotus 25 during the 1963 Aintree 200 race. The fastest qualifying lap was also set by Jim Clark in a Lotus 25 with a time of 1:53.6 in 1962.
Nick Algar, the 2010 British Sprint Champion, set a new course record of 35.82 seconds on the 1.148 mi (1.847 km) sprint course on June 26, 2010, in a Gould GR55 3500cc. Roy Dawson had previously held the record with a time of 36.03 seconds set on September 8, 2007, in the same car. Algar's speed through the finish line speed trap was 172 mph (277 km/h), with an earlier run reaching 176 mph (283 km/h). As of March 2023, this record still stood.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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