Anderstorp Raceway was constructed in 1968 as a multi-purpose motorsport facility, designed from the outset with an unusual feature: the long straight that forms the backbone of the lap doubles as an aircraft runway, designated ICAO code ESMP. This Flight Straight, as it became known, gave the circuit its most distinctive characteristic — a genuine airstrip that aircraft could and did use alongside the racing schedule. The track's location on former marshland, its banked corners, and the need to configure the car setup as a compromise between the runway straight and the technical infield sections made it a unique engineering challenge for competitors in both car and motorcycle classes.
The circuit became extremely popular in Sweden during the 1970s, buoyed by the rise of Swedish motorsport talent. For motorcycle racing, the Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp attracted large local crowds and offered a technical challenge suited to the variety of machinery competing in the 500cc, 350cc, and 250cc classes of the era.
The Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix was held at Anderstorp in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977, covering the core of the 500cc two-stroke era when riders such as Giacomo Agostini, Phil Read, and Barry Sheene were competing for world titles. The event ran as part of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship, and Anderstorp's place on the calendar during these years meant it was a venue where title races were frequently decided or significantly altered.
After a gap, the Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix returned to Anderstorp for a further extended run from 1981 to 1990, a period that spanned the transition from two-stroke dominance to the increasingly competitive landscape that followed. This second chapter of motorcycle racing at the circuit coincided with rising Japanese manufacturer involvement and the careers of riders including Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Gardner, and Wayne Rainey. The sidecar world championship also made use of Anderstorp across several seasons during this period, racing at the circuit from 1981 to 1990 and again in 1993 and 1997.
Anderstorp's layout presented motorcycle riders with a circuit that rewarded discipline on the long Flight Straight while demanding precision through the technical infield sectors. The pit lane, unusually, is located approximately halfway around the lap rather than on the start-finish straight, a configuration that added logistical complexity to race strategy. The banked corners, a characteristic carryover from the circuit's original design, offered variable grip levels compared to conventional flat asphalt turns.
The circuit was modified at least four times during its racing history, with changes made before the 1975, 1976, and 1978 Grand Prix events and a further modification before 1998. For motorcycle racing, the layout changes were relatively minor, but they affected the character of the Norra corner complex in the second half of the lap.
Following the conclusion of the Grand Prix motorcycle era at Anderstorp, the circuit hosted the Superbike World Championship in 1991 and 1993, extending its association with top-level powered two-wheeled competition into the 1990s. The 24-hour motorcycle race organised in 1993 in conjunction with the FIM became an operational disaster when media reports announced the event had been cancelled (after a last-minute legal challenge over noise), leading spectators to turn away at ferry terminals across Scandinavia. The race took place in a thunderstorm before essentially no crowd, and the financial losses from the event contributed to the circuit entering bankruptcy shortly afterward.
Anderstorp Raceway's two-decade involvement with world championship motorcycle racing represents the entirety of Nordic Grand Prix motorcycle history at the premier level. No other circuit in Scandinavia has hosted a round of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship, making Anderstorp's contribution to the sport unique in the region. The circuit continues to operate for domestic and regional motorsport, hosting events including the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia and the Anderstorp Race Festival, but its most significant chapter in international motorcycle racing belongs to the years between 1971 and 1990.
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