Mallory Park

The estate at Mallory Park contains an Anglo-Saxon defended moat known as Kirkby Moats, and a Roman road passes through the grounds. In the 18th century, Sir Edward Noel became Viscount Wentworth, and Lord Byron married into the Wentworth family; it is said he wrote beneath a Lebanon cedar tree still standing in the grounds of Kirkby Hall. The last occupant of Kirkby Hall was Herbert Clarkson, who died in 1941, after which the hall was demolished in 1952.

During the Second World War, the site operated as Royal Air Force Kirkby Mallory, a satellite landing ground, closing in 1947. The 300-acre estate was sold by auction in 1953 to a Mr Moult of Derby, who planned horse racing on the disused pony trotting track. Following the war the site became a pony trotting circuit in the late 1940s, defining the oval still in use today. After the financial collapse of the Kirkby Mallory Racing Association, motorcycle clubs used the grounds for grass-track racing; the Leicester Query Motorcycle Club held such events from September 1949 until 1954.

In 1955 the estate was purchased by Clive Wormleighton, who financed construction of the present tarmac circuit at a cost of £60,000. A test session on 26 April 1956 saw local Grand Prix driver Bob Gerard lap in a Cooper-Bristol Formula Two car at 81 mph, while Maurice Cann rode a Moto Guzzi motorcycle. Gerard opened the newly reconstructed circuit on 25 April 1956. The first race meeting, organised by the Leicester Query Club for motorcycles, took place on 29 April. The Grand Opening on 13 May 1956 drew over 20,000 spectators and 248 riders; George Salter set the first lap record at 84.08 mph on a Norton bike. Car racing began at the subsequent Whit Monday meeting, organised by the Nottingham Sports Car Club; the first car race victory went to D. Rees in an Austin.

The circuit is built on a basic one-mile oval, with the majority of configurations including a northerly extension to Shaw's Corner, a tight 180° hairpin also known as The Hairpin — recognised as the tightest corner of any UK track, excepting the hairpin on Cadwell Park's short circuit. When used without the hairpin-loop extension, the link section is known as the Castrol Chicane.

At the opposite end lies Gerard's Bend, a long right-hander about a third of a mile in length that turns through nearly 200°, named after Bob Gerard. Despite its short overall length, Mallory Park is regarded as a fast circuit.

To reduce speeds for motorcycle racing, a pair of chicanes were introduced alongside a revised exit from Gerard's. "Edwina's" was added toward the end of the straight following Gerard's, named after former managing director Edwina Overend. The "Bus Stop Chicane" sits on the descent to the Devil's Elbow, a blind, downhill, off-camber left-hander before the start–finish line on Kirkby Straight. In 2003 a new complex of bends was added toward the end of Gerard's curve to reduce entry speeds into Edwina's and prevent motorcycle collisions. With these chicanes in place, the Superbike Circuit measures 1.410 miles (2.269 km). Mallory Park has no permanent garage facilities, though a handful of open garages exist in the pitlane.

A young John Surtees raced against his father Jack Surtees at Mallory; Jack was a successful grass-track racer there, while John went on to become the only World Champion on both two and four wheels. Surtees won the first Race of the Year in 1958. The 1960 Race of the Year was won by Mike Hailwood, who set a new lap record of 89 mph. Clive Wormleighton added the lakes during this period by installing a sluice gate across the brook.

Ownership passed to Grovewood Securities in July 1962, with Wormleighton remaining as a consultant until the end of September. On 11 June 1962, Mallory Park held its first non-championship Formula One race, the International 2000 Guineas, won by John Surtees in a Lola Mk4, ahead of privately entered Lotuses driven by Jack Brabham and Graham Hill. In 1962 over 50,000 people paid to attend the Post TT International Motor Cycle meeting, at which Hailwood won and improved the lap record to 91.70 mph.

Under Grovewood Securities, new spectator stands and a commentators' press and timekeepers' boxes were constructed. In 1964, a young Austrian — Jochen Rindt — arrived for his first race in England in a Formula Two Brabham at Mallory's Whit Sunday meeting. He asked Denny Hulme to follow him around the circuit to learn it, then proceeded to set the fastest qualifying time. Despite a delay in the race, Rindt finished third behind reigning World Champion Jim Clark and Clark's team-mate Peter Arundell.

On 12 March 1972, Mallory hosted a round of the FIA European Formula Two Championship; Dave Morgan won in his Reeves Racing Brabham-Ford BT35, ahead of the future Ferrari pairing of Niki Lauda and Carlos Reutemann. Formula Two returned in 1973: Jean-Pierre Jarier won in his works March-BMW 732, with Dave McConnell second and Morgan third.

In 1970, Mallory was used as the venue for the World Road Race cycling championships, run on a road course that incorporated the reversed circuit each lap. The professional event was won by Belgian Jean-Pierre Monseré.

The first 100 mph lap at Mallory came on 29 May 1966, when Denny Hulme took a Lola T70 around in 47.6 seconds at 102.10 mph. Two years later, Roy Pike recorded the first Formula Three 100 mph lap in a Titan at 101.25 mph. In 1979, Ricardo Zunino set the outright record in an Arrows A1 with a 40.065-second lap at 121.32 mph.

After over 20 years under Grovewood Securities, the estate was offered for sale; the expense of upgrading nearby Brands Hatch — also owned by Grovewood — to Grand Prix standards, and the reopening of Donington Park some 20 miles away, were cited as factors. A restriction reportedly existed on future motor racing use, and planning permission had been obtained for 30 dwellings on the estate.

Edwina Overend, competitions secretary of the Midlands Centre of the British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC), approached Chris Meek in 1982 to purchase the estate. Meek, a racing driver and businessman, completed the purchase in late 1982 and reopened the circuit on 29 May 1983, with the first race organised by the 750 Motor Club. In late 1983, the reported owners Motor Circuit Developments announced possible closure due to a restriction limiting use to race-days only.

In December 1985, the local borough council served a Noise Nuisance Order restricting Mallory's use to 40 days per year, with an absolute curfew on Sundays after 6 pm. In late 1987, Edwina and Ron Overend, trading as Mallory Park (Motorsport) Ltd., negotiated a long-term lease with Chris Meek's Titan Properties to secure the circuit's future.

The outright lap record on the full circuit stands to Johan Rajamäki, driving a Formula One Footwork-Judd FA13 in the BOSS Formula at 127.12 mph (204.58 km/h) in 38.23 seconds, set on 5 May 1997. The oval circuit record has stood since May 1995, set by a V6 Ford Mondeo Eurocar of Ian Fewings at 106.51 mph in 33.840 seconds. The motorcycle full lap record was set during the 2017 Race of the Year at 50.660 seconds (97.86 mph) by Bradley Ray aboard a Suzuki GSX-R1000. In the karting world, John Riley set a Division 1 Superkart lap record of 44.071 seconds at 110.30 mph in June 2006.

Statues of Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, Jim Clark, and Colin Chapman are located at the front gate.

Adjacent to the road course is a purpose-built motocross circuit that hosted the Grand Prix of Great Britain in 2008 and 2009. The 2008 event drew over 30,000 fans across the weekend. Motocross activities ended thereafter due to noise concerns and the circuit fell into disuse by late 2013.

The park is also used for triathlon training — the tarmac circuit for traffic-free cycling and distance running, and the lakes for open-water swimming. The annual Festival of Sidecars takes place each October, with no solo machines competing and sidecar entries across all categories, including three-wheelers by the Morgan Motor Company.

From the mid-1990s, the BRSCC promoted EuroCars (V6 and V8 saloon-outline cars graduating from stock car circuits), which ran anti-clockwise on the oval circuit.

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.