Construction began late in 1999 on a brownfield site formerly occupied by a British Steel works, historically known as the Deene Iron Ore Quarry, giving the facility its original name of Deene Raceway. The concept centred on bringing American oval racing — both NASCAR stock cars and CART Indycars — to Britain for the first time, while the vast infield was used to build a family of road course configurations.
After nearly ten years of planning and twenty-three months of construction, Rockingham opened on Monday 15 January 2001. Queen Elizabeth II formally opened the venue on 26 May 2001.
Rockingham offered thirteen track configurations. The centrepiece was a 1.479-mile (2.380 km) American-style banked oval, 60 feet wide with a maximum bank angle of seven degrees, unique in Britain and one of only two speedways in Europe alongside the Lausitzring. The venue also offered the International Super Sportscar Circuit (ISSC) at 1.940 miles (3.122 km), which hosted most major professional car racing events and combined long straights and high-speed sweeps with a technical infield section. The overall seated capacity across the 6,280-seat Rockingham Building and four grandstands totalled 52,000.
The oval circuit hosted CART FedEx Championship Series rounds in 2001 and 2002. The 2001 Rockingham 500 took place in the shadow of the September 11 attacks; the race distance was shortened to 300 km and many teams stripped sponsors' livery as a mark of respect. Gil de Ferran won on the final lap driving the Marlboro Team Penske Honda-powered Reynard 01I at a race average of 153.41 mph (246.89 km/h). The outright lap record of 25.551 seconds at 210.59 mph (338.91 km/h) was set by Patrick Carpentier in a Player's Forsythe Racing Reynard-Cosworth during that same event, making Carpentier the first Canadian to hold the outright lap record at an English circuit.
The 2002 CART round at the full 500 km distance was won by Dario Franchitti for Team KOOL Green by 0.986 of a second over Cristiano da Matta. These two rounds remained the only CART events held at the facility.
The unofficial oval lap record stands at 0:24.719, set by Tony Kanaan in his Lola B01/00 Champ Car on 22 September 2001, equivalent to an average speed of 215.397 mph (346.648 km/h).
The ISSC hosted the British Touring Car Championship, British Formula Three, and the British Superbike Championship among other national series. A wet handling area with a kick plate that could simulate ice, rain, and wet leaves supplemented the racing facilities.
On 12 December 2004, Rockingham hosted its first stage rally event, the Rockingham Stages. Co-promoted by the Middlesex County Automobile Club and Thame Motorsport Club, the event grew into one of the most popular rounds on the British stage rally calendar. The 2018 Rockingham Stages was the final competitive motorsport event held at the venue.
The venue entered administration in 2017. A "super send-off" event was held on 24 November 2018, marking the final day of racing. The site was subsequently sold to Rockingham Automotive Limited for vehicle storage and logistics. In mid-2021, Constellation Automotive — owner of Cinch and We Buy Any Car — purchased the facility for £80 million. Cinch has since used the circuit for vehicle reviews and promotional content.