Snetterton Circuit

Snetterton Heath was originally RAF Snetterton Heath, operational from May 1943, and later used by the United States Army Air Force. After returning to local landowner Fred Riches in 1948, the site lay dormant until Oliver Sear and Dudley Coram of the Aston Martin Owners Club proposed circuit racing on the redundant perimeter roads. Riches, a local churchwarden, consented on condition that no racing took place between 10:45 am and noon on Sundays and that all activity ceased before Evensong.

The inaugural open meeting on 27 October 1951 was described by Motor Sport magazine as "an excellent event over an interesting new course." The fastest time was set by Ken Wharton driving ERA R11B, averaging 82.4 mph (132.6 km/h). Motorcycle racing began in 1953, organised by the Snetterton Combine, an association of clubs in Norfolk and Suffolk.

In the 1960s and early 1970s the circuit measured 2.710 mi (4.361 km). Russell Bend was added in that decade, named after Jim Russell who ran a racing drivers' school at the circuit. Team Lotus and Norfolk Racing Co used Snetterton for testing their Formula One and Le Mans cars respectively.

Snetterton was acquired by MotorSport Vision in January 2004, together with Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, and Cadwell Park, from Octagon (a subsidiary of The Interpublic Group of Companies), which had itself acquired prior owner Brands Hatch Leisure plc in November 1999.

In October 2005, MSV's Jonathan Palmer announced plans to lengthen the circuit and improve facilities. On 23 September 2010, MSV confirmed the new infield section and improvements would be ready for the 2011 season. The principal addition was a new one-mile infield section after Sear Corner, which was replaced and renamed Montreal in reference to its modelling on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve hairpin. The final chicane before Senna Straight was removed and replaced by an extension to Coram curve and a new tight left-hander named Murrays.

Snetterton 300 — 2.969 mi (4.778 km), the longest layout and the second longest racing track in the country. It carries an FIA Grade 2 licence. The British Formula 3 Championship and British GT Championship were the first championships on the new layout in May 2011. In 2016, ahead of Justin Wilson's 38th birthday, the Montreal hairpin was renamed Wilson in memory of the Yorkshire IndyCar driver killed at the 2015 Pocono 500.

Snetterton 200 — 2.000 mi (3.219 km), closest to the pre-2011 layout with re-profiled Wilson, Coram, and Murray's corners. Primarily used for club and local racing.

Snetterton 100 — 0.980 mi (1.577 km) infield section used mainly for testing and race schools. The 100 and 200 layouts can be used simultaneously.

Regular calendar entries include the British Touring Car Championship (May), British Superbike Championship and British Supersport Championship (June), British GT Championship (July), and TCR UK Touring Car Championship (September).

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.