- NASCAR to Rockinghan....England? England’s Rockingham Motor Speedway is still hopeful of landing a NASCAR race in the future, after being sold to a real estate development company. A total of circa 5,000 houses will be built in the area of the facility, which hasn’t held major-league oval racing since two Champ Car races back in 2001 and 2002. The new owners, Corby Developments, have leased the raceway back to its present management, who will continue to seek the return of an international event.(Speed Channel)(5-21-2005)
- Europe Track files for bankruptcy: One of Europe’s two paved ovals, EuroSpeedway Lausitz, has filed for bankruptcy. The three companies running the track filed with the local court in Germany after the shareholders (Berliner Bank, Dekra and the administrative district of Obersprewald-Lausitz) were unable to agree about its future. EuroSpeedway has enough money only to pay its employees for the next three months. However, it anticipates fulfilling all its remaining 2002 obligations, including the CART race Sept. 22. That race will be promoted as a double-header with the U.K. oval, Rockingham Speedway. Rockingham [England] says it will be unaffected by EuroSpeedway’s problems.(Autoweek)(6-30-2002)
- UK Rock News: Peter Davies, the Midlands entrepreneur who has managed the $80m Rockingham Motor Speedway project from the outset, may be on the way out as chief executive of the project, according reports circulating in England. The motorsport complex, with a U.S.-style oval as centerpiece, is scheduled to open in Corby, Northamptonshire in May with a CART FedEx Championship Series race on tap for Sept. 22, a week after the Champ Cars visit the Lausitzring in Germany. Majority shareholder Guy Hands, managingng director of Nomura's Principal Finance Group, this week appointed Peter Middleton – former Lloyd's of London chairman and CEO of Solomon Brothers Europe – to sort out a proper business plan for the project. Middleton immediately appointed a new financial officer(SpeedVision)(1-10-2001)
- Germany Race? Is NASCAR heading toward an exhibition Winston Cup race in Germany, at the new oval near Berlin? Maybe so, somewhere down the road, according to NASCAR sources(PitNow)(7-24-2000)
- The Rockinghams: A group of guests from Rockingham Motor Speedway in Northhamptonshire, England, currently under construction, visited North Carolina Speedway this weekend. Both tracks share the nickname, ``The Rock,'' and enjoy historic links, as well. Settlers from the small English village of Rockingham are thought to have been some of the first in North Carolina and the new British track is close to Rockingham Castle, which has given the area its name since it was built in the 11th Century. The group, led by Rockingham Motor Speedway managing director Peter Davies, planned the visit to further a relationship between the two tracks. The visit gave the British motor correspondents and officials a ``close-up'' view of the sport in the U.S. The British track is planned as a 1.5-mile oval, located eight miles north of London(That's Racin')(10-25-1999)
- Rockingham UK News: Leading US motor sports and energy industry entrepreneur, Gerald Forsythe, today announced a further expansion into European motorsport, with the acquisition of a strategic stake in Rockingham Motor Speedway Limited, the first all-new motor racing venue to be constructed in the UK(England) since 1907. The shareholders and management of Rockingham Motor Speedway, under construction at Corby in Northamptonshire, have been in negotiation with Forsythe over the summer and are delighted to welcome the additional expertise provided by Forsythe's Indeck Group of companies. The involvement will mark both financial investment and the input of additional expertise provided by Forsythe Racing and the Indeck Group of companies(Rockingham UK Website)(10-7-1999)
- King visit's England's Rock: Richard Petty yesterday(7-14) broke off from a family holiday in Europe to ‘stop by’ Rockingham Motor Speedway and review the construction of Britain’s first-ever Superspeedway track, which is scheduled to open in the late summer of year 2000. See full Press Release at: The King' Pays a Flying Visit to Rockingham(7-19-1999)
- Rockingham, ENGLAND: Constuction work has begun on Rockingham Motor Speedway, the venue which will next year offer high-speed, American style motor racing on a banked oval track near Corby in Northamptonshire(England). A small team from construction partners Morrison Construction Limited moved onto the former steel works site at the start of the week to commence the first phase of the civil engineering operation. This means that the track is on target for its scheduled opening in late 2000. It is anticipated that the number of workers on site will reach a maximum of 400 as the venue nears opening with the final fitting-out of facilities. Six years in planning, the first phase of the Speedway will include the oval and road racing circuits, pit garages, a racing school and an 11,000 seat grandstand(Press Release - Rockingham, England Track Site(6-1-1999)
- UK building an oval track: the first purpose-designed motor racing venue to be built in Great Britain since Brooklands in 1907, will open its doors during the year 2000. The new complex with a first phase cost of £ 28 million, is situated mid-way between the A1M and M1 motorways at Corby in Northamptonshire and will introduce American-style, high speed oval racing to Europe. See their site at Rockingham, England Track(3-1-1999)
- The Germany Rumor: A 2-mile trioval is currently being build in Germany. The superspeedway, which will be known as the "Lausitzring" is planned to be ready for action in early 2000. It will be located in a region known as Lausitz in the eastern part of Germany not far away from the capital, Berlin. The banking in the turns will range from 5.1° to 5.7° with the straights being flat. The complex will also house three road courses designed for Formula 1, motorcycles and endurance (24h) races. There will be 120000 seats available when it is ready. Rumors are that CART may be using the trioval as early as late 2000 or early 2001. Other rumors say that NASCAR is also interested in staging a race in the future(StockCarFans Newsltter)(3-1-1999)
- NASCAR to Germany? Germany could soon have its own series for NASCAR Winston Cup cars. Between three and five of the hugely powerful stock cars look set to be making their way to Europe, under instruction of Honda Germany sports chief Andreas Mansfeld and former racer Thomas Beyer. The pair are trying to buy the cars so they can stage high-speed demonstrations at selected rounds of the German Super Touring Championship (STW). Former STW racers Roland Asch and Marco Werner have already committed to the project. NASCAR last week denied any interest in promoting any European events. See the story and some quotes at Autosport - US stocks set for German base(1-20-1999)
- Rumors are starting to swirl that when NASCAR concludes its exhibition races this year at the Motegi Twin Ring that NASCAR will test the waters of Europe. The most probable stopping spot is the Lasitz Ring Speedway in Germany. This is a new facility being built at this time and when completed will support all types of racing. The portion of the track that NASCAR would favor would have to be the 2.0 mile oval.(GoRacing Notes)(6-19-98)
- Per the JournalNow: Reports that Bruton Smith is also looking at building a track in Europe, looking at building a second California track in San Jose, and may force some issues with Bill France that could lead to a split between Smith and France(4-21-97)
