Imatra Circuit
The Imatra Circuit is a motorsport street circuit in Imatra, Finland. The circuit has existed in two versions, and has been exclusively used for the "Imatranajo" motorcycle road race. From 1962 to 1978 a 6.030km clockwise street circuit in the east of the town of Imatra was used. The circuit ran along the Vuoksi river and a railway line that had to be crossed. From 1979 to 1986 a shorter circuit was used. This was only 4.950km long and consisted mostly of the western part of the original circuit.
From the 1964 season until the 1982 season the Grand Prix of Finland was run 19 times in Imatra. From the 1983 season the "Imatranajo" lost its World Championship status due to the dangerous nature of the circuit and the death of sidecar driver Jock Taylor in 1982.
The last road race on the Imatra Circuit for many years was held in 1986 when a six-year-old boy died after falling under a running wheel, but classic races still took place. Road racing returned to Imatra in 2016[1] with a round of the International Road Racing Championship, and another round was held in 2017.[2]In the "Imatranajo" on June 15, 2019, a death case occurred when a Swiss driver Mathias Gnägi with a Superbike class dropped off the track in the rain and then he died.
Finnish Grand Prix results
From 1964 to 1972
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From 1973 to 1982
(Coloured background = the race was boycotted by international competitors)
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References and notes
- http://roadracingnews.co.uk/imatra-round-up/
- http://roadracingnews.co.uk/imatra-added-to-duke-road-race-rankings-schedule/
- The Sidecar Riders had had enough of the low starting money in Finland, and therefore the only competitors were six Finnish and one unknown German team. Of these, there were only three finishers, so the race was also rather boring. It delivered the first victory in the Sidecar Class for Honda because Kalevi Rahko and Kari Laatikainen won with their Honda CB 500 Four, followed by the BMW sidecars of Jaakko Palomäki / Juhani Vesterinen and Pentti Moskari / Olaf Sten
- Translated from the Dutch version of this page
External links
- Imatranajo website (in English)