Shannonville Motorsport Park

Shannonville Motorsport Park is a motorsport road course circuit in Canada. It is located 15 km (9.3 mi) east of Belleville, Ontario, roughly midway between Toronto and Montreal, Quebec, near Highway 401 and along the former Provincial Highway 2.

Shannonville Motorsport Park
SMP
LocationShannonville, Ontario, Canada
Time zoneUTC-5 (UTC-4 DST)
Coordinates44°13′31.44″N 77°09′36.00″W
OwnerJohn Bondar and Steve Gidman
Opened1974
Major eventsCurrent:
Canadian Superbike Championship
(1980–2009, 2011–2014, 2016–2019, 2023)
Former:
Canadian Touring Car Championship
(2008–2009, 2014–2016, 2018–2020)
CASCAR Super Series
(1989–1991, 1995)
Long Circuit (1974–present)
Length4.051 km (2.517 miles)
Turns15
Race lap record1:44.273 (Canada Alex Dumas, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2023, SBK)
Pro Circuit (1974–present)
Length2.470 km (1.535 miles)
Turns9
Race lap record1:04.596 (Canada Jordan Szoke, BMW S1000RR, 2017, SBK)
Fabi Circuit (1974–present)
Length2.250 km (1.398 miles)
Turns8
Nelson Circuit (1974–present)
Length1.801 km (1.119 miles)
Turns6
Drag Strip
Length1/4 miles

It has many configurations, and its tight layout with much run-off space makes it a very good venue for race testing. Many race teams from Toronto and Montreal test at Shannonville in preparation for events held on street circuits, as the Shannonville raceway shares a lot of the same characteristics.

The raceway first started off as a dirt oval, with bedrock for a front straight. Much later, the 1.801 km (1.119 mi) "Nelson" circuit was built, named after the late John Nelson, owner of the circuit at the time. From there, the 2.250 km (1.398 mi) "Fabi" circuit was built north of the Nelson, and the two were linked to form the 4.051 km (2.517 mi), 14-corner "Long Track". The Fabi circuit was named after Bertrand Fabi, a young Canadian driver who died while testing a Formula 3 car in England. The Fabi circuit has a long backstraight that now doubles as a drag strip. A link was then made after the first corner on the Nelson circuit to the seventh corner of the Long Circuit, creating the 2.470 km (1.535 mi) "Pro Circuit" layout.

Currently, the Canadian Touring Car Championship makes an annual visit to the facility, as well as auto-racing body CASC (Regional Road Races).[1] Drag racing is also heavily featured there.

Lap records

As of September 2023, the fastest official race lap records at the Shannonville Motorsports Park are listed as:

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleEvent
Long Circuit: 4.051 km (1974–present)
Superbike1:44.273[2]Alex DumasSuzuki GSX-R10002023 2nd Shannonville CSBK round
Supersport1:47.284[3]Sebastien TremblaySuzuki GSX-R6002023 2nd Shannonville CSBK round
GT41:48.455[4]Orey FindaniMcLaren 570S GT42020 Shannonville CTCC round
Ferrari Challenge1:49.485[5]Mario GuérinFerrari 458 Challenge2018 Shannonville CTCC round
TCR Touring Car1:49.767[5]Marco CirconeAudi RS 3 LMS TCR2018 Shannonville CTCC round
Pro Circuit: 2.470 km (1974–present)
Superbike1:04.596[6]Jordan SzokeBMW S1000RR2017 Shannonville CSBK round
Supersport1:06.057[7]Jodi ChristieHonda CBR600RR2014 Shannonville CSBK round
Ferrari Challenge1:08.059[8]Mario GuérinFerrari 458 Challenge2018 Shannonville CTCC round
GT41:08.188[9]Orey FindaniMcLaren 570S GT42020 Shannonville CTCC round
TCR Touring Car1:08.336[9]Gary KwokHonda Civic Type R TCR (FK8)2020 Shannonville CTCC round

Fatalities
  • On May 21, 2000, Glenn Schauble was killed, mid-pack, after losing control during a celebratory wheelie, while crossing the finish-line. This was his second Superbike race as a professional. He flipped over backwards at the checkered flag on the front straight, fell off his bike, a Yamaha YZF-R1 1000, and was hit by several riders following in a tight pack. Schauble suffered fatal head and neck injuries. The accident happened at the end of the Pro Superbike race, during a R.A.C.E. (Racing Associates Canada Events) Ontario Superseries meeting held at Shannonville. A computer sciences student, Schauble was in his first year as a pro racer. He had been promoted to pro status after winning championships in two of the three classes in which he competed in 1999 (Amateur Formula Race and Amateur open).[10]
  • On September 24, 2000, Schauble's "best friend" Frank Wilson, Jr., also crashed at Shannonville on his regular Yamaha R6, in what he had intended to be his last race after seeing his friend Schauble die earlier that year and contemplating retirement. With the Canadian title already locked up for that season prior to that race, Wilson succumbed to his injuries at Kingston General Hospital. The incident happened after Wilson exited the pits for the 600 class warm-up lap. He crashed in Turn 2 of the Pro track in a single bike situation presumed to be due to highsiding on cold tires.[11]
  • On June 11, 2023, Jose Azevedo fatally crashed during a sanctioned race in the Super Series road racing series.[12]

See also

References
  1. CASC
  2. "2023 Bridgestone CSBK Round 5 GP Bikes PRO Superbike Feature GP Bikes - PRO Superbike - Race 3" (PDF). September 17, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  3. "2023 Bridgestone CSBK Round 5 Liqui Moly PRO Sport Bike & Bickle Racing PRO Twins - Race 2" (PDF). September 17, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  4. "Shannonville Motorsport Park, August 15 Aout 2020 CTCC at Shannonville ASN Canada FIA Pirelli Canadian Touring Car Championship Round #3/Epreuve #3". August 15, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  5. "Shannonville Motorsport Park, July 7 Juillet 2018 Peter Jackson Memorial Races ASN Canada FIA Pirelli Canadian Touring Car Championship Round #5/Epreuve #5". July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  6. "2017, RD1, Shannonville Motorsport Park - Pro Superbike Race Results". May 28, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  7. "2014, RD1, Shannonville Motorsport Park - Pro Sport Bike Race Results". June 8, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  8. "Shannonville Motorsport Park, July 8 Juillet 2018 Peter Jackson Memorial Races ASN Canada FIA Pirelli Canadian Touring Car Championship Round #6/Epreuve #6". July 8, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  9. "Shannonville Motorsport Park, August 16 Aout 2020 CTCC at Shannonville ASN Canada FIA Pirelli Canadian Touring Car Championship Round #4/Epreuve #4". August 15, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  10. "Motorsport Memorial -".
  11. Magazine clipping ourontario.ca
  12. "Motorcyclist killed, 4 injured in crash at Belleville-area raceway". CBC News. June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
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