Full Sutton
Circuit info:
- Circuit length:
- 3.200 miles/5.150 km
- Circuit type:
- Temporary airfield course
Circuit history:
Full Sutton, near York, was used for only four races in 1958, being based on an active RAF airfield.
The start/finish straight was located on a runway, with the rest of the circuit using perimeter roads and forming the longest circuit in Britain.
The races were not on the whole a great success, as Full Sutton was not immediately close to any centres of population. Poor weather was also a hallmark, with the circuit enjoying an unfortunate reputation as the coldest in Britain!
At the first meeting Jim Clark won the Formula Libre race and the Unlimited Sports Cars, both in the ex-Henry Taylor short-nosed D-type. He was also sixth overall and first in class in Ian Scott-Watson's 1600cc Porsche 356 in the Production Sports Car race.
He was not, however, the first to lap a British circuit at 100 mph in a sports car as many think, though he has always held the official record. The first to hit the elusive speed was in fact Chris Meek in the ex-John Coombs Lotus-Connaught. Chris's transporter had broken down and he missed practice but was allowed three unofficial laps, and that is when he set the 100 mph lap.
Perhaps it was too fast too soon - Meek put the car in the weeds on the first lap of the Unlimited Sports Car race!
The British Racing and Sportscar Club, which organised all the races at Full Sutton, quickly decamped to RAF Rufforth when it became available in 1959.
The airfield at Full Sutton is now reduced in scale and also houses an industrial estate and a maximum security prison.
