FAQ
FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Curborough Sprint Course is available for hire for a variety of uses.
In ALL instances enquiries as to availability, pricing and rules should be made to the Course Administrator, Chris Gwilliam, by emailing courseadmin@curborough.co.uk
Please bear in mind that it may take a few days to receive a response, and also the venue is very busy, so the more notice you can give the better.
Please also note that "Drifting" is not permitted at Curborough.
Spectators are very welcome to all "Public Meetings" as published in the online calendar or published documents.
The Shenstone & District Car Club encourages hiring clubs to allow free spectator access, but some clubs do make a charge.
If you are a member of SDCC you will obtain free access to meetings where a spectator charge is levied provided you show a current valid membership or guest card.
This does not include any charge for Programmes etc.
Some meetings at Curborough are "Private Hire", and may not be able to allow spectators on a practical basis.
The Calendar on this website aims to provide full information for meetings, so please refer to that where possible.
Sprinting is a very cheap way to get into Motorsport, and Curborough is the ideal venue at which to get started.
Each year in April the Shenstone & District Car Club organise a "Intro to Sprinting" day where you can get free advise on how to prepare for an event and how best to drive the track.
We also have two Sprint Schools per year which cover things in more detail.
See the relevant links on the website for more information.
You can also download a PDF (approx. 3MB) which contains useful information:
All members of Shenstone & District Car Club receive a free copy of the Yearbook.
Extra copies are usually available from the Paddock Office during Sprint Meetings, and are available FREE of charge.
These are always subject to availability.
The sprint course at Curborough was formerly a small part of RAF Lichfield.
Construction of the airfield began in 1939. On completion, 51 Maintenance Unit
took up residence on 1st August 1940. The largest inhabitants of RAF Lichfield were
27 Operational Training Unit whose task was to train aircrew on Wellington
Bombers. After the war effort 51, MU continued to modify, as well as store and
break up aircraft, until the airfield’s closure on 15th April 1958. The Air Ministry
eventually sold the entire site for the sum of £240,000 on 1st May 1962.
Before Curborough was used for sprinting, it was a venue that S&DCC used for
driving tests, and from 1960 onwards also incorporated a sprint. When a local
farmer purchased the site from the Air Ministry, S&DCC secured a lease and now
had plans to develop the site into one of the finest sprint courses in the country.
The inaugural sprint meeting took place on 16th June 1963. It was of a closed
status (only open to members of S&DCC) and attracted an entry of 37 competitors,
2 non-starting on the day. The course differed slightly from that of today with the
finish line some 15 yards further on. Ian McLaughlin driving a Cooper Jap in 38.7
secs recorded fastest time of day.
The sprint meeting that followed on 22nd September 1963 was of a restricted
status (being open to members of S&DCC and other invited clubs) and therefore
attracted a much larger entry of 75, 9 non-starting. The course had now been
shortened to the present day 900 yards, moving the finish line back to enable the
faster cars more braking area. Yet again FTD went to Ian McLaughlin, this time
driving a Cooper X of 1098cc in a time of 37.7 secs.
Using the top loop twice in a single run did create an extension to the course, a
distance of 1557 yards, the idea being raised at a meeting of the Curborough Sprint
Course Committee on 8th June 1976 and subsequently implemented.
In latter years the venue has improved steadily. Significant modifications took place
in 1992 to include a spectator viewing bank, marshals receiving proper posts
equipped with protection from stray cars and the elements and an area set aside
for the parking of incident vehicles. The track also received upgrades with the
corners losing their cone markings, to be replaced with proper rumble strips. 1996
saw the track’s surface renewed with a new layer of tarmac, where a donation was
received from the National Lottery Sports Council Fund and was the first motor
sport project in the country to receive such funding.
The present day.
Curborough Sprint Championship has always enjoyed a very
healthy contingent since its inception in 1998.
Whilst the venue’s looks remain largely unchanged, its modern day uses are very
diverse from 40 years ago. Curborough is used for a great many car magazine
photo shoots and makes several appearances in television motoring programmes.
But it is also well used for pedal car racing and other human powered vehicles
along with cycling. Curborough has been awarded the accolade of being a cycling
centre of excellence and also features in the Guinness Book of Records when the
pedal car racers set a new 1000 mile record in 2002.
Continued development has kept Curborough at the centre of sprinting in the UK
and home of grassroots motorsport.
Animals are normally permitted to MSA Regulated Sprint Meetings as follows:
"In the interests of safety, animals should not be admitted to Race, Speed or Kart venues, but if present they must be secured inside a vehicle or building whenever practice or competition is taking place, working dogs excepted."
PLEASE NOTE: This policy may vary if the Hiring Club or Organisation decides on another policy.
At some meetings animals are not permitted under any circumstances.
We recommend you contact the Organisers of specific events before travelling to establish the correct policy.