Our Top Ten Racing Circuits

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Enthusiastic drivers talk all the time about their bucket list of road trips. Anyone with even a hint of petrol in their veins would want the chance to hustle a supercar along some of the great driving routes of the world.

Sadly, there often is not the time or the finances for these trips of a lifetime: Fortunately though we in Europe have a wonderful choice of driving experiences at motor racing tracks where it is possible to unleash your own car on track days or, better still, hire a classic sports car or an explosive supercar for a few swift, exhilarating laps of an iconic race circuit. Inevitably, any list of tracks that hosts driving experiences has to start with…

The Nurburgring Nordschliefe in Germany. This twenty-one kilometre circuit is a legend in its own lifetime and justifiably so. Steeped in motor racing history, the ‘Green Hell’, as it is popularly known, features no less 154 corners, fully testing a driver to the limits of both nerve and traction.

Crossing over to England, the country offers several great circuits, all of which offer their own challenges. Possibly the most globally famous is Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix and Thruxton, reputed to be the fastest circuit in the country. To drive Silverstone is to drive automotive history and the sensation of accelerating hard out of Thruxton’s Goodwood bend and into Village straight at full power is an experience to be savoured.

Back over onto continental Europe it is perhaps the older, iconic race tracks that appeal the most. Although modern circuits also have facilities, for that special treat names like Monza, sometime home of the Italian Grand Prix and Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium resonate. Over the history of motor racing we have witnessed the great F1 drivers of the world negotiate Spa’s ‘Eau Rouge’ at Spa and wished we were there.

Every year the fans flock in their tens of thousands to France and descend on the iconic destination that is Le Mans. The oldest endurance race in the world is held annually at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Mostly this is flat-out racing and is a venue to be savoured.

Globetrotters need not confine themselves to Europe of course. California offers Laguna Seca, a famous American circuit built on a dry lagoon and famous for its ‘roller-coaster’ feel. Readers may be more familiar with it virtually as it features in many video games, notably Gran Turismo.

Sticking with the USA, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway needs no introduction. The historic home of Indie Car racing, with just four corners, all turning left, it would not seem to generate as much excitement and yet the racing is always fast and furious. Meanwhile, across the other side of the world, Mount Panorama in Australia is possibly the most scenic of venues with its swooping hills and dips. Motor racing fans here are arguably the most fervent in the world.

Finally landing back in UK, the spiritual home of British motor sport has to be Goodwood. The motor racing circuit was established in 1948 and is where the public descend for the annual Goodwood Revival. The circuit, often used in movies, offers driving experiences and gives sporting drivers the chance to drive in the wheel tracks of motor sport history.

Do you agree with iSuperdrive.com’s list? Let us know in the comments!