Country: | Sweden |
Opened: | 1968 |
Until the opening of Skellefteå in 2019, Anderstorp, also known as Scandinavian Raceway, held the honour of being the longest permanent circuit in Sweden.
What’s unusual is the fact that whilst its origins are linked with the operation of an airstrip, the circuit did not come after the aviation aspect.
Instead, the construction of both the air strip and the circuit were interlinked, the funding for the circuit in part coming from its ability to provide a flight link to the rest of the country.
The facility opened in 1968 and for six years it hosted the Swedish Grand Prix, from 1973 to 1978, for Formula One cars.
After this, Formula One did not return. The track later found itself hosting touring car races thanks to Volvo’s tin-top programme – the now-defunct European Touring Car Championship visited for the final three years of its original run in 1985 to 1987, before Swedish Touring Cars first visited in 1997.
Remarkably, permanent pit garages were only constructed in 2006, but this did allow for the World Touring Car Championship to make its first visit in 2007 – staying on the calendar for just one season.
Noise restrictions have plagued the venue, and it hosted no touring car races from 2008 to 2014, before the STCC return in 2015 – remaining on the calendar ever since.
The only major change, barring the addition of a chicane at the corner at the end of the main straight in 1974, came in 1978, when the same corner was reprofiled to tighten up and allow for more runoff area.
Note: Data valid for period between 8th Jun 1997 and 11th Sep 2022