Cadwell Park’s Mountain Complex

When asked by my good friend Rick Roso to write a piece on how “to do” one of my favorite turns, my immediate reaction was to describe the awesome Eau Rouge at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium. However, that story has been done many times before, so my thoughts instead wandered north across the Channel toward a track that is little known, even within its home country of England, never mind America. Noted among the cognescenti for motorcycle racing, many car races are still held there, including a vintage motor sports festival each June.

Cadwell Park, today owned by Jonathon Palmer’s MSV (Motor Sports Vision), is one of the oldest tracks in the UK, having been laid down by “Farmer Wilkinson” in 1934. It has been lengthened several times over the years, with the current 2.25-mile, 18-turn configuration being built in 1962. About 180 miles due north of London, Cadwell Park is set in the bucolic rolling hills of the Wolds of North Lincolnshire, within easy reach of the North Sea (though far from any large population center, the nearest of any size being the old market town of Louth). Though sparsely wooded, Cadwell has the same feel as my current home track, Lime Rock Park, with wonderful elevation changes and grassy hillside viewing from any vantage point.