Detour Pit Stop #94: Oliver's Mount, Scarborough, UK
England’s only ‘public road race track' is a maddeningly twisty circuit climbing into the hills above Scarborough which you can drive or ride whenever you wish.
Just five minutes from the beachfront you trade the smells of saltwater and chips for oil and burning rubber at North Yorkshire’s amazing Oliver’s Mount circuit. More than 70 years since it held its first motorcycle race the track still sees heroes on two wheels tear through its tight turns and steep climbs.
The circuit is a public road, open year-round, apart from race days, and although the limit is a gentle 20mph, even at that speed some of the turns are so tight you’ll wonder how knee-down bikers make it through at triple-digit velocities.
Winding past a golf course, much of the narrow track is overhung by trees, leading to ever-changing light making it hard to guess what’s coming next. How gaggles of leather-clad warriors make it through at speeds of up to 160mph is simply unimaginable. There’s no margin for error with tyre barriers (where there are any) in close proximity to the tarmac.
Just a snapshot of Guy Martin’s description of a lap will have your heart in your mouth. “It’s a late apex when your helmet is in the hedge! It’s then a proper fast, bumpy run towards Drury’s Hairpin, the only right handed hairpin on the track. It’s important to get good drive on the way out but it’s easy to highside and disappear down the 100ft drop on the left hand side!” he says.
Driving round, barely reaching second gear in my Lotus, I’m following where legendary riders such as John Surtees, Barry Sheene and John McGuinness scraped their knee-sliders and crowds of up to 64,000 would watch in awe.
When I visit it’s almost deserted, with dog walkers and a couple of heavy-breathing cyclists presenting the only overtaking opportunities. At the top of the hill there’s a charming café that’s been serving traditional biker-friendly fayre such as full English breakfasts and Whitby fish and chips since the 1920s.
Even on a quiet autumn afternoon it’s an incredibly atmospheric place with a charm that corporate-sponsored Moto GP circuits can never match and highly recommended for any race fan.
ROADBOOK
CLASS: Race track and cafe
NAME: Oliver’s Mount
ROUTE: Scarborough, YO11 2UG
COUNTRY: UK
England’s only ‘public road race track' is a maddeningly twisty circuit climbing into the hills above Scarborough which you can drive or ride whenever you wish.