Thoresby Park

Events held at Thoresby - Sprints | Car Club Meetings

Thoresby Hall is a grand old stately home, nestled in a parkland setting in the middle of Sherwood Forest. Historically one of the four Ducal seats which gave this corner of Nottingham its title of 'The Dukaries', the hall is now a luxary spa hotel. For one weekend in September each year however the roads around the estate right outside the hall are given over to Nottingham Sports Car Club, the peace and quiet shattered by two days of sprinting.

In addition to the sprint Thoresby Hall also hosts various car club meetings through the year, seeing gatherings of classic cars.

The Layout
Coming in at just over a kilometer (1200m), the Thoresby layout is short and flat, but the narrow estate roads through the trees, park and farmland give the feel of a traditional hillclimb, unlike many sprints which are now based on wider more open circuits. Its also a tight course, with mostly low speed hairpins and chicanes. Its difficult to master however, and competitors can often be seen overshooting the bends and locking up. The 'Thoresby Balls' are a hazard unique to the venue - a hairpin and the two chicances are marked with old Castrol oil drums - brush past them too hard and dislodge the tennis balls sitting atop them and a second will be added to your time! The Hillclimb & Sprint Association website has a track guide for Thoresby Park, and You Tube has a great variety of in-car and external Thoresby Park videos.

Spectating
There are no wide sweeps where you can see large portions of the track, but spectating at Thoresby is still entertaining. From the paddock there are great views of the start, with the hall in the background, and there are several spots in the woodland where you can get a good view of a twisty section, or catch glimpses of the cars speeding past through the trees. Entry to the venue is also free, and there are catering facilities and toilets.

History
Nottingham Sports Car Club have been holding sprints at the venue since 1994, though the layout has changed in that time. The venue took over from a previous sprint NSCC previously ran at Rufford Park, also in the Dukaries.