Bedford Autodrome

About

The land on which Bedford Autodrome was constructed was historically Thurleigh Airfield, used from the Autumn of 1940 as a base for bomber aircraft in WWII. Following the end of the war wind tunnels were built on the site to assist with efforts of creating supersonic flight and some years later a custom-built flight-test facility followed. Flying re-commenced at the site in 1954 and the research carried out at Thurleigh led the development in world aviation across many areas in the aviation sector. The unique purpose built venue of Bedford Autodrome was constructed in 1999 by MSV and is one of the many circuits under Jonathan Palmer’s circuit brand. The circuit was designed by Jonathan Palmer, a former F1 driver, and has four completely different circuits which together total more than 5 miles of track across 384 acres with vast run-off areas for heightened safety. Bedford Autodrome is the home facility for the FIA Formula 2 Championship and since its construction; hundreds of thousands of people have attended the facility to enjoy the open space and the opportunity for high speed testing. The venue is never used for race events so a lack of barriers, walls and spectator facilities make it the perfect place for drivers to push their vehicles to the limit with peace of mind.