Skövde Circuit

Skövde Circuit at a glance

Location

Skövde, Västra Götaland County

Type

historic circuit (defunct)

Length

2.146 km (1.333 mi)

Surface

asphalt

Opened

2015

Address

Skövde Airport, Route 200

Track map and layout

Skövde Circuit was a temporary airfield course laid out on the runways and taxiways of Skövde Airport, roughly 15-20 minutes north of the town centre off Route 200. The 2.146 km course used the airport's main runway and connecting taxiways, with a pit lane and paddock set up in front of the terminal building and control tower, and a rallycross layout built into the infield for support racing. Like other Scandinavian temporary airfield tracks of its era, the asphalt layout was marked out annually rather than being a permanent, purpose-built facility.

Configurations

Events and race weekends

Skövde Circuit hosted the season-opening round of the Scandinavian/Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) in both years it operated, drawing crowds thanks partly to Skövde's status as home to a major Volvo engine plant. The 2015 race was won by Thed Björk, and the 2016 opener was split between Robert Dahlgren and Richard Göransson, with Polestar Cyan Racing's Volvo entries dominant both seasons.

Getting there and parking

The former circuit sat at Skövde Airport, about 15-20 minutes' drive north of Skövde town centre via Route 200. Skövde itself is on Sweden's main west-coast rail line, roughly 90 minutes from Gothenburg by train, and the airport site is not accessible by public transport today.

• Skövde Airport (KVB)
• Gothenburg Landvetter Airport (GOT) · about 90 min drive

Parking

The site is a working general-aviation airport and no longer hosts events; there is no public event parking.

Skövde railway station, on the Gothenburg-Stockholm main line, is the practical way to reach the town if visiting the area today.

Hotels and camping near Skövde Circuit

Skövde town, a few kilometres south of the old airfield circuit, has the area's main hotel selection and is an easy stop on the Gothenburg-Stockholm rail corridor for anyone visiting the wider Västra Götaland region.

Where to look

Skövde town centre for the widest choice of hotels near the former circuit site.

Track days, driving experiences and lap records

Skövde Circuit no longer exists as a racing venue. It was a temporary course marked out on Skövde Airport's runways solely for STCC's season-opening weekends in 2015 and 2016, and it was not used for public track days or driver training before STCC moved on to permanent circuits under new TCR regulations.

Spectator guide

As a temporary airfield venue used only twice, Skövde Circuit had no permanent grandstands; spectator areas were built up around the runway layout and pit straight for each event weekend and dismantled afterward.

Seating

Temporary grandstands and viewing areas were erected trackside for event weekends only; none remain today.

Weather

• May (STCC season openers): cool early-season Swedish spring, typically 8-15°C

History of Skövde Circuit

An airfield pressed into service

Skövde Circuit was created in 2015 by laying out a temporary 2.146 km motor racing course on the runways and taxiways of Skövde Airport in Västra Götaland County, central Sweden. The idea followed a pattern used elsewhere in Scandinavia that decade, where touring car racing organisers built short-lived stadium-style circuits inside working airports and other municipal sites, avoiding the cost of a permanent facility while still delivering a purpose-marked racing layout with a pit lane and paddock set up in front of the airport terminal.

Two seasons as an STCC season opener

The circuit's entire competitive life consisted of hosting the season-opening round of the Scandinavian/Swedish Touring Car Championship in 2015 and again in 2016. Skövde's local significance to the STCC field went beyond geography: the town is home to a major Volvo engine plant, and Volvo-powered entries from Polestar Cyan Racing were the dominant force in both races held there, with Thed Björk winning in 2015 and Robert Dahlgren and Richard Göransson splitting the two 2016 races.

Discontinued as STCC moved to permanent tracks

After the 2016 event, the STCC series switched to TCR technical regulations and shifted its focus to established, permanent circuits rather than temporary airfield venues, and Skövde was dropped from the calendar. The site reverted fully to its function as a general-aviation airport, and no trace of the racing layout remains in active use. Skövde Circuit is remembered today mainly as one of a handful of short-lived Scandinavian airfield circuits from the STCC's mid-2010s era, alongside similar temporary venues used by the series around the same period.

Frequently asked questions

Other tracks nearby

• Kinnekulle Ring · 35 km · road course
• Mantorp Park · 77 km · road course
• Gelleråsen Arena (Karlskoga Motorstadion) · 108 km · road course
• Glimminge Motorstadion · 115 km · motocross
• Anderstorp Raceway (Scandinavian Raceway) · 134 km · road course
• Falkenbergs Motorbana · 185 km · road course