Oliver's Mount
Oliver's Mount at a glance
- Location
- Scarborough, North Yorkshire
- Type
- road course
- Length
- 3.91 km (2.43 mi)
- Direction
- clockwise
- Surface
- asphalt
- Opened
- 1946
- Owner
- Scarborough Borough Council (leased to Oliver's Mount Racing Ltd)
- Address
- Oliver's Mount, Filey Road
- Phone
- +44 1723 333321
- Website
- oliversmount.com
Track map and layout
Oliver's Mount is a permanent closed-road circuit laid over the tarmac roads of a public park above Scarborough, and it is the only true road-racing circuit left on the English mainland. The 2.43-mile lap climbs and drops repeatedly through wooded parkland, mixing a very tight opening complex with fast, blind, undulating sections further round. Mere Hairpin, right after the start, is one of the slowest and tightest corners in UK motorsport, while Jefferies Jump on the back of the circuit is where bikes go light over a crest at around 160mph. The layout has barely changed since 1946; the one significant alteration was the Farm Bends chicane added in 1991 to slow riders approaching the start/finish straight. Racers describe it as a miniature road circuit in the mould of the Isle of Man TT, demanding total commitment on a track lined by kerbs, walls and trees rather than run-off.
Named corners and sections
- Mere Hairpin. The tight left-hander immediately after the start/finish straight, one of the slowest corners in British motorcycle racing.
- Drury's Hairpin. The circuit's only right-handed hairpin, further round the lap.
- Mountside. A tight uphill turn regarded as one of the best overtaking spots on the circuit.
- Jefferies Jump. The fastest point on the lap, where bikes crest a rise at roughly 160mph; named after multiple TT winner David Jefferies.
- Farm Bends. A right-left-right chicane added in 1991 to slow riders before they rejoin the start/finish straight, the only significant change to the layout since 1946.
Configurations
| Layout | Length | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Full circuit | 3.91 km | Standard road-race configuration used for all meetings since 2004 |
Events and race weekends
Oliver's Mount runs a season of closed-road motorcycle race meetings between spring and autumn, each a multi-day weekend of practice and racing on public park roads sealed off for the occasion. The season builds towards the International Gold Cup in September, the circuit's blue-riband meeting and one of the oldest road races in the UK, alongside the Barry Sheene Festival and other national and international road-racing rounds. Hillclimb and sprint days for cars and bikes also use short sections of the circuit outside the main race weekends.
| Event | Series | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Smith Spring Cup | National & international road racing | April | Season-opening meeting |
| Barry Sheene Festival | National & international road racing | June | Named for the double world champion who raced at the Mount |
| Cock o' the North | National & international road racing | July | Mid-season road race meeting |
| International Gold Cup | National & international road racing | September | The circuit's showpiece meeting, first run in 1947 |
Getting there and parking
Oliver's Mount sits on the edge of Scarborough, a short drive from the town centre and seafront. The nearest airport with regular commercial flights is Leeds Bradford, roughly 70 miles and around 90 minutes' drive to the west; most visitors arrive by road via the A64 from Leeds and York or the A165 coast road. Scarborough railway station has direct services from York and Leeds and is about 2 miles from the circuit.
- Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) · about 90 min drive
Parking
On-site parking is available for race meetings; access roads into the park are one-way and marshalled on race days, and arriving early is recommended as roads close around the circuit once racing starts.
The circuit sits inside a working public park (Weaponness Valley/Oliver's Mount), so road closures around race weekends are localised to the park roads rather than the wider town.
Hotels and camping near Oliver's Mount
Most visitors stay in Scarborough itself, a full seaside town with a large stock of hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs, many within walking or short driving distance of the circuit; rooms close to the seafront and South Bay get booked up well ahead of the Gold Cup and Barry Sheene weekends, so booking a month or more in advance is worthwhile for those dates. On-site camping inside the circuit grounds is also popular with the road-racing crowd and is often the easiest way to guarantee a bed for race weekend.
Where to look
Scarborough town centre and South Bay/seafront are the main hotel areas, with North Bay and outlying villages such as Seamer and East Ayton offering cheaper options a short drive from the circuit.
Camping
Oliver's Mount runs its own campsite for tents, caravans and motorhomes on race weekends, priced per pitch for the Friday-to-Monday period; the campsite gates open at 2pm on the Friday and close at 10am on the Monday, with a separate Inner Field option requiring arrival by 10pm Friday and restricted access once racing is under way.
RV
Motorhomes and caravans are welcome on the general campsite alongside tents; there are no electric hookups, but standpipes, an Elsan chemical-toilet point and toilet/shower blocks are provided.
Track days, driving experiences and lap records
Oliver's Mount is not a conventional track-day venue: it operates only as a closed-road race circuit on its scheduled meeting weekends, plus separate hillclimb and sprint days that let riders and some cars run timed runs on sections of the course. There is no public HPDE-style open-pitlane track day on the full lap; the closest a visitor gets to driving or riding the circuit themselves is entering one of the hillclimb or sprint events run through the year.
Lap records
| Category | Time | Driver | Car | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outright (500cc/superbike era) | 1:45.1 | Carl Fogarty | 500cc/superbike-class motorcycle | 1989 |
Spectator guide
Spectator viewing at Oliver's Mount is largely from grass banking and fenced vantage points around the park roads rather than purpose-built grandstands, giving close-up views of a genuine road circuit. Popular areas include the run down to Mere Hairpin, the climb past the paddock, and the fast Jefferies Jump section, with big-screen coverage and commentary at the main arena near the start/finish straight.
Seating
Limited grandstand seating is available near the start/finish straight and paddock area; most viewing is from banked grass verges and fenced trackside spots around the lap.
Best places to watch
Mere Hairpin and the paddock straight give close, slow-speed viewing, while Jefferies Jump and the Esses show the bikes at their fastest; many regulars move around the circuit between races on foot.
Weather
- Apr-Sep: Typical North Yorkshire coastal weather: cool mornings, highs around 12-19°C, with sea fret (coastal mist) possible even in summer
History of Oliver's Mount
Britain's last mainland road circuit
Oliver's Mount opened for racing in September 1946, laid out over the roads of a public park on a hill above Scarborough that had already hosted cycling and motorcycle trials events before the Second World War. The first meeting drew a crowd of more than 12,000, and the circuit quickly established itself as one of the country's premier road-racing venues alongside the Isle of Man TT, with BBC radio broadcasting from the Mount as early as 1947.
Decades of road racing
Through the second half of the twentieth century, Oliver's Mount built a roll of honour that reads like a who's who of British and world motorcycle racing. Barry Sheene won the International Gold Cup four times in the 1970s and early 1980s, and the meeting later became a happy hunting ground for TT specialists such as David Jefferies, who won it five times around the turn of the millennium and has a famous jump on the circuit named after him. The layout itself changed only once in this period, with the Farm Bends chicane added in 1991 to slow riders on the approach to the start/finish straight.
Crisis and rebuild
The circuit's modern era has been far less settled. Serious spectator injuries during the 2017 Gold Cup meeting led to the collapse of the promoting company and a full cancellation of racing in 2018 while a new operating agreement was negotiated with Scarborough Borough Council, which owns the site. Racing returned in 2019 under new promoters Oliver's Mount Racing Ltd, only for the Covid-19 pandemic to disrupt the 2020 season and for condemned paddock buildings to force the cancellation of most of the 2021 calendar after just one meeting had run. Rebuilding work through 2022 restored the facility, and a full programme of meetings resumed from 2023 onward.
Present day
Today Oliver's Mount is once again a fixture of the British road-racing calendar, running a season of meetings from spring hillclimbs through to the September Gold Cup, and it remains the only closed-road circuit racing regularly on the English mainland. Its survival through repeated financial and structural crises has made it something of a totem for grassroots road racing in Britain, run today by local promoters in partnership with the council that has owned the land throughout its history.
Frequently asked questions
Is Oliver's Mount still used for racing?+
Yes. After a troubled period between 2017 and 2022 that included a full-season cancellation and paddock rebuilding work, Oliver's Mount has run a full calendar of road-race meetings again since 2023.
How long is the Oliver's Mount circuit?+
The lap is 2.43 miles (3.91 km), a layout that has stayed almost unchanged since the circuit opened in 1946 bar the Farm Bends chicane added in 1991.
Can the public drive or ride the full circuit?+
No. Oliver's Mount only opens as a closed public road for scheduled race meetings and separate hillclimb/sprint days; there is no open-pitlane track day on the full lap.
Where do people stay for a race weekend at Oliver's Mount?+
Most visitors stay in Scarborough itself or camp on-site at the circuit; central Scarborough hotel rooms for Gold Cup and Barry Sheene weekends are best booked well in advance as the town fills up with racing fans.
What is the Gold Cup at Oliver's Mount?+
The International Gold Cup, first run in 1947, is the circuit's biggest annual meeting, held every September and won multiple times by riders including Barry Sheene, David Jefferies and Guy Martin.
Why did Oliver's Mount stop racing for a period?+
Serious spectator injuries at the 2017 Gold Cup led to the collapse of the promoter and a cancelled 2018 season; racing returned in 2019 but was disrupted again in 2020-21 by the pandemic and condemned paddock buildings before resuming fully in 2023.
Other tracks nearby
- Croft Circuit · 78 km · road course
- Cadwell Park · 108 km · road course
- Three Sisters Race Circuit · 168 km · road course
- Donington Park · 172 km · road course
- Aintree Circuit · 188 km · road course
- Oulton Park · 189 km · road course
Facts checked against 6 sources including the official circuit website. Last reviewed 2026-09-09.