Thunderhill Raceway Park
 Thunderhill East Circuit (1997–present)  Thunderschleife Circuit (2014–present) | |
| Location | Glenn County, west of Willows, California, United States |
|---|---|
| Time zone | UTC-08:00 (UTC-07:00 DST) |
| Coordinates | 39°32′25.2″N 122°19′50.5″W / 39.540333°N 122.330694°W |
| Address | 5250 Highway 162 |
| Broke ground | January 1993 |
| Opened | 1993 |
| Major events | Current: Trans-Am West Coast Series (2019–present) Former: 25 Hours of Thunderhill (1998–2023) |
| Thunderhill East Circuit (1997–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.866 miles (4.612 km) |
| Turns | 16 |
| Thunderhill West Circuit (2014–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.000 miles (3.219 km) |
| Turns | 20 |
| Thunderschleife Circuit (2014–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 4.600 miles (7.403 km) |
| Turns | 42 |
| Original East Circuit (1993–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 1.814 miles (2.919 km) |
| Turns | 10 |
Thunderhill Raceway Park is a motorsports complex located 7 mi (11 km) west of Willows, California, United States, in the Sacramento Valley. It is the venue for the longest automobile race in the United States, the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, held annually during the first weekend in December.[1]
Thunderhill has two tracks: the original 2.866 mi (4.612 km) track known as Thunderhill East and a 2.000 mi (3.219 km) track known as Thunderhill West. The two tracks can also be combined to offer a 4.600 mi (7.403 km) track. Thunderhill also offers two large skid pad areas as well for drifting and car control events.
The venue is available for a wide variety of events or functions. It can be rented for racing events, lapping day events, drifting events, go kart events, driving schools, ride and drive programs, corporate events, commercials, a movie location, trade shows, weddings, receptions, swap meets etc.
San Francisco Region Properties, Inc., dba Thunderhill Park is the wholly-owned subsidiary of the San Francisco Region Sports Car Club of America. Thunderhill Raceway has its own board of directors and is operated completely independently of the non-profit subsidiary.
History
[edit]Thunderhill Raceway Park was built in 1993 originally as a 1.814 mi (2.919 km), 9-turn track. Following the closure of the Baylands Raceway in Fremont, CA, the purchase of the land and construction of Thunderhill was funded by the San Francisco Region Sports Car Club of America.
In late 1997, the track was expanded to its present-day 2.866 mi (4.612 km) configuration, adding six new turns, a bypass for the "cyclone" corner, and additional paved paddock space.[2]
Thunderhill West was conceptualized in 2013 and built in 2014 as a standalone track. Connectors were made to connect the original track with the new west track to make a five-mile-long track. At the time of construction, this was the longest racetrack in California, and it gained the nickname "Thunderschleife" as a nod to the Nurburgring Nordschleife.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Jones, Matthew (2014-08-09). "NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill - Surviving Thunder Hill".
- ^ "Thunderhill Expansion new release 1997 (Web Archive)". Archived from the original on 1997-10-15.
- ^ Lucareli, Ben. "Thunderhill to become one of North America's longest race tracks". www.roadandtrack.com.
External links
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