Oliver's Mount

Oliver's Mount

Oliver's Mount Track Layout
Location	North Yorkshire, England
Coordinates	54°15′47″N 0°24′18″W / 54.263°N 0.405°W / 54.263; -0.405Coordinates: 54°15′47″N 0°24′18″W / 54.263°N 0.405°W / 54.263; -0.405
Opened	1946
Major events	Formula III
Oliver's Mount
Length	3.88 km (2.41 mi)
Lap record	2:18.6 (Cliff Allison, Cooper-Norton, 1955, Formula III)

Oliver's Mount is an area of high ground overlooking Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It offers impressive views of the town, a tribute monument to the war dead, camping and caravanning at selected times of the year and a cafe but may be primarily known for its motorcycle races (however cars have raced here twice, in 1955 and 1956). Oliver's Mount first held a motorcycle race in 1946, and continues to hold motorcycle circuit today, and also holds car rally and car hill-climb events.

The site is also to host a new family friendly music festival from summer 2012. Opening 'International Bike Week', the 'Future Of Music - Oliver's Mount Festival'^[1] will celebrate local, new music and will be held at Mount Farm, Oliver's Mount. It is being organised by the resident racing club 'Auto 66' and local music management and Promotion company 'Red Cherry Music'. It was held over 16 and 17 June 2012.

The site also houses the broadcasting transmitter which provides TV and radio services to Scarborough and the surrounding areas.

Oliver's Mount is named after Oliver Cromwell, as it was thought that he had sited guns there, although there is no evidence that Cromwell visited Scarborough during the Civil War. This name was in use by 1804; previously the hill was known as Weaponness, which now refers to the area of the town around Oliver's Mount and Filey Road, and one of the wards of the borough.^[2][3][4]

Races[edit]

The Oliver's Mount track is a street circuit composed of twisty public roads and has played host to domestic motorcycling and rallying events for many years. Noted motorcycle racers who have raced at Oliver's Mount include Barry Sheene. The crowds for race events are known to have reached 58,000. Oliver's Mount racing circuit is the only street circuit in England. Throughout the year it hosts four weekends of motorcycle road racing and numerous hill climb challenges. With the Ian Watson Spring Road Races, Barry Sheene Classic Road Races, Cock o' the North Road Races and The Gold Cup drawing Riders and spectators from all over the British Isles. The races are organised by the Auto 66 club who attract many big name riders from the current road racing scene including Guy Martin, Ryan Farquhar, Ian Lougher, John McGuinness, Chris Palmer, William Dunlop and sidecar ace Nick Crowe amongst many other lesser-known, but very skilled riders. The circuit itself is 2.43 miles (3.91 km) in length and is not much more than a service road around Oliver's Mount. It is known as a technical and twisty track that requires a great deal of skill and bravery to tackle.

Oliver's Mount continues to hold motorcycle, car rally and car-hill climb events. Two Formula III events were held in 1955 and 1956.

British Formula III[edit]

Year	Date	Event	Winning driver	Winning constructor	Report
1955	July	Formula III	Cliff Allison	Cooper-Norton	Report
1956	July	Formula III	Tom Dickson	Cooper-Norton	Report

British Superbike Championship[edit]

Year	Race	Rider	Manufacturer
1987	1987 ACU Shell Oils Superbike Championship Rd.7	Roger Marshall	1100cc Suzuki
1988	1988 ACU Shell Oils TT F1 British Championship Rd.8	Jamie Whitham	750cc Suzuki

^[5]

Services from transmitter[edit]

Oliver's Mount
Height of mast	41 metres (135 ft)
BBC region	BBC Yorkshire
ITV region	ITV Yorkshire

Analogue radio[edit]

Digital radio[edit]

Analogue television[edit]

Analogue television ceased from Oliver's Mount during August 2011. BBC Two was closed on 3 August and BBC One was temporarily moved into its frequency at the time to allow BBC A to launch in BBC One's old frequency. The remaining analogue services ceased on 17 August 2011.

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Peter Swinger (2001). Motor Racing Circuits In England Then And Now. ISBN 0-7110-3104-5.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oliver's Mount

• Official site, with history and pictures

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