The Ridge Motorsports Park
This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (March 2014) |
The Ridge Motorsports Park is located near Shelton, Washington, approximately 25 mi (40 km) northwest of Olympia, Washington.
| Location | 1060 West Eells Hill Road, Shelton, Washington, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Time zone | UTC-8 (UTC-7 DST) |
| Coordinates | 47°15′20.41″N 123°11′25.01″W / 47.2556694°N 123.1902806°W |
| Owner | Joe Manke and Rusty Gill |
| Operator | Tracie Schmitt |
| Broke ground | 26 April 2011 |
| Opened | 26 May 2012 |
| Architect | Steve Crawford |
| Major events | Current: MotoAmerica (2020–present) Trans-Am Series West (2021–2023) |
| Full Circuit (2012–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt/Concrete |
| Length | 2.470 miles (3.975 km) |
| Turns | 16 |
| Race lap record | 1:31.421 ( Mark Uhlmann, Stohr WF1, 2023, Sports car racing) |
| Full Circuit with Chicane (2020–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt/Concrete |
| Length | 2.500 miles (4.023 km) |
| Turns | 18 |
| Race lap record | 1:39.633 ( Cameron Beaubier, BMW S1000RR, 2023, Superbike) |
Ground was broken for the Steve Crawford designed road course on 26 April 2011. The full road course is 2.470 mi (3.975 km) long with 16 turns and a change in elevation of more than 300 ft (91 m) from start to finish.
The first event at "The Ridge" was a charity event benefitting local Mason County food banks, held on 10–11 December 2011.[1][2]
The first official race, a Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association - WMRRA event, was held on 26 May 2012.[3][4] Subsequent events include championship racing by regional car and motorcycle sanctioning bodies, lapping events by car clubs, motorcycle organizations, and other events.
For the 2014 season, turn 13 of the original road circuit was reconfigured to mitigate excessive surface degradation, and the terrain surrounding the road circuit underwent an enormous amount of grading and smoothing prior to the application of topsoil and hydro-seeding, to both enhance the appearance of the facility and to manage runoff. New poured in place concrete barrier walls were constructed to replace temporary barriers, curbing was added in several places and additional new paving was completed. Finally, a large spectator viewing area was created on the upper part of the site.
In 2015, an outdoor scale replica kart track was added to the site, named "Olympic Grand Prix", or "OGP". OGP is a 1/5th scale replica of the road circuit, including elevation change.[5] Additionally for 2015, the available paved paddock area was nearly doubled in size.
For 2016, electrical power and water systems were brought on line and a bathroom & shower building was completed. Construction of a new motocross facility called "Ridge MX", also began in the spring of 2016, with initial test laps being run on 6 May 2016. An invitational pre-grand opening test event was held on 1 October 2016 and the official grand opening was held on 29 October 2016.
In 2020, The Ridge Motorsports park added a chicane to the 2,850 ft (870 m) front straight to slow down superbikes ahead of its inaugural MotoAmerica event on June 26–28. Use of the chicane is optional for each sanctioning body and track day organizer.[6]
Lap records Edit
Official lap records Edit
As of July 2023, the fastest officially timed lap records at The Ridge Motorsports Park are listed as:
| Category | Time | Driver | Vehicle | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Circuit: 4.023 km (2014–present)[7] | |||||
| Sports car racing | 1:31.421[8] | Mark Uhlmann | Stohr WF1 | Global Time Attack 2023 Round 2 | July 23, 2023 |
| Trans-Am | 1:38.392[9] | Brody Goble | Ford Mustang Trans-Am | 2022 The Ridge Trans-Am West Coast round | June 12, 2022 |
| Full Circuit with Chicane: 4.023 km (2020–present)[7] | |||||
| Superbike | 1:39.663[10] | Cameron Beaubier | BMW S1000RR | 2023 DynaPac MotoAmerica Superbikes at The Ridge | June 25, 2023 |
| Supersport | 1:43.596[11] | Xavi Fores | Ducati Panigale V2 | 2023 DynaPac MotoAmerica Superbikes at The Ridge | June 25, 2023 |
| Twins Cup | 1:46.212[12] | Rocco Landers | Aprilia RS 660 | 2023 DynaPac MotoAmerica Superbikes at The Ridge | June 24, 2023 |
| Junior Cup | 1:52.650[13] | Tyler Scott | KTM RC 390 R | 2021 Komatsu MotoAmerica Superbikes at The Ridge | June 26, 2021 |
Unofficial lap records Edit
| Driver | Configuration | Time | Vehicle Type | Vehicle | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Gagne | Chicane | 1:39.145 | 1000cc Motorcycle | 2020 Yamaha YZF-R1 | 2022 Dynapac MotoAmerica Superbikes at The Ridge | June 26, 2022[14][15] |
| Rocco Landers | Chicane | 1:42.774 | 600cc Motorcycle | 2020 Yamaha YZF-R6 | 2022 Dynapac MotoAmerica Superbikes at The Ridge | June 26, 2022[15][16] |
| Adam Robarts | No Chicane | 1:37.79 | 1000cc Motorcycle | 2017 BMW S1000RR | 2019 WMRRA Round 4 | August 17, 2019[17] |
| Adam Robarts | No Chicane | 1:39.939 | 600cc Motorcycle | 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R | 2019 WMRRA Round 4 | August 17, 2019[17] |
| Cable Rosenberg | No Chicane | 1:37.058 | Sports Car | 2013 Dodge SRT Viper GTS | 2021 Global Time Attack | April 5, 2021[18] |
Pre 2014 lap records Edit
References Edit
- ^ "Backers hope two local motorsports parks aren't too many". Kitsap Sun. 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
- ^ "Charity Track Days At Newly-Built Ridge Motorsports Park Raises Over $10,000". Roadracing World. 2011-12-13. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Eli Edwards Wins Five WMRRA Races At The Ridge Motorsports Park". Roadracing World. 2012-05-30. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Race day at the Ridge bring bikers in droves". Shelton Mason County Journal. 2012-05-31. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Ridge Motorsports opens go-kart course". Kitsap Sun. 2015-09-21. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "MotoAmerica: Ridge Motorsports Park Adding Chicane, Bridge, Fan Zones". Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ a b "The Ridge Motorsports Park". Racingcircuits.info. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ^ "Global Time Attack 2023 Round 2 Official Results". 24 July 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ "All Classes - Trans Am West Round 4 Race Official Results" (PDF). 12 June 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ^ "2023 MotoAmerica Superbikes at The Ridge Medallia Superbike Race 2 Race (16 Laps) started at 15:10:10" (PDF). 25 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "2023 MotoAmerica Superbikes at The Ridge Supersport Race 2 Race (15 Laps) started at 14:10:49" (PDF). 25 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "2023 MotoAmerica Superbikes at The Ridge REV'IT Twins Cup Race 1 Race (12 Laps) started at 13:10:53" (PDF). 24 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "2021 Komatsu MotoAmerica Superbikes at The Ridge STG Junior Cup Race 1 Race (11 Laps) started at 17:21:30" (PDF). 26 June 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ^ "MotoAmerica Superbikes at The Ridge: Superbike Qualifying 2" (PDF). Roadracing World. 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
- ^ a b "Duly Noted: Ridge Motorsports Park". 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
- ^ "Roadracing World Young Guns 2022: Rocco Landers". Roadracing World. 2022-04-15. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
- ^ a b "WMRRA: Adam Robarts Wins Four Races, Breaks Records At Ridge Motorsports Park". Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. 2019-08-21. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
- ^ "GTA Ridge Motorsports Park April 4-5, 2021 RESULTS". Global Time Attack. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
- ^ "Look back and look forward". The Ridge Motorsports Park. 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2014-09-26.
- ^ "NW Region SCCA Romp on the Ridge Return" (PDF). NWR SCCA. 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
External links Edit
- Ridge Motorsports Park Official website
- Maps.google.com
- Shelton Mason County Journal
- Kitsap Sun
- Seattle Times
- Washington Motorcycle Road racing Association