Biķernieki Short 'Oval' Circuit

Overview

The Biķernieki Complex Sports Base, usually called Biķernieku trase, lies in the Biķernieki forest in Riga and is Latvia's only permanent motor racing circuit. It is managed by the state Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD). The venue hosts rounds of the Baltic Touring Car Championship and Drift Masters, and from 2016 to 2022 it staged the Latvian round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship. When no organised event is running, the track is open to the public.

Technical Specifications and Track Features

The site holds several asphalt loops that can be driven on their own or joined together. The Ring of Skill, the original motorcycle circuit, measures 3,580 m, and the faster High Speed Ring 3,662 m. Combining the two gives the Big Ring of 5,949 m, the longest configuration. A short oval of 1,700 m and a forest loop complete the road circuits. The main loops are between 10 m and 16 m wide, and the larger configurations take grids of up to 49 cars. Named corners include Pie Ozola, Elkonis, Slimnīca, Smilšu Kalns and Seiler, the last named after the Estonian driver Ants Seiler, who was killed there in 1968. A rallycross course, laid out by Apex Circuit Design for the World RX round, runs on roughly 60% asphalt and 40% dirt. Because of complaints from nearby housing, a 90 dB noise limit applies to competitions.

Facilities and Specialized Areas

The kart circuit was rebuilt in 1987 to bring it closer to international standards, and it now measures 1,277 m with a longer pit lane. A motoball stadium near the start and finish straight opened in 1974 and became an arena for USSR championship matches, and a speedway track was added around it two years later. Spectator stands were built at several corners between 1976 and 1989. Beyond racing, the complex offers a mountain bike trail, a running track, an orienteering course, a speedway school, racing simulators and a course for radio-controlled cars, and in winter it is used for cross-country skiing and winter driving. A motor museum on the same street shows racing cars and motorcycles from the 1960s onward.

History

The idea of a circuit in Riga dates from the 1950s, when races were held on a temporary course in Mežaparks. A 15-hectare plot in the Biķernieki forest was chosen in 1960, and design began in 1962 under director Eduards Kiope, with Gunārs Binde leading the project and Pēteris Dzenis as chief engineer. Building started in January 1966 on boggy ground, which had to be dug out to a depth of up to 7 m and filled with sand, and much of the work was done by volunteers and the riders themselves. The first races took place at the end of July 1966. The High Speed Ring followed, and the combined Big Ring opened in August 1968. Upgrades to FIA standards in 1984, with concrete walls, fencing and wider run-off, allowed the circuit to host the Cup of Peace and Friendship of the socialist countries. The Amber Trophy for Volga saloons, the circuit's signature event, last ran in 1991 and was revived in 2011 for the 45th anniversary. In 2011 the complex passed to the CSDD, which restored the speedway track and grandstands and rebuilt the race control building, and the main straight was resurfaced in 2015.