Forgotten Race Tracks - Arena Essex Raceway - Purfleet 

For me the car scene will always be about that social interaction. It's indeed a shame but I suppose there just wasn't enough money in it :(

What happened to the speedway team? Did it find a new home? They used to always beat my team when they came up to Glasgow. It would be a pity if they didn’t exist anymore.

Good morning @@AutoShenanigans

Haha.

Yep, I visited once, as a very young King's Lynn fan! Glad to see his more recent video about Coventry's Brandon Stadium does indeed mention, and show clips of, the speedway!

To hear that from a local is really sad.

If the Cowdenbeath Racewall up here closed I'd feel exactly the same, mate. No wonder there's a mental health crisis when so much of what we value makes way for profit.

I have my eye on that ;-) Thanks for watching mate

Thanks for sharing.. thats awesome!

And Walthamstow. It was the equivalent of Old Trafford or Lords shutting.

It's a shame but the costs vs profit was the big issue from what I understand.

@@AutoShenanigans Another deciding factor was lots of the racing drivers were deterred because they still have old tow vehicles and coaches and their diesel engines didn't, and still don't, comply with the London anti-pollution zone rules so travel expenses rocketed with the inclusion of the prohibitively expensive surcharge/penalty/whateverthedamnthingiscalled 'anti-pollution' fee.

I didn't realise you get a lift! Mind you, im not known for my bmx or cycle riding.

@@AutoShenanigans When the Dartford Tunnel first opened there was a bus, converted to take bicycles, ran back and forth...

Same. Surprised that wasn’t mentioned.

I used to go down their regularly in my red Ford Escort, complete with massive rear spoiler!

@@bincident6428 probably saw you down there! 😄

Add Coventry and birmingham to that list...

@@AutoShenanigans Ringwood is going too

@@ABH-82 I'd heard... a real shame. I suppose we'll have to make a "Soon to be forgotten" episode.

Fantastic memories... thanks for sharing!

These sort of places are full of memories aren't they.

I made these videos for that reason... to hopefully trigger a few memories for some. I spent a lot of time in Basildon... remember Paycocke road?

Now that's a gem of a track... completely hidden away!

Thanks for watching!

Bet its retirement homes that go bust after 5 years.

They'll simply put piles in and build on concrete platforns

On wreckfest, its called Kingston Raceway

It’s a tribute to Essex with the garnarda, hearse and Brisca v8 stock car

That's fair, its perhaps more abandoned than forgotten.

Good times I bet! Thanks for watching.

@@AutoShenanigans definitely good times had there with raceing and makeing new mates just wished something could of been sorted with the place but when it was said it was sold for 8 million then what can be said such a sad sad shame really there,s a website on Facebook with so so many sad comments about arena you would thought something might of been done 😕

What a great experience as a teenager to have! I did not know about the sewer situation.. interesting and explains why so far there's not much happening!

Castrol R. Now that's a very pleasant memory.

Bangers at brands hatch! I had no ida.

I think Crayford Stadium was redeveloped around 1986 when the Sainsbury's adjacent was built, but am not too sure. Thank you anyway!!

I presume you won whatever "sound off" comp there was? :D

I like that. Shall see what the story behind it is.

The footage I've seen of 3 wheels looks hilarious! Thanks for watching.

Wow... back in it's prime no doubt. It would seem that the Kart track is still open and running!

I seem to recall watching monster trucks at skeggy raceway as a child.

@@AutoShenanigans They have the monster trucks most Bank holidays still.. Enjoyed watching your videos 👍

Skeg Vegas, that stadium has come a long way in the last 5 years, I think it was the first stadium I went to and I believe it was shale back then...not been yet this season but seen most of this years improvements as drive past it fairly regularly. Not seen the new sign yet though, only in pics.

Looks like they still use it for racing? At least it's open.. that's a good start!

@@AutoShenanigans It was used for training for a while, but the speedway track was torn up in January

Ah that's a shame.

The Speedway went but, I think, the Kart track is still there?

@@Tabazan The karting track is separate to the speedway track, owned by completely different people. Karting is still going strong but the speedway track has been closed for several years now

I guess Buxton and Kings Lynn are the "nearest" now... It's always a shame to see tracks consigned to the history books

Lovely part of the world... I cant see where the grass oval is/was?

@@AutoShenanigans find cliff en Howe road and about halfway down on the north side looking just below i the large wood in that large grass area near some static caravans and you you can make out the track. There are some downloads here on RU-vid of the racing that went on

You must have had a blast!

It's always sad to see a venue close :( I've made far more episodes than I thought I would!

Yes it was.

It always was A good race track God bless arena Essex always to be remembered kind of like a roof coat coat raceway

My Grandad race at the roof coat raceway his race number was 421 his name was Shauna Everton and race for Team V

I lived in bulphan I could hear the cars every Sunday and loved it

I thought it went years ago when the A13/M25 junction was remodelled

It is still very popular. It is just the simple fact that the owners where looking to sell and no-one in the motorsport industry had the money to rival the offer made by the housing developers. If it was located anywhere else it likely would still be operaing as it was still profitable but land in London is just too expensive nowerdays for motorsport.

The problem was and still is that short circuit racing in the UK is done on a shoestring budget. That was as true for Arena Essex as anywhere else and contrary to what was said here, PRI actually sold the circuit at the end of 2017 but were allowed to continue racing meetings beyond that as the buyer needed a few years to set up the whole project to clear out and rebuild but PRI decided to test the waters, so to speak, during the 2018 season to see if there was any future in it. By July 2018 they found that the attendance on both sides of the catch fence wasn't enough to keep going so at the start of August they made us (the folk that worked there) aware that the circuit would close permanently after the Firecracker that year. We all met up a week later for the staff party but other than a couple of occasions including the funeral procession of the former lapscorer, there were no further meetings. The metal catch fence was the first bit to be removed along with pretty much all the vehicles in 2018. In 2020 the site was part of an operation surrounding HGV users coming through the area but once that was all done, the Raceway Tavern complex was demolished as you saw here. If anything, PRI timed it just right to avoid the whole Covid business which has had a drastic effect on more than one circuit since then. Arena Essex, however, was only one of a number of high profile circuits that were hit at the end of the 2010s, also including Coventry and Wimbledon. PRI did sell the rights for the ORC/PRI World Championship to Bristol (now defunct as well so I heard) and the Firecracker appears to have gone to Mildenhall (I went to last year's version. A good meeting in general but it lacked the punch of the original!) Oh yes, and before I forget, the biggest meeting Arena ever had was NOT the final Firecracker, though it was a big meeting. For the absolute biggest blow out of bangers Arena ever saw, you need to go back a few years to a charity event organised by Paul Whiteman - the first Maya Ford Memorial. Held over 2 days featuring well over 200 cars (we couldn't fit them all in the pits and anyone who was there will know exactly how capacious the Arena pits were!) I think you can still get DVDs of it from Impact Video (the same folk that do Kings Lynn now). CJ, PRI and Proud.