Gimli Motorsports Park
Multi-track motorsports park and site of the Gimli Glider.
Gimli Motorsports Park is a multi-track motorsports facility located in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada. The 95-hectare facility features a dragstrip, road racing course, karting track, and motocross track, and hosts events for several motorsports groups. It is historically notable as the site of the Gimli Glider incident in 1983, when a Boeing 767 made an improvised landing at the park.
- Location
- Gimli, Manitoba, Canada
- Area
- 95 hectares
- Dragstrip length
- 0.250 mi (0.402 km)
- Road course length
- 1.330 mi (2.140 km)
- Karting track length
- 0.621 mi (1.000 km)
- Motocross track length
- 1.243 mi (2.000 km)
- Notable event
- Gimli Glider incident (1983)
Lore & Background
On August 6, 1971, the Winnipeg Sports Car Club organized the first road racing event on one of the original decommissioned parallel runways of RCAF Station Gimli, which had closed the previous year. Racing switched to the current dedicated 2.140 km course in 1973. Gimli Industrial Park Airport continues to operate on the second runway of the World War II airfield.
Gimli Motorsport Park was the site of the Gimli Glider aviation accident in 1983, in which Air Canada Flight 143, a Boeing 767, ran out of fuel midflight and emergency-landed on the former runway during a sports car race. There were no serious injuries reported, and the plane suffered minimal damage.
From 1990 to 1996, the park hosted the Sunfest rock festival, attended by tens of thousands of people every August. The facility also includes Interlake Dragway, a 0.250 mi IHRA sanctioned drag strip located inside the road course, which started drag racing in 1978 and has operated under several names.
Reader's Guide
Gimli Motorsports Park holds significance as a versatile motorsports venue that has hosted road racing, drag racing, karting, and motocross events for over five decades. Its historical importance extends beyond racing due to the Gimli Glider incident, where a Boeing 767 safely landed on its runway without serious injuries, demonstrating the park's unique role in aviation history. The park also served as a major cultural venue in the 1990s, hosting the Sunfest rock festival. Additionally, it was the site of Gilles Villeneuve's first victory in Formula Atlantic on June 22, 1975, as part of the CASC Player's Challenge Series from 1972 to 1977. The facility continues to operate as a hub for multiple motorsports organizations in Manitoba.
Did You Know?
- Gilles Villeneuve achieved his first victory in Formula Atlantic at Gimli Motorsport Park on June 22, 1974.
- Interlake Dragway, a 0.250 mi drag strip inside the road course, started drag racing in 1978.
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