Keimola Circuit: From Racetrack to Suburb

There was a time when some of the biggest names in F1 came to a quiet corner of Finland to race on a circuit that very few modern fans remember today. It was the Keimola Circuit. Many F1 champions raced there, including Jim Clark, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, Denny Hulme and Jochen Rindt.

While we try to bring you more F1 circuits from the past and focus on the nostalgia of Formula 1, sometimes we want to bring back memories that have disappeared forever, like the Keimola racetrack.

But the story of Keimola didn’t completely disappear. Today, the roads in the Keimolanmäki neighborhood follow the shape of the old circuit, while the former race control tower survives as a monument to the race track’s past, its one of the most unusual stories in European motorsport, a permanent racing circuit that eventually became part of a modern suburb.

The Birth of Finland’s First Permanent Racing Circuit

Keimola Motor Stadium was created during an important period for Finnish motorsport. Before Keimola, Finnish racing had relied heavily on temporary and street circuits, one of the best known was the Eläintarha street circuit in Helsinki, but safety concerns eventually brought its racing days to an end.

Finish racing driver and motorsport figure Curt Lincoln believed Finland needed a proper permanent circuit, his vision eventually became reality at Keimola, in Vantaa, close to Helsinki.

The circuit officially opened in 1966, becoming Finland’s first purpose built permanent racing track, at 3.3 km long, Keimola was compact by modern standards, but its layout was anything but simple, the circuit combined fast sections with sweeping corners and featured a remarkable main straight of around one kilometer.

That long straight was important, it created opportunities for slipstreaming and gave faster cars the chance to make a move before the next corner.

A Fast and Unusual Circuit

One of Keimola’s most distinctive characteristic was its combination of fast and flowing sections, the circuit featured several recognizable corners, including Eteläkaarre, or Southern Corner, and VW-Mutka, commonly known as VW Corner, the final part of the lap included the tight Saunalenkki, or Sauna Circle, creating very different challenge from the high-speed sections earlier in the lap.

The long main straight was one of the defining features of Keimola, drivers could build considerable speed before reaching the next braking zone, while the aero and mechanical characteristics of the cars made the circuit particularly interesting for racing.

Keimola also grew beyond its original circuit, a karting track was added in 1971, while a rallycross course followed in 1974, this helped turn the venue into more than simply a circuit for international car races. The Karting facility would eventually become particularly important because of Finland’s greatest racing drivers would begin his career.

When Formula 1 Stars Came to Keimola

It never hosted a Formula 1 World Championship Grand Prix, but that doesn’t mean the circuit was disconnected from the F1 world, during the 1960s, Formula 2 was one of the most important stepping stones toward F1. Grand Prix drivers regularly competed in F2 raaces, allowing fans to see many of the world’s best drivers outside the official F1 championship.

Keimola became part of that world, it hosted Formula 2 races in 1966 and 1967, bringing several future and reigning F1 champions to Finland, among them was Jim Clark.

Clark arrived at Keimola as one of the biggest names in international motorsport, the Scottish driver had already won the F1 world championship twice in 1963 and 1965 with Lotus, and was driving for the same team during one of the most competitive periods.

At Keimola in 1967, he won the race driving a Lotus 48-Ford. His performance also became part of the circuit’s record books, Clark recorded an official F2 lap record of 1:16.810.

Jim Clark wasn’t the only F1 champion to find success at Keimola, the inaugural Formula 2 race at the circuit in 1966 was won by Brabham, the Australian was already a three-time world champion, having won the title in 1959, 1960 and 1966, his third championship came in the same year that he won the first Keimola F2 race.

Two other champions from F1’s golden era also raced at Keimola, Graham HIll, the two-time World Champion and legendary ‘Mr. Monaco’ competed at the Finish circuit during its important internatioinal period.

Denny Hulme was another major name to appear at Keimola, he won the 1967 Formula 1 Championship and was one of the toughest and most respected drivers of his generation.

Jochen Rindt also left his mark on Keimola, he competed in the Nordic Challenge Cup driving a Porsche 908.

The Circuit That Helped Create Mika Häkkinen

Keimola’s connection with F1 didn’t end with the champions who raced on its main circuit, its important long-term legacy may have come from its karting track.

A young Mika Häkkinen began his motorsport career at Keimola during the 1970s. He won his first race there as a karting driver in 1975, before going on to win karting championships at the circuit in 1978 and 1979.

Hakkinen would eventually rise through the junior categories, reach F1 and become World Champion with McLaren in 1998 and 1999.

That creates a remarkable connection between Keimola’s past and Finland’s F1 future, the same facility that once welcomed established Grand PRix stars also provided a young Finnish driver with his first steps toward becoming a two-time World Champion.

Why Did Keimola Circuit Close?

For all its sporting importance, it struggled financially for much of its existence, running a permanent racing circuit was expensive, and the venue faced several problems at the same time.

The global energy crisis of the 1970s made motorsport increasingly difficult and expensive, operating costs became harder to manage and attracting enough spectators became a greater challenge.

Keimola reportedly also faced growing complaints about noise, the area around the circuit was changing, and as development expanded around Vantaa, the sound generated by racing became increasingly difficult to reconcile with nearby residential areas.

The circuit also had problems with its facilities and infrastructure, its sanitary and public amenities were considered inadequate, adding to the pressure on an already financially troubled venue, eventually, the numbers no longer worked.

Keimola went bankrupt and closed in late 1978, after that, the engines fell silent.

Important Editor’s Note: Although the circuit was closed, the story of Keimola didn’t end immediately. The local Keimola FK karting club continued using its separate 687-meter karting track for a little longer, reportedly for another two to three years. This allowed young drivers like Mika Häkkinen to continue racing at Keimola before the entire complex eventually fell silent.

Decades of Abandonment

The closure of Keimola didn’t immediately mean that the circuit disappeared, for decades, the abandoned facility remained on the land.

The distinctive control tower, which had once overlooked the racing action, became one of the most recognizable remnants of the abandoned circuit.

For motorsport fans, the circuit was becoming a ghost of its former self, but the land had another future waiting.

From Racetrack to Residential Neighborhood

During the 2010s, plans were developed to transform the area into housing as Vantaa and the wider Helsinki metropolitan region continued to grow, in 2014, the remaining circuit structures were demolished as construction of the new Keimolanmäki residential neighborhood moved forward.

At first glance, this could have been the final chapter of Keimola’s history.

Instead, something remarkable happened, the old circuit wasn’t simply erased from the map, its shape became part of the new neighborhood.

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A Racetrack Hidden Inside a Modern Suburb

The streets of Keimolanmäki were designed around the geometry of the old circuit, where racing cars once passed through corners, modern roads now curve through the residential development, the outline of the former track can still be recognized when looking at the neighborhood from above.

Even some of the street names preserve the area’s racing identity, names such as Ruutulippukatu (Checkered Flag Street) and Keimolanlenkki refer to the old circuit or to the language motorsport, Varikkokaarre (Pit Corner) also keeps the memory of the racing venue alive.

The Control Tower Lives On

Perhaps the most powerful symbol of Keimola’s survival is the old control tower. Instead of being completely destroyed, the historic tower was reinforced and renovated.

It now stands in the center of the modern development at Lincoln Square, named after the circuit’s founder, Curt Lincoln

The structure has also been incorporated into a light art installation created by Finish artist Ekku Peltomaki, it is a striking transformation, a building that once served the pratical needs of a racing circuit now stands as a monument to the history of the place.

The race cars are gone, grandstand disappeared, original track surface is no longer there, but the tower remains.

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