All circuits
About Circuits of the past
Circuits of the past is a website about historic motor racing circuits that have disappeared or significantly changed.
The mission of "Circuits of the past"
In the history of motorsport there have been many renowned motor racing circuits. Many of them are disappeared, changed into ruins or given back to the commuter traffic. Those who survived had to modernise and as a result of that many of them lost their original character. This site keeps the memories alive to the circuits of the past!
Circuits of the past is a tradename of HL Online
Company: HL Online
Address: Engelenstraat 26
ZIP code: 8442 HG
City: Heerenveen
Country: Netherlands
Commercial-No: 57014353
VAT no: NL128772001B01
Telephone: +31 (0)513-842212
Website: www.hl-online.nl
The Circuits of the past story
My name is Herman Liesemeijer, I live in the Netherlands and I'm the founder and owner of the website Circuits of the past. Since the eighties I follow motor racing. Somewhere at the end of 1988, when I just had my drivers license, I visited the TT circuit in Assen which is not far from my hometown. At that time the circuit was partially on public roads and the whole track was accessible. So I made my circuit debut here.
Soon also the Zandvoort circuit came to my mind. The first time I visited Zandvoort was in the summer of 1989 during one of the first race weekends on the shortened interim circuit. On this day my passion for car racing was really born.
When I wanted to return home, I discovered that there was an opening to the old circuit at Paddock Three, where I parked my car. So I made my debut at Zandvoort by driving first in the opposite direction, then return and make speed for the Scheivlak where a woman walked with her dog.
The following years I became a regular visitor of races at Zandvoort and the NAV track days. My passion for the sport grew so I signed up for a race course. At this time I was also a loyal visitor of Formula One races and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In the spring of 1998 I spent a long weekend in Belgium and visited the neglected circuit of Nivelles. Initially I came here with the idea to drive on a different circuit just for fun, but a new fascination was born here. After I drove some laps at the bumpy track I made some random pictures.
When I was home I felt sorry that I didn't took the opportunity to photograph an entire lap. A few months later, on the way back from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, I visited Nivelles again and made pictures from the whole lap. These pictures are now at this site! In the following years I visited Nivelles several times and I saw how it changed from a circuit-ruin into a business park. At some point I got the idea to publish my photos on a website as a memory to the Nivelles circuit.
When this idea began to take shape I realized that Nivelles was not the only lost circuit. A name that immediately came to my mind was Reims. But also the lost part of my own Zandvoort. So I decided to create a website about lost circuits. I didn’t need to think long about the name, "Circuits of the past"!
On 19 September 2003 I started Circuits of the past as an MSN Group. At that time it was purely a hobby site. In 2008 I rebuilt Circuits of the past into a real website with its own domain name. Meanwhile this site has been modernized several times. Over the years I visited more and more old circuits. One of the most special experiences was my visit to the banked circuit of Sitges Terramar in 2008.
Quite some time I played with the idea to do more with the website. Bit by bit it takes shape and in 2012 I decided to make a business of Circuits of the past. In January 2013, the company started and advertising appeared on the website. And not much later the site was expanded with a shop. But the most spectacular part of the business is Circuits of the past Tours, which organizes day trips to historic racing circuits.
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