Imatra – notorious for its railway crossing – was the last full street circuit on the 500 Grand Prix calendar.
The 6.030km long Finnish circuit contained just seven corners and saw riders reach top speeds of almost 300km/h. Imatra hosted world championship racing for 19 years and became an iconic venue for the sport in the 1960s and 1970s.
Giacomo Agostini notched up 16 career wins at the track (10 in 500cc, six in 350cc), with images of the legendary Italian and his rivals racing over the iconic railway tracks that cut through the circuit.
However, many riders including Kenny Roberts hated the place, not least because he failed to finish the 1981 Finnish GP due to a broken power-valve housing, which effectively ended his hopes of a fourth consecutive world title. “You can’t really blame Yamaha for the breakage – they don’t have a railway crossing in their test track,” said Roberts, who had ridden an inline four to the 1978, 1979 and 1980 championships.
The last road race on the Imatra Circuit for many years was held in 1986, but classic races still took place. International racing returned to Imatra in 2016 with a round of the International Road Racing Championship.
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source: https://www.instagram.com/p...
issued: Tuesday, May 18, 2021
updated: Tuesday, May 18, 2021
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