Mansell brothers Greg & Leo cut the tape on Pembrey’s new Pit lane.

Pembrey Circuit has officially opened its new pit lane and the Mansell family were on hand to carry out the cutting of the ribbon with the British Automobile Racing Club’s Chief Executive Dennis Carter. This also marks the completion of the first stage of a long line of development work to be carried out at the South Wales Venue. 

The circuit manager, Phil Davies, was over the moon that the Nigel Mansell sons agreed to open the new facility. “The circuit has had a long running relationship with the Mansell family and it was wonderful that Greg and Leo agreed to help us mark the completion of this initial phase of the works at the circuit. The development of the pit lane is our first project aimed at providing improved facilities for our visitors and competitors. Our aim is to make Pembrey the premier national motor sport venue in Wales.”

The development of the pit lane plays a significant part in the development of the circuit’s infrastructure and will allow for further improvement at the circuit in the inner paddock area. The circuit’s operating company, the British Automobile Racing Club, has set in place a scheme of work to take place over the next few years to improve the circuit’s facilities. The upgrading and expansion of current facilities is part of the BARC commitment to their members and the motor sport industry in the UK as a whole.

The new pit lane now boasts greater room for visiting competitors and teams, as well as improved safety facilities and benefits from the relocation of the pit lane entry. The new development has been designed to allow further development in the future in this area, to include pit garages and hospitality suites, to join the existing race control and media offices in the inner paddock.

The circuit was awarded a motor sport infrastructure grant by the Welsh Assembly Government to enable the circuit to complete the pit lane improvements, which it had already started during 2006 with the relocation of the pit lane. Further grants are in place for the development of the new Dynamic Vehicle Test facility and lecture theatre, which are in the process of being built, over the next few months. This new facility will allow Swansea Institute students to further their studies, and put their theory into practise.

The new pit lane has already met with great acclaim from a number of teams which use the venue regularly. Trevor Carlin, Team Principal of Carlin Motorsport, who is a regular visitor to the venue and was at the opening and F3 test said. “I am a big supporter of the circuit and it is great to see all of the hard work by Phil and his staff come to fruition. This is a vast improvement and has made our life a great deal easier. As you can see today, we have got 27 cars and all of the teams are testing without any problems, something which could not have been done before. It is great to see Pembrey starting to be developed and the improvements already being seen”.

David Price, BARC Press Officer