Brainerd International Raceway - BIR Donnybrooke CW
The Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) is a multi-purpose racing facility near the coast of the North Long Lake just outside Brainerd, a 2-hour ride away from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota. It began operating under the name of Donnybrook Speedway back in 1968 as a private initiative by the NHRA champion and American Motorsports Hall of Famer George Montgomery. The BIR road course has a 2.5-mile (4.02-km) Competition layout and a longer 3.1-mile (4.9-km) layout known as Donnybrook. The Motorsports complex includes a quarter-mile drag strip that holds the world record of speed in any dragster competition, thanks to the 337.58 MPH (543.28 km/h) reached by Tony Schumacher in 2005.
The Brainerd International Raceway hosts a wide variety of motorsports competitions such as the NHRA Nationals, MotoAmerica Superbike, the F4 US Championship, the TransAm Championship, and many other local club racing events. Winters in Minnesota are some of the coldest in the United States, with subzero temperatures and up to 44 inches of snow all over the place, enough reason for the Brainerd International Raceway to remain closed from November to March. During the rest of the year, racing enthusiasts are welcome to enjoy their favorite sports and even stay in some of the world-class accommodations available at BIR.
La pista de carreras Donnybrook en el Brainerd International Raceway es el trazado original de 3.1 millas excavado en las tierras boscosas por George Montgomery en 1968. Esta pista con orientación contraria a las agujas del reloj comienza cerca del final de la recta principal y acelera a través de las curvas prolongadas uno y dos, enfrentando las mismas combinaciones de curvas que el circuito de competición hasta pasar la curva número ocho. Justo después de esta curva, los corredores toman un pequeño carrusel en la curva número nueve, una combinación izquierda derecha en las curvas 10 y 11, y luego dos curvas cerradas de 90° en la 12 y la 13, completando el circuito de este trazado altamente técnico y demandante.
