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Canada · Bowmanville

Mosport

Fast, blind and committing: the historic Bowmanville road course where Stirling Moss's hairpin and a lap full of elevation reward bravery over braking.

Length
3.957 km
2.459 mi
Turns
10
Direction
Clockwise
In use
1961-present

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park opened in 1961 on rolling farmland near Bowmanville, Ontario, about 75 km east of Toronto. Designed by Alan Bunting for the British Empire Motor Club, it was built as “Mosport”, a contraction of “Motor Sport”, and was known as Mosport Park, then Mosport International Raceway, before a 2012 sponsorship deal brought the current name. The slug mosport keeps the historic identity. The Grand Prix course measures 2.459 mi (3.957 km) over ten turns, runs clockwise, and rises and falls dramatically across the lap, making it one of the fastest and most committing road circuits in North America.

Moss Corner

The circuit’s signature feature is Moss Corner at Turns 5a/5b, named for Stirling Moss. Visiting the unfinished site in 1960, Moss suggested replacing the planned single-radius hairpin with a two-part combination, a longer-radius right blending into a tight 90-degree right onto the back straight, arguing it would be a greater test of skill and a better show. The complex still demands a setup compromise between high-speed stability and low-speed grip.

A lap of Mosport

The lap opens with the daunting fast right of Turn 1, flowing through the sweeping Clayton (Turn 2) and Quebec (Turn 3) corners before a gentle left sets up Moss Corner. Moss launches the cars onto the three-quarter-mile Mario Andretti Straightaway, a back straight carrying several subtle bends and elevation changes, which ends in the quick right-left of the Esses (Turns 8–9). White’s Corner, a 90-degree right at Turn 10, completes the lap and releases the cars back onto the start/finish straight. Mosport hosted the Canadian Grand Prix through the 1960s and 1970s, with Mario Andretti setting the Formula One lap record in 1977.

Corner-by-corner

  • T1

    Turn 1

    • Right

    A fast, committing right-hander taken near flat-out at the end of the start/finish straight, opening the lap into the circuit's run of long, sweeping bends; one of the most daunting opening corners in North American road racing.

    Turn 1 sets the tone for Mosport: a high-speed right-hander with little margin that flows straight into the Clayton/Quebec sequence. The circuit's reputation as fast and unforgiving is built on corners like this, where commitment matters more than braking.

  • T2

    Clayton Corner

    • Left

    A long, sweeping left-hander following Turn 1, the second of the fast opening bends that rise and fall over the natural contours of the site.

  • T3

    Quebec Corner

    • Right

    A long right-hand sweep completing the right-left-right opening trio, carrying speed toward the gentle left that sets up Moss Corner.

  • T4

    Turn 4

    • Left

    A wide, gentle left-hander that leads immediately into the Moss Corner complex.

  • T5a-5b

    Moss Corner

    • Right

    A two-part right-hand complex named for Stirling Moss: a longer-radius, downhill right (5a) blending into a tighter, flat 90-degree right (5b) that launches the cars onto the long back straight. Moss proposed splitting the original single-radius hairpin into this combination after visiting the site in 1960.

    During a 1960 visit Stirling Moss suggested replacing the planned single-radius "carousel" hairpin at the south end of the circuit with a two-corner combination, a longer-radius uphill/downhill entry blending into a tight 90-degree exit, arguing it would be a greater test of driving skill and a better spectacle. The corner has carried his name ever since and is the circuit's signature feature, demanding a setup compromise between high-speed stability and low-speed grip.

  • T6

    Turn 6

    A gentle bend along the early part of the Mario Andretti Straightaway, the three-quarter-mile back straight that carries several subtle bends and elevation changes.

  • T7

    Turn 7

    A further bend along the Mario Andretti Straightaway as it runs toward the braking zone for the Esses.

  • T8

    The Esses

    • Right

    The entry to the Esses at the end of the back straight, a quick right-left combination that flows the cars down toward the final corner.

  • T9

    The Esses

    • Left

    The exit of the Esses, the left half of the right-left combination, releasing the cars toward White's Corner.

  • T10

    White's Corner

    • Right

    A 90-degree right-hander that completes the lap and releases the cars back onto the start/finish straight.