Qualla: Davidstow Circuit https://qualla.com/davidstow-circuit en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:13 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/h/8/davidstow-circuit-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Davidstow Circuit https://qualla.com/davidstow-circuit Davidstow Circuit: Introduction https://qualla.com/davidstow-circuit/ Photo credit Royal Ordinance Survey., Public domain. On the high windswept tableland of Bodmin Moor, at the highest airfield ever built in Britain, three Formula One races took place between 1954 and 1955. The track was a converted RAF Coastal Command base called Davidstow Moor. Most days the moor was blanketed in fog so thick that race organisers had to clear sheep off the bank straight before practice. The crowds came anyway - twenty thousand once, for a meeting that was rained out by midday. Davidstow was where, on 2 August 1954, a Lotus Mk8 driven by John Coombs won the first Formula One race in the marque's history. The circuit hosted forty-four races in four seasons, then closed forever in May 1955.

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Image: Royal Ordinance Survey. | Public domain

]]> Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/h/8/davidstow-circuit-wp/gch8-davidstow-circuit-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Davidstow Circuit: An Airfield in the Clouds https://qualla.com/davidstow-circuit/ Photo credit Royal Ordinance Survey., Public domain. RAF Davidstow Moor opened in 1942 as a Coastal Command base, its long runways laid across moorland nine hundred and seventy feet above sea level - the highest active airfield in the United Kingdom. The site was chosen for clear flying weather; in practice, the moor produced its o...

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Image: Royal Ordinance Survey. | Public domain

]]> Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/h/8/davidstow-circuit-wp/gch8-davidstow-circuit-an-airfield-in-the-clouds.mp3 0:06 2 full Davidstow Circuit: The First Day https://qualla.com/davidstow-circuit/ Photo credit Royal Ordinance Survey., Public domain. Racing began on 9 August 1952 over a 4.2 km layout with only three corners. Most drivers said it was not very challenging. The promoting clubs had been labouring in torrential rain for days to prepare the track and facilities; race day dawned with no improvement. The expected cro...

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Image: Royal Ordinance Survey. | Public domain

]]> Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/h/8/davidstow-circuit-wp/gch8-davidstow-circuit-the-first-day.mp3 0:06 3 full Davidstow Circuit: Lotus's First Formula One Win https://qualla.com/davidstow-circuit/ Photo credit Royal Ordinance Survey., Public domain. 1954 brought two Bank Holiday meetings with national-status permits and the promise of Formula One. The first, on 7 June, dawned to high winds and driving rain. The crowd of 20,000 came anyway. Only seven cars started the F1 race, and only one of them was a true Formula One car -...

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Image: Royal Ordinance Survey. | Public domain

]]> Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/h/8/davidstow-circuit-wp/gch8-davidstow-circuit-lotuss-first-formula-one-win.mp3 0:06 4 full Davidstow Circuit: Going Out On A High https://qualla.com/davidstow-circuit/ Photo credit Royal Ordinance Survey., Public domain. For 1955 the organisers concentrated on a single meeting, Whit Monday, 30 May. They intended it to be the last, and so it was. But Davidstow bowed out at the top of its game. Peter Collins had entered a Maserati 250F and an Aston Martin DB3S, but withdrew when he was double-booke...

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Image: Royal Ordinance Survey. | Public domain

]]> Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/h/8/davidstow-circuit-wp/gch8-davidstow-circuit-going-out-on-a-high.mp3 0:06 5 full Davidstow Circuit: What Remains on the Moor https://qualla.com/davidstow-circuit/ Photo credit Royal Ordinance Survey., Public domain. After 1955 the runways went back to silence. The grass grew over the racing line. The British Formula One scene moved to faster, safer permanent circuits like Silverstone and Goodwood, and Davidstow, with its bridges that collapsed and its weather that ate days whole, was forgott...

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Image: Royal Ordinance Survey. | Public domain

]]> Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/h/8/davidstow-circuit-wp/gch8-davidstow-circuit-what-remains-on-the-moor.mp3 0:06 6 full