Westwood Motorsport Park (or Westwood Racing Circuit) was a 1.8 miles (2.9 km) 8-turn road racing circuit located in Coquitlam, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 on the southern slopes of Eagle Mountain (known locally as Eagle Ridge). The track was built and operated by the Sports Car Club of British Columbia

Sports Car Club of British Columbia

Sports Car Club of British Columbia is a motorsport club based in British Columbia, Canada. The club was founded in 1951 as a non-profit society and is currently active at Mission Raceway Park....

 (SCCBC). Construction of Westwood began in 1957, and the first race was held on July 26, 1959, making it the first purpose-built permanent road course in Canada.

Westwood hosted many different professional race series over the years, including long stints with the Formula Atlantic Series

Champ Car Atlantic Championship

The Cooper Tires presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda was a formula race car series with races throughout North America. It is often colloquially referred to as the Atlantic Championship, Champ Car Atlantics , Toyota Atlantics , or just Atlantics or Formula...

, Trans-Am Series

Trans-Am Series

The Trans-Am Series is an automobile racing series which was created in 1966 by Sports Car Club of America President John Bishop. Originally known as the Trans-American Sedan Championship it has evolved over time from its original format as a manufacturers championship for modified racing sedans...

, and Player's GM Challenge Series. Champion drivers to have raced professionally at Westwood include Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 World Champion Keke Rosberg

Keke Rosberg

Keijo Erik Rosberg , nicknamed "Keke", is a Finnish former racing driver and winner of the Formula One World Championship. He was the first Finnish driver to compete regularly in the series. Rosberg grew up in Oulu and Iisalmi, Finland...

, Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

 winners Bobby Rahal

Bobby Rahal

Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal is an American auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver, he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500...

 and Danny Sullivan

Danny Sullivan

Daniel John "Danny" Sullivan III is a former racing driver from the United States. He is best known for winning the 1985 Indianapolis 500.-Before racing:...

, as well as other famous names including Gilles Villeneuve

Gilles Villeneuve

Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve, better known as Gilles Villeneuve , was a Canadian racing driver. An enthusiast of cars and fast driving from an early age, he started his professional career in snowmobile racing in his native province of Quebec...

 and Michael Andretti

Michael Andretti

Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...

.

The December 12, 1988 episode of MacGyver

MacGyver

MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...

, titled Collision Course, was primarily filmed at Westwood (where it was referred to as the Westwood Springs Race Course). The Player's GM Challenge Series served as the backdrop of the story.

The track, which was located on leased provincial crown land, eventually fell victim to urban development. The track finally closed in 1990 to make way for the Westwood Plateau

Westwood Plateau

Westwood Plateau is a neighbourhood in the northern region of Coquitlam, British Columbia, bounded by the city boundary with Port Moody to the west, David Avenue to the south, and Pipeline Road to the east...

 housing development and the Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club

Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club

Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, located in the Canadian city of Coquitlam, British Columbia, comprises two golf courses set into the hillside of Eagle Mountain.-Summary:...

. In 2009, it was digitally recreated as a free download for pc computer simulations such as rFactor

RFactor

rFactor is a computer racing simulator, designed with the ability to run any type of four-wheeled vehicle from street cars to open wheel cars of any era. rFactor aimed to be the most accurate race simulator of its time...

and GTR2.

External links

• http://www.etracksonline.co.uk/Features/stories/canadaspioneer.html
• http://www.sccbc.net/about.htm
• http://www.playerschallengeseries.ca/