{{Short description|Motorcycle racing circuit in Northern Ireland}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox motorsport venue | name = Clady Circuit | location = [[County Antrim]], [[Northern Ireland]] | image = [[File:Clady_Circuit_1946-1952.svg|class=skin-invert|250px]] | image_caption = Short Circuit (1947–1952) | coordinates = {{coord|54|39|51|N|6|06|23|W|display=it|region:GB-NIR_type:landmark}} | opened = 1922 (re-opened 1947) | closed = 1952 (firstly closed 1939) | events = [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing]] ''[[Ulster Grand Prix#FIM World Championship rounds (1949–1971)|Ulster Grand Prix]]'' (1949–1952) | layout = Short Circuit (1947–1952) | length_km = 26.501 | length_mi = 16.467 | turns = 8+ | record_time = 9:21.000, 105.94 mph | record_driver = {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Leslie Graham|Les Graham]] | record_car = [[MV Agusta 500 racers#MV Agusta 500 4C 1950–1966|MV Agusta 4C]] | record_year = [[1952 Ulster Grand Prix|1952]] | record_class = [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing#Pre-MotoGP era|500cc]] | layout2 = Original Circuit (1922–1939) | length2_km = 32.992 | length2_mi = 20.500 | turns2 = 8+ | record_time2 = 12:17.800, 100.03 mph | record_driver2= {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Dorino Serafini]] | record_car2 = [[Gilera]] | record_year2 = [[1939 Ulster Grand Prix|1939]] | record_class2 = [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing#Pre-MotoGP era|500cc]] }}
'''Clady Circuit''' situated in [[County Antrim]], [[Northern Ireland]] describes a motor-cycle [[road racing]] [[street circuit]] used for the [[Ulster Grand Prix]]. The Clady Circuit was used between 1922 and 1939 and an amended shorter circuit between 1947 and 1952.<ref>{{cite book|last=Morrison|first=Ian|title=The Guinness Motorcycle Sport Fact Book|publisher=Guinness|location=London|date=1991|edition=1st|page=148|isbn=978-0-85112-953-2}}<!--|accessdate=17 April 2009--></ref>
==History== The Clady Circuit, ({{langx|ga|'''Clóidigh'''}}; i.e. ''Washing river'') first used in 1922 for the Ulster Grand Prix was {{cvt|20.500|mi|km|abbr=on}} in length in County Antrim. The original course start line was situated near [[Loanends]] Primary School on the secondary B39 Antrim to [[Belfast]] Road. The event held on public roads closed for racing including the secondary B39 ''Seven Mile Straight'' between [[Antrim, County Antrim|Antrim]] and Clady Corner including ''Christy's Brae'', the primary A52 Belfast to [[Crumlin, County Antrim|Crumlin]] Road between Clady Corner and Thorn Cottage, a tertiary road north from Thorn Cottage to Greenmount near the town of Antrim (including a section of [[RAF Aldergrove]]) and from Greenmount to Muckamore Corner with the road junction of the B39 'Seven Mile Straight.'
The Clady Circuit was shortened in 1947 to a length of {{cvt|16.467|mi|km|abbr=on}} with the omission of the Aldergrove section from Thorn Cottage to Greenmount. The ''short'' Clady Circuit now ran from Clady Corner to [[Nutts Corner]] on the primary A52 Belfast to Crumlin Road and used a section of the primary [[A26 road (Northern Ireland)|A 26]] [[Banbridge]] to [[Coleraine]] Road from Nutts Corner to Muckamore House near Antrim. For the [[1953 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1953]] racing season the Clady Circuit was abandoned for motor-cycle racing and the [[Ulster Grand Prix]] as part of the [[Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme|FIM]] [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing|Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship]] was moved to the nearby [[Dundrod Circuit]] in Co Antrim.
==Speed and Race Records== The lap record for the ''short'' Clady Circuit is 9 Minutes and 21 seconds at an average speed of {{cvt|105.94|mph|km/h}} set by [[Leslie Graham|Les Graham]] riding a 500cc [[MV Agusta 500 racers#MV Agusta 500 4C 1950–1966|MV Agusta 4C]] during the [[1952 Ulster Grand Prix]]. The lap record for the 1922–1939 Clady Circuit is 12 minutes and 17.8 seconds at an average speed of {{cvt|100.03|mph|km/h}} by [[Dorino Serafini]] riding a 500cc [[Gilera]] motor-cycle during the [[1939 Ulster Grand Prix]]. The race record for the ''short'' Clady Circuit is an average speed of {{cvt|99.79|mph|km/h}} set by [[Cromie McCandless]] riding a 500cc Gilera also during the 1952 Ulster Grand Prix.<ref>{{cite book|last=Morrison|first=Ian|title=The Guinness Motorcycle Sport Fact Book|publisher=Guinness|location=London|date=1991|edition=1st|page=19|isbn=978-0-85112-953-2}}<!--|accessdate=17 April 2009--></ref>
==See also== *[[Ulster Grand Prix]] *[[North West 200]] *[[Isle of Man TT Races]]
==Sources== {{reflist}}
{{Northern Ireland racing circuits}} {{MotoGP circuits}}
[[Category:Defunct motorsportsport venues in Northern Ireland]] [[Category:Grand Prix motorcycle circuits]] [[Category:Sports venues in County Antrim]] [[Category:Motorcycle Road Racing Venues]]