Karlskoga Motorstadion, also known as Gelleråsen is the oldest permanent racing facility in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

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The circuit is located 6 km north of Karlskoga

Karlskoga

Karlskoga is a locality and the seat of Karlskoga Municipality in Örebro County, Sweden with 27,500 inhabitants in 2005.-Geography:It is located at the northern shore of lake Möckeln, and the small settlement was initially called Möckelns bodar...

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The layout is such that the whole track can be seen from all spectator areas.

It is currently authorised for European Championship rounds of road racing

Road racing

Road racing is a general term for most forms of motor racing held on paved, purpose-built race tracks , as opposed to oval tracks and off-road racing...

 and Swedish Touring Car Championship

Swedish Touring Car Championship

Swedish Touring Car Championship was a touring car racing series based in Sweden, but also with rounds in Norway. They began operating in 1996, heavily influenced by the British Touring Car Championship and the success of BTCC racing on Swedish television...

 events.

History

Built in 1949 as a 1.55 km dirt track, the inaugural race was the first Kanonloppet on the 4th June 1950.
For the second Kanonloppet in 1952, the surface had been paved with asphalt and the length was now 1.6 km.
It was extended to 2.0 km in 1953 with the addition of the Björkdungskurvan section (later renamed to Tröskurvan).
In 1958 it was additionally extended to 3.172 km with the Velodromkurvan section (Velodrome bend).

In 1961

1961 Kanonloppet

The 7th Kanonloppet was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 20 August 1961 at the Karlskoga Circuit, Sweden. The race was run over 30 laps of the little circuit, and was won by British driver Stirling Moss in a Lotus 18/21, run by the UDT Laystall Racing Team.This race featured some...

, 1962

1962 Kanonloppet

The 8th Kanonloppet was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 12 August 1962 at the Karlskoga Circuit, Sweden. The race was run over 30 laps of the little circuit, and was won by American driver Masten Gregory in a Lotus 24, run by the UDT Laystall Racing Team.-Results:-References:* "The...

 and 1963

1963 Kanonloppet

The 9th Kanonloppet was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 11 August 1963 at the Karlskoga Circuit, Sweden. The race was run over two heats of 20 laps of the little circuit, and was won by British driver Jim Clark in a Lotus 25....

 non-championship 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...

 events were hosted here, which saw the likes of Stirling Moss

Stirling Moss

Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...

, Jim Clark

Jim Clark

James "Jim" Clark, Jr OBE was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965....

 and Jack Brabham

Jack Brabham

Sir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham, AO, OBE is an Australian former racing driver who was Formula One champion in , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name....

 battle it out on-track. 1967 a race called Swedish Grand Prix

Swedish Grand Prix

The Swedish Grand Prix was a round of the Formula One World Championship from 1973 to 1978. It took place at the Scandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp , about 30km from Jönköping, in Småland, Sweden...

 was held there, won by Jackie Stewart

Jackie Stewart

Sir John Young Stewart, OBE , better known as Jackie Stewart, and nicknamed The Flying Scotsman, is a Scottish former racing driver and team owner. He competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am...

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The circuit was forced to close for two years after a crash on the 8th August 1970 during a touring car event.
Two cars, a Ford Escort and a BMW 2002, locked together at the flat out right hander before the straight leading up to the Velodromkurvan, and went off the track at high speed, bounced over the banking and into the crowd, killing five spectators.

After a period of decay, the track went through major renovation work during the 1990s and 2000s. The pit area was moved and the facilities were improved.
There was also several safety improvements, including a redesign of the Tröskurvan and the complete removal of the velodrome section.
This shortened the track to its current length of 2.400 km.