1950s & 1960s
From there, the circuit moved onto greater heights, in 1951 the first national level meeting was held and in 1954, the circuit staged a round of the FIM European Motocross Championship. 33,000 spectators witnessed British rider Phil Nex take the victory.
1960 saw one of the largest crowds in Hawkstone Park's history, for the Brian Stonebridge Memorial Trophy (in memory of 1950s rider Brian Stonebridge who died in a motoring accident). 54,000 spectators attended the event, with buses being laid on from nearby towns such as Shrewsbury for spectators.
Grand Prix events continued at the circuit until 1965, by which time, the dusty conditions had deemed the circuit too dangerous for top level motocross competition. British rider Jeff Smith won the final 500cc Grand Prix of the decade in 1965, aboard his BSA.
The 1950s and 1960s were arguably the hey-day for Hawkstone Park. Thanks to coverage from the BBC Grandstand programme (which incidentally included Murray Walker as commentator), "Scrambling" was quite popular with the general public, and major events at Hawkstone regularly saw five-figure crowds in attendance.
Read more about this topic: Hawkstone Park Motocross Circuit