Croft circuit originated as RAF Croft in the early 1940s. After World War II, the airfield was no longer required and stood unused. Whilst racing was held initially on a circuit which utilised the southern perimeter roads and north-west to south-east aligned runway, it wasn’t until 1964 that a circuit resembling the modern layout was created.

After the airfield was purchased by Bruce Ropner, in August 1964 the new layout opened, using around half of the asphalt still in use today.

The track first featured on the then British Saloon Car Championship calendar in 1968, enjoying four consecutive years before tin-tops stayed away over the next two and a half decades.

The BTCC returned in 1997, by which time the circuit had been restored with a new layout, following 25 years in which rallycross had become the mainstay due to the old circuit surface having deteriorated.

The new layout, constructed in 1997, saw a tighter infield added from Sunny Out to Clervaux, incorporating a new pit and paddock facility. The BTCC has returned every year ever since.