Karlskoga Motorstadion, also known as Gelleråsen Arena, is a motorsport race track in Gelleråsen, Karlskoga Municipality, Sweden. The circuit is located north of Karlskoga and west of Örebro, and is the oldest permanent track in the country. 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 and Swedish Touring Car Championship events.
History Built in 1949 as a dirt track, the inaugural race was the first Kanonloppet on 4 June 1950. For the second Kanonloppet in 1952, the surface had been paved with asphalt and the length was . It was extended to in 1953 with the addition of the Björkdungskurvan section (later renamed to Tröskurvan). In 1958 it was additionally extended to with the Velodromkurvan section (Velodrome bend).
In 1961, 1962 and 1963 non-championship Formula One events were hosted here, which saw the likes of Stirling Moss, Jim Clark and Jack Brabham battle it out on-track. 1967 a race called Swedish Grand Prix was held there, won by Jackie Stewart. In 1979, the circuit hosted the Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix won by Barry Sheene.
The circuit was forced to close for two years after a crash on 8 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. In 1992, the track length was shortened to .
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 . In 2017, the last corner was modified and the track length was shortened to .
Lap records
As of May 2026, the fastest official race lap records at the Karlskoga Motorstadion are listed as:
CategoryTimeDriverVehicleEvent Full Circuit (2017–present): Porsche Carrera Cup 1:03.470 Lukas Sundahl Porsche 911 (992 I) GT3 Cup 2024 2nd Karlskoga Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia round Superbike 1:03.723 Christoffer Bergman Yamaha YZF-R1 2023 1st Karlskoga Pro Superbike round Formula 4 1:04.730 Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen Mygale M14-F4 2023 Karlskoga F4 Danish Championship round Formula Renault 1.6 1:04.918 Linus Granfors Signatech FR1.6 2023 Karlskoga Formula Nordic round Formula Nova 1:05.917 Richard Olson Aquila Formula Nova 2026 Karlskoga Nordic 4 round Supersport 1:06.042 Sebastian Losciale Honda CBR600RR 2023 1st Karlskoga Pro Superbike SSP round GT4 1:06.162 Theo Jernberg Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport 2024 2nd Karlskoga Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia round TCR Touring Car 1:06.781 Robert Huff Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR 2020 Karlskoga TCR STCC round Supersport 300 1:11.379 Ty Henriksen Kawasaki Ninja 400 2023 1st Karlskoga Pro Superbike SSP 300 round NXT Gen Cup 1:17.433 Linus Granfors LRT NXT1 2023 Karlskoga NXT Gen Cup round Full Circuit (2006–2016): Formula Renault 2.0 1:01.841 Daniel Roos Tatuus FR2000 2009 1st Karlskoga Formula Renault 2.0 Sweden round Silhouette racing car 1:04.488 Fredrik Ekblom Volvo S60 TTA 2012 1st Karlskoga TTA round Porsche Carrera Cup 1:04.809 Robin Hansson Porsche 911 (991 I) GT3 Cup 2015 Karlskoga Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia round Super 2000 1:06.797 Fredrik Ekblom BMW 320si 2008 Karlskoga STCC round Full Circuit (1992–2005): Formula Renault 2.0 1:03.634 Frank Kechele Tatuus FR2000 2004 Karlskoga Formula Renault 2000 Scandinavia round GT1 (GTS) 1:06.064 Thed Björk Chrysler Viper GTS-R 2003 Gelleråsen Swedish GTR round Super Touring 1:06.586 Carl Rosenblad Nissan Primera GT 2001 1st Karlskoga STCC round N-GT 1:07.285 Thed Björk Porsche 911 (996) GT3-R 2001 Gelleråsen Swedish GTR round Porsche Carrera Cup 1:07.353 Fredrik Ros Porsche 911 (996) GT3 Cup 2005 Karlskoga Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia round Super 2000 1:09.606 Richard Göransson BMW 320i 2004 1st Karlskoga STCC round Full Circuit (1958–1991): Formula Two 1:12.100 Patrick Depailler March 742 1974 Karlskoga F2 round Group 7 1:16.200 Chris Craft McLaren M8C 1970 Kanonloppet Group 5 1:17.400 Brian Redman Lola T70 1969 Kanonloppet Formula Three 1:20.800 Tim Schenken Brabham BT28 1969 Kanonloppet 500cc 1:21.310 Wil Hartog Suzuki RG 500 1979 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix 350cc 1:22.216 Gregg Hansford Kawasaki KR350 1978 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix 250cc 1:23.500 Gregg Hansford Kawasaki KR250 1979 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix Formula One 1:24.100 Innes Ireland Lotus 24 1962 Kanonloppet 125cc 1:28.767 Ángel Nieto Minarelli 1978 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix Group 2 1:38.300 Jackie StewartBo Ljungfeldt Ford Lotus CortinaFord Mustang 1965 Karlskoga ETCC round
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