Tor Łódź: a kilometre and a half of asphalt in a field near Stryków

In August 2016 the mayor of Łódź, Hanna Zdanowska, arrived at the building site between Zgierz and Stryków, took the passenger seat next to a drift driver and went for a short ride on the fresh asphalt. At a press conference called that day it was announced that Tor Łódź would open in early September; Kuba Przygoński had already trained here before that. Back in April of that year the place was, as the Łódź edition of "Gazeta Wyborcza" wrote in July, open field. Today the operator advertises it as the only asphalt car and motorcycle circuit in the Łódź Voivodeship; it is a venue with its own series of amateur competitions, a dispute with the neighbours in the background and a tenth birthday announced for 27 September 2026.

Location	Kiełmina 78, Stryków municipality, Zgierz county; about 15 km from Łódź, by the junction of the A1 and A2 motorways
Type	driving technique improvement centre (ODTJ) with an asphalt training circuit, two skid pads and a section of sprinkled corners
Length and width	about 1.5 km, 8–12 m
Number of corners	17 (11 left, 6 right)
Elevation difference	6.5 m (from 196 to 202.5 m above sea level)
Opening	September 2016
Operator	EcoRacing Sp. z o.o. of Aleksandrów Łódzki
Entry in the ODTJ register	Voivode of Łódź, no. 002E
Noise limit	98 dB
Most important events	Super OES Toru Łódź (2018–2026), the motoring finale of WOŚP 2018
Status	active; training courses, car and motorcycle track days

The 2009 plan and a company built around electric cars

Before the asphalt appeared, the paperwork did. On 30 October 2009 the Town Council of Stryków adopted a local spatial development plan for an area in the villages of Kiełmina and Zelgoszcz. Five years later, in November 2014, the company EcoRacing of Aleksandrów Łódzki was registered in the National Court Register; its board included Ewa Maria Kaszuba as president and Tomasz Kaszuba as vice-president. According to a statement by the board from February 2017, the company bought the property in Kiełmina in December 2015, after analysing precisely that plan from 2009.

The original idea had nothing to do with amateur drivers. The EcoRacing board wrote that the intention had been to build a track for research into contactless charging of electric vehicles; when no investor was found, the project was turned into a venue combining research on electric vehicles with the training of drivers of combustion cars. A trace of that concept survived in the company's name and in the announcement from July 2016 that the inaugural event was to be a race of vehicles with the lowest fuel consumption, with 40 teams taking part. The formalities moved at a pace a property developer would not be ashamed of: on 18 December 2015 an environmental report with exhaust emission and noise measurements was submitted, on 30 December a positive environmental decision was issued, on 2 February 2016 the building permit became legally binding, and in early April contracts with the constructors were signed and the works began.

As early as 19 April 2016 the Łódź edition of "Super Express" showed the visualisations: 1.5 km of asphalt 8–12 m wide, two skid pads, go-karts, motorcycles and cars. "This is a circuit designed for safely practising slides, corners, braking. One third of the circuit is 6.5 metres higher than the rest", explained Tomasz Kaszuba, at the time the company's vice-president. The grand opening was announced for July. In mid-July "Wyborcza" found a fenced six-hectare site, thujas along the fence and workers finishing the facilities, the conference room and the viewpoint; the circuit could already be driven. "This will be the first Driving Technique Improvement Centre in the Łódź Voivodeship and one of the few such places in Poland", Kaszuba announced. The investors did not disclose how much they had spent. According to WP Moto, an entrepreneur from Aleksandrów Łódzki financed the construction from savings, sponsorship and a loan, without public money.

The August visit of the mayor of Łódź was in fact a showing of an almost finished venue. "Express Ilustrowany" noted that a few months earlier nobody had heard of the circuit, that it was hard to find without signposting and that it had been built in a place called Kiełmina Przemysłowa, off national road 71 from Zgierz to Stryków. "Dziennik Łódzki" added that until then the people of Łódź had had to travel to Poznań or Katowice to race, and that illegal races were held near the Dell factory. The opening took place in September 2016, and the operator celebrates its tenth birthday on 27 September 2026.

Seventeen corners on six hectares

The ribbon of the circuit is about 1.5 km long and 8 to 12 m wide, with one-metre concrete verges. There are 17 corners, 11 of them left and 6 right; on top of that come four link roads between the sections. The lowest point lies at 196 m above sea level, the highest at 202.5 m, which gives a 6.5 m elevation difference. The rest of the site is taken up by two skid pads, a rectangular one and a ring segment, a section of three consecutive sprinkled curves, a manoeuvring area, a dirt track and a Skid Craft, that is a car with an electrohydraulic device which, at the instructor's command, turns the car into an understeering or oversteering vehicle or one sliding on all four wheels. The operator describes the rectangular pad as 12 by 70 m.

In the building next to the circuit there are garages with lifts, a compressor and tools, plus a training and conference room for 60 people. Timing is handled by a Tag Heuer system: drivers are given transponders, and the results appear on a screen in the waiting room and in a mobile app. The operator stipulates that the noise limit is 98 dB, that drifting is entirely forbidden and that only road-homologated vehicles are allowed onto the circuit.

The centre was entered by the Voivode of Łódź in the register of driving technique improvement centres under number 002E and presents itself as the first such venue in the voivodeship. The operator itself stresses that this is not a racing circuit: in 2017 the EcoRacing board argued that the narrow ribbon makes overtaking impossible and that the route consists almost entirely of corners. The Kawasaki dealership that organises motorcycle sessions here put it more bluntly in an invitation from 2024: "Tor Łódź is a driving technique improvement centre, not a Racing Circuit!".

Winter 2017: noise, building inspection and a hashtag

The first winter of operation brought a conflict. In February 2017 the residents of houses near the circuit complained about noise and exhaust fumes and announced a protest. Jarosław Karolewski, a building inspector, told "Super Express" at the time: "No decision on the use of this circuit has been taken at all. At the moment there is a decision refusing the use of this facility because of irregularities we have found". According to the same newspaper the office imposed a fine of 85,000 zł on the owner for illegal operation of the venue, and Tomasz Kaszuba, who had initially assured that he held the permits, admitted that the occupancy permit was not yet in place, although obtaining it was a matter of time.

The EcoRacing board replied with a statement that the MotoRmania website published on 22 February 2017 under the hashtag #TakDlaToruŁódź. The company stressed that it was operating in accordance with the building permit, that the proceedings on the occupancy decision were dragging on because of the innovative character of the venue, and it undertook to install permanent noise monitoring available online while keeping to the 98 dB limit. In the owner's version, quoted by WP Moto, the protesters live at least 2 km from the circuit, report "illegal rallies" and call the police almost every day. At the end of March 2017 MotoRmania announced, citing the board, that the voivodeship building inspection in Łódź had issued the occupancy decision and that the venue "was built legally and operates legally".

The dispute did not disappear, it only changed address. In January 2026 Radio Łódź reported that the residents of nearby Zelgoszcz were protesting against the noise of the events, while the organisers assured that the emission limits had been observed. The Zelgoszcz village district lies in the western part of the Stryków municipality, borders Kiełmina, and the A2 motorway, national road 71 and the Łódź–Łowicz railway line run through its area.

Super OES: a rallysprint for amateurs and its end

The circuit's biggest event of its own was Super OES Toru Łódź, run in the form of a rallysprint for amateur drivers, open to any owner of a technically sound car. In the inaugural round, reported at the beginning of February 2018, 60 drivers competed. In the fifth round, summed up in June 2018, the participants completed six runs on a route about 1.5 km long, which the organisers made harder with two chicanes and by sprinkling the corner section; the overall classification was won by Arkadiusz Kubiak in a Renault Megane with a total time of 7:54.62, ahead of Sebastian Podsiadłowicz in a Subaru STI (7:57.40), and the prizes were funded by Mercedes Auto-Studio, which also sent a safety car.

In the third season, in 2019, nine rounds were planned. The route was prepared by the instructors of the Tor Łódź Safe Driving Academy together with Miko Marczyk, the Polish champion of the Polish Rally Championship: turnarounds around barrels, a tight hairpin and chicanes on the straight. Five classes were divided by engine capacity, the only safety requirement was a helmet, and the result was decided by the sum of the times of six runs. In 2024 there were five rounds, from January to December, and the regulations added a 5 second penalty for every cone knocked over and allowed at most three cars on the route at the same time.

On 19 January 2026 the operator announced the end of the series: "It is with great sadness that we inform you that we are forced to end the running of Super OES". The announcement stressed that ending it was not the organiser's decision. The last edition took place on 18 January 2026, and Radio Łódź pointed to the protest of the residents of Zelgoszcz as the main reason; one of the participants told the station: "This is the only place where you can safely improve your skills on the road".

The orchestra, television and a track day for 229 zł

On 14 January 2018 the circuit turned into what was announced as the largest motoring event of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity finale in the voivodeship. The special guest was Krzysztof Hołowczyc, a rollover simulator was set up in the car park, and a replica of Marian Bublewicz's rally Ford Sierra Cosworth was driven on the route. In five hours almost 3,000 people passed through the circuit, more than 400 runs with rally and racing drivers were made, and more than 22,000 zł went into the collection tins. In August 2024 the crew of the programme Automaniak from TVN Turbo staged a comparison of combustion and electric cars here; one of the laps was driven in a BMW M3 Competition by Tomasz Kaszuba himself.

For an amateur driver Tor Łódź is above all a place for a track day. Free driving takes place on the full loop, participants drive in sessions divided into at most three groups, and a Tag Heuer transponder can be hired at no extra charge. In the 2026 season a 2.5 hour car track day costs 229 zł and the 3.5 hour version 309 zł, with a limit of 21 cars; the motorcycle equivalent has the same prices and a limit of 30 machines. A helmet is compulsory in cars with a roll cage or an open roof, and in the others "strongly recommended"; exhaust loudness is measured at a distance of half a metre from the tailpipe, motorcycles must have a standard, homologated exhaust or a db killer in a sports silencer. A passenger does not pay, but a minor needs a parent's consent, and motorcycle track days take place only when there is no rain. The first motorcycle track day of the 2026 season was planned for 2 May from 17:00, with a reminder about the 98 dB limit. External organisers also appear at the circuit: the Kawasaki Tłokiński dealership from Łódź offered three hours of driving with timing and a photo session for 250 zł in 2024, and Track Academy divided the participants of a two-day training into racing, small-capacity, pit-bike and beginner groups, with an ambulance on site and six sessions a day. The first-level Safe Driver course costs 899 zł, and holders of the Karta Łodzianina get a 10 percent discount on all courses.

In the summer of 2026 the Citroën Oldtimer Club Polska visited the circuit; the operator wrote about the owners of classic cars who were able to enjoy their passion in safe conditions. The tenth birthday of Tor Łódź was announced for 27 September 2026, with free entry.

Timeline

• 2009: on 30 October the Town Council of Stryków adopts the local plan for the villages of Kiełmina and Zelgoszcz.
• 2014: in November the company EcoRacing of Aleksandrów Łódzki is registered.
• 2015: in December the property in Kiełmina is bought; on 30 December the environmental decision is issued.
• 2016: on 2 February the building permit becomes legally binding; in early April the works start; in August the mayor of Łódź, Hanna Zdanowska, visits; in September the opening.
• 2017: in February residents protest and the building inspection imposes a fine for use without a decision; at the end of March the operator reports the occupancy decision.
• 2018: on 14 January the motoring finale of WOŚP with Krzysztof Hołowczyc; at the beginning of the year the first round of Super OES Toru Łódź.
• 2019: the third season of Super OES with nine rounds and a route co-designed by Miko Marczyk.
• 2024: five rounds of Super OES; the recording of the Automaniak programme on TVN Turbo.
• 2026: on 18 January the last round of Super OES, a day later the announcement of the end of the series; on 27 September the announced tenth birthday of the circuit.