AUTODROME DE LINAS-MONTLHÉRY - Paris (F)Type: Autodrome + road course Length, Full course: 12.492 km (7.762 mi) Shorter variant: 6.283 km (3.904 mi) "Circuit routier" 5.0 km (3.1 mi), "Piste de Vitesse" 2.55 km (1.583 mi) (Note 1) Location: Between the towns of Montlhéry and Arpajon, 26 km south of Paris centre. Used: 1924 - Designed by Raymond Jamin and financed by newspaper magnate Lamblin the Montlhéry racetrack was built in 1924 amid the heather and trees on the St Eutrope plateau south of Paris as an steeply banked oval for record breaking. The oval consited of two constant 250m radius curves and four parabolic sectors that connected the curves with the straights that were just 179m long. The autodrome section known as the "Piste de Vitesse" included the pits, main stands, start and finish. The next year a road course was added. From the autodrome the track went westwards out in the woods and the cars could either do the full course or turn back earlier at the "Les Quatre Bornes" link (5 km) or at the "Coulard link" (6.3 km). Even if the road course was slower than the autodrome it still consisted of several long straights making the track into one of the fastest in Europe. The first French GP at Montlhéry in 1925 ended in tragedy as Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Ascari crashed fatally near Les Biscornes. The track held the French GP again in 1927, 1931 and 1933. The 1934 race saw the international debut for the Auto Union and Mercedes but the German teams had not yet found the reliability and Chiron could take a popular victory for Alfa Romeo. A minor car event organized that year by the French Motorcycle club used the 5 km track permutation. For the 1935 Grand Prix the organizers added three chicanes (as seen in the picture) to hinder a German walkover but to no avail as Mercedes took a double victory. In 1935 the GP de l'U.M.F. (Union motocycliste francaise) used the 6.3 km track. To hinder a repeat in 1936 the French automobile club decided to turn the French GP into a sports car event. Wimille & Sommer in Bugatti won in 1936 and Chiron with a Talbot in 1937. In 1937 Montlhéry also saw the "Fonds de Courses" million francs duel between Wimille's Bugatti and Dreyfus' Delahaye, with the latter ending up as the winner. In 1938 Montlhéry lost the French GP to Reims and was never able to regain it. However a good 12 h our sports car race sponsored by the fuel company Olazur was run but the plans to repeat the race the next year was interrupted by the war. A minor race, the Coupe de Paris, sponsored by the same fuel company was however held in 1939. In 1939 the track was sold to the government and taken over by the War Ministry. Just like Brooklands, Montlhéry suffered badly during the war years. Under a long time lease from the government racing returned after the war. After a two year renovation the track was used for sports car racing and many record attempts until it was no longer fit for major events and had to be closed in 1973. In the 1990's a short variant of the track was re-opened and racing continues on to this day in a small scale. 1925 LE GRAND PRIX d'OVERTUREFor the French GP see also Reims.
REIMS-GUEUX (F)Type: Road course Length: 7.816 km Location: 6 km west of the city of Reims in the Marne departement in north-east France. Used: 1925 - 1970 The Reims circuit on public roads near Reims was competing with Spa-Francorchamps about the honor of being the fastest road circuit in Europe. The circuit used public roads, was triangular shaped with three sharp corners and was quite narrow making it a challenge to the drivers. The longest straight included a fast right and then left hander after the pits whereafter the track entered the village of Gueux where the track made a sharp turn between the houses. The track continued upwards into the woods of Garenne in a series of ultra fast sinuous curves that made the track into one of the hardest to master. After another tight corner the track followed Route Nationale 31 eastward over the fields towards the Thilois hairpin. From there it was a flat out run back to the pits. Owned by the AC de Champagne racing began in 1925 as the Marne GP. In 1932 the French GP was held there and was won by Nuvolari in an Alfa Romeo. The Marne GP was raced as a Formula Libre race from 1925-1927, then to the GP Formula from 1928 to 1935. In 1936-1937 the Marne GP belonged to the French sports car championship. In 1938 Reims took over the arrangements for the French Grand Prix after some political intrigues. For the Grand Prix the AC de Champagne led by the energetic Raymond "Toto" Roche, in a quest for even more speed, cut down several trees and widened the road between Gueux and Thillois. Mercedes dominated the rather farcical 1938 race, and in 1939 it was Auto Union's turn with Müller taking his only victory. After the war the French Grand Prix was raced there again in 1948-51 and with a rebuilt track in 1953-1954, 1956, 1958-1961, 1963 and 1966 before the track was forced to close in 1970 due to political and financial problems. 1926 GRAND PRIX DE LA MARNEFor the French GP see also Montlhéry. GRAND CIRCUIT PERMANENT DE PAU - Pau (F)Type: Road course Length; 15.835 km (9.839 mi) Location: Outside the city of Pau in the Pyrénées, Southern France. Used: 1930 1930 GP DE L'AUTOMOBILE CLUB DE FRANCE CIRCUIT DE LA SARTHE - Le Mans (F)Type: Road course Length 1921-28: 17.26 km (10.73 mi) 1929-31: 16.34 km (10.15 mi) 1932-55: 13.48 km (8.38 mi) 1956-67: 13.46 km (8.36 mi) 1968-71: 13.47 km (8.37 mi) etc. Location: 6 km south of the city of Le Mans, western France. Used: 1921 - 1928 GRAND PRIX BUGATTI LES PLANQUES - Albi (F)Type: Road course Length: 8.901 km (5.531 mi) Location: 2 km east of the town of Albi, southern France Used: 1933 - 1955 Introduced in 1933 Albi soon became one of the classic pre-war Voiturette races. It was raced on a bumpy and narrow triangular road circuit with the pits and the start on the shortest of the straights, the one closest to Albi. After a right hander the track went twisting through St Antoine and climbed to the village of St Juery where a tight hairpin led the track southwards over a railroad level crossing and a hump. Then a long fast straight to Montplaisir was followed by another long straight that ended in a right hander leading back to the start line. The two first years the Albi GP was run with both GP and Voiturette classes. Veyron dominated the Voiturette class by making a hat trick of victories 1933-35. In 1935 Albi introduced a system of having the race run in two heats with times added to determine the final order. In 1936 "B Bira" won as he pleased with his ERA car named "Remus" when the opposition fell out with technical problems. It was an ERA victory again in 1937 before Maserati took the last two pre-war wins with L. Villoresi and Wakefield. After the war the Albi GP continued as a non-championship Formula 1 race. The track was shortened in 1951 and then became one of the tracks that was closed after the Le Mans disaster in 1955. Racing continued on a newbuilt track west of the town in 1959, first for Formula 2 and later for Formula 3 cars. 1933 GRAND PRIX DE L´ALBIGEOIS DIEPPE (F)Type: Road course Length: 8.146 km (5.062 mi)? Location: 3 km south of the town of Dieppe on the French north coast. Used: 1929- The Dieppe GP was held for the first time in 1929. The race track was exciting with a long uphill and downhill straight on road D915 to Virage du Val Gosset, a sharp right hand turn that sent the race track into a twisty downhill section into St. Aubin. Another sharp right-hand curve was followed by a twisty uphill section northwards until finally rejoining the main road at maison Blanche. Because of the nearness to Britain the start field often included several British drivers. The race was run not to a certain distance but with a time limit. In the 1934 race Bugatti driver Gaupillat had a fatal accident in the second of two heats while Ètancelin was the winner. In 1935 Dreyfus took the victory for Ferrari. In 1931 and 1935 Voiturette cars raced together with the GP cars. In the latter race Fairfield's little 1.1 litre engined ERA took the win while "B Bira" made his international debut as a driver. 1929 GRAND PRIX DE DIEPPE SEICHAMPS - Nancy (F)Type: Road course Length 5.50 km (3.42 mi) Location: 6 km along the road leading northeast from the city of Nancy, northeastern France. Used: 1932-1935? The Grand Prix de Lorraine was held from 1932 onwards on the Seichamps track. The track used the main road N 74 eastward to the village of Seichamps. From there the track turned southwards into the back leg that consisted of some very narrow country roads that were passing between farm yards to Pulnoy. From there it turned right to come back to the main road. The pits and the grand stands were built along the main road. In 1935 the victory went to Chiron's Ferrari entered Alfa while in the Voiturette class leading Cholmondeley- Tapper made a mistake permitting Veyron to win. 1932 GRAND PRIX DE LORRAINE (2000cc) NICE (F)Type: Street circuit Length: 3.214 km (1.997 mi) Location: On the beach promenade in the city of Nice, French south coast. Used: 1932 - The city of Nice was early into motor racing with the Nice-Salon-Nice race in 1901. In 1932 the city started to organize its own GP race. Clearly influenced by Monaco the Nice GP was held on a very tight 3.2 km track on the quay with a hairpin in each end and with a minor loop around the Jardin Albert Premier. The length of the main straight was 1370m while the other two straights were 779m and 329 m. Nuvolari (Maserati) won the 1933 race while Ferrari took the next two victories with Varzi in 1934 and Nuvolari in 1935. When racing continued after the war the 1946 Nice GP was the first really international motorrace of the post-war era. 1932 CIRCUIT DE VITESSE DE NICE CIRCUIT d'ORLÉANS (F)Type: Street circuit Length 3.61 km (2.24 mi) Location: On the streets in the city of Orléans, central France. Used: ? The course ran through the streets of the city of Orleans and along the banks of the river Loire. The 1935 race ended in confusion as Buffy's Bugatti went into the crowd and spectators walked out on the track. 1935 CIRCUIT d'ORLEANS (Voiturette) CIRCUIT DE PAU (F)Type: Street circuit Length 1933: 2.649 km (1.646 mi) 1935 - 1939: 2.769 km (1.721 mi) Location: On the streets in the town of Pau in the Pyrénées, Southern France. Used. 1933 - Pau holds the honor of arranging the first race ever to be called a Grand Prix in 1901. After that the 1928 French GP was held in nearby St Gaudens, Pau also wanted to arrange the race and in 1930 the French GP was held on a Le Mans type track outside the city with Ètancelin winning for Bugatti. Pau was back in the race calendar in 1933, now with a Monaco inspired track in the city center. The track is one of the most curious and twisty in the GP history and has after 1935 remained more or less unchanged into the 90s. The first curve is the sharp station hairpin. After that the road climbs on the Avenue Léon Say, alongside the stone viaduct that carries the Boulevard de Pyrenées, to Pont Oscar. A tunnel is followed by the narrow hairpin at the school that leads the track into the demanding Parc Beaumont section at the top of the town. After visiting the Casino garden and passing yet another hairpin, the Virage du Buisson, the track winds its way back to the startline along the Avenue Lacoste. Pau was traditionally the season opener but selecting mid February as the date for the 1933 GP was to challenge the fate and the race took place in a snowstorm with sludge making the conditions into one of the worst ever in racing history. After a one year pause the race was back in 1935 with Nuvolari dominating for Ferrari. The 1936 race saw the only major victory for the Maserati V8-R1, driven by Ètancelin. In 1937 the race was part of the French sports car series with Wimille dominating, running three to four seconds a lap faster than the rest of the field. GP racing was back in 1938 and Pau became a test track for Mercedes Benz before the Grandes Epreuves. The 1938 race saw Dreyfus' Delahaye sensationally beating the Mercedes team. In 1939 Mercedes wasn't to be taken by surprise, Lang leading the team to a double victory. After the war Pau continued as a non-championship Formula 1 race until 1963. Thereafter the race was run to Formula 2 rules until changing to F3000 in 1985. 1933 GRAND PRIX DE PAU PÉRONNE (F)Type: Road course Length 1925-32: 9.62 km 1933-39: 9.765km with chicanes Location: 6km south of the town of Péronne, 48 km east of Amiens in northern France. Used: 1925-1939 The race was held on a narrow triangular circuit outside Péronne. Two of the legs consisted of major roads while the third was the twisty road between the villages Brie and Mesnil-Bruntel. The first race for the Voiturette class was held in 1932 and it soon became one of the Voiturette classics of the 30s. In 1933 there were fatal accidents with two Bugatti drivers, Guy Bouriat and Louis Trintignant, (brother of Formula 1 driver Maurice Trintignant). A memorial was erected at the Mons-en-Chaussée corner and for the next year two chicanes were added at about 2/3 of the first and the third straights. In the early 30s the field consisted mainly of French Bugatti drivers but Falchetto's Maserati was victorious in 1934. Benoist took a home victory in 1935 with a Bugatti. From 1936 onwards the meeting was held as Voiturette race with two heats and a final. ERAs were successful with "B Bira" winning in 1936 and Mays in 1937 and 1938. In 1939 Wakefield's new Maserati 4CL won the last race on the track. 1929 GRAND PRIX DE PICARDIE ST GAUDENS (F)Type: Road course Length 1925-1932: 27 km (~16.8 mi) 1933-1936: 11.0 km (~6.8 mi) Location: West of the town of St Gaudens in the Haute-Garonne departement in southern France. Used 1925 -1936 Eugène Azemar was an energetic motor sports enthusiast who also was involved with the Tourist board in St Gaudens, a town from the Roman age. In 1925 he persuaded the Automobile Club du Midi to arrange a motor week in August culminating in a GP race on a track between St Gaudens and Montrejeau. The magnificent 27 km circuit went uphill into the town centre of St Gaudens and then again downhill over the Garonne river and along small twisting roads westwards before passing over the river again at Montrejeau. Then the track went back along Road 117 towards St Gaudens in a slightly downhill record 12 km long straight only interrupted by a right-hander in the village of Villeneuve. The steep hill near St Gaudens made an opportunity to build grandstands from where the spectators could see across the fields all the way to Villeneuve. A shorter 26 km track leaving out the town centre was used when the French GP was held on the track in 1928. By 1933 the problems with marshalling the long track and with holding the two bridges clear became too much and the circuit was replaced by a shorter 11 km track on the north side of the river. The new track turned right in an adversely cambered hairpin near the Valentine bridge and went westward in a series of hard twists before joining the old track near Villeneuve. The 12 km straight had now shrunk to a "mere" 5 km. The old wooden grandstands were replaced by modern concrete constructions. The 1934 race clashed with the Swiss GP and with the top drivers away Comotti took the opportunity to win for Ferrari. In 1935 Sommer's private Alfa was victorious and in 1936 the race was run to the organizers' own sports car formula. The formula was so vague that Bugatti was able to enter and win with their T59 GP cars, a manouver that created a storm of protests from the sports car teams. It resulted in that both Talbot and Delahaye boycotted the following Comminges GPs and both the 1937 and 1938 races had to be canceled.
1929 GRAND PRIX DU COMMINGES CIRCUIT DES REMPARTS - Angoulême (F)Type: Street circuit Length: 1.279 km (0.795 mi) Location: In the city of Angoulême 100 km N.E. of Bordeaux Used: 1939, 1947-1951 The short and twisty street circuit was running round the top of the ramparts of the magnificent old walled city with the catedral dominating the view. Sommer won the 1939 race. After a 8 year pause the cars were back in 1947 with Eugène Martin (Frazer-Nash B.M.W) victorious. Prince Igor and Maurice Trintignant where the next years winners. In 1950 Fangio won the F2 race while Swiss driver Rudolf Fisher was victorious in the last true race in 1951. The track remains in orginal condition and is nowadays used for historic racing. 1939 CIRCUIT DE VITESSE AUTOMOBILE DES REMPARTS LA GAROUPE - Antibes (F)Type: Street circuit Length: 4.070 km (2.529 mi) Location: Southeast of the city center of Antibes, Southern France. Used: -1932 1928 GRAND PRIX D'ANTIBES CIRCUIT DE REALPANIER - Avignon (F)Type: Length: 4.973 km (3.09 mi) Location: Used: 1931 1931 GRAND PRIX DE VAUCLUSE BOULOGNE-SUR-MER (F)Type: Road circuit Length: 33.375 km (20.97 mi) Location: The roads east of Boulogne-Sur-Mer, northern France Used: 1921 - 1930s The famous Boulogne circuit was considered as one of the best road circuits. From the start at Croix-Botte it led west to Fourche de Saint-Martin in the city of Boulogne, then eastward along National Road 42, via the Blanc-Pignon, Huplandre, La Capelle and the forest of Desvres. Before Le Wast there was a right turn on highway 127 that ran through Alincthun. In Desvres there was the last right hand bend on to highway 96 via Wirwigne, Baincthun, until Mont Lambert. Then it was back to the start and finish at Croix-Botte. 1926 GRAND PRIX DE BOULOGNE CIRCUIT DU BRIGNOLES (F)Type: Street circuit Length: 2.2 km (1.37 mi) Location: Brignoles, 15km north of Toulon, Southern France Used: 1931 1931 GRAND PRIX DE BRIGNOLES LA BAULE (F)Type: Beach sand track Length: 6 km (3.73 mi) Location: On the beach of the town of La Baule, west of St. Nazaire on the French west coast. Used: 1924-1929, 1931-1933, 1938 To entertain the tourists in La Baule there was a sand racing meeting held on the beach every August. In 1933 a racing Voiturette class was added but the race ended in a fiasco as all three competitors retired. In 1938 there was a new attempt on a shortened track with Hug with his Maserati being victorious. 1927 GRAND PRIX DE LA BAULE DEAUVILLE (F)Type: Street circuit Length: 2.64 km (1.64 mi) Location: On the streets of the town of Deauville near Le Havre on the French north coast Used: 1936 The French resort of Deauville was one of the towns in the 30s that tried to follow up on the success of the Monaco GP. The track however turned out to be too narrow to be safe and the race was only held once, in 1936. It was a tragic race that clamed the life of both Maserati driver Chambost and works ERA driver Lehoux. 1936 GRAND PRIX DE DEAUVILLE CIRCUIT DU DAUPHINÉ - Grenoble (F)Type: Road course Length: 5.300 km (3.293 mi) Location: About 1 km south of downtown Grenoble Used: 1931 1930 GRAND PRIX DE GRENOBLE DIJON (F)Type: Road course Length: 17.5 km (10.9 mi) Location: North of City of Dijon, Central France Used: 1929 Ahuy - Savigny le Sec - Norges la Ville 1929 GRAND PRIX DE BOURGOGNE CIRCUIT DE QUINCIEUX - Lyon (F)Type: Road course Length: 6.513/6.515 km Location: Near Quincieux, 18 km north of Lyon Used: 1928 - 1930 1929 GRAND PRIX DE LYON AUTODROME DE MIRAMAS - Marseille (F)Type: Speed oval Length: 5.049 km (3.137 mi) With chicanes: 5.0956 km (3.1663 mi) Location: 2 km west of the town of Miramas, 45 km northwest of Marseille. Used: 1924 - 1933 While speed ovals were highly popular in America, they never really gained the hearts of the continental European race fans. Miramas, in Southern France, built at great expense in 1924, never advanced to the prominence that it deserved. Paul Sheldon doesn't hesitate to call the track the "epitome of white elephants". The creator of the track was former race driver Paul Bablot. The 5 km long oval track built with shallow banked curves, not unlike pre war Indianapolis, could easily allow speeds up to 200 km/h which made it one of the fastest tracks in Europe. The rough concrete surface was however heavy on tires. The first major race was the 1924 Autodrome Cup won by Argentine driver Martin de Alzaga. It was followed by the 1925 and 1926 Provence GPs, both won by Henry Segrave, the latter race possibly being the most successful event to be organized on the track. Then came the infamous 1926 French Grand Prix where only three Bugattis appeared at the start and just one car that managed to complete the full race distance. Two chicanes were used at that race. It was followed by a ruinous fiasco, the 1927 GP de Provence where 15 entries did not appear and where heavy rain postponed the race, When the Talbot team then decided to withdraw from the final the crowd got enough and invaded the track and attacked the Talbot pit, stopping the race after just five laps. After that the course remained dormant until 1932 because the promoting company had collapsed. The A.C. de Marseille then used Miramas for the 1932 and 1933 Marseille's Grand Prix after having failed to organize the race at the Parc Borély in Marseille. Nowadays Miramas is used as a test centre for BMW. 1925 GRAND PRIX DE PROVENCE NÎMES (F)Type: Street circuit Length: 1932: 2.9 km (1.8 mi) , 1933: 2.617 km (1.626 mi) Location: On the streets of the town of Nimes Used: 1932-33 1932 TROPHEE DE PROVENCE (1500cc) CIRCUIT D'ESTEREL PLAGE - St Raphaël (F)Type: Length; 2.5 km (1.55 mi) / ~3.33 km (2.07 mi) Location: L'Estrel beach, St Raphaël on French south couse, 20 km SW of Cannes. Used: 1928-1931 1928 CIRCUIT DÉSTEREL PLAGE CIRCUIT DE LA RIVIERA - Super Cannes (F)Type: Street Circuit Length: 3.4 km (2.11 mi) Location: in the Super-Cannes suburb north-east of Cannes Used: 1928 The position of the start was located on the Grand Boulevard de Super-Cannes. The course then continued in an anti-clockwise direction onto the Boulevard Saint-Antoine, the Boulevard Beau-Soleil and back onto the Grand Boulevard de Super-Cannes. 1928 RIVIERA CIRCUIT CIRCUIT DE TORVILLIERS - Troyes (F)Type: Road course Length: 7.450 km? (4.63 mi?) Location: East of the village of Torvilliers, 4 km West of Troyes Used: 1929-1932 1932 TORVILLIERS CIRCUIT VICHY (F)Type: Street circuit Length; 2.347/2.357 km (1.458 mi) Location: On the streets of the town of Vichy in the Allier department, central France. Used: 1934 The town of Vichy is associated with mineral water and politics, not with GP racing. However once the town hosted a GP race. In 1934 the Vichy Grand Prix was held for the first and only time over a 2.35 kilometer "round the houses" track in the middle of the town. The race was held in two heats and a final with Trossi winning for Ferrari. 1934 GRAND PRIX DE VICHY |
CIRCUIT INDEX
MAIN INDEX
|
© 2020 Leif Snellman - Last updated: 20.02.2020 |