Circuit de Charade

Circuits de Charade
also known as Circuit de Charade

Address: Circuits de Charade Rond point de Manson 63 122 Saint-Genes-Champanelle
Clermont-Ferrand , Auvergne , France
Route type:	permanent race track
Opening:	July 27, 1958
Formula 1 venue :	1965-1972
Track layout
Route data
Important events:	Club sports, supermoto
Route length:	8.055  km (5.01  mi )
Curves:	48
Records
Track record: (Formula 1)	2: 53.4 min. ( Chris Amon , Matra , 1972)
http://www.charade.fr

Coordinates: 45 ° 44 ′ 30.3 "  N , 3 ° 1 ′ 54.8"  E

The Circuit de Charade is a motorsport racetrack near Clermont-Ferrand in the French region of Auvergne . It was used from 1958 to 1988 with a length of 8.055 km for international races (including four times for Formula 1 and eleven times for the motorcycle world championship ) and has been in a greatly shortened form (3.975 km) since 1989, mainly for national races, Facility used for testing and club sport purposes.

Because of the winding course in the volcanic hills with differences in altitude of up to 150 meters, it was considered a scaled-down version of the Nürburgring's Nordschleife , especially in the original route . The current official name of the facility is Circuits de Charade (plural), because in addition to the asphalt route, additional off-road courses were built.

history

As early as 1908 there were plans by the city administration of Clermont-Ferrand and the local tire company Michelin to build a circuit around the extinct volcano Puy de Dôme . However, these plans were never realized, as was the idea that emerged after the Second World War to build a four to six kilometer long race track on the eastern edge of the city. Above all, the serious accident at the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1955 with 82 dead was a setback for the initiators, the chairman of the Auvergne Automobile Club, Jean Auchatraire, and the racing driver Louis Rosier , who lives in Clermont-Ferrand . Rosier himself died on October 29, 1956, three weeks after a serious racing accident in Montlhéry , in a hospital in a Paris suburb. Until recently, however, he had fought for the financing of a racetrack in his home country and in May 1957 work began in the foothills of the volcanoes Puy de Charade (derived from the Occitan charrado - "long conversation" or "discussion") and Puy de Gravenoire . By the time it opened on July 27, 1958, over 108 million new francs had been built in , some of which came from the public sector, some from industry - above all from Michelin. The circuit was initially named Circuit Louis Rosier in honor of the successful racing driver .

Jim Clark (left) was the first Formula 1 winner in Clermond-Ferrand in 1965

Jackie Stewart won the 1969 Grand Prix with his Matra Ford

The first years of racing

The construction of the 8 km long, clockwise , winding and narrow route with steep ascents and deep depressions corresponded to the standard of the time; there were hardly any run-off zones and no curbs . On the opening day there was a GT sports car race with many prominent participants such as Jean Behra and Innes Ireland, as well as a Formula 2 race that Maurice Trintignant won. From 1959 to 1967 and from 1972 to 1974 the French motorcycle world championship Grand Prix took place here, but initially not for all displacement classes. Between 1965 and 1972 , Formula 1 made four appearances in Auvergne (following the Circuit de Reims-Gueux ), in the first year not as the French Grand Prix , but as the Grand Prix de l'ACF , i.e. the Automobile Club de France . The first French Grand Prix in Charade on July 19, 1964 was not a Formula 1 race, but was announced for Formula 2 and Formula 3 vehicles . On the same day, the previous motorcycle racer Patrick Depailler from Clermont-Ferrand had his racing car debut in the Coupe des Provinces , a youth cup.

In 1966, some of the racing scenes from the John Frankenheimer film Grand Prix were filmed on the Circuit de Charade , with around 3,000 extras from the region as “spectators”. The Circuit de Charade also made headlines in 1968 when the World Cup races of the French Motorcycle Grand Prix planned for May 26th were canceled - after a ministerial ban due to the sometimes violent student riots that had spread to the university town of Clermont-Ferrand. At the 1969 French Grand Prix, Jochen Rindt complained of severe movement nausea due to the “ roller coaster ” character of the route. In order to be prepared for a possible vomiting while driving, Rindt used an open helmet .

Decline due to security deficiencies

During the last Formula 1 race on this circuit (and Patrick Depailler's Formula 1 debut) on July 2, 1972, the system's deficiencies became clear: Chris Amon made 2: 53.9 minutes (average speed 166.751 km / h) set a new lap record, but the racing cars whirled numerous stones into the air when "cutting" the corners due to the lack of curbs. A rock thrown up by Ronnie Peterson in front hit the helmet of the Austrian Helmut Marko , hit the visor and injured one eye so badly that Marko had to end his racing career. There were also ten punctures caused by stones in this race. This and the subsequent dispute between drivers and route operators led to the final migration of the French Grand Prix to the Le Castellet and Dijon-Prenois routes .

The last major international events were motorcycle world championship races on the Circuit de Charade in 1973 and 1974, followed by mainly national races for the Trophées d'Auvergne in various sports car and formula classes. Endurance races and competitions with historic racing cars were often seen in Charade, especially in the 1980s. In addition, bookings were made by the automotive and tire industries for test purposes. But even at these events the lack of safety on the route became clear: in 1980 three marshals died in an accident, in 1984 a production test driver was killed. On September 18, 1988, the Coupe des Volcans was the last race on the long circuit.

New beginning

Attempts to make the previous route safer through larger run-off zones failed because of the topography of the area around the volcanic cone. In many places there was a lack of space next to the roadway built directly on the hill. The Conseil Général des Départements Puy-de-Dôme , as the route owner , therefore had the route shortened by more than half; while retaining the old start and finish area and including the previous first and last section of the route. The new 3.975 km long route with 18 bends, some curbs painted in the French national colors (blue, white, red) and extended run-off zones was opened in 1989, and in 2001 a renewed infrastructure (pit system, control tower, video surveillance, conference and catering rooms) In addition, in 2003 the entire facility was renovated with new off-road tracks (for motocross , quads , trials, etc.) behind the extended paddock and on the outside of the start and finish straight. Nevertheless, the course is still considered to be one of the last "natural race tracks" that are integrated into the terrain - analogous to the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.

In addition to the public sector (General Council, City of Clermont-Ferrand, etc.), private shareholders are also part of the facility; including Michelin, various banks and the operating company of the French private test track Anneau du Rhin near Colmar . Various racing driver schools are based at the Circuits de Charade , there are regular national Formula 3 races and competitions with historic racing cars and the track is often booked for test drives, product presentations and club events. The pricing of the route rental obviously also plays a role here; the tariffs are around a third of those of current Formula 1 racetracks . However, with the only nine to twelve meter wide roadway and run-off zones made of gravel and grass, the system again does not meet the increasingly demanding modern standards, which can usually only be met on new retort routes anyway .

The combination of parts of the asphalt roadway and the off-road routes enables the organization of supermoto races. Individual road sections can also be watered for training and test purposes. In the customer list, the operators include Daimler AG , Subaru , Porsche , Pirelli , Michelin, Citroën , Saab , Renault and MAN . In addition to the motorsport activities, paragliding and paintball competitions are also offered on the 82 hectare facility .

All winners of Formula 1 races in Clermont-Ferrand

No.	year	driver	constructor	engine	tires	time	Route length	Round	Ø pace	date	GP of
1	1965	Jim Clark	lotus	Climax	D.	2: 14: 38,400 h	8.055 km	40	143.583 km / h	June 27th	France
2	1969	Jackie Stewart	Matra	ford	D.	1: 56: 47.400 h	8.055 km	38	157.251 km / h	0July 6th
3	1970	Jochen Rindt	lotus	ford	F.	1: 55: 57,000 h	8.055 km	38	158.391 km / h	05th July
4th	1972	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	ford	G	1: 52: 21,500 h	8.055 km	38	163.454 km / h	02nd July

Web links

Commons : Circuit de Charade  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• official website Circuits de Charade
• Guido de Carli: Mappa Approssimata. (gif, 13 kB) In: gdecarli.it. (Comparison of old and new route). 
• Charade, un circuit mythique. Clermont-Ferrand, October 1, 2001, archived from the original on November 27, 2006 (French).