Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, in its original layout.
The Paul Ricard Circuit is a motorsport race track built at Le Castellet, near Marseille, France, in 1969 with finance from the eccentric drinks magnate Paul Ricard, who created what essentially became Pernod Ricard. A race track (or 'racetrack' or 'racing track' is a purpose-built facility for Racing of animals (eg Castellet|Castellet-lès-Sausses Le Castellet is the name of the following communes in France Le Castellet Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Pernod Ricard ( is a French company that produces Alcoholic beverages The company's most famous products Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis, are Ricard built the circuit with the challenge of figuring out what would it be like to build a highway.
With innovative facilities it was considered by some to be the safest motor racing in the world at the time. The circuit had three possible layouts, a large area of industrial park and also an airstrip. In combination with the usual good weather conditions in Southern France, the airfield made the track popular for testing purposes in winter.
The original track was dominated by the mile-long Mistral Straight that was followed by the high-speed Signes corner.
It opened in 1970 with a 2-litre sports car race. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. During the 1970s and the 1980s the track developed some of the best French drivers of the time, and hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix on many occasions, the first of which being the 1971 French Grand Prix. The French Grand Prix ( Grand Prix de France) is a race held as part of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile 's annual Formula One automobile The 1971 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Circuit Paul Ricard on July 4, 1971.
In 1986 Formula One driver Elio de Angelis was killed in a testing accident at the fast first turn, and the circuit was modified in order to avoid any future accidents. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Elio de Angelis ( 26 March 1958 – 15 May 1986) was a Racing driver who participated in Formula One between and, racing Such modifications consisted of shortening the circuit in order to reduce the Mistral Straight and to eliminate the fast sweeping curves where de Angelis had crashed. The last French Grand Prix held at the circuit was in 1990; since then, Magny-Cours has played host to the French Grand Prix. Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a Motor racing circuit located in France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers.
In the 1990s the circuit's popularity was reduced to motorcycle racing and French national racing, most notably until 1999, the Bol d'or motorcycle endurance race. The Bol d'or is a Motorcycle endurance race, held annually in France. The track was also the home of the Oreca F3000 team. Oreca is a French racing team, founded and run by Hughes de Chaunac, former team manager of F1 team AGS.
After Ricard's death, the track was sold to Excelis, a company owned by Formula One promoter Bernie Ecclestone, in 1999. Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930 near Bungay Suffolk, England) is the president and CEO of Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) The track has since been rebuilt into a very advanced test track. It is now known as the Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track (Paul Ricard HTTT).
A landing strip is also part of the facilities to accommodate private jets. There is also a Karting Test Track (KTT) that features the same type of abrasive safety zones as the car track. For other meanings see Kart (disambiguation Kart racing or karting is a variant of Open-wheel Motor sport with
Other than its duties as a test circuit, it has only hosted one race since, the 2006 Paul Ricard 500km, a round of the FIA GT Championship. The 2006 FIA GT Championship season is the 10th season of FIA GT Championship. The 2006 FIA GT Paul Ricard 500km was the fifth race for the 2006 FIA GT Championship season. The FIA GT Championship is a Sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de
The track
The track is characterised by its long Mistral straight (1. 2 km) and elongated track design. The track is also unusual in that it is built on a plateau, and very flat. The length of the full track is around 3. 610 miles (5. 8 km). In 1986 the track was modified to shorten the circuit. This shorter circuit is known as the GP short circuit and its length is 2. 369 miles (3. 8 km). According to its official home page, the track has 180 possible configurations. Because of this many teams use this track for testing (ex. Formula One teams).
The track is known for its distinctive black and blue runoff areas known as the Blue Zone, which is used instead of gravel traps of other circuits, the runoff surface consists of a mixture of asphalt and tungsten. Asphalt ( is a sticky black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude Petroleums and in some natural deposits sometimes termed asphaltum Tungsten (ˈtʌŋstən also known as wolfram (/ˈwʊlfrəm/ is a Chemical element that has the symbol W and Atomic number 74 [1] Should that not prevent the car from stopping, there is the Red Zone, a more abrasive run off area, which would require a car to return to the pits for a new tyre. Also, rather than a tyre barrier, a Tecpro barrier[1]
F1 Grands Prix and winners
References
- ^ a b Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track, The Marshal: Incorporating Rescue & Resuscitation , April 2007 (Issue 21)
External links
The 1990 Formula One season was the 41st FIA Formula One World Championship season Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE (born 24 February 1955 is a French racing driver Scuderia Ferrari is the name for the Gestione Sportiva the division of the Ferrari automobile company concerned with racing The 1990 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Paul Ricard on July 8, 1990. The 1989 Formula One season was the 40th FIA Formula One World Championship season Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE (born 24 February 1955 is a French racing driver McLaren, founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren (1937&ndash1970 is a Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, UK Honda Racing F1 Team is a Formula One team run by Japanese car manufacturer Honda. The 1989 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Paul Ricard on July 9, 1989. The 1988 Formula One season was the 39th FIA Formula One World Championship season Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE (born 24 February 1955 is a French racing driver McLaren, founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren (1937&ndash1970 is a Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, UK Honda Racing F1 Team is a Formula One team run by Japanese car manufacturer Honda. The 1988 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 3 1988 at the Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet. The 1987 Formula One season was the 38th FIA Formula One World Championship season Biography Mansell was born in Upton-upon-Severn, a small Town in the English county of Worcestershire. Not to be confused with Frank Williams Racing Cars, formed by Frank Williams 1967 Honda Racing F1 Team is a Formula One team run by Japanese car manufacturer Honda. The 1987 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 5 1987 at the Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet. The 1986 Formula One season was the 37th FIA Formula One World Championship season Biography Mansell was born in Upton-upon-Severn, a small Town in the English county of Worcestershire. Not to be confused with Frank Williams Racing Cars, formed by Frank Williams 1967 Honda Racing F1 Team is a Formula One team run by Japanese car manufacturer Honda. Results from the 1986 Formula One French Grand Prix held at Paul Ricard on July 6, 1986. The 1985 Formula One season was the 36th FIA Formula One World Championship season Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (born August 17, 1952) more commonly known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver who was Formula Origins The Brabham team was founded by Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac, who met in 1951 while both were successfully building and racing cars in their native ( BMW) (Bavarian Motor Works is an independent German automobile manufacturer founded in 1916 Results from the 1985 Formula One French Grand Prix held at Paul Ricard on July 7, 1985. The 1983 Formula One season included the 34th FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 13 and ended on October 15 after fifteen races Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE (born 24 February 1955 is a French racing driver 1970s and 1980s 1977 Renault first involvement in Formula One was made by the Renault Sport subsidiary Results from the 1983 Formula One French Grand Prix held at Paul Ricard on April 17, 1983. The 1982 Formula One season was the 33rd FIA Formula One World Championship season René Alexandre Arnoux (born July 4, 1948, in Grenoble) is a retired French Racing driver who is a veteran of 12 Formula One 1970s and 1980s 1977 Renault first involvement in Formula One was made by the Renault Sport subsidiary Results from the 1982 Formula One French Grand Prix held at Paul Ricard on July 25, 1982. The 1980 Formula One season included the 31st FIA Formula One World Championship season which commenced on January 13, 1980, and ended on Not to be confused with Frank Williams Racing Cars, formed by Frank Williams 1967 Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Results from the 1980 Formula One French Grand Prix held at Paul Ricard on June 29, 1980. The 1978 Formula One season included the 29th FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on January 15, 1978, and ended on October Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian American former racecar driver and one of the most successful Americans in the 1950s Colin Chapman established Lotus Engineering Ltd in 1952 at Hornsey, UK. Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport The 1978 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 2 July 1978 at Paul Ricard. The 1976 Formula One season included the 27th FIA Formula One World Championship season which commenced on January 25, 1976, and ended on James Simon Wallis Hunt ( 29 August 1947 &ndash 15 June 1993) was a British racing driver from England who won the McLaren, founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren (1937&ndash1970 is a Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, UK Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Results from the 1976 Formula One French Grand Prix held at Paul Ricard on July 4, 1976. The 1975 Formula One season included the 26th FIA Formula One World Championship season which commenced on January 12, 1975, and ended on Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (born February 22, 1949 in Vienna) is an Austrian Aviator, Entrepreneur Scuderia Ferrari is the name for the Gestione Sportiva the division of the Ferrari automobile company concerned with racing Results from the 1975 Formula One French Grand Prix held at Paul Ricard on July 6, 1975. The 1973 Formula One season included the 24th FIA Formula One World Championship season which commenced on January 28, 1973, and ended on This is about the racing driver For the ice hockey player see Ronnie Pettersson. 1950s Colin Chapman established Lotus Engineering Ltd in 1952 at Hornsey, UK. Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport The 1973 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Paul Ricard Circuit on July 1, 1973. The 1971 Formula One season included the 22nd FIA Formula One World Championship season which commenced on March 6, 1971, and ended on For other people of this name see Jackie Stewart (disambiguation. Lower Formulae (1958 - 1967 Tyrrell Racing first came into being in 1958 running Formula Three cars for Ken Tyrrell and local stars Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport The 1971 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Circuit Paul Ricard on July 4, 1971.
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