Reims Grand Prix Circuit

MartinH

MartinH

New member
Was in France the other weekend and finally paid a visit to somewhere I have wanted to go for many years. The old Grand prix circuit at Reims last held a race in 1969 and the year after the circuit closed and has been left to rot since then. However recently a society was formed called friends of the circuit or something similar and these chaps have made some sort of effort at preserving the place. I do think they are fighting a losing battle though as the grandstands are actually crumbling into dust. In a way they are actually spoiling what was left by repainting some of the signs etc. I think it would just be better to let time take its toll. I was told by a local when I was there that planning was in place to turn the circuit into an industrial estate.

The picture really dont do justice to how creepy the place is, it reminds me of the pics you see of the surroundings areas of chernobyl. Weird to think many of the greatest drivers ever have raced round here.

First a couple of pics of how things once were.
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Finally one I found on tinternet of the circuit in 1994. They have been pretty busy since clearing the trees that had grown up through the grandstands and pits. Weird to think what can happen to one of the best circuits in the world? Imagine Donnington or Silverstone in the same state in a few years!?

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Can you actually go round the whole circuit Martin?

Looking at the last photo is does make you think how much work has gone into trying to get it back to the glory days, but for what purpose? It could be a great museum but to what ends say?

How come it ended up like this though? surely if it lost formula one etc it would still have enough supporting races throughout a year to survive? Look at Donington they lost F1 years ago and WSB (OK they still have MotoGP) but that's only really taken off since the introduction of the 4 strokes in this country in recent years
 
Freak said:
Can you actually go round the whole circuit Martin?

Looking at the last photo is does make you think how much work has gone into trying to get it back to the glory days, but for what purpose? It could be a great museum but to what ends say?

How come it ended up like this though? surely if it lost formula one etc it would still have enough supporting races throughout a year to survive? Look at Donington they lost F1 years ago and WSB (OK they still have MotoGP) but that's only really taken off since the introduction of the 4 strokes in this country in recent years
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they could maybe do a french version of goodwood there i think that could be really succesful.
the pictures of it now are strangely haunting though:comp2:
 
You can actually pretty much drive the full circuit as it is public roads (sort of) Sometimes the road is barricaded and sometimes it isnt? Its a place I have looked at in various magazines etc for a long time but never actually gor round to visiting. It seemed to be a case of now or never as I dont think it will ever be restored properly and is in fact in danger of vanishing forever.

Theres actually kind of 2 circuits there in that at one end there is 2 seperate sections that were used in different times. One bit goes through a small town that you could not imagine 200mph cars racing through. I have loads of magazine pictures somewhere showing some of the action. There are some quite famous pictures that you will probably have seen of the cars racing past the Garemme? restaraunt that is still there on the circuit. I will post a few. I have a link to a website somewhere with lots of info on the circuit and some great pics.
We had a good drive around and even without anything to go off you were in no doubt you were on a race track, they was a little section that was a bit like Cadwell and every now and then you would see little decaying concrete structures at the side of the road with a very faded BP logo on. It seemed as if would have been quite some place to race around.
 
Fascinating Martin. I am going to try and locate the RN31 on a map. After we talked Sunday I was sure I had been in the wrong place when I visited all that time ago, but the views of the RN and the buildings lokk very familiar....
 
Its to the west of Reims, at one point you can see the grandstand in the distance. I think we came off at Jct 14 on the e17/a26 and headed for Pontavert then south to the RN31 then headed towards Reims. You will know when you get there. Been in that neck of the woods a few times on my bike but the lads I was with each time had no interest in such things.
 
weeian said:
Martin it looks very atmospheric, whereabouts in France is it?

/ian
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2 hours and 300 km east of Calais just off A26 where it splits. Easy to get 2 from both Calais and Zeebrugge and would make a good spot for a modern circuit as its easy access from Holland, Belgium and Germany as well. We used to come off the A26 just east of Reims and follow an N road down to Chaumont.
 
Reims is just to the right of Paris on this map. Sort of South East ish of Calais. Weeian you are right it is atmospheric, I suppose its nostalgia but I love this sort of thing. I wandered around round the back of the pits and it was quite eerie back there with how quiet and forlorn the place is now. You can imagine all the glamour etc of the race meetings there from the 1920s onwards and it seems such a shame its in the state it is now. To Imagine all the Schumachers of their day (Fangio, Moss, Hawthorn, Nuvolari etc etc) flying round there is strange.

Scary to think that before the second world war started in 1939 that the cars were reaching speeds of over 300 km/hour on those long straights. And you see the pictures of the drivers with no seat belts and what looks like swimming caps and a pair of goggles atop their head for protection!

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For anyone interested in this sort of thing take a look at this website. The old british tracks are quite interesting, Crystal Palace anyone? Remember the Birmingham Superprix where they raced F3000 cars (one step below F1 at the time) round the streets of Birmingham?

http://www.racingcircuits.net/archives/
 
weeian said:
were you allowed to drive around the track Martin ??

/ian
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Yes you can drive round what was the track as its public roads now. However sometimes they are closed and barricades placed across certain junctions. You cannot do a flying lap as it were because you come across T junctions that were hairpins and a roundabout here and there etc. Have a look at some of the pics on the link I put up and you can see somke of the changes. I wish I had taken some info with me when I went as it would have made it easier to work out which sections of the roads used to be part of the circuit.
 
We stopped for a while here and I tried to explain to my mate that the cars used to come down the road in the right of the pic and turn right heading for Muizon. He would not have it as he thought it far to narrow to race on. I wish I had taken some of these pics with me.

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