L’autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry is a mostly disused track, located about 30km south of Paris. Opened in late 1924, it held the French Grand Prix a total of eight times between 1925 and 1937. State of the art when built, it soon gained a reputation for danger. Antonio Ascari was killed in the first Grand Prix held.
History[]
After World War I a wealthy industrialist, Alexandre Lamblin, saw a need for a test and race track in close proximity to France's burgeoning auto industry, which at the time was centered in Paris. He hired engineer Raymond Jamin to design a 2.5 km banked oval, capable of handling vehicles weighing 1,000 kg and at speeds up to 220 kph, with a road course extension. Construction started in late 1922, and the oval, with parabolic banked turns, was completed in the summer of 1924. The center-line lap measurement was 2.54824 km. The attached road circuit was completed in early 1925, and measured exactly 12.5 km. The first Grand Prix was held on July 26, and the track held the race eight times through 1937.
In 1939, the track was sold to the French government, who themselves promptly evacuated the country with onset of war. German occupying forces basically ignored the property until ousted in late 1944.
Course layout[]
Events[]
Winners[]
Year | Driver | Constructor | Report |
---|---|---|---|
1925 | Robert Benoist Albert Divo |
Delage | Report |
1927 | Robert Benoist | Delage | Report |
1931 | Louis Chiron Achille Varzi |
Bugatti | Report |
1933 | Giuseppe Campari | Maserati | Report |
1934 | Louis Chiron | Alfa Romeo | Report |
1935 | Rudolf Caracciola | Mercedes-Benz | Report |
1936 | Jean-Pierre Wimille Raymond Sommer |
Bugatti | Report |
1937 | Louis Chiron | Talbot | Report |
V T E | French Grand Prix | |
---|---|---|
Circuits | Le Mans (1906, 1921, 1929) Dieppe (1907-1908, 1912) Amiens (1913) Lyon (1914, 1924) Strasbourg (1922) Tours (1923) Montlhéry (1925, 1927, 1931, 1933-1937) Reims-Gueux (1932, 1938-1939, 1948–1951, 1953–1954, 1956, 1958–1961, 1963, 1966) Lyon-Parilly (1947) Rouen-Les-Essarts (1952, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1968) Charade Circuit (1965, 1969–1970, 1972) Bugatti Circuit (1967) Circuit Paul Ricard (1971, 1973, 1975–1976, 1978, 1980, 1982–1983, 1985–1990, 2018–2019, 2021-2022) Dijon-Prenois (1974, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1984) Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours (1991–2008) |
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Races | 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009–2017 • 2018 • 2019 • | |
European Championship Races | 1931 • 1932 • 1933–1937 • 1938 • 1939 | |
Non-Championship Races | 1906 • 1907 • 1908 • 1909–1911 • 1912 • 1913 • 1914 • 1915–1920 • 1921 • 1922 • 1923 • 1924 • 1925 • 1926 • 1927 • 1928 • 1929 • 1930 • 1931–1932 • 1933 • 1934 • 1935 • 1936 • 1937 • 1938–1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949 |