Circuit Paul Ricard

Location: La Castellet, France

Distance: 5.089 Kilometers

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. 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.

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. 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.