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Dijon-Prenois is a 3.801 km (2.362 mi) motor racing circuit located in Prenois, near Dijon, France. The undulating track is noted for its fast, sweeping bends.

Circuit de Dijon-Prenois

Location	Prenois, France
Time zone	CET (UTC+1) CEST (DST)
Coordinates	47°21′45″N 4°53′57″E
FIA Grade	2
Broke ground	December 1969
Opened	26 May 1972; 50 years ago (1972-05-26)
Major events	Current: Historic Tour Dijon Dijon Motors Cup Future: GT2 European Series (2023) FFSA GT (1997–1998, 2000, 2002–2012, 2017–2018, 2023) Former: Formula One (1974, 1977, 1979, 1981–1982, 1984) DTM (2009) NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (2009–2010, 2013) F3 Euro Series (2009) FIA GT (1998, 2006) FIA Sportscar Championship (2002) Euro F3000 (2002, 2004) F3000 (1985, 1988–1989) WSC (1973, 1975–1976, 1978–1980, 1989–1990) ETCC (1988) WTCC (1987) M1 Procar Championship (1979) FIA European F3 (1978) Formula 750 (1977)
Grand Prix Circuit (1976–present)
Length	3.801 km (2.362 miles)
Turns	12
Race lap record	1:02.985 ( Ingo Gerstl, Toro Rosso STR1, 2015, F1)
Short Circuit (1972–present)
Length	3.289 km (2.044 miles)
Turns	8
Race lap record	1:00.000 ( Jody Scheckter, Tyrrell 007, 1974, F1)

Opened in 1972, Dijon-Prenois hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix five times, and the Swiss Grand Prix in 1982. The non-championship 1975 Swiss Grand Prix was also held at Dijon.[1] The circuit currently hosts the Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or, and last hosted the FFSA GT Championship in 2018.

History

Planned in 1967, work commenced in December 1969. The track was part of a plan to make Dijon an automotive centre. It was the brainchild of rugby-player and wrestler François Chambelland (sometimes assumed to be the masked wrestler l'Ange Blanc)^{[citation needed]}, and was developed with the aid of racers Jean-Pierre Beltoise and François Cevert, as well as motoring journalist José Rosinski ^[fr].[2][3] In spite of lack of support from the city government and a chronic lack of funds, the track was declared open on 26 May 1972, with Guy Ligier making the first timed lap around the circuit.[3] The first race, for 2-litre prototypes, was held ten days later. Arturo Merzario was the inaugural winner.[4]

The first F1 race was run in 1974 on the circuit's original 3.289 km (2.044 mi) layout; with the fastest lap times under the one-minute mark, there was a major problem with congested traffic between the race leaders and the back-markers. Therefore, in 1976 an extension was added to lengthen the circuit as well as to reprofile many of its corners before the time F1 could return to Dijon in 1977. The 1979 French Grand Prix featured a memorable battle for second place in the final laps between Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari and René Arnoux's Renault, which was finally won by Villeneuve. The race itself was won by Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the other Renault - Renault's first, and the first F1 victory for a turbocharged car.[3]

The 1982 Formula One season was not to see the French Grand Prix held at Dijon as that race was held at the Paul Ricard Circuit, located at Le Castellet in southern France. Instead, Dijon held the (as yet) last Swiss Grand Prix, despite being located in France and not Switzerland. This was due to the Swiss Government's ban on motor racing in the wake of the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans disaster in which 83 people, many of whom were spectators, and the driver Pierre Levegh, died when a car crashed at high speed and vaulted into the pit straight grandstand.[5] 1982 Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg, driving his Williams-Ford, won his first ever Grand Prix in the 1982 Swiss race, four seconds in front of local favourite Alain Prost driving a factory backed Renault.

The French Grand Prix alternated between Paul Ricard and Dijon, until the last F1 race at Dijon took place in 1984. The race was won by McLaren's Niki Lauda, who won his 3rd and final World Championship that year. The fastest lap of the race was set by Lauda's teammate Alain Prost (1:05.257) at an average speed of 214 km/h (133 mph). Fittingly, the last F1 pole at Dijon was set by a French driver driving a French car, with Patrick Tambay recording a 1:02.200 in his factory Renault RE50 turbo. Tambay led the race for the first 47 laps before being passed by Lauda, the Frenchman eventually finishing 2nd, seven seconds behind the McLaren.

Long-distance racing continued, with a race in the FIA GT Championship held there in 1998 for instance. Although Formula One has not returned to Dijon since 1984, the circuit continues to be used today for minor, mostly local races. These include club level events and motorcycle racing, and truck racing events have been held there since 1988.[2] The track was renovated in 2001, when a go-cart track was added.[1]

Lap records

The official race lap records at the Circuit de Dijon-Prenois are listed as:

Category	Time	Driver	Vehicle	Event	Circuit Map
Grand Prix Circuit: 3.801 km (1976–present)
Formula One	1:02.985[6]	Ingo Gerstl	Toro Rosso STR1	2015 BOSS GP Dijon Motors Cup
Group C	1:08.973[7]	Jean-Louis Schlesser	Mercedes-Benz C11	1990 480 km of Dijon
F3000	1:10.430[8]	Érik Comas	Lola T89/50	1989 Dijon F3000 round
Euro F3000	1:10.540[9]	Alex Lloyd	Lola B99/50	2004 Dijon Euro F3000 round
GT1 (Prototype)	1:10.861[10]	Bernd Schneider	Mercedes-Benz CLK LM	1998 FIA GT Dijon 500km
Formula 3	1:11.067[11]	Jules Bianchi	Dallara F308	2009 Dijon Formula 3 Euro Series round
LMP900	1:11.614[12]	Jan Lammers	Dome S101	2002 FIA Sportscar Championship Dijon
DTM	1:11.644[13]	Paul di Resta	AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2009	2009 Dijon DTM round
GT1 (GTS)	1:15.119[14]	Jaroslav Janiš	Saleen S7-R	2006 FIA GT Dijon 500km
Group C2	1:15.324[15]	Fermín Vélez	Spice SE89C	1989 480 km of Dijon
IMSA GTP	1:15.327[15]	David Kennedy	Mazda 767B	1989 480 km of Dijon
SR2	1:15.956[12]	Fabio Mancini	Lucchini SR2001	2002 FIA Sportscar Championship Dijon
Formula Renault 2.0	1:16.801[16]	Alexandre Marsoin	Tatuus FR2000	2007 Dijon French Formula Renault round
Group 6	1:17.400[17]	Arturo Merzario	Alfa Romeo T33SC/12	1977 Dijon 500 km
Carrera Cup	1:20.414[18]	Julien Andlauer	Porsche 911 (991 II) GT3 Cup	2018 Dijon Porsche Carrera Cup France round
Formula 4	1:21.871[19]	Caio Collet	Mygale M14-F4	2018 Dijon French Formula 4 round
GT4	1:23.701[20]	Grégory Guilvert	Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR	2017 Dijon GT4 European Series Southern Cup round
Stock car racing	1:23.958[21]	Ander Vilariño	Chevrolet SS NASCAR	2013 Dijon NASCAR Whelen Euro Series round
Group A	1:27.400[22]	Klaus Niedzwiedz	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	1988 Dijon ETCC round
Short Circuit: 3.289 km (1972–present)
Formula One	1:00.000	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell 007	1974 French Grand Prix
Group 5	1:00.600[23]	François Cevert	Matra-Simca MS670	1973 Dijon 1000 km
Group 6	1:01.180[24]	Jochen Mass	Porsche 936	1976 Dijon 500 km
Sports 2000	1:02.600[25]	Arturo Merzario	Abarth-Osella 2000 Sport SE-021	1972 Dijon European 2-Litre Sports Car Championship round
Formula Three	1:18.650[26]	Pierre Petit	Ralt RT3	1982 Dijon French F3 round

External links

• (in French) Official website Archived 2008-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
• Satellite picture by Google Maps

References

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