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The History
The circuit of Reims-Gueux is a reminder of a past era in motor racing.
This street circuit at Gueux just outside the city of Reims was, from the years 1932-1966, sometimes used for the French F1 Grand Prix.
Motor racing started at The circuit of Reims-Gueux in 1926, with the second Grand Prix de Marne (the first having been held at the Circuit de Beine-Nauroy). For this inaugural event they closed public roads to form the now famous triangular track, which was also used later that year for the first 12 Hours of Reims-Gueux endurance race. This would be a one off until 1953 when a yearly endurance race was established.
The circuit consisted of two long straights - a test of a car's speed, connected with a more challenging series of bends to test the driver's skill and the cars handling. The track went through the village of Gueux until 1952 when a custom piece of track was built to bypass it, and further modifications were made to the corners in 1953.
Reims-Gueux hosted the F1 French Grand Prix eleven times between 1932 and 1966, and was won by such famous names as Juan Manuel Fangio and Jack Brabham. The street nature of the track along with fast straights and technical challenges made this track a driver and fan favourite. Sadly though, in 1969 due to the expensive nature of street races and the danger from increasing speeds, F1 organisers decided to move the French GP to a dedicated circuit.
Motor racing ended here in 1969, and motorcycle racing in 1972 with the last ever race on June 11th 1972.
Much of the custom built parts of the track have since been demolished despite locals attempts to save them, and most of the road track has disappeared under modern roads, but thankfully the Friends of the Gueux Circuit have secured the safety of the site and are working to stabilise and restore the remaining buildings.
The Explore
On a trip to France this was the one site I wanted to see and it very nearly didn’t happen. Myself, slayaaaa & Mrstewie had had an awesome 4 days in France and this was the one site on our list we hadn’t got too.
Due to a late start, lunch and checking out of our hotel we were already running a little behind and a fire in Paris slowed us down even more. To cut a long story short we eventually made the ferry home with 3 minutes to spare phew!!!!
The track/buildings are awesome.
If you are a petrol head then this is great. I won’t lie I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise a number of times while walking around here. I glad we decided to hit it.
The buildings are in great condition and have very little graffiti on, something I viewed as a great sign of respect.
Having walked along the track at both Brands Hatch and Silverstone, this was different. I can’t explain why but I found it emotional.
We sat in the stands and watched the cars go by for a while, some slowing do to have a look, others dropping it down a gear and nailing it.
The stands became the roof and we sat and chilled for a bit while snapping pics.
I glanced at my phone for the time and realised we had 3 hours til our ferry, and we were 2 ½ hours away from Calais. Needless to say the gear got chucked in the car and we shot off like many F1 stars had back in the day……
Enjoy the pics
The circuit of Reims-Gueux is a reminder of a past era in motor racing.
This street circuit at Gueux just outside the city of Reims was, from the years 1932-1966, sometimes used for the French F1 Grand Prix.
Motor racing started at The circuit of Reims-Gueux in 1926, with the second Grand Prix de Marne (the first having been held at the Circuit de Beine-Nauroy). For this inaugural event they closed public roads to form the now famous triangular track, which was also used later that year for the first 12 Hours of Reims-Gueux endurance race. This would be a one off until 1953 when a yearly endurance race was established.
The circuit consisted of two long straights - a test of a car's speed, connected with a more challenging series of bends to test the driver's skill and the cars handling. The track went through the village of Gueux until 1952 when a custom piece of track was built to bypass it, and further modifications were made to the corners in 1953.
Reims-Gueux hosted the F1 French Grand Prix eleven times between 1932 and 1966, and was won by such famous names as Juan Manuel Fangio and Jack Brabham. The street nature of the track along with fast straights and technical challenges made this track a driver and fan favourite. Sadly though, in 1969 due to the expensive nature of street races and the danger from increasing speeds, F1 organisers decided to move the French GP to a dedicated circuit.
Motor racing ended here in 1969, and motorcycle racing in 1972 with the last ever race on June 11th 1972.
Much of the custom built parts of the track have since been demolished despite locals attempts to save them, and most of the road track has disappeared under modern roads, but thankfully the Friends of the Gueux Circuit have secured the safety of the site and are working to stabilise and restore the remaining buildings.
The Explore
On a trip to France this was the one site I wanted to see and it very nearly didn’t happen. Myself, slayaaaa & Mrstewie had had an awesome 4 days in France and this was the one site on our list we hadn’t got too.
Due to a late start, lunch and checking out of our hotel we were already running a little behind and a fire in Paris slowed us down even more. To cut a long story short we eventually made the ferry home with 3 minutes to spare phew!!!!
The track/buildings are awesome.
If you are a petrol head then this is great. I won’t lie I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise a number of times while walking around here. I glad we decided to hit it.
The buildings are in great condition and have very little graffiti on, something I viewed as a great sign of respect.
Having walked along the track at both Brands Hatch and Silverstone, this was different. I can’t explain why but I found it emotional.
We sat in the stands and watched the cars go by for a while, some slowing do to have a look, others dropping it down a gear and nailing it.
The stands became the roof and we sat and chilled for a bit while snapping pics.
I glanced at my phone for the time and realised we had 3 hours til our ferry, and we were 2 ½ hours away from Calais. Needless to say the gear got chucked in the car and we shot off like many F1 stars had back in the day……
Enjoy the pics
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