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Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a 4.411 km (2.741 mi)
motor racing circuit located in central
France, near the towns of
Magny-Cours and
Nevers, some 250 km (160 mi) from
Paris and 240 km (150 mi) from
Lyon.[1]
Commonly dubbed Magny-Cours, it was built in 1960 by
Jean Bernigaud and was home to the prestigious Winfield racing school (École de Pilotage Winfield), which produced drivers such as
François Cevert,
Jacques Laffite and
Didier Pironi. The circuit was opened on 7 August 1960.[2] However, in the 1980s the track fell into disrepair and was not used for international motor racing until it was purchased by the
Conseil Départemental de la Nièvre in 1986.[2]
In the 1990s, the
Ligier Formula One team and its successor
Prost were based at the circuit and did much of their testing at Magny-Cours.[citation needed]
The circuit hosted the French
Formula One Grand Prix from 1991 until 2008, and the
Bol d'Or from 2000 until 2014.
The circuit was re-designed in 2003 and used for a wide range of events include various sports and commercial use.[1] For the
2003 French Grand Prix, the final corner and chicane were changed in an effort to increase overtaking, with little effect.[2]
In 2006, Michael Schumacher became the first driver ever to win any single
Formula OneGrand Prix a total of 8 times and at the same circuit.[citation needed]
Bernie Ecclestone originally confirmed that F1 would not return to Magny-Cours in 2008, instead moving to an alternative location possibly in
Paris. However in a striking U-turn, it was revealed that the 2008 French Grand Prix would take place at Magny-Cours with the release of the official calendar in July 2007.[3]
In May 2008, Ecclestone confirmed that Magny-Cours would stop hosting the French Grand Prix after the 2008 race, suggesting that he was looking into the possibility of hosting the French Grand Prix on the streets of
Paris.[4] The venue suffered from poor attendances due to its remote location, poor access and insufficient accommodation.[5]
In June 2008, the provisional calendar for the
2009 season was released, and a French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours appeared on it, scheduled for 28 June. However, in October 2008 the 2009 French Grand Prix was cancelled after the French Motorsports Federation (
FFSA) withdrew financing for the event. In
2009 the track hosted its first
Superleague Formula event. It also hosted a second event in
2010.[6]
The circuit was used as part of stage three of the
2014 Paris–Nice cycling race,[7] with the peloton completing almost a full lap of the circuit – in the reverse direction to its motorsport use – before the finish on the front straight.
The circuit
The track nowadays is a smooth circuit with good facilities for the teams, although restricted access prevents spectators from reaching many parts of the circuit. Unusually, many corners are modelled on famous turns from other circuits, and are named after those circuits, i.e.. the fast
Estoril corner (turn 3), the
Adelaide hairpin (turn 5) and the
Nürburgring and
Imola chicanes (turns 7 and 12 respectively). It has a mix of slow hairpins and high-speed chicane sections which includes a long fast straight into the first-gear Adelaide hairpin, the best overtaking opportunity on the circuit.[1] The circuit is very flat with negligible change in elevation (only a small valley at the Estoril corner and a slight hill near the Lycee corner).[citation needed]
The circuit provides few overtaking opportunities, despite modifications in 2003, which means the races here are commonly regarded as quite uneventful.[8] Formula 1 races at Magny-Cours tend to have a processional nature, with most overtaking occurring during pit stop sequences.[citation needed]
More varied racing occurs when it rains, such as in the
1999 race, which was interrupted by a downpour. After a restart, most top contenders developed problems, which paved the way for
Heinz-Harald Frentzen to claim a surprising victory in his
Jordan.
Although the
Bol d'Or 24-hour motorcycle endurance race was held at Magny-Cours for several years, it returned to the more popular
Circuit Paul Ricard in 2015, which held the mentioned race before Magny-Cours.
The official lap record for the current Grand Prix circuit layout is 1:15.377, set by Michael Schumacher during the
2004 French Grand Prix, while the unofficial all-time track record is 1:13.698, set by
Fernando Alonso in the qualifying of aforementioned race.[9] As of September 2023, the fastest official race lap records at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours are listed as:
The Nevers area has an
oceanic climate that is still influenced by its far inland position. With a yearly precipitation of over 800 mm (31 in) on average, Magny-Cours is theoretically prone to rain affecting proceedings, although in the Formula One era, it often evaded the rainfall. There was one notable exception, when both the qualifying and the race of
1999 saw a fully wet track. With the Grand Prix being held in the middle of summer, tyre wear through high asphalt temperatures was possible. Magny-Cours' main event post-Grand Prix era,
Superbike World Championship is being held in autumn and as a result sees colder temperatures.