Autódromo Monterrey, Racing Circuit

The Autódromo Monterrey is a permanent racing facility in the Monterrey metropolitan area of north-eastern Mexico, sitting beside the former Del Norte International Airport in Apodaca. It was the lifelong dream of Filiberto Jiménez Orozco, known as 'Don Fili', a racer and promoter who founded the Autoclub Monterrey in the early 1960s to bring better-organised racing and a proper training ground to local drivers. Designed by Don Fili together with architect Daniel Jara, the circuit was inaugurated on 27 September 1970 with a programme of drag racing, with road racing following the next weekend. The layout combined a quarter-mile drag strip that doubled as the main straight with a road course winding back on itself to a banked final corner, plus an unusual dogleg oval nicknamed 'El Frijol', the bean, for its shape. From the outset Don Fili attracted sanctioning and entries from across the United States border through the NHRA and SCCA, cementing the track's national and international reputation. Safety modifications in 1986 added chicanes and bypassed part of the banked final turn, and further changes in 2017 added a chicane at the oval's first turn and removed a troublesome retaining wall. The venue endured tragedy, including fatal accidents in 1993 and 2004 that prompted scrutiny of race sanctioning and safety standards. Don Fili died before the later improvements, but the autódromo remains under his family's control through the Dispa Motorsports promotion firm. It continues to host NASCAR México, drag racing, karting and club events, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020.

Operated by: DIPSA