Circuit de Charade, Racing Circuit

The Circuit de Charade lies in the Auvergne hills just west of Clermont-Ferrand in central France, its course draped across the lower slopes of the extinct Gravenoire and Charade volcanoes. The original mountain circuit opened in July 1958 — a daunting course of roughly five miles of adapted public roads that quickly earned a reputation as one of the most demanding tracks anywhere, its plunging left-right-left descents notorious for leaving even hardened drivers queasy. It took the French motorcycle Grand Prix from 1959 and snatched the Formula One French Grand Prix away from Reims and Rouen in 1965, when Jim Clark led home an all-British podium; the grand prix returned in 1969, 1970 and 1972, with Jochen Rindt and Jackie Stewart among its winners. The dark volcanic rock lining the verges made punctures a constant hazard, and in 1972 a flung stone pierced Helmut Marko's visor and ended his racing career, hastening the circuit's decline. With no room for run-off on the mountain section and safety fears mounting after marshals were killed during a 1980 touring car race, the classic 8.055 km layout closed to racing in 1988. Rather than abandon it, the Puy-de-Dôme council funded a shortened, permanent circuit that reused the lower sections plus a new link road near the Manson bend and Champeaux curves; this modern 3.975 km course opened in June 1989 in the company of Fangio, Moss and Brabham. The public roads were finally closed off from 2000 to make it a fully permanent facility, and it settled into national-level racing, track days and the Classic Racing School. Since 2020 the venue has been reinvented as the 'Mountain e-Circuit', partnering with GCK to run on self-generated solar power and pivot towards electric mobility, karting and rallycross.

Operated by: General Council of Puy-de-Dôme