Autódromo José Carlos Pace (Interlagos), Racing Circuit

The Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, universally known as Interlagos, is a hilly, anticlockwise motorsport circuit in the southern region of Sao Paulo, Brazil, taking its traditional name from its setting between the Guarapiranga and Billings reservoirs. The land was bought in 1926 for a suburban housing development, but the 1929 stock market crash and political turmoil saw plans shift to a racing circuit; construction began in 1938 and the track was inaugurated on 12 May 1940. Its design drew on Brooklands, Montlhery, Indianapolis and Roosevelt Raceway, and from the outset it ran across undulating terrain rather than flat ground, a characteristic that makes it physically demanding and, combined with its counterclockwise direction, distinctive on the modern calendar. Formula One arrived in 1972 as a non-championship event and the first World Championship Brazilian Grand Prix followed in 1973, won to huge local acclaim by Sao Paulo's own Emerson Fittipaldi. Safety concerns over the bumpy 7.96-kilometre original layout cost it the race in the early 1980s, but after being shortened and modified around 1990 the Grand Prix returned, with local hero Ayrton Senna winning in 1991 and 1993. The circuit was renamed in 1985 to honour 1976 race winner Jose Carlos Pace, who had died in a 1977 plane crash and who is now buried at the track. Famous for the downhill plunge into the Senna S that opens the lap and for frequently producing dramatic, title-deciding races, Interlagos hosts the Formula One Brazilian, now Sao Paulo, Grand Prix under a contract running to 2030. It also stages the World Endurance Championship and a busy domestic calendar including Stock Car Pro Series and Copa Truck.

Operated by: Prefeitura de São Paulo