Le Mans

Copy circuit summary

What is a lap of Le Mans like?

The Bugatti Circuit is a permanent track at Le Mans, designed by Charles Deutsch and built in 1965, that shares the pits, the main straight and the Dunlop curve with the 24 Hours course and then turns right at La Chapelle into a purpose-built section behind the paddock. The 1967 French Grand Prix, won by Jack Brabham, was its only Formula 1 race; drivers called the layout characterless or 'Mickey Mouse', detractors dubbed it 'the Grand Prix of the Car Parks', and only about 20,000 spectators came. The circuit has been modified many times since, partly for motorcycle safety, and is now 4.185 km long; it hosts the French motorcycle Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycle race and a round of the European Truck Racing Championship.

Lap length

4.422 km

Direction

clockwise

Layout described

Original Bugatti Circuit layout (Wikipedia 'Bugatti Circuit (1965-1985)'; racingcircuits.info 'Bugatti Circuit 1965-67'), 4.422 km, used for the only Formula 1 race there, 1967

Sources for the checked facts (10)

• lemans.org/en/news/aco/the-circuit-bugatti-50-years-of-history-part-1-the-genesis-19194
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_de_la_Sarthe
• racingcircuits.info/europe/france/le-mans.html
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_French_Grand_Prix
• liquipedia.net/formula1/Bugatti_Au_Mans
• motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1967-french-grand-prix/
• racing-reference.info/race/1967_Grand_Prix_of_France/F
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_reduction_system
• formula1.com/en/latest/article/a-history-of-the-french-gp-in-7-circuits.4jWYb4usZay2AK6geW
• formula1.com/en/results/1967/races/248/france/race-result

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All races at Le Mans