Pescara Circuit

What is a lap of Pescara Circuit like?

A roughly triangular course of narrow, bumpy public roads: from Pescara inland through hill villages such as Spoltore (185 m above sea level, the highest point), down to Cappelle sul Tavo, then two straights of about 3.4 miles each to Montesilvano and back along the coast to Pescara. At about 25.6 km it is the longest circuit ever used for a World Championship Grand Prix; the 1957 race was added at short notice after the Belgian and Dutch Grands Prix were cancelled, Ferrari withdrew its official entry over safety concerns and sent only one car for Luigi Musso, and Stirling Moss won for Vanwall in front of an estimated 200,000 spectators. A chicane added on the start-finish straight in 1934 to slow cars before the pits is described as one of the first artificial chicanes on any circuit. The last race was a four-hour sports car race in 1961, after which the circuit was abandoned because the safety of drivers and spectators could not be guaranteed; the roads are still public roads, and a monument to the Coppa Acerbo stands near Spoltore.

Lap length

25.579 km

Direction

clockwise

Layout described

Grand Prix road course on public roads from Pescara inland through Spoltore and Cappelle sul Tavo to Montesilvano and back along the coast, in its 1934-1961 form with the start-line chicane; 25.579 km as given for the 1957 Pescara Grand Prix, its only Formula 1 World Championship race

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All races at Pescara Circuit