What is a lap of Riverside International Raceway like?
Riverside was a permanent road course opened in 1957 in the desert east of Los Angeles; the lap climbed through a series of esses and ended with a long downhill back straight into a 180-degree final turn, Turn 9. Its only Formula 1 World Championship race, the 1960 United States Grand Prix, was won by Stirling Moss from pole, ahead of Innes Ireland and Bruce McLaren; it was the last race of the 2.5-litre formula. Only about 25,000 spectators came against the 100,000 the promoter expected, the race was a financial failure, and the United States Grand Prix moved to Watkins Glen for 1961. The track carried on with NASCAR, Can-Am and IndyCar races, was rebuilt at Turn 9 in 1969, closed in 1989 and was demolished; the Moreno Valley Mall and housing now stand on the site.
Lap length
5.271 km
Turns
9
Direction
clockwise
Longest straight
1,770 m
Layout described
Original Grand Prix road course (1957-1968), nine turns, 3.275 mi / 5.271 km; used by the F1 World Championship only for the 1960 United States Grand Prix
Gridpedia