 Short Circuit (1996–2012) | |
| Location | Rio de Janeiro,Brazil |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 22°58′32″S43°23′42″W / 22.97556°S 43.39500°W /-22.97556; -43.39500 |
| Capacity | 90,000 |
| Broke ground | January 1971; 54 years ago (1971-01) |
| Opened | 27 January 1978; 47 years ago (1978-01-27) |
| Closed | November 2012; 13 years ago (2012-11) |
| Major events | Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix (1978, 1981–1989) CART Rio 200 (1996–2000) Grand Prix motorcycle racing Rio de Janeiro motorcycle Grand Prix (1995–2004) Stock Car Brasil (1979–2012) Campeonato Brasiliero de GT (2008–2012) Porsche Cup Brasil (2007–2011) Stock Car Corrida do Milhão (2008) F3 Sudamericana (1989–1992, 1997, 1999–2000, 2002–2005, 2008–2009, 2011–2012) |
| Short Circuit (1996–2012) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 3.336 km (2.073 mi) |
| Turns | 7 |
| Race lap record | 1:06.756 ( Leonardo Cordeiro,Dallara F309,2009,F3) |
| Modified Grand Prix Circuit (1996–2005) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 4.933 km (3.065 mi) |
| Turns | 13 |
| Race lap record | 1:43.275 (Alberto Valerio,Dallara F301, 2005,F3) |
| Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway (1996–2005) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 3.000 km (1.864 mi) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Race lap record | 38.891 ( Juan Pablo Montoya,Reynard 99I,1999,CART) |
| Original Grand Prix Circuit (1978–1995) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 5.031 km (3.126 mi) |
| Turns | 11 |
| Race lap record | 1:32.507 ( Riccardo Patrese,Williams FW12C,1989,F1) |
TheAutódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet (Nelson Piquet International Racetrack), also known asJacarepaguá afterthe neighbourhood in which it was located, and also as theAutódromo Riocentro, was amotorsport circuit inRio de Janeiro, Brazil. Opened in January 1978, a few weeks before the1978 Brazilian Grand Prix, it hosted theFormula OneBrazilian Grand Prix on ten occasions, and was also used forCART,motorcycle racing andstock car racing. In 2012, it was demolished to make way for facilities to be used at the2016 Summer Olympics.
The original circuit was built between 1971 and 1977 on the site of the Barra da Tijuca road course, which had itself been built on reclaimedmarshland and was operational from 1964 to 1970.[1] It was a relatively flat circuit, with a long pit straight and a longer back straight (which allowed theturbo-engined Formula One cars of the mid-1980s to reach speeds of 300 km/h (190 mph), and numerous mid-speed to slow-speed corners with plenty of room for overtaking. The maximum spectator capacity was 90,000 with the bulk of the spectators housed in giant grandstands that spanned almost the length of the back straight giving something very rare in Formula One, views of the entire track. With the exception of the 1978 race, the Formula One Grands Prix were held in March or April, in Rio's very hot and humid tropical early autumn weather.
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The first Brazilian Grand Prix at the circuit took place shortly after its opening in1978, and was won byArgentina'sCarlos Reutemann in aFlat-12Ferrari 312T3 in the oppressive heat and humidity of Rio's January summer season, afterSweden'sRonnie Peterson had taken pole position in the revolutionaryground-effectLotus 78-Ford.
After the1979 and1980 races had been held at theInterlagos circuit inSão Paulo, the F1 circus left the 7.873 km (4.892 mi) Interlagos circuit due to safety concerns with the circuit and the growing slums of the circuit's surrounding areas being at odds with Formula One's new glamour image. Rio's beaches and beautiful scenery were more suited to this new image, and the Brazilian Grand Prix was then held at Jacarepaguá for the remainder of the 1980s. The1981 race was held in very wet conditions and was again won by Reutemann, this time driving aWilliams FW07C-Ford, and in controversial circumstances: he disobeyed the team's orders to let teammate and then-reigning World Champion,Australia'sAlan Jones, take the win.
The1982 race, held at the height of theFISA–FOCA war, was also shrouded in controversy. Rio born driverNelson Piquet, who had won the World Championship the year before, finished first in aBrabham BT49-Ford, withFinland'sKeke Rosberg second in a Williams FW07C-Ford. However, both drivers were disqualified for being underweight, having raced with "water-cooled brakes". This promotedAlain Prost, third in the turbochargedRenault RE30, to the win, the first of an eventual five for the Frenchman at the circuit and start a streak of 7 straight wins for turbo powered cars at the circuit until the original turbo era ended following the1988 season. The disqualifications, however, prompted mostFOCA-aligned teams – including Brabham and Williams – to boycott theSan Marino Grand Prix two races later. However, unlike the1980 Spanish Grand Prix where the factory teams ofFerrari,Renault andAlfa Romeo (all who were on theFISA side of the war) boycotted the race and the results were eventually voided, the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix results without the FOCA teams were counted.
Piquet and Rosberg again crossed the line first and second in the1983 race, although this time only Rosberg was disqualified, having had a push start in the pits after hisWilliams FW08-Ford caught fire. Unusually, the drivers below Rosberg were not promoted accordingly. The win was the first of two wins at the circuit for Piquet, who would go on to win his second World Championship that year. Piquet won the race in hisBrabham-BMW turbo and went on to be the first ever F1 World Champion to be powered by a turbocharged engine. From 1983 until 1989, the Brazilian Grand Prix was the opening race of the season.
Both the1984 and1985 races were won by Prost, now racing aMcLaren-TAG. The 1984 race also saw the debut ofAyrton Senna, driving aToleman TG183-Hart where he had the unfortunate 'honour' of being the first retirement of the1984 season. Piquet won the1986 race in aWilliams FW11-Honda, with Senna making it a Brazilian 1–2 in aLotus 98T-Renault, before Prost beat Piquet to win the1987 race in aMcLaren MP4/3-TAG.
After Piquet won his third (and final) World Championship in1987, the circuit was named after him in 1988. However, he had to settle for third in aLotus 100T-Honda inthat year's race, as Prost once again won in aMcLaren MP4/4-Honda. 1988 was the last year of the original turbo era in Formula One. For Prost it was his 5th win in 9 races at the circuit.
The1989 race was the first to be held following the banning of turbo engines, andGreat Britain'sNigel Mansell took a surprise win in his V12 poweredFerrari 640, complete with Formula 1's firstsemi-automatic gearbox. Another Brazilian driver,Maurício Gugelmin, finished third in aMarch 881 (Prost finished second), while Senna, who had won his first World Championship the year before, set the fastest ever lap of the circuit in qualifying with a time of 1:25.302 to take pole position in aV10McLaren MP4/5-Honda. After winning the race, Mansell joked that with the Ferrari's known reliability problems at the time he had booked an early flight out of Rio in anticipation of a short race for him.
In1990, the Brazilian Grand Prix moved to a shortened Interlagos, where it has been held ever since.
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From 1996 to 2000 theCART series staged events at Jacarepaguá in an accessorytrapezoid-shaped speedway named "Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway", having approximately 3.000 km (1.864 mi) length. The race, originally theRio 400, before being shortened to the Rio 200 in1999, was first won in1996 by BrazilianAndré Ribeiro.
The circuit qualifying record for the Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway was set by Emerson's own nephewChristian Fittipaldi with a time of 38.565 (280 km/h (170 mph)) for the 3.000 km (1.864 mi) track.
The long back straight of the road course which had grandstands running its entire 900 m (980 yd) length became the front straight of the Speedway, with the pits located in the area between the straight and the pit straight of the road course.
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The circuit also hosted theRio de Janeiro motorcycle Grand Prix race from 1995 to 2004.Valentino Rossi won the most races, winning four from 2000 to 2003, whileMick Doohan won the1996 and1997 races.
The first Rio Motorcycle Grand Prix was won byItalianLuca Cadalora, riding aYamaha YZR500. The final race held at the circuit in2004, was won byJapanese riderMakoto Tamada riding aHonda RC211V.
Honda won seven of the nine Rio Grands Prix held, withYamaha winning two.
The fastest official race lap records at the circuit are listed as follows:
As of early 2005, there were plans to partially demolish this racetrack to make room for a new sports complex to be used for the2007 Pan American Games. It would have made the track approximately 3.336 km (2.073 mi) long, thus making it too short for most international racing series. However, theFIA's ruling on a track's minimum length is ambiguous. In 2006, despite rumors of the race being cancelled, theBrazilian Stock Car Rio event was contested on a temporary short circuit combining sections of the oval and normal circuits and the start/finish line was moved to the back stretch, which was cut short to make room for the Pan-American games venues.
Another proposal for the circuit was to have both a club permanent circuit, and an international-length half-permanent, half-car park circuit involving that circuit and an extension which utilises the car parks of the park. That would have been designed byHermann Tilke.
In January 2008 it was announced that the track was to be demolished to allow the city to build an Olympic Training Centre venue for the2016 Summer Olympics which Rio was successful in winning.[14]
As of 2008, the 3.336 km (2.073 mi) track[15] comprised the original circuit's second half with a hairpin that connects the previous main straight and back straight. It remained active, with races such asStock Car'sCorrida do Milhão.[16]
The track and adjacent motorsport facilities were finally demolished in November 2012 to make way for new facilities to be used during the2016 Summer Olympics.
In March 2013Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of theFormula One Group, said discussions were taking place for the Formula 1 Grand Prix to move from the Interlagos Circuit in São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro and a suitable time for this could be 2016, coinciding with the 2016 Olympic Games. Formula 1 last raced at Rio in 1989 before returning to São Paulo in 1990, where it has been held since. As of2025, no Grand Prix has been held in Rio since.
