Linas Montlhery vs Rouen les Essarts - Battle of the Race Circuits 20
In the 20th battle of the race circuits we have a French internal battle between two different type of circuits. Linas-Montlhéry defeated the Sitges-Terramar with an overwhelming majority of votes. And the new contender you vote for is Rouen-les-Essarts.
0:00 Introduction
0:35 Linas-Montlhéry
2:30 Rouen-les-Essarts
The “Autodrome Linas-Montlhéry” is a permanent race track near Paris, that opened in 1924 as a 2.54 kilometer, or 1.58 Miles, long high banked oval. A year later a road circuit opened as an extension, which give the full track a length of 12.49 kilometers, or 7.76 Miles.
The track was actually inspired by Monza. Just like Monza, they combined the road circuit and a high banked oval.
The Linas-Montlhéry circuit was built as a private intiative from industrialist Alexandre Lamblin. The first official race was the 1925 French Grand Prix, which was won by Robert Benoist in his Delage.
But the event was overshadowed by the fatal accident of Italian racing driver Antonio Ascari. Antonio Ascari was the father of the famous Alberto Ascari.
After the 1925 Grand Prix it hosted also the French Grand Prix in 1927, 1931, 1933, 1934 and 1935.
In 1939 the Linas-Montlhéry circuit was sold to the French government. After World War 2, the government sold it in 1946 to the UTAC Group which still owns the track.
The coolest thing about the Linas-Montlhéry circuit is that this classic race track still in use. Including the high banked oval!
During the week the oval and the longer part of the road circuit are used for testing. For this ocassion the oval track is driven anti-clockwise.
During the weekends, there are race events on a 3.4 kilometers, or 2.11 Miles, short version of the road circuit, in combination with one high banked corner. And this version of the track is driven clockwise. Also, when the high banked corner is part of the road circuit it is interupted by chicanes.
The Rouen-les-Essarts circuit was a street circuit with a permanent pit building and grandstands in the northwestern region of Normanie, also in France. The shape and layout of the circuit was quite very similar to that of Spa-Francorchamps.
The original version of the circuit was 5.1 kilometer, or 3.169 Miles, long and started with a breathtaking descent. The official name of this section was Six Freres, which is French for Six Brothers. However, some drivers gave it the nickname Chickens Lift. The brave would, so to speak, keep the accelerator pressed flat, while the faint-hearted would slow down.
During the years the layout changed several times. First it was expanded, but later shortened because of the Construction of a new higway. In 1972 a permanent section was built as a bypass for the section cut off by that new highway.
Changes also took place for safety reasons. In 1973 the Six Freres became an improvised chicane. A year later there was a permanent chicane to lower the speed in the Chickens Lift.
The Rouen-les-Essarts Circuit hosted the French Grand Prix 5 times between 1952 and 1968. During the 1968 Grand Prix French driver Jo Schlesser had a fatal accident, when he lost control of his Honda, overturned and caught fire in the Six Freres section. After this accident Formula 1 never returned to Rouen-les-Essarts.
After it lost the French Grand Prix, Circuit Rouen-les-Essarts was used for Formula Two races until 1978. Since 1978 the major event was the annual round for the French Formula 3 Championship. At the end of the 1993 season, the street circuit was found to dangerous for all series and was no longer used.
Since then, the buildings have been demolished. But some versions of the track are still drivable. Most of the permanent section has been demolished too.
Special thanks to Simon Smith for the voiceover. Visit also his channel: @HigherPlainGames
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