Jacarepagua: When Formula 1 raced in Rio

Jacarepaguá rose from the ruins of the old Autódromo Nova Caledônia in Rio de Janeiro, with work on the new track starting in 1971. Local politics soon intervened, the project stalled and Formula 1 moved to Interlagos for a non-championship race in 1972. Construction finally resumed and the circuit was completed in 1977. The grand prix came to Rio a year later, with Argentinian Carlos Reutemann winning for Ferrari ahead of Brazilian hero Emerson Fittipaldi, now with his own Fittipaldi team.

Safety concerns at Interlagos led to the grand prix extending its stay at Jacarepaguá in 1981 and again it was Reutemann who finished first, this time in a Williams. A year later Brazilian Nelson Piquet won his home race but was disqualified and Alain Prost inherited the victory. The circuit was renamed the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet following the driver’s third world championship in 1987 and by now the F1 circus was enjoying the glamour of Rio and its world-famous Copacabana Beach.

More drama was to follow when it was revealed that the mayor of São Paulo had agreed on the renovation of a new, shorter circuit at Interlagos and the Brazilian Grand Prix moved back there in 1990. This was not the end of racing in Rio, however, as the team at Jacarepaguá had done a deal with the Champ Car series, building an oval course within the existing Grand Prix Circuit named the Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway. Their faith in this new venture was rewarded when Brazilian André Ribeiro won the first race and Christian Fittipaldi’s oval lap record, set in 1999, still stands. Meanwhile the Grand Prix Circuit hosted the Brazilian round of the MotoGP series from 1995 to 2004. There was not a happy ending, though. The Jacarepaguá site was chosen as land needed for the 2016 Olympics and the bulldozers moved in, leaving the city without a circuit. Today, despite its colourful history, Jacarepaguá, and racing in Rio, have been erased.

Visit Motor Sport’s online database to see details on racing circuits past and present.

My top 3 tracks: Tom Kristensen

• ROAD AMERICA has everything a racing driver enjoys. A lap is four miles and full of elevation, you have high-speed corners, blind corners and three straights, and several places to overtake. A really nice, tight road course, and right up there with Spa.
• SUZUKA is legendary, known for its unique figure-eight layout of fast and blind corners. It’s an old-school driver’s circuit and a real challenge. You have to get into a very determined rhythm – it’s so cool, and elevated. There is no room for mistakes.
• LE MANS has such history. The 24 Hours is the toughest challenge, the ultimate test of team, car and driver. Everything has to be perfect – speed, pitstops, reliability and strategy – and the weather is often different from one end of the track to the other.