Aix-les-Bains

Aix-les-Bains held the annual Circuit du Lac for Formula 2 cars on a temporary street circuit by the shores of Lake Bourget in Eastern France from 1949 to 1953. Initially a national affair on a twisty 1.090-mile layout, Swiss restaurateur Rudolf Fischer (Ferrari 212) beat Stirling Moss’s HWM in 1951. The course was extended to 1.526 miles for 1952, and to a hairpin on Boulevard Jean Charcot for the final F2 race in 1953. A race for one-make DB Monomill cars was held in 1954 on a shorter track, which was revived in 1960 for Formula Junior. However, that event was marred by tragedy for an overcrowded wooden pedestrian bridge collapsed during the race, claiming the lives of seven spectators and Elva-BMC driver Chris Threlfall. No result was declared, and the Circuit du Lac was not repeated.