Bogota

Having organised street races in Colombian capital Bogotá since the 1950s, the Club Los Tortugas looked to build the country’s first permanent racetrack by the end of the following decade. Ricardo Mejía’s offer of a patch of his land to the north of the city was accepted. The architects that were responsible for the Ontario Motor Speedway were engaged with input from Monza managing director Giuseppe Bacciagaluppi. The resulting 12-corner road course and banked tri-oval opened on 7 February 1971, for the first of two non-championship Formula 2 races. Double world champion Graham Hill headed the entry although it was Jo Siffert who set the pace. The impressive grandstand offered views of the whole course, and the road course could be run in either direction, although clockwise soon became the norm. That Bogotá was more than 8,000ft above sea level caused engine issues for the unprepared, and the final corner of the disintegrating track had to be resurfaced after the first practice day for the inaugural F2 race. The Autódromo Ricardo Mejía was briefly considered as replacement for the Mexican Grand Prix, but Formula 1 expanded into Brazil instead and Mejía’s grand ambitions faded. He closed the facility less than a decade after its much-hyped opening and it did not reopen.