The Paul Ricard Circuit was the brainchild of the famous French company director and entrepreneur Paul Ricard (1909-1997), the creator of the drink which bears his name.
He wanted to create an international-scale event in the region, on his huge thousand-hectare estate at Plateau du Castellet.
He began in 1962 by building an airfield for his business use and to serve the western Var region. Later he had the idea of creating a racing circuit, and specialists were brought in to design the track? with the advice of various well-known drivers.
Photo © HTTT
And so, in 300 days, a track with a length of 5.810 km, including the famous 1,800-metre Mistral Straight, was created. The circuit became the benchmark for its time in terms of track design, and more importantly in terms of safety.
Banner photo: © HTTT
