Le Castellet, Provence · FR
A modern test facility turned race circuit in the hills of Provence. Famous for its distinctive blue and red run-off stripes, Paul Ricard offers 167 possible circuit configurations and a Mediterranean climate.
Set in Le Castellet, Provence, Circuit Paul Ricard is a permanent racing circuit. A lap covers 5.842 km (3.63 miles) and 15 corners, run clockwise.
The circuit opened in 1970 and holds FIA Grade 1 licensing. GT and WEC all race here. It holds roughly 90,000 spectators.
The circuit was funded by pastis. Paul Ricard, who had built a fortune on the aniseed drink, financed a modern racing facility on the plateau above Bandol; construction started in June 1969 and it opened on 19 April 1970. The defining feature was the Mistral, a straight of about a mile leading into the very fast Signes corner.
Ricard died in 1997 and Bernie Ecclestone's company bought the circuit the following year, rebuilding it as a private testing venue rather than a race track. That rebuild produced the surface the place is now known for: instead of gravel, the run-off is painted asphalt in graded abrasiveness — the blue zones slow a car, the deeper red zones slow it harder. It is unmistakable on television and unusual in offering no penalty of dust or damage for running wide.
View all 5 hotels near Circuit Paul Ricard