Reims-Gueux
Encyclopedia
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, which hosted 14 French Grands Prix
French Grand Prix
The French Grand Prix was a race held as part of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One automobile racing championships....
.
Reims-Gueux was first established in 1926 on the public roads between the small French villages of Thillois and Gueux. The circuit had two very long straights between the towns, and teams strove to maximize straight-line speed of their cars; many slipstream
Slipstream
A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid is moving at velocities comparable to the moving object . The term slipstream also applies to the similar region adjacent to an object with a fluid moving around it...
battles ensued. Race organizers actually felled trees and demolished old houses in order to make the circuit even quicker. In 1952, the circuit was significantly altered to bypass the village of Gueux, and many people now refer to the course as simply Reims.
Its first event was the Grand Prix de la Marne
Grand Prix de la Marne
The Grand Prix de la Marne was a Grand Prix motor racing event staged at the Reims-Gueux racecourse, near the city of Reims in the Marne département of north-east France. First held in 1925, it proved to be one of the fastest road races in Europe...
, staged by the Automobile Club of Champagne
Champagne (province)
The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name...
. International racing came soon thereafter, with the first official Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
event occurring in 1950
1950 Formula One season
The 1950 Formula One season included the inaugural FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on May 13, 1950, and ended on September 3 after 7 races...
, the inaugural year of the Formula One world championship. The circuit was last used by Formula One in 1966
1966 Formula One season
The 1966 Formula One season was the 17th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a nine race series that commenced on May 22 and ended on October 23...
, and it closed permanently in 1972 due to financial difficulties.
In 1997, there was to be a historic race held there, but for technical reasons, it was cancelled several months before it was due to take place and in 2002, the bulldozers arrived to demolish some portions of the track. Sections of the track around the pit lanes are still visible today.
Les Amis du Circuit de Gueux is a non-profit organisation working to preserve traces of the circuit.
The lap record of the original circuit (1926-1951) was 2:25.7 by Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio , nicknamed El Chueco or El Maestro , was a racing car driver from Argentina, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing...
in an Alfa Romeo 159
Alfa Romeo 158/159 Alfetta
The Alfa Romeo 158/159, also known as the Alfetta , is one of the most successful racing cars ever produced. The 158 and its derivative, the 159, took 47 wins from 54 Grands Prix entered. It was originally developed for the pre-World War II voiturette formula and has a 1.5 litre straight-8...
, and the lap record for the faster circuit (1954-1972) was 2:07.8 by Lorenzo Bandini
Lorenzo Bandini
Lorenzo Bandini was an Italian motor racing driver who raced in Formula One for the Scuderia Centro Sud and Ferrari teams.-Career:...
in a Ferrari.
Winners of the 12 Hours of Reims Sports Car race
| Year | Drivers | Team | Car | Laps | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 |  Stirling MossStirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England... Peter Whitehead |
|
Jaguar Jaguar The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico... |
2,036.356 km | |
| 1954 | Ken Wharton Ken Wharton Kenneth Wharton was a British racing driver from England. He began competing in the new National 500cc Formula in his own special, later acquiring a Cooper. Ken participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952 and scored a total of 3 championship points... Peter Whitehead |
|
Jaguar D-type Jaguar D-type The Jaguar D-Type, like its predecessor the C-Type, was a factory-built race car. Although it shared the basic straight-6 XK engine design with the C-Type, the majority of the car was radically different... |
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| 1955 | Cancelled | ||||
| 1956 | Duncan Hamilton Ivor Bueb Ivor Bueb Ivor Léon John Bueb was a sports car racing and Formula One driver from England.... |
|
Jaguar D-type Jaguar D-type The Jaguar D-Type, like its predecessor the C-Type, was a factory-built race car. Although it shared the basic straight-6 XK engine design with the C-Type, the majority of the car was radically different... |
||
| 1957 |  Olivier GendebienOlivier Gendebien Olivier Gendebien was a war hero and race car driver. He has been cited as "one of the greatest sportscar racers of all time".-Background:... Paul FrerePaul Frère Paul Frère was a racing driver and journalist from Belgium, born in Le Havre . He participated in eleven World Championship Formula One Grands Prix debuting on 22 June 1952 and achieving one podium finish with a total of eleven championship points... |
|
Ferrari 250 GT | ||
| 1958 | Olivier Gendebien Olivier Gendebien Olivier Gendebien was a war hero and race car driver. He has been cited as "one of the greatest sportscar racers of all time".-Background:... Paul FrerePaul Frère Paul Frère was a racing driver and journalist from Belgium, born in Le Havre . He participated in eleven World Championship Formula One Grands Prix debuting on 22 June 1952 and achieving one podium finish with a total of eleven championship points... |
|
Ferrari 250 GT | ||
| 1964 | Graham Hill Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill was a British racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion. He is the only driver to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport — the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 and Formula One World Championship.Graham Hill and his son Damon are the only father and son pair both to...  Joakim BonnierJoakim Bonnier Joakim "Jo" Bonnier was a Swedish sportscar racing and Formula One driver who raced for various teams.-Early life:... |
Maranello Concessionaires |
Ferrari 250 LM | 2,443.933 km | |
| 1965 |  Pedro RodriguezPedro Rodriguez (racing driver) Pedro Rodríguez was a Mexican Grand Prix motor racing driver. He was born in Mexico City and was the older brother of Ricardo Rodríguez.-Career:...  Jean GuichetJean Guichet Jean Guichet won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1964.A racing car originally owned by Guichet sold at auction recently for over 15 million dollars. He previously owned one of only thirty-six Ferrari 250GTO Ferrarissima cars ever produced, originally created by Enzo Ferrari in 1966... |
 N.A.R.T. |
Ferrari 365 P2 | 2,365.454 km | |
| 1966 | No event | ||||
| 1967 | Jo Schlesser Jo Schlesser Joseph Schlesser was a Formula One and sports car racing driver from France. He participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, including the 1968 French Grand Prix in which he was killed... Guy LigierGuy Ligier Guy Ligier is a French former rugby player and racing driver.He first made his name as a rugby player in the late 1940s when he was working as a butcher's assistant in his home town of Vichy. An orphan, he was determined to build up a successful business and saved all his money in order to buy a... |
Ford France |
Ford MkIIA Ford GT The Ford GT is a mid-engine two-seater sports car. Ford Motor Company produced the Ford GT for the 2005 to 2006 model years. The designers drew inspiration from Ford's GT40 race cars of the 1960s.- Development :... |
296 | 2,458.256 km |
| 1968 | Cancelled | ||||