It was announced recently that, as long expected, the Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio, former home of the Brazilian Grand Prix, is to be demolished to make way for the 2016 Olympic Games in the city. Work will progress gradually over the course of the year, with the final race events being held at the end of 2012 as the bulldozers move in.
Although not as celebrated as Interlagos, Jacarepaguá hosted the Grand Prix ten times between 1978 and 1989, coinciding with the career of the city's racing icon, Nelson Piquet (after whom the track was named in 1988). The rise of Ayrton Senna, from Sao Paulo, prompted the return to Interlagos, and thereafter Rio mainly hosted national level events, though the US ChampCar series visited for five races on an unusual oval layout that used the road course pit and start/finish straight.
The F1 races were held early in the season and in conditions of extreme heat, with exhaustion a common problem for the drivers. The series of long, fast bends added to the physical challenge, even if the circuit did not require great technical proficiency to master and was essentially completely flat.
As far as I can figure out, to date only one F1 world championship venue has disappeared completely - Riverside International Raceway, which hosted the USGP once in 1960 and is now a shopping mall - so this is quite a notable milestone.
Here's Satoru Nakajima to give you a sense of the place, followed by short highlights of two of my favourite races held there, the 1982 and 1986 races, with commentary from the great Clive James:
Although not as celebrated as Interlagos, Jacarepaguá hosted the Grand Prix ten times between 1978 and 1989, coinciding with the career of the city's racing icon, Nelson Piquet (after whom the track was named in 1988). The rise of Ayrton Senna, from Sao Paulo, prompted the return to Interlagos, and thereafter Rio mainly hosted national level events, though the US ChampCar series visited for five races on an unusual oval layout that used the road course pit and start/finish straight.
The F1 races were held early in the season and in conditions of extreme heat, with exhaustion a common problem for the drivers. The series of long, fast bends added to the physical challenge, even if the circuit did not require great technical proficiency to master and was essentially completely flat.
As far as I can figure out, to date only one F1 world championship venue has disappeared completely - Riverside International Raceway, which hosted the USGP once in 1960 and is now a shopping mall - so this is quite a notable milestone.
Here's Satoru Nakajima to give you a sense of the place, followed by short highlights of two of my favourite races held there, the 1982 and 1986 races, with commentary from the great Clive James:
The only thing I know about Jacarepaguá is that a kart track I went on in Portugal is based on its layout, and that was a great track....
