Dijon-Prenois is a motor racing circuit located in Prenois, near Dijon, France. The undulating track is noted for its fast, sweeping bends.

Opened in 1972, Dijon-Prenois hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix five times, and the Swiss Grand Prix in 1982. The non-championship 1975 Swiss Grand Prix was also held at Dijon. The circuit currently hosts the Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or, and FFSA GT Championship.

History

Planned in 1967, work commenced in December 1969. The track was part of a plan to make Dijon an automotive centre. It was the brainchild of rugby-player and wrestler François Chambelland (sometimes assumed to be the masked wrestler l'Ange Blanc), and was developed with the aid of racers Jean-Pierre Beltoise and François Cevert, as well as motoring journalist .Furet, p. 13 In spite of lack of support from the city government and a chronic lack of funds, the track was declared open on 26 May 1972, with Guy Ligier making the first timed lap around the circuit. The first race, for 2-litre prototypes, was held ten days later. Arturo Merzario was the inaugural winner.

The first F1 race was run in 1974 on the circuit's original layout; with the fastest lap times under the one-minute mark, there was a major problem with congested traffic between the race leaders and the back-markers. Therefore, in 1976 an extension was added to lengthen the circuit as well as to reprofile many of its corners before the time F1 could return to Dijon in 1977. The 1979 French Grand Prix featured a memorable battle for second place in the final laps between Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari and René Arnoux's Renault, which was finally won by Villeneuve. The race itself was won by Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the other Renault - Renault's first, and the first F1 victory for a turbocharged car.

The 1982 Formula One season was not to see the French Grand Prix held at Dijon as that race was held at the Paul Ricard Circuit, located at Le Castellet in southern France. Instead, Dijon held the (as yet) last Swiss Grand Prix, despite being located in France and not Switzerland. This was due to the Swiss Government's ban on motor racing in the wake of the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans disaster in which 83 people, many of whom were spectators, and the driver Pierre Levegh, died when a car crashed at high speed and vaulted into the pit straight grandstand. 1982 Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg, driving his Williams FW08, won his first ever Grand Prix in the 1982 Swiss race, four seconds in front of local favourite Alain Prost driving a factory backed Renault RE30B.

The French Grand Prix alternated between Paul Ricard and Dijon, until the last F1 race at Dijon took place in 1984. The race was won by McLaren's Niki Lauda, who won his 3rd and final World Championship that year. The fastest lap of the race was set by Lauda's teammate Alain Prost (1:05.257) at an average speed of . Fittingly, the last F1 pole at Dijon was set by a French driver driving a French car, with Patrick Tambay recording a 1:02.200 in his factory Renault RE50 turbo. Tambay led the race for the first 47 laps before being passed by Lauda, the Frenchman eventually finishing 2nd, seven seconds behind the McLaren MP4/2.

Long-distance racing continued, with a race in the FIA GT Championship held there in 1998 for instance. Although Formula One has not returned to Dijon since 1984, the circuit continues to be used today for minor, mostly local races. These include club level events and motorcycle racing, and truck racing events have been held there since 1988. The track was renovated in 2001, when a go-cart track was added.

Events

Current

April: Fun Cup France, Historic Tour Dijon May: FFSA GT Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup France, French F4 Championship, Alpine Elf Cup, TC France Series June: Classic Endurance Racing September: Dijon Motors Cup

Former

Belgian Touring Car Series (2007-2011) BMW M1 Procar Championship (1979) BOSS GP (2009–2010, 2012, 2015) BPR Global GT Series (1994) Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (2009) Euro Formula 3000 (2002, 2004) European Touring Car Championship (1988) European Truck Racing Championship (1996–2001) FIA European Formula 3 Championship (1978) FIA GT Championship (1998, 2006) FIA Sportscar Championship (2002) Formula 3 Euro Series (2009) Formula 750 (1977) Formula One French Grand Prix (1974, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1984) Swiss Grand Prix (1982) Formula Palmer Audi (2006) French Formula Three Championship (1978–1985, 1987–1999, 2002) French Formula Renault Championship (1976–1981, 1984–1985, 1991–1994, 2002–2009) French Supertouring Championship (1976–1987, 1989–1999, 2002–2005) GT2 European Series (2023) International Formula 3000 (1985, 1988–1989) NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (2009–2010, 2013) Ultimate Cup Series (2019–2021) World Sportscar Championship (1973, 1975–1976, 1978–1980, 1989–1990) World Touring Car Championship (1987)

Lap records

The outright unofficial all-time track record for the full Grand Prix Circuit is 1:01.380, set by Alain Prost in a Renault RE30B, during first qualifying for the 1982 Swiss Grand Prix. The outright unofficial all-time track record for the Short Circuit is 0:58.790 seconds, set by Niki Lauda in a Ferrari 312B3, during qualifying for the 1974 French Grand Prix. As of May 2026, the fastest official race lap records at the Circuit de Dijon-Prenois are listed as:

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleEventCircuit Map Grand Prix Circuit (1976–present): BOSS GP/F1 1:02.985 Ingo Gerstl Toro Rosso STR1 2015 BOSS GP Dijon Motors Cup Group C 1:08.973 Jean-Louis Schlesser Mercedes-Benz C11 1990 480 km of Dijon F3000 1:10.430 Érik Comas Lola T89/50 1989 Dijon F3000 round GT1 (Prototype) 1:10.861 Bernd Schneider Mercedes-Benz CLK LM 1998 FIA GT Dijon 500km Formula Three 1:11.067 Jules Bianchi Dallara F308 2009 Dijon F3 Euro Series round Sports prototype 1:11.527 Charlie Robertson Ginetta G57 P2 2017 Dijon 4 Hours LMP900 1:11.614 Jan Lammers Dome S101 2002 FIA Sportscar Championship Dijon DTM 1:11.644 Paul di Resta AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2009 2009 Dijon DTM round LMP3 1:11.951 Alessandro Ghiretti Ligier JS P3 2020 Dijon Ultimate Cup round GT1 (GTS) 1:15.119 Jaroslav Janiš Saleen S7-R 2006 FIA GT Dijon 500km Group C2 1:15.324 Fermín Vélez Spice SE89C 1989 480 km of Dijon IMSA GTP 1:15.327 David Kennedy Mazda 767B 1989 480 km of Dijon Formula Two 1:15.523 Richard Evans March 742 2017 Dijon Motors Cup Formula Renault 2.0 1:15.844 Daniel Ricciardo Tatuus FR2000 2008 Dijon Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup round LMP675 1:15.956 Fabio Mancini Lucchini SR2001 2002 FIA Sportscar Championship Dijon Formula 4 1:16.658 Alexandre Munoz Mygale M21-F4 2025 Dijon French F4 round GT3 1:16.672 Emmanuel Collard Mercedes-AMG GT3 2021 Dijon Ultimate Cup round Porsche Carrera Cup 1:17.285 Marvin Klein Porsche 911 (992 II) Cup 2026 Dijon Porsche Carrera Cup France round Group 6 1:17.400 Arturo Merzario Alfa Romeo T33SC/12 1977 Dijon 500 km Sports 2000 1:18.050 Doug Hart March 75S 2011 Martini Trophy GT2 (GTS) 1:18.390 Olivier Beretta Chrysler Viper GTS-R 1998 FIA GT Dijon 500km Formula Palmer Audi 1:18.450 Jon Barnes Formula Palmer Audi car 2006 Dijon Formula Palmer Audi round SRO GT2 1:18.575 Pierre Kaffer Audi R8 LMS GT2 2023 Dijon GT2 European Series round Sports prototype 1:18.631 Martin O'Connell Chevron B19 2011 Martini Trophy GT2 1:20.189 Jaime Melo Ferrari F430 GTC 2006 FIA GT Dijon 500km Group 5 1:21.160 Porsche 935 K3 1980 Dijon 1000 km TCR Touring Car 1:21.473 Raphaël Fournier Hyundai Elantra N TCR 2026 Dijon TC France round GT4 1:22.231 Léo Jousset Alpine A110 GT4+ 2026 Dijon FFSA GT round FIA GT Group 2 1:22.666 Bas Leinders Gillet Vertigo Streiff 2006 FIA GT Dijon 500km GT1 1:23.240 Venturi 600 LM 1996 2 Hours of Dijon Silhouette racing car 1:23.515 Vincent Radermecker SEAT Toledo Silhouette 2002 Dijon French Supertouring round Stock car racing 1:23.958 Ander Vilariño Chevrolet SS NASCAR 2013 Dijon NASCAR Whelen Euro Series round Alpine Elf Cup 1:24.121 Gosia Rdest Alpine A110 Cup 2026 Dijon Alpine Elf Cup round Group A 1:27.400 Klaus Niedzwiedz Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth 1988 Dijon ETCC round Renault Clio Cup 1:30.551 Nicolas Milan Renault Clio R.S. IV 2018 Dijon Renault Clio Cup France round Short Circuit (1972–present): Formula One 1:00.000 Jody Scheckter Tyrrell 007 1974 French Grand Prix Group 5 sports prototype 1:00.600 François Cevert Matra-Simca MS670 1973 Dijon 1000 km Group 6 1:01.180 Jochen Mass Porsche 936 1976 Dijon 500 km Sports 2000 1:02.600 Arturo Merzario Abarth-Osella 2000 Sport SE-021 1972 Dijon European 2-Litre Sports Car Championship round Group 5 special production 1:06.840 Jacky Ickx Porsche 935 1976 6 Hours of Dijon Group 4 1:17.100 Gérard Larrousse Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 1974 Dijon GT race Formula Three 1:18.650 Pierre Petit Ralt RT3 1982 Dijon French F3 round

External links Official website Satellite picture by Google Maps

References