Circuit de Charade
The Circuit de Charade is a 2.51-mile (4.03-km) permanent road course since 2000, built originally by a collection of public roads around Puy de Dome, an extinct Volcano in Clermont-Ferrand's metropolitan area, two hours away from Lyon, in central France. The first layout of the racetrack, formerly known as the Clermont-Ferrand Circuit, was paved in 1957 with a total length of 8.055 km (5.005 mi). Professional racers and motorcyclists regarded it as the French version of the Nurburgring, a trajectory where sharp corners and elevation changes appeared everywhere. Four Formula 1 French Grand Prix and ten French Motorcycle Grand Prix were held in the road course, which nowadays serves for historic races like the Charade Classic.
The current version of the Circuit de Charade has 18 corners adapting to the natural terrain and challenging the driver's steering skills with frequent sharp direction changes. The hills at both sides of the road, its lustful vegetation, and the dramatic elevation changes on its trajectory add up to create a vertiginous experience when racing at top speed. The modern raceway has ample runoffs areas, and the Continental climate type of the town of Charade offers the possibility of racing under any imaginable atmospheric condition depending on the season.
