In the northern part of France, in the Champagne region, the city of Reims is not just the home of the famous sparkling wine and one of the most beautiful gothic cathedrals in the world.
West of the city, near the village of Gueux, the roads of the region used to be periodically transformed into a triangle-shaped circuit that hosted the “Grand Prix de La Marne”, a race that was part of the Grand Prix Championship (the precursor of Formula One). This important race, which later would become the Formula One French Grand Prix, has been held here between 1926 and 1966, with only a few exceptions during the 50’s and the 60’s.
The Reims-Gueux Circuit has also seen another important competition being raced on its tarmac: the “12 heures du Reims” (12 hours of Reims) was an endurance race which took place here for the first time in 1926.
The second edition of this race would be held only many years later, in 1953.
It would be repeated 7 more times for a total of nine editions, with the last one being raced in 1967.
The circuit survived as a national racetrack until 1972, when it was finally deemed too dangerous for modern cars and destined to demolition.
Luckily, a newly elected mayor stopped the complete demolition of the course just in time to save some parts of the original racetrack (pits, boxes, stands) which have been taken care of by a foundation created by fans of the circuit ever since.
Nowadays it is still possible to take a lap on the original circuit layout (with only a few differences due to the modernization of these roads), and to admire what remains of this fascinating track by driving along the D26, D27 and RN31 roads.
