View source for Pescara Circuit

{{Short description|Race track}}
{{Infobox motorsport venue
| Name           = Pescara Circuit 
| Location       = [[Pescara]], [[Abruzzo]], Italy 
| Time           = [[UTC+01:00|GMT+01:00]]
| Coordinates    = {{Coord|42|28|30|N|14|9|3|E|type:landmark|display=it}}
| Opened         = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1924|07|13}}
| Closed         = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1961|08|15}}
| Image          = [[Image:Circuito di Pescara.png|250px]]
| Image_caption  = Grand Prix Circuit (1934–1961)
| Events         = [[Formula One]]<br/>'' [[Pescara Grand Prix]]'' (1957)<br>[[World Sportscar Championship]] (1961)<br />[[Coppa Acerbo]] (1924–1928, 1930–1939, 1947–1954, 1956–1957, 1960–1961)
| Layout1        = Grand Prix Circuit (1934–1961)
| Length_km      = 25.801
| Length_mi      = 16.032 
| Turns          = 
| Record_time    = 9:44.600
| Record_driver  = {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Stirling Moss]] 
| Record_car     = [[Vanwall Grand Prix|Vanwall VW 5]] 
| Record_year    = [[1957 Pescara Grand Prix|1957]]
| Record_class   = [[Formula One|F1]]
| Layout2        = Original Road Course (1924–1933)
| Length_km2     = 25.578
| Length_mi2     = 15.894
| Turns2         = 
| Record_time2   = 10:25.400
| Record_driver2 = [[Alfa Romeo P3]]
| Record_car2    = {{flagicon|ITA|1861}} [[Tazio Nuvolari]]
| Record_year2   = [[1932 Grand Prix season#Major Races|1932]]
| Record_class2  = [[Grand Prix motor racing|GP]]
}}

The '''Pescara Circuit''' was a {{convert|16.032|mi|km|abbr=on}} race course made up entirely of public roads near [[Pescara]], [[Italy]] that hosted the [[Coppa Acerbo]] auto race. Pescara is the longest circuit to ever host a [[Formula One]] Grand Prix.<ref name='pescara_msportmagazine'>{{cite web |title=Pescara - Motor Sport Magazine |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/circuits/pescara |website=[[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport Magazine]] |access-date=17 September 2018}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.circuitsofthepast.nl/en-US/pescara-circuit|title=Pescara Circuit|last=Liesemeijer|first=Herman|website=Circuits of the Past|access-date=17 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-formula-one-circuit|title=Longest Formula One circuit|website=Guinness World Records|access-date=17 September 2018}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.autoyas.com/IT/Pescara/501115096610513/Circuito-di-Pescara|title=Circuito di Pescara|website=autoyas.com|access-date=17 September 2018}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.circuitsofthepast.nl/en-US/pescara-circuit/lap-pescara|title=A lap at Pescara|last=Liesemeijer|first=Herman|website=Circuits of the Past|access-date=17 September 2018}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.classicandsportscar.com/galleries/forgotten-circuits-of-the-world|title=Forgotten circuits of the world|date=3 February 2018|website=Classic & Sports Car|access-date=17 September 2018}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.crash.net/f1/feature/196430/1/six-of-the-best-short-lived-grand-prix-circuits|title=Korean GP: Six of the Best: Short-lived Grand Prix circuits|last=Salisbury|first=Matt|date=2 October 2013|website=Crash|access-date=17 September 2018}}</ref>

==History==
The country and town roads used were both narrow and bumpy. Like many long circuits (such as the original [[Nürburgring]] and [[Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps|Spa-Francorchamps]] circuits), Pescara was revered as a fantastic driver's circuit, but also like Spa and the Nürburgring, it was extremely dangerous and unforgiving.

The long track travelled through a number of villages situated on hills surrounding Pescara, following a roughly triangular shape with its [[Vertex (geometry)|corners]] at the seaside municipality of Pescara. It included two {{cvt|3.4|mi|km|abbr=on}} long straights (only slightly shorter than the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans) between the seaside municipality of [[Montesilvano]], nicknamed "The Flying Kilometre".<ref name='pescara_msportmagazine' /><ref name=":0" /> It was on "The Flying Kilometre" that [[Guy Moll]] was killed during the 1934 Coppa Acerbo.<ref name='pescara_msportmagazine' /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp344.htm#28|title=1934 Coppa Acerbo|last=The Golden Age of Grand Prix Racing|access-date=17 September 2018|archive-date=18 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718234715/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp344.htm#28|url-status=dead}}</ref> The highest point, at [[Spoltore]], was {{cvt|185|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level. <ref name=":2" /> The track started just outside the middle of Pescara, moving west through the suburb of Rione Partenze, and then into the hilly villages of Frascone, Valle Carbone, Spoltore, and Case Fornace, going through a mixture of slow and fast bends before dropping out of the hills into the inland municipality of [[Cappelle sul Tavo]], then down the first {{cvt|3.4|mi|km|abbr=on}} straight northeast to Montesilvano before going down another {{cvt|3.4|mi|km|abbr=on}} straight and returning to Pescara.<ref name=":0" /> 

The first race took place in 1924 and non-Championship [[Formula One]] races followed in the early 1950s, with one official Formula One World Championship event in {{F1|1957}}<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" /> due to the cancellation of other races.<ref name='pescara_msportmagazine' /> The [[Pescara Grand Prix]] drew in excess of 200,000 spectators,<ref name=":5" /> and remains the longest circuit in terms of lap distance ever to stage a Formula One Grand Prix. But the circuit was feared even by [[Enzo Ferrari]] who did not send his cars to this race out of fear for his drivers' safety.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://patronisef1.com/index.php/features/six-of-the-best/994-six-of-the-bestf1-circuits |title=Six of the Best...F1 circuits |publisher=Patronise F1 |date=16 August 2009 |access-date=13 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428002952/http://www.patronisef1.com/index.php/features/six-of-the-best/994-six-of-the-bestf1-circuits |archive-date=28 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

It was the first F1 circuit with an artificial chicane, built in 1934 on the start-finish straight to reduce speed in the pits after {{cvt|3.4|mi|km|abbr=on}} of flat out.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" />

The track's last race was a four-hour [[World Sportscar Championship]] race in 1961,<ref name='pescara_msportmagazine' /><ref name=":3" />  won by [[Lorenzo Bandini]] and [[Giorgio Scarlatti]] driving a [[Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa#1961: TRI61|Ferrari 250 TR]] for [[Scuderia Centro Sud]].<ref name='1961_pescara_4h'>{{Cite web |title=1961 Pescara 4 Hours |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1961-pescara-4-hours |website=[[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport Magazine]] |date=15 August 1961 |access-date=11 September 2018}}</ref> After that race the circuit was permanently retired as a racing venue as it was impossible for the organizers to guarantee the safety of drivers and spectators.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" />

==Lap records==

The fastest official race lap records at the Pescara Circuit are listed as:

{| class=wikitable
! Category !! Time !! Driver !! Vehicle !! Event
|-
! colspan=5 | Grand Prix Circuit: 25.801&nbsp;km (1934–1961)<ref name='pescara_msportmagazine' />
|-
| [[Formula One]] || '''9:44.600''' || [[Stirling Moss]] || [[Vanwall Grand Prix|Vanwall VW 5]] || [[1957 Pescara Grand Prix]]
|-
| [[Sports car racing]] || '''9:55.500'''<ref name='1961_pescara_4h' /> || [[Richie Ginther]] || [[Ferrari SP#246 SP|Ferrari Dino 246 SP]] || [[1961 World Sportscar Championship|1961 4 Hours of Pescara]]
|-
| [[Grand Prix motor racing|GP]] || '''10:35.000'''<ref>{{cite web |title=1935 Acerbo Cup |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1935-acerbo-cup/ |website=[[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport Magazine]] |date=15 August 1935 |access-date=28 April 2025}}</ref> || [[Achille Varzi]] || [[Auto Union racing cars#Racing|Auto Union B]] || [[1935 Grand Prix season#Major Non-championship Races|1935 Coppa Acerbo]]
|-
| [[Formula Two#Pre-war|Voiturette]] || '''11:06.800'''<ref>{{cite web |title=1939 Acerbo Cup |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1939-acerbo-cup/ |website=[[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport Magazine]] |date=15 August 1939 |access-date=28 April 2025}}</ref> || [[Giuseppe Farina]] || [[Alfa Romeo 158/159 Alfetta|Alfa Romeo 158]] || [[Coppa Acerbo#By year|1939 Coppa Acerbo]]
|-
| [[Formula Junior]] || '''11:10.400'''<ref>{{cite web |title=XXVI Gran Premio di Pescara Junior |url=https://www.racingyears.com/race/XXVI_Gran_Premio_di_Pescara_Junior |date=15 August 1960 |access-date=28 April 2025}}</ref> || [[Denny Hulme]] || [[Cooper T52]] || [[Coppa Acerbo#By year|1960 Pescara Grand Prix]]
|-
! colspan=5 | Original Road Course: 25.578&nbsp;km (1926–1933)<ref name='pescara_msportmagazine' />
|-
| [[Grand Prix motor racing|GP]] || '''10:25.400'''<ref>{{cite web |title=1932 Acerbo Cup |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1932-acerbo-cup/ |website=[[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport Magazine]] |date=14 August 1932 |access-date=28 April 2025}}</ref> || [[Tazio Nuvolari]] || [[Alfa Romeo P3]] || [[1932 Grand Prix season#Major Races|1932 Coppa Acerbo]]
|-
|}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070909103726/http://www.etracksonline.co.uk/Europe/Italy/pescara34-61.html Etracksonline page on Pescara circuit]
* [https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Pescara,+Province+of+Pescara,+Italy/42.5159978,14.1495738/Cappelle+Sul+Tavo,+Province+of+Pescara,+Italy/Pescara,+Province+of+Pescara,+Italy/@42.4846893,14.1245549,13z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m56!4m55!1m35!1m1!1s0x1331a60db9286477:0xa0b89e89b22cbfe2!2m2!1d14.2160898!2d42.4617902!3m4!1m2!1d14.2047898!2d42.4711815!3s0x1331a66fff1f5fef:0xb586e97577a4aab4!3m4!1m2!1d14.200258!2d42.4749722!3s0x1331a67bc780219b:0x4d007cab24b9c061!3m4!1m2!1d14.1956782!2d42.4787555!3s0x1331a67ee1d4ae2d:0xdcdb8f18af78637e!3m4!1m2!1d14.1819424!2d42.4901138!3s0x1331a42e3d162d2f:0xa95c2bc1d878cb7a!3m4!1m2!1d14.1612795!2d42.5071551!3s0x1331a469b40ef2e5:0xc49d7a41199eb463!3m4!1m2!1d14.153907!2d42.5132396!3s0x1331a464433443c1:0xbde5232a57c2a6b8!1m0!1m10!1m1!1s0x1331a54c815f7b49:0x227b3af7ef79702f!2m2!1d14.1032103!2d42.4647516!3m4!1m2!1d14.1833676!2d42.4588632!3s0x1331a5e5e629bf99:0xbccb98bcb887a1a7!1m5!1m1!1s0x1331a60db9286477:0xa0b89e89b22cbfe2!2m2!1d14.2160898!2d42.4617902!3e0 Approximate circuit layout on Google Maps]
* [http://motoplaner.de/#42.46412,14.20453;1,42.47821,14.19309;1,42.51528,14.14887;1,42.46964,14.1059;1,42.45717,14.13177;1,42.45447,14.17169;1,42.46389,14.20398;1&&0 Approximate circuit layout on Motopaner] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221084509/http://motoplaner.de/#42.46412,14.20453;1,42.47821,14.19309;1,42.51528,14.14887;1,42.46964,14.1059;1,42.45717,14.13177;1,42.45447,14.17169;1,42.46389,14.20398;1&&0 |date=2014-02-21 }}

{{Commons category}}
{{Formula One circuits}}
{{World Sportscar Championship circuits}}

[[Category:Pre-World Championship Grand Prix circuits|Pescara]]
[[Category:Formula One circuits]]
[[Category:Motorsport venues in Italy]]
[[Category:Defunct motorsport venues in Italy]]
[[Category:Pescara]]