Tracks in Time
Reims, France
Former race tracks have a ghostly mien, at least those of which there remains any trace long after the engines have gone silent. Many, perhaps most, disappear altogether under acres of concentre for some new shopping centre, others, like Sydney’s Oran Park and Amaroo Park, become bustling suburbs full of houses, schools and traffic.
Some years back, on a riding trip through western Europe with friends from Australia, we stayed for a few days at the city of Reims (usually spelled Rheims in British publications). Although the city itself was almost completely destroyed in WW2, you’d hardly know it, more than seventy years later. The crowning glory is the Cathedral, which took over a century to build, which remarkably escaped serious damage. For us, Reims was handy (around 130km) to Paris for a day trip, surrounded by the world’s finest Champagne vineyards, with four UNESCO World Heritage sites, superb restaurants… and a disused race track.
Not just any race track either, but the traditional home of the French Formula One Grand Prix in the ‘fifties and ‘sixties, and on just two occasions, the French Motorcycle Grand Prix. This was a circuit in the classic mould, like Spa-Francorchamps, the original Salzburgring, the Dunrod circuit where the Ulster Grand
Prix was staged, and to some extent the Isle of Man. Visually, Reims was unique, with the roads surrounded by the golden hues of the sprawling vineyards. Although substantially flat, the long back straight contained a sizeable hill topped by the Dunlop Bridge which was the setting for some spectacular race photographs.
A toughly triangular network of rural roads linking towns and villages, blindingly fast, the circuit officially known as Reims-Gueux (but usually referred to simply as Reims or Rheims) was situated in Gueux, 7.5 kilometres west of Reims, and first hosted motor racing in 1926. The corner that followed the start/finish area and grandstand (Gueux Curve) was a high-speed affair in contrast to the hairpins elsewhere on the circuit. It was here in July 1958 that the works Ferrari driver Luigi Musso attempted a full-throttle assault on the corner while chasing the leader and Ferrari team mate Mike Hawthorn. Musso lost control in the bend, the car hurtling off the track and into a ditch where it somersaulted and ejected the driver who sustained fatal head injuries.
The lap changed slightly over the years during the time of the World Championship F1 Grand Prix (19501966), the final change being the easing of the very sharp Thillois Corner at the end of the back straight in 1954. Originally 7.8 km from 1926 to 1951, the final length was officially 8.3km. Although Reims-Gueux only hosted two Motorcycle GPs, in 1954 and 1955, motorcycle racing continued at the circuit until it was closed in 1972. The absolute lap record was established in July 1966 by Lorenzo Bandini in a Formula 1 Ferrari at an average of 141.43 mph (227.62 km/h).
The French Grand Prix in 1954 was notable for a double 350/500 victory by the top French rider Pierre Monneret, who was loaned a works 3-valve 7R AJS and a 500cc 4 cylinder Gilera for the occasion. It was also notable for the absence of virtually all the works teams, coming as it did just three days before the start of practice for the all-important Isle of Man TT. The main works effort came from the all-conquering NSU ‚
squad in the 250 class, taking the first four places with a race time considerably faster than Monneret’s winning 350cc time. Gilera sent along four works 500s for Geoff Duke, Alfredo Milani, Reg Armstrong and Monneret. Duke and Armstrong both retired with mechanical woes, while Monneret, who was last away from the push start, tore through the field to win from Milani and veteran French rider Jacques Collot on a Norton. A standout performance came from New Zealander Barry Stormont, who finished a superb 5th in the 350 race on a standard BSA Gold Star, and held fourth in the 500 race on a larger Gold Star until he ran out of fuel on the 25th of the 30 laps.
The following year the French GP was moved to May 15 to avoid the clash with the Isle of Man. The 500cc race was won by Duke in a Gilera 1-2-3. The British star described the Reims layout as ‘Uninteresting”, and pleaded for a return to the Rouen circuit, “Where riding counts for something!” Duke was timed at 162 mph (260km/h) despite riding “with the steering set at about ‚
quarter-lock” because of the strong cross wind. The 350 race was a Moto Guzzi trifecta, the win going to Duilio Agostini, while Carlo Ubbiali took out the 125 race (there was no 250 event) for MV Agusta. Although roundabouts and a new section of highway popped up progressively, it was still possible to drive (or ride) a lap of the final variant of the track in the ensuing years, until one section of road was removed completely. What was the long two-lane back straight between the hairpins at Muizon and Thillois, rolling through the golden fields, is now a much wider dual carriageway .
There’s not much left, but fortunately a volunteer group (The Friends of the Gueux Circuit) has been trying to preserve some of the remaining buildings and the grandstand that overlooks what was the start/finish and pit/paddock areas. Most of the oncecrumbling concrete structures, including the main grandstand named after the great French driver Raymond Sommer, have been renovated to a point, and work is slowly progressing on the infield behind the pit bays, which was, on race days, like a mini-city with trade stands, cafes and merchandise shops everywhere. Our visit, on a misty August day in 2015, was, for me, a moving experience; to stand on the very spot that had hosted some of the greatest battles in the era of F1 Grand Prix greats like Fangio, Moss, Brabham and Clark. Immediately following the final race meeting in 1972, the local council began demolition work, but this was halted while local elections were held. Fortunately, the new council voted to retain what was left for historical purposes, but stopped short of providing funding for maintenance. Much of what remains are concrete structures, which would probably have been otherwise destroyed. Still, there was constant pressure from developers to flatten the buildings to construct townhouses. The ‘Friends’ stepped in about thirty years ago and managed to extract a guarantee from the Mayor of Gueux that no further demolition would take place. Since then, this small group has done an admirable job of refurbishing the buildings, removing weeds and scrub, and restoring in the original style of paintwork, including the fading trade advertisements that adorned the walls. Plans for a museum on the site were also revealed in 2005 but to date this has not happened, but there is still unlimited access throughout the area for those wishing to take in some rare motor sport history – and a glass or two from the numerous Champagne vineyards that abound in the district.