Historic //
The Paul Ricard Circuit was the brainchild of the famous French company director and entrepreneur Paul Ricard, the creator of the famous aniseed drink which bears his name.
Paul Ricard (1909-1997) wanted to create an international-scale project in the region, on his thousand-hectare estate on the Plateau du Castellet.
He began in 1962 by building an airfield for his business use and to serve the western Var region. Later he had the idea of creating a racing circuit, and specialists were brought in to design the track with the advice of various well-known drivers, such as Henri Pescarolo and Jean-Pierre Beltoise.
| Johnny REEVES | Jean-Pierre JABOUILLE | François MAZET | Jean-Pierre PAOLI | Jean-Pierre BELTOISE |
In 300 days, a 5.810 km track, including the famous 1,800-metre Mistral Straight, was built. The circuit became the benchmark for its time, in terms of track design, and more importantly in terms of safety.
