MONTLHÉRY SUR INTERNET

Montlhéry, cité millénaire.
Aujourd'hui :

Montlhéry's motor-racing track

Official event calendar 2003- Hotels - Camp site - Driving school - Version française - Deutsche version

(translation courtesy www.PreWarCar.com) The daily Magazine & Marketplace dedicated to the pre 1940 car

L'age d'Or / The Golden Era

The man responsible for the creation in 1924 of this racetrack 24 kms from Paris close to the towns of Linas and Montlhéry, (the reason for its official title of " Linas-Montlhéry's motor-racing track ") was an industrialist: Alexandre Lamblin. The owner of a factory producing radiators for cars and planes and of a sportsmagazine, "l'Aero-sport", he had the idea of providing France - and more particularly the Paris area which was at that time one of the principal centres of the French car industry - with a racetrack.

The early 1920s were a time of records and competitions of all kinds (car against plane...). In addition, Great Britain had already built the Brooklands track in 1907, the United States had a racetrack in Indianapolis since 1911 and Italy in Monza since 1922.

In 1923, Alexandre LAMBLIN, after having made some projects for the acquisition of a hundred hectares on the plateau located between Montlhery and Nozay, bought a field located on the Saint-Eutrope plateau, in Linas, close to Montlhéry. Two studies were undertaken and the least expensive, envisaging a 2,5 km length ring, possibly supplemented by an external road circuit, was chosen.

Engineer Raymond JAMIN was hired to design the track . It is oval with two short straight lines of 180 meters. In the turns, it has a concave profile in the shape of a cubic parabola with a vertical axis and connections are traced according to a spiral logarithmic curve, which constitutes one of the characteristics of the design. The ring is calculated so that cars of 1 000 kg can reach, in the top of the turns, speeds of approximately 220 km/h. Its development, measured in the middle of its projection on a horizontal level is 2 548.24 metres (centre line). Two thousand workmen, masons, metal workers, scrap merchants, carpenters and truckdrivers worked for six months on the construction of the track, using 1 000 tons of steel and 8 000 m3 of concrete. Many ready-made units were used, making it an avant-garde construction for that time.

Montlhéry soon attracted a great number of pioneers of speed and their monstrous record cars, coming over from England because of the many noise restrictions (assembly of silencers, prohibition of races at night) imposed by the neighbours of the Brooklands circuit. Over one hundred records, were established or beaten justtwo months after the opening. It was the make Rolland Pilain which was the first to do so, and the solo circuit record on the ring was to be held for a long time by Gwenda Stewart in a Derby-Miller with an average of 234,681 km/h.

Linas-Montlhéry was also a place where races were organized. The Automobile Club de France Grand Prix was held for the first time in 1925, after the addition of a road circuit built in record time (the complete circuit totals 12.500 kms). It attracted a considerable crowd including the President of the Republic himself.  The cars went clockwise whereas the records were carried out in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, during the race, Antonio Ascari died while driving his Alfa Romeo P2 on the new portion of the circuit. Eventually, it was Robert Benoist in his Delage 12 cylinders who won. The ACF GP was held from 1931 to 1937 (except 1932) according to various formulas which always attracted many spectators, coming to attend the duels between Alfa Romeo and Bugatti and then, on the arrival of the Auto-union, Mercedes and Delage.

The war, the revival and decline

The increasingly high operating costs and the state of the concrete coating which made it impossible to turn single-seaters at high speed, led the administrators of the motor-racing track to sell the site in 1939 -consisting of 750 ha at that time - to the French government, who placed it at the disposal of the War Ministry. The motor-racing track serious deterioratedduring the war. In December 1946, the Technical Union of the Car, Motorbike and Bicycle (UTAC) took over management of the tracks and installations of the motor-racing track, its renovation and maintenance, and the organization of competitions from the War Ministry, under the terms of a long lease and against payment of an annual rent. The renovation lasted two years. It was accompanied by major adjustments such as the control tower, a stand with 1 000 places, a fuel station, tracks on special surfaces and the creation of laboratories.

Since that date, activities have never stopped, mainly technical and experimental trials but competitions have continued to be organized. Les Coupes du Salon during the Paris international motor show in October and since1956 at irregular intervals, the 1 000 kilometers of Paris. However, the profile of the circuit is not really suitable for the great speeds reached from that moment.

The accident which cost the lives of Peter Lindner, Franco Patria and 3 flag marshalls in 1964 are a sad demonstration of that problem. The 1 000 kms was only held again in 1966 and, more recently, in 1994. The Coupes du Salon and the Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or constitute the two last sporting events on the ring. In 1996, the Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or was the third French automobile demonstration after the 24h of Mans and the France F1 GP but, for lack of volunteers, the Coupes du Salon could not be held.

The future

The circuit was confronted in April 1997 and again in 2001 with the renewal of its permit by the national speed circuits commission. The current permit was renewed on May 9 2001 for 4 years (OJ N° 114 on 17/05/2001). Without obtaining this permit, no races can be organized. To hold the Coupes du Salon or the Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or again, some refitting work has been completed - in particular the installation of a protection net able to resist speeds of 300 km/h. for spectators in the straight line going from the stands to the turn of "des deux ponts" as well as at the top of the ring.

The problem of the circuit permit comes back every four years. To save the motor-racing track, a long-term project is necessary ... (see the association of the users of the motor-racing track of Linas-Montlhery).

Number of vehicles admitted to take part in the tests on Montlhéry's speed circuit (2001 -2005)

Official 2003 event calendar for Linas-Montlhéry's motor-racing track

Some events are private. Please contact the organization direct.
Version française - Deutsche version

(*) Free entrance

UTAC Service Autodrome Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry BP 212 91311 MONTLHÉRY CEDEX (FRANCE)

( : 33 (0) 1 69 80 17 00
Fax : 33 (0) 1 69 80 17 04

ASSOCIATION DES USAGERS DE L' AUTODROME DE LINAS-MONTLHÉRY 7 RUE DE TOURNEZY 77590 BOIS LE ROI FRANCE

Hotels

Hotels very near the autodrome

	HOTEL RESTAURANT KYRIAD (60 rooms *** + restaurant) - ZAE de l'autodrome 10, Avenue Ettore Bugatti - 91310 LINAS ( : 33 (0) 1.69.80.69.38
	hôtel week-end Linas (47 rooms * + restaurant) - ZAE de l'autodrome - 3 Allee François Cevert - 91310 LINAS ( : 33 (0) 1.64.49.00.00
	Formule 1 (94 rooms *) - Chemin de Tabor 91310 LINAS - ( : 33 (0) 1.64.49.86.62

Other hotels

	Relais St Georges - Chemin Bocqueteau - 91160 SAULX LES CHARTREUX ( : 33 (0) 1.64.48.36.40
	Soframotel (100 rooms ***)- RN 20 - 91160 SAULX LES CHARTREUX ( : 33 (0) 1.69.09.34.31
	Auberge de l'île du Saussay - Route de Ballancourt - L'île du Saussay - 91760 ITTEVILLE ( : 33 (0) 1.64.93.20.12
	Hôtel Mercure (110 rooms *** + restaurant) - 3, Rue Rio Solado - Z.A. de Courtaboeuf - 91952 LES ULIS ( : 33 (0) 1.69.07.63.96
	Climat de France (Kyriad) (44 rooms + restaurant) - Rue du Lac - 91250 TIGERY ( : 33 (0) 1.69.89.19.00
	Novotel (174 rooms *** + restaurant) - 3, Rue Mare Neuve - 91080 COURCOURONNES ( : 33 (0) 1.69.36.85.00
	Confort Primevère - 4, Chemin Champcueils - 91220 BRÉTIGNY SUR ORGE ( : 33 (0) 1.69.01.97.60
	Quick Palace - 114, Rue de Tiphoines - 91240 SAINT-MICHEL SUR ORGE ( : 33 (0) 1.69.80.62.32
	Campanile - 5, Avenue des Andes - 91940 LES ULIS ( : 33 (0) 1.69.28.60.60

Tourism office, more hotels and restaurants

Camping

Le beau village (100 places) - 91700 VILLIERS sur ORGE (distance 8 km) ( : 33 (0) 1.60.16.17.86

Dernière mise à jour : 18.05.13 10:48