Hello and bonjour !
It is December 31st 2021,
it is an absolutely gorgeous last day of the year,
and I’m in the middle of a field somewhere in France.
Now admittedly this is hardly the first time I’ve brought you all to a random field.
But as usual, this is not just ANY old field.
And more to the point, this is not just any old road.
In 1950, this was the site of the first Formula One World Championship French Grand Prix.
And if you don’t believe me,
take a look at this!
Welcome to the abandoned 1950 Grand Prix circuit of Reims-Gueux.
This is the former start and finish straight of the historic racing Circuit of Reims-Gueux.
And before we start, let’s address it:
yes, "Rhrhrhammsss" (I know)
and yes, "Guh".
No, I don’t know how France thinks that "Guh" is an acceptable name for a place,
that’s just an involuntary noise,
and even if it was acceptable
any English-speaking toddler will tell you
that you could have spelled that with one letter:
G.
How on earth do you need FIVE?!
Ah yes, fair enough.
Anyway, back to the video!
The French Grand Prix was held here 11 times in the 50s and 60s
and legendary drivers like Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, and Juan Manuel Fangio
all won races here.
But unfortunately, safety regulations eventually caught up with it,
and the owners didn’t have the money to make the necessary changes.
The 1966 race was the last time it hosted Formula One,
and the track closed down completely in 1972.
So hang on...
you’re telling me this is the actual 1950 French Grand Prix circuit,
just left abandoned in the middle of a field,
with a big sign on the outside saying "Free Entrance"?
This is like Christma...
oh wait it actually was.
I really hope this is coming across on camera
but this place is amazing!
Like...
AMAZING.
Wow...
the official toilets of the 1950 French Grand Prix!
Everything here seems to have been frozen in time
since the day after that last race in '66.
But how does such a magical place even exist any more?
Nearly everything else from those early years of Formula One has disappeared:
the surviving historic venues like Silverstone, Monza, or Spa,
have all been heavily modified and rebuilt to fit modern standards,
while the lost venues, like the Swiss track at Bremgarten,
or the other French track at Rouen,
were simply abandoned
and sooner or later all the old grandstands and pit garages
were flattened for redevelopment.
How did Reims-Gueux escape demolition itself?
Well it very nearly didn’t.
And to explain that, here’s a French man I bumped into.
["Oui bonjour, donc, Hervé Dravigny, président..."]
This is Monsieur Hervé Dravigny
who turns out to be the President of the association that owns the circuit
and he tells me what happened after that last race.
And after 30 years of neglect, that’s where the Association steps in.
They’re called "The Friends of the Circuit of Gueux"
and they’re a group of volunteer enthusiasts who helped saved the site from demolition
and are responsible for some incredible work
restoring the architecture to its glory days of the 50s and 60s.
And that work is ongoing:
here’s what the same building looked like 2 years ago
when the YouTube channel WTF1 came here.
But as Monsieur Dravigny explains, the circuit goes back further;
the first grand prix to be held here was in 1926
and parts of the grandstand were built only two years after that.
But just to clear up some pedantry on this:
that’s before the creation of Formula One as a racing category.
So the first Formula One GP is in 1948.
But that’s before the creation of the World Drivers Championship.
So the first Formula One World Championship Grand Prix is in 1950.
(I hope you’re all still here.)
The point being, this is one of the 7 tracks
that made up the first ever competitive season of Formula One,
and we were very close to losing it.
This particular building was a kind of exhibition pavilion
where brands and sponsors could rent out one of the 8 little showrooms
for the week of the race.
But one bit of the site I haven’t shown you is inside the old grandstands themselves
and that’s because unfortunately they’re not fully safe,
the gates are kept closed, and visitors aren’t usually allowed to go in there.
Not usually...
Right!
They don’t normally give access to this bit
which is why those gates are shut,
but I’ve had a little word with someone important and…
they let me in!
I have to be honest, it really is quite special to sit in this 1920s grandstand
and watch the cars still speeding past in the 2020s.
(Even if it is a family hatchback on a shopping trip.)
But this is the same spot where thousands of people would have watched Fangio, Brabham,
Clark, Hawthorn,
standing on the podium after winning the French Grand Prix.
And of course, it wouldn’t really be a visit to an abandoned building
without finding the entrance to some dodgy looking tunnel underneath it
and going down to explore.
Ok, I can't see anything down there.
Appears to be some sort of dungeon...
The hell is that?
Ok...
is it...
Oh I think it is just a tunnel to the other side...
Right?
This must be like the old service tunnel or something.
Woops!
It's quite slippery underneath...
so I assume now...
I think now we're on the other side of the road,
and we're underneath the other stand.
But erm...
I can't get out.
So, going to have to go back.
I did a bit more research when I got home
and it turns out this was the pedestrian underpass
for spectators crossing to the other side of the track.
And let’s face it,
this is a good example of why the whole place needed to be upgraded or shut down.
It wasn’t just the track that was dangerous,
you don't need me to tell you why sending crowds of excited people
through a tunnel barely wide enough for two
isn’t the best idea.
It feels more like a secret wartime bunker
where members of la résistance would have hidden from the gestapo.
(Possibly because that’s exactly what happened in 1944.)
And going back to the track itself,
I’m not going to take you round the whole circuit today,
because it was 8km long and I didn’t bring a vehicle with me
but there are videos online if you want to see that.
Unfortunately you can’t quite do a full lap any more
but most of the circuit is still there
and it’s all public roads that you can drive down.
And on that note,
if you’d like to visit Reims-Gueux,
the best way to get here is in a car.
(Even I will admit that!)
There isn’t really any public transport.
You could get the number 1 bus from the centre of Reims
to the edge of town retail park
and then walk the rest of the way,
but only a total idiot would do that.
The circuit is of course completely free to visit,
and if you’d like to support the work the association is doing,
you can make a donation or become a member
– I’ll link the website in the description.
Obviously bear in mind though, these are still abandoned buildings,
so exploring is not 100% safe,
and unfortunately they were not built with accessibility in mind.
But even if you don’t go in the buildings,
it’s still worth dropping by just for what you can see from street level.
And that’s it for today!
A big merci to Hervé and Jean-François from the Association for all their help,
thank you all for watching,
and I will see you soon.