Magny-Cours F1 Racetrack - Near Moulins in the Auvergne Continued

...Bernigaud's track was just 1.21 miles in length, but its reputation grew quickly. It was the world-famous Ecole de Pilotage Winfield which really put Magny-Cours on the map. It was the kindergarten for the entire generation of French F1 stars of the 1970s and 1980s. The school was established by Bernigaud in 1963 with assistance from Jean Lucas and Gerard Crombac. It would be renamed Winfield later but the list of successful pupils would grow quickly: Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, Francois Cevert, Patrick Depailler, Jean-Pierre Jarier, and Jacques Laffite were all early graduates.

Bernigaud died in November 1971 and the circuit was then taken over by the local motor club -- the ASA Nivernais. Bernigaud's widow Jacqueline remained an important part of the administration. In order to help fund the track, industrial units were built and Automobiles Martini and ORECA became the most famous of Magny-Cours's resident companies.

In the late 1970s international racing arrived at the track with the European Formula 3 Championship topping the bill at the annual May Day event. European F3 would remain a regular visitor until the series was canceled at the end of 1984. By this time, however, the track had deteriorated badly. For three years there was no international motor racing at Magny-Cours.

In 1988, however, the circuit was acquired by the regional conseil de la Nievre which planned to overhaul the circuit completely as part of a plan to revive the flagging economy of the department.

The project gained immediate support from the French President Francois Mitterand, who had once headed the local government of the Nievre, and his Finance Minister Pierre Beregovoy, the Mayor of Nevers....

Read More....