El Pinar

Flag of Uruguay
Circuit No. 12017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 1 with extension2017 to date
2.1723 miles / 3.496 km
Circuit No. 1 with extension and chicane2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 1 with "Beco" corner2017 to date
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Circuit No. 1 with extension and "Beco" corner2017 to date
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Circuit No. 1 with extension, chicane and "Beco" corner2017 to date
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Circuit No. 22017 to date
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Circuit No. 2 with extension2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 2 with extension and chicane2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 2 with "Beco" corner2017 to date
1.317 miles / 2.120 km
Circuit No. 2 with extension and "Beco" corner2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 2 with extension, chicane and "Beco" corner2017 to date
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Circuit No. 32017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 3 with extension2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 3 with extension and chicane2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 3 with "Beco" corner2017 to date
1.665 miles / 2.680 km
Circuit No. 3 with extension and "Beco" corner2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 3 with extension, chicane and "Beco" corner2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 42017 to date
1.150 miles / 1.850 km
Circuit No. 52017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 5 with extension2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 5 with extension and chicane2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 5 with "Beco" corner2017 to date
1.305 miles / 2.100 km
Circuit No. 5 with extension and "Beco" corner2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 5 with extension, chicane and "Beco" corner2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 62017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 6 with extension2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 6 with extension and chicane2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 6 with "Beco" corner2017 to date
1.305 miles / 2.100 km
Circuit No. 6 with extension and "Beco" corner2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 6 with extension, chicane and "Beco" corner2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 72017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 7 with extension2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 7 with extension and chicane2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 7 with "Beco" corner2017 to date
1.317 miles / 2.120 km
Circuit No. 7 with extension and "Beco" corner2017 to date
Unknown
Circuit No. 7 with extension, chicane and "Beco" corner2017 to date
Unknown

Circuit Overview


The Autódromo Víctor Borrat Fabini at El Pinar - named in honour of the local racing great who was instrumental in its construction - is Uruguay's most important racing circuit and the home of AUVO, (Asociación Uruguaya de Volantes), the national racing association. Active throughout the year with a busy calendar of events, the circuit has recently been extended, providing racers with a new combination of corners to master for the first time since the mid-1970s.

The circuit is located in in the Department of Canelones, around 30 km east of the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo. This close proximity has been one of the secrets of its ongoing success, alongside its favourable location relative to Argentina and Brazil, whose major series have paid visits on numerous occasions, boosting El Pinar's importance as a regional racing hub.


Circuit History


The circuit was built in 1956, opening in October of that year, meaning that AUVO was one of the few private institutions in South America to own and operate its own racing facility. In its original form it was triangular in outline, with a series of infield twists and turns adding variety to the rear of the paddock area. The perimeter course measured just over 1.6 miles

A crowd of around 8,000 turned out for the inaugural event, a Formula Libre event, featuring a field made up of local and Argentine drivers. The event was named in honour of Juan Manuel Fangio, who had travelled across from Europe in a break from his Formula One activities to be the guest of honour. The event consisted of two 25-lap heats and a 50-lap final, with Asdrúbal "Pocho" Fontes running out the overall winner in his Maserati 4CLT powered by a V8 Chevrolet engine.

In 1957 the circuit hosted the 6 Hours of El Pinar for the first time, which in time would develop into one of the most important endurance races in South America. Throughout the rest of the decade and into the 1960s, the circuit continued to develop and thrive as the central hub for AUVO's racing activities, becoming ever more-important with the eventual demise of the Punta Fría circuit at Piriápolis.

Renovations prove ill-timed

In 1973, AUVO decided the facility needed a renovation, with plans to upgrade safety facilities including the installation of new pit lane wall to separate it from the racing circuit for the first time. In addition, plans were laid for an extension of the infield loop, which would increase the overall length and allow for a variety of new layout options.

The changes would also allow anti-clockwise running of all circuit variations for the first time, with competitors using the normal gird area and heading towards the Curva del Parador on the first lap, regardless of whether this featured on the layout used for the rest of the racing action.

The timing of the renovations, as it turned out, couldn't have been worse, with the oil crisis sending costs soaring upwards. Bitumen suddenly became seven times more expensive and thus more finances needed to be raised, prolonging the construction considerably. The remainder of 1973 and the whole of 1974 was lost to racing, with AUVO switching events to other regional circuits during this period.

In April 1975 the revised circuit was finally ready for action, with a re-inauguration event featuring the Brazilian Division III championship, followed two weeks later by the Argentine Formula 4 championship. Among the youthful drivers on the grid were future Formula One drivers Miguel Angel Guerra and Eliseo Salazar.

Other categories that would visit in the following years included the Codasur Formula 2 series from Argentina, which brought its home-built Formula One machinery between 1975 and '77, later followed by the SudAm F3 championship, which was also a regular visitor in 1980s and 1990s. Argentina's TC 2000 category also paid a visit, while the short-lived South American Touring Car championship brought its grid of Super Touring racers for a popular one-off event in 1999.

At the end the 1990s, the first significant circuit modification was made, when a new and faster Gota de Agua curve was built, allowing a straighter run onto the back straight and increasing considerably the available run-off area. In 2009, minor modifications were made to the pit lane entry/exit, while the Curva del Parador was renamed in honour of Gonzalo Rodriguez to commemorate the 10th anniversary of death the country's greatest international star. 'Gonchi' had provided one of the circuit's most memorable moments in 1996, when he brought his F3000 car across from Europe and gave an enthusiastic crowd a demonstration of exuberant car control.

New extension brings many layout options

Safety concerns ended anti-clockwise running at the end of 2013 but already there were plans for another significant upgrade of the circuit's facilities. Formula One circuit designer Hermann Tilke was brought in to advise on a new circuit extension on newly-acquired land adjacent to the Veloz curve. At the AUVO awards ceremony in December 2014, the first plans for the revised track were revealed, with Tilke estimating that a total of 10 circuit variations could be used, with the main layout achieving FIA Grade 2 status.

AUVO began raising the necessary funds to make the changes a reality, though it wasn't until 2016 that works could officially begin on a revised scheme, penned by AUVO itself although broadly similar to that which Tilke proposed, albeit slightly smaller in scale. Improvements to the paddock and spectator areas were also green-lighted.

Construction of the extension continued into the early part of 2017, with the new  circuit having its inauguration April.  As well as the new extension, the renovations also brought back into use the original Gota de Agua hairpin.  At the inaugural meeting, the faster 1999 curve (which remains in use as an optional variant) was named in honour of Albérico "Beco" Passadore, a famed Uruguyan racer who was killed in an accident during the 1964 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, having diced at the front with likes of Silvio Moser,  Bruno Deserti and Franz Dörfliger.

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Circuit info


Autódromo Víctor Borrat Fabini, Ciudad de la Costa, Departamento de Canelones, Uruguay
+598 2408 5592
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Official website

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