Circuit de Cadours


The Circuit de Cadours was a race track located in the southwest of France, in the Tarn-et-Garonne département.

Historic race track of Cadours Laréole

is now part of the Toulouse city district. At the time of the start of the race-track, Cadours and more importantly its 600 inhabitants have demonstrated their capability to organise important events, "first flight event" in the 1920, air shows later, horse races and cycle races, too, before World War II.
An inhabitant from Cadours, surrounded by his friends, decided to establish an automobile event, his name: Louis Arrivet. He was a local mechanic and owned a car repair shop in the middle of the village. He was a fan of nice pieces of machinery of nice mechanic. He owned a Bugatti 47. He was also an engine tuning specialist and his skills were well known beyond the limits of the county. His address book was impressive, it included a range of sports car enthusiasts which will allow him to bring together, with the help of a newly appointed organizing committee, for a very first event called "Cadours Stop and Go" about 20 competitors.
The committee included Mr Gros, Mr Gabrielle as secretary and Mr Arrivet. They went to the "Laguepie" race track in the nearby département to pick some good ideas. They decided to pick the triangle formed by the D29, D89 and D41, all secondary tortuous roads to form the Cadours Circuit or race-track, located just outside the village of Cadours, some bales of straw would prevent major crashes while few wood barracks would become the pits. On September 18, 1948 about twenty cars had registered for the event, with René Mauriès on Simca Gordini, Michel Lecerf on Simca Deho, Roger Armichen on Simca, Robert Galy on Galy Spéciale and Émile Py on Py. The race was won by René Mauriès, from Albi, for this very first event, at the average speed of on this race track.

1949: a new Grand-Prix

For the 1949 season, Arrivet and his crew achieved Grand-Prix status for the event, the Grand-Prix of Cadours by the French Automobile Club in the Voiturette/Formula 2 category. The event was launched and became an International Grand-Prix event in the following years, where big shots will come at the end of the racing season to harvest a couple of missing points to ensure a proper ranking or would come to finish adjustments of their next season's race cars.
The first Grand Prix de Cadours was raced on 18 September 1949, in front of more than 3000 spectators. It was a success. Gerbout, from Paris, came with his Gerbout Spéciale and won the race.
In 1950, the committee decided to meet with reputable competitors assembled at a nearby event on the Lespare race track, near Bordeaux, where a Formula 2 challenge is organized to push them to come to race in Cadours.
It is a success. The start line will witness people like Aldo Gordini, René Bonnet, Élie Bayol, Marcel Balsa, René Simone, Harry Schell and Raymond Sommer. Also a motorcycle event is organized in conjunction with the race car event, improving further the recognition of the event and the race track.

Tragic accident

This second Grand Prix, in 1950, was bereaved by the accidental death of Raymond Sommer, and killed by the failure of the steering mechanism of his Cooper T12-Jap. The resulting crash was fatal.
On September 9, 1951, the following year, before the start of the third 'Grand Prix de Cadours', a monument sculpted by Lucien Passey, to the memory of Raymond Sommer was unveiled. This monument was funded by people's money collection. A second identical monument was set in Mouzon, in the French Ardennes, the village where Sommer was born.
The following year, on June 2, 1952, Juan Manuel Fangio came to Cadours to honor his late friend, in the name of the Argentine people.
In 1955, most of the race car events were cancelled because of the Le Mans accident. Drastic safety measures were set in place. Most would lead to too expensive investment. At this time several events died. It became the beginning of the end of the "Circuit de Cadours-Laréole" as for several other in Frane and in Europe.
In 1957, a sports car category event was organised. It was won by André Loens who shortly afterward died in a Monthléry accident.
The two last events will happen in the "Formula Junior" category, recently defined. The last racing event was won by Jo Siffert who became a Swiss celebrity.
In 1958, Keith Campbell, world 350 cc champion, was leading the 500 cc race when he failed to round a bend known as Cox’s Corner, crashed, and was killed instantly. According to a newspaper report, in trials he had beaten all records for the circuit, lapping at 71.5 miles an hour.
Every two years since 1998, the event is organized to gather owners and fans of oldtimers on a race track organised for this purpose.

Results

DateCategoryEventPosDriverTeamCarLapsLap length
18/09/1948Accélération et Freinage de Cadours1René MaurièsSimca-Gordini4015 m
18/08/1949Formula 21st Grand Prix de Cadours1Robert GerboutGerbout Spéciale - Lombard
10/09/1950Formula 22nd Grand Prix de Cadours1Johnny/René Simone, alias René AbboAutomobiles Deutsch et BonnetDB - Panhard204015 m
2Aldo GordiniÉquipe GordiniSimca-Gordini T1520
3Marcel BalsaMarcel BalsaJicey - BMW20
Raymond Sommer fatal crash
10/9/1951Formula 23rd Grand Prix de Cadours1Maurice TrintignantÉquipe GordiniSimca-Gordini T15254104 m
2Robert ManzonÉquipe GordiniSimca-Gordini T1525
3Jean BehraÉquipe GordiniSimca-Gordini T1125
14/9/1952Formula 24th Grand Prix de Cadours1Louis RosierLouis RosierFerrari 500305536 m
2Harry SchellEquipe GordiniSimca-Gordini T1630
3Emmanuel de GraffenriedEnrico PlatéMaserati-Platé 4CLT/4830
30/8/1953Formula 25th Grand Prix de Cadours1Maurice TrintignantÉquipe GordiniSimca-Gordini T16305536 m
2Harry SchellÉquipe GordiniSimca-Gordini T1630
3Jean BehraÉquipe GordiniSimca-Gordini T1630
30/8/1954Non Champ.6th Circuit de Cadours1Jean BehraÉquipe GordiniSimca-Gordini T16304000 m
2André PiletteÉquipe GordiniSimca-Gordini T1630
3Louis RosierLouis RosierMaserati 250F30
8/9/1957Sports8th Circuit de Cadours1André LoensPrivateMaserati 200S704000 m
2Carel Godin de BeaufortPrivatePorsche Spyder 55070
3Claude StorezPrivatePorsche Spyder 55070
6/9/1959Formula Junior10th Grand Prix de Cadours1Bill de SelincourtPrivateElva 100 - BMC303915 m
2Michel MayPrivateStanguellini - Fiat30
3Giovanni AlbertiScuderia MaduninaStanguellini - Fiat30
3/9/1961Formula Junior12th Grand Prix de Cadours1Jo SiffertÉcurie RomandeLotus 20 - Ford203915 m
2José RosinskiInter Auto CourseCooper T56 - BMC20
3Philippe MartelPrivateLotus 20 - Ford20