Circuit info
Detroit Street Circuit
We don't have our own real GPS-telemetry-based 3D model for this circuit (typically a pre-2023 or discontinued venue). The outline below is a freely usable, hand-drawn circuit diagram.This layout was in use during: 1982-1988.Circuit diagram: ROY Jules (julesr0y) (CC BY 4.0). source & licenseOther known layouts at this circuit: 1982-1988Interesting facts
The original Detroit street circuit, used from 1982 to 1988, ran past the Renaissance Center and Cobo Arena and partly along Woodward Avenue (M-1 highway), a 4.17 km, 24-corner lap; drivers had to brake hard more than 20 times and change gear 50 to 60 times per lap. The rough surface routinely broke up in the summer heat, and Ayrton Senna said after his 1988 win that driving on the crumbled asphalt felt like driving in the rain. Detroit was chosen mainly to burnish the city's international image; in 1982 the United States became the only country ever to host three Formula 1 races in one calendar (Detroit, Long Beach and Las Vegas), a feat not repeated by any country until Italy in 2020. The 1984 race tied Formula 1's record for retirements on a paved circuit, with 20 cars failing to finish; in 1988, Nelson Piquet spun into the wall at Turn 1 during practice, a crash caught live on his car's onboard camera. After 1988, the sport's governing body ruled the temporary pit facilities no longer met World Championship standards, so Formula 1 left Detroit and the United States Grand Prix moved to a street circuit in Phoenix instead. Three CART races followed from 1989 to 1991, before the downtown circuit's costs pushed the event to Belle Isle Park in 1992. You'll find it in Detroit, United States. On the calendar since 1982, this circuit has hosted 7 races, the latest in 1988. John Watson took the inaugural win here in 1982. Ayrton Senna won here most recently, in 1988. The most successful driver at this circuit is Ayrton Senna, with 3 wins. McLaren is the dominant constructor at this circuit, with 2 wins.