Watkins Glen

Interesting facts

The tradition began in 1948, when Cameron Argetsinger organised a 6.6-mile road race through the streets of the village of Watkins Glen itself, the seed of the town's lasting racing identity. In 1952 a car driven by Fred Wacker left the road and fatally injured seven-year-old spectator Frank Fazzari, an accident that pushed racing off the public streets and onto a wooded hilltop nearby. This track in New York's Finger Lakes region hosted the United States Grand Prix from 1961 to 1980, the longest unbroken American home of Formula 1 until Austin's Circuit of the Americas came along decades later. In 1973, battling Ronnie Peterson for pole during practice, François Cevert crashed fatally in the Esses - just one race before what would have been Jackie Stewart's 100th and final Grand Prix start, the retirement he had been secretly planning; Tyrrell withdrew from the race and Stewart's farewell never happened the way he intended. The crash led organisers to install a fast right-left chicane in the middle of the Esses by 1975, specifically to slow cars through that section. By the late 1970s the race's reputation had soured, with rowdy fans causing repeated vandalism - in 1974 a Greyhound bus was even set on fire near the circuit. The track ultimately failed to pay an $800,000 debt owed to the teams, so the sport's governing body dropped the race from the calendar in May 1981; Watkins Glen International itself filed for bankruptcy and closed that same year. The circuit is located in New York State, United States. Formula 1 has raced here since 1961, with 20 races held so far, most recently in 1980. The first race here was won by Innes Ireland, in 1961. The most recent winner here was Alan Jones, in 1980. Jim Clark has won here more than anyone else, 3 times. Among constructors, BRM has been the most successful here, with 3 wins.

Circuit history