Circuit of Cherade - France
Image credit: Fabien1309, via OpenStreetMap – CC BY-SA 4.0
Tucked away in the lush hills of central France lies a circuit that once drew comparisons to the Nürburgring of Germany.
Charade was a very beautiful circuit, but it also was wild. For a brief period in the ’60s and early ’70s, it stood as one of the most thrilling and most dangerous circuits on Earth.
This is now a forgotten jewel of motorsport, carved into volcanic terrain near Clermont-Ferrand.
The birth of a giant
Clermont-Ferrand, with its winding mountain roads and panoramic views of dormant volcanoes, offered a compelling canvas.
In 1958, those twisting public roads were stitched together to form a permanent circuit. It was an 8-kilometer layout with 51 corners, sudden elevation changes, blind crests, and a relentless rhythm that punished mistakes.
Drivers didn’t just race at Charade. They wrestled it. They danced with it.
Formula 1 comes to town
For the first time, F1 came to this circuit in 1965, and right from the start, it earned a reputation for being unforgiving.
The road-like nature of the course meant barriers were minimal, run-off zones practically nonexistent, and mechanical failures were often catastrophic.
But what it lacked in modern safety, it made up for with pure racing thrill. There was no room for error. Cars danced along cliff edges and screamed through forested corners.
Only four F1 races were held at this track, in 1965, then 1969, 1970, and 1972. Legends like Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, and Jochen Rindt faced off in cars that had no business tackling such a violent ribbon of tarmac.
And the track bit back.
A track that fought the drivers
Jackie Stewart famously called Charade a “miniature Nürburgring.” That was not a compliment.
In 1972, during what would become Charade’s final F1 event, a rock kicked up by Emerson Fittipaldi’s Lotus shattered the helmet visor of Helmut Marko — yes, the same man who would later help run Red Bull Racing. The impact permanently blinded him in one eye, ending his driving career instantly.
That incident sealed Charade’s fate in F1. The track was simply too dangerous for modern racing speeds, so it was time to move on.
Even before this, drivers had complained of nausea from the endless twists and turns. The circuit’s relentless flow offered no rest, no rhythm, no margin for distraction, something that no other track had.
Life after Formula 1
Though F1 would never return, Charade refused to die, so what happened next?
Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, the track continued hosting touring cars, motorcycles, and historic racing events. But time and regulations caught up with it.
In 1989, a shortened 3.9-kilometer version of the circuit was opened.
This was a safer, more compact track that stripped away the most dangerous sections. The circuit is still in use today, mostly for club events and racing schools.
But it’s not the same, it’s same as modern circuits now, no risks at all.
The original layout, now part of public roads again, has become a pilgrimage site for racing purists. Driving the old route feels like stepping back into a different era, one where bravery often counted more than horsepower.
What can we say more?
Charade’s story is one of extremes, it was extreme beauty but in the same time extreme danger.
It never got the long-term fame of Monaco or Monza, but for those who raced there, and those who remember it, Charade holds a mythical status.
It’s a symbol of what racing used to be: raw, unpredictable, and human, but now a circuit that no longer exist.
Even today, when fans talk about circuits that deserve a revival, Charade often tops the list. Not because it could fit modern safety standards, it can’t. But because, in its short time at the top, it delivered something that no modern track ever could.
