The Circuit Jules Tacheny Mettet is a motor racing circuit in Mettet,

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...

(

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

), southeast of

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

. The circuit was finalized in 2010 near the old street circuit.

History

Motorcycle racing

During the early 1920s motorcycle racers started to race around a circuit composed of local streets surrounding the Belgian city of Mettet. The first motorcycle Grand Prix Entre Sambre et Meuse was held in 1928. Belgian driver

Albert Breslau Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albe ...

won the first race on an AJS. The last edition of the original motorcycle Grand Prix of Mettet was run in 1937. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Jules Tacheny Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name * Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–19 ...

was appointed president of the Royal Motor Union de l’Entre Sambre et Meuse (RMUESM). Tacheny won the Senior category of the first post-war version of the Grand Prix in 1946. The overall Grand Prix was won by

Roger Laurent Roger Laurent (21 February 1913 – 6 February 1997) was a racing driver and motorcycle racer from Belgium. He was born in Liège and died in Uccle. Laurent competed aboard a Moto Guzzi in the 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, entering t ...

on a Norton. In 1947 the FIM motorcycle racing governing body decided each country could only host one Grand Prix. Therefore, the title

Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix The Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season from 1949 to 1990. History The first official Belgian grand prix was held in 1949, but non-championship races were held as far back ...

was awarded to the race at

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has hel ...

. The race at Mettet was renamed Circuit de l'Entre Sambre et Meuse in 1947 and the race was again renamed to "Grand Trophy". Legendary motor and auto racing driver

John Surtees John Surtees, (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with ...

won the race in 1958 in the 350cc and 500cc classes. Between 1972 and 1979 the street circuit was used for an endurance motorcycle race. French driver

Jean-Claude Chemarin Jean-Claude is a French masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Claude Ades, an Italian electronic music producer * Jean-Claude Alibert (died 2020), a French racing driver * Jean-Claude Amiot (born 1939), a French compos ...

was the most successful driver of the Mettet 1000km race, he won the race four times. The street circuit was last used in 2006. Circuito Jules Tacheny

Formula 2

The RMUESM hosted non-championship

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name r ...

races twice, in 1950 and 1951. In 1950 the first edition Grandee Trophée Entre Sambre et Meuse was held at the street circuit. Of the 24 competitors only ten drivers made it to the finish.

Robert Manzon Robert Manzon (12 April 1917 – 19 January 2015) was a French racing driver. He participated in 29 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 21 May 1950. He achieved two podiums, and scored a total of 16 championship points. At the ...

won the final race in his factory entered Simca

Gordini Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and Car tuning, performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer). ...

Type 15.

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of com ...

and

Lance Macklin Lance Noel Macklin (2 September 1919 – 29 August 2002) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952. He was infamously involved in the 1955 Le Mans disaste ...

finished second and third in for HW Motors. The second edition of the Grandee Trophée was again won by Manzon. Gordini completed the podium with factory drivers André Simon and

Maurice Trintignant Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (30 October 1917 – 13 February 2005) was a motor racing driver and vintner from France. He competed in the Formula One World Championship for fourteen years, between 1950 and 1964, one of the longest care ...

finishing second and third.

Development of the new circuit

The new permanent circuit was opened on 12 March 2010. In the initial years Mettet was mostly used by motorcycle racers. The track was first used in the

FIA European Rallycross Championship FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ( English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Back ...

and

FIA World Rallycross Championship The FIA World Rallycross Championship (official abbreviation is World RX) is a rallycross series organised by the FIA in conjunction with series promoter Rallycross Promoter GmbH (founded by Red Bull and KW25). From the inaugural season in 2014 ...

in 2014.

Lap Records

Motorcycle Grand Prix

Formula 2 results

FIA World Rallycross Championship

Since 2019 the World RX of Belgium was renamed Spa World RX of Benelux and takes place at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

References

External links

Circuit Jules Tacheny Mettet official site
Jules Tacheny Mettet Sports venues in Namur (province) World Rallycross circuits Mettet {{World RX circuits