The Autodromo di Pergusa is an automobile and motorcycle
circuit that encircles the only Sicilian natural lake,
Pergusa Lake
Lake Pergusa (''Pergoussa'', Πυργούσσα in Ancient Greek) is a lake in Sicily, set between a group of mountains in the Erean Mountains chain near Pergusa, 5 km from Enna, Italy. It is a vital stop in the migratory trajectory of a great ...
. The circuit is also known as Enna-Pergusa, as the lake is located near the city of
Enna
Enna ( or ; grc, Ἔννα; la, Henna, less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( scn, Castrugiuvanni ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering ...
.
Overview
![Enna Autodromo di Pergusa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Enna_Autodromo_di_Pergusa.jpg)
During the 1960s, the track hosted various sportscar events such as the Coppa Città di Enna and later in the 1970s the Coppa Florio. It also played host to a non-championship
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
event known as the
Mediterranean Grand Prix. In 1989 the Italian round of the
World Superbike Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
was held here. In the 1990s, the track was upgraded and hosted events for the
FIA Sportscar Championship The FIA Sportscar Championship was a sports car racing series created by John Mangoletsi and was eventually taken control of by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a series similar to the FIA GT Championship, concentrating ...
,
FIA GT Championship
The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...
, and
Formula 3000
Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines.
Formula 3000 championships
...
. In 1997 the track was also the location of the
Ferrari festival.
The last round of the
2012 Superstars Series and
2012 International GTSprint Series was held at Pergusa. The circuit hosted a round of the
FIA European Touring Car Championship in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
,
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and
2015. The venue hosted a round of the
2015 TCR Italian Series.
The dust and the abrasive nature of the track tended to make the surface very slippery. The Formula 3000 races in particular were also known for very poor standards of organization and marshaling.
Starting in 1974, the
Coppa Florio
The Coppa Florio (or Florio Cup) was a motorsport race for automobiles first held in Italy in 1900. It was renamed in 1905 when Vincenzo Florio offered the initial 50,000 Lira prize money and a cup designed by Polak of Paris. The cup was to be aw ...
, one of the world's oldest motor races, was revived as a
sports car race at Pergusa. The race counted towards the
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.
The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and ...
most years from 1975, last being held in 1981. In 2020, Creventic hosted a
12 hour race around the circuit in a two day event on October 10–11 as part of the
2020 24H GT Series, again reviving the Coppa Florio name.
Lap records
The official race lap records at the Autodromo di Pergusa (Enna-Pergusa) are listed as:
Notes
References
External links
Autodromo di Pergusa&mdas
English translation by GoogleTrackpedia's guide to racing Pergusa
Superbike World Championship circuits
Sports venues in Italy
Motorsport venues in Italy
Enna
1960s establishments in Italy
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