The Autódromo Internacional de Luanda is a race track in

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

, the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. The track is located in the Belas district near Mussulo Bay, about southwest of the city centre. The track was opened on 28 May 1972. With the outbreak of the

Angolan civil war The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...

, racing came to a halt for thirty years. Racing events have since been held here again.

History

The initiative to build the racetrack came from the Angolan company Autodel S.A.R.L. and was aimed at developing a course that could be used for many sports from cycling to

Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

. In parallel, a tourism centre with holiday flats, shopping facilities and a casino was to be built. The Brazilian architect Ayrton "Lolo" Cornelsen, who at the same time was in charge of the construction of the

Circuito do Estoril The Circuito do Estoril or Autódromo do Estoril (Estoril Circuit), officially known as Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva, is a motorsport race track on the Portuguese Riviera, outside of Lisbon, owned by state-run holding management company P ...

race track in mainland

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, and the engineer Júlio Basso were responsible for the conception of the entire facility. From the beginning, the Luanda circuit was in competition with the Estoril project; both operators competed to see which circuit would be the first to be completed and which would be the first to host a Formula One race. In order to speed up the realisation of the Autódromo de Luanda, Autodel granted the architect Cornelsen a 7 per cent share of all revenues generated by the project. The Autódromo de Luanda opened on 28 May 1972, three weeks before the Estoril circuit. The first race held at the new circuit on the opening day was a sports car race won by Angolan racing driver Hélder de Sousa in a Ford Capri. The circuit was only used for two and a half years; primarily sports car races such as the 3 Hours of Luanda were held here. There was no Formula 1 race in Luanda. With Angola's release into independence in 1974 and the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...

that began shortly afterwards in 1975, racing at the Autódromo de Luanda initially came to an end. In the following two and a half decades, the track was used as a military and police base. Racing events have been held in Luanda again since around 2000, today mostly organised by the Angolan motorsport federation FADM (Federação Angolana de Desportos Motorizados). In May 2014, the owner of the Autódromo de Luanda, the entrepreneur and university lecturer Laurinda Hoygaard, announced investments to broaden the offer for visitors. However, she sees the involvement of government agencies as a prerequisite for this.

Layout

The track layout is based on a square oval with an infield section. The Autódrom can be driven in five different layouts with lap lengths ranging from .{{fact, date=September 2021

References

Motorsport venues in Angola Sports venues completed in 1972