Auto race held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
36°07′1″N
115°10′30″W
/
36.11694°N 115.17500°W
/
36.11694; -115.17500
Caesars Palace Grand Prix
|
|
|
Number of times held
| 4
|
---|
First held
| 1981
|
---|
Last held
| 1984
|
---|
Most wins (drivers)
| No repeat winners
|
---|
Most wins (constructors)
| No repeat winners
|
---|
Circuit length
| 3.650
km (2.268
miles)
|
---|
Race length
| 273.750
km (170.100
miles)
|
---|
Laps
| 75
|
---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
---|
The
Caesars Palace Grand Prix
was an annual car race held in
Las Vegas
, US from 1981 to 1984. In 1981 and 1982 the race was part of the
Formula One
World Championship and featured a 2.268 mile (3.650 km), 14 turn Grand Prix layout; in 1983 and 1984 it became a round of the
CART
Indy car
series and featured a 5 turn 1.125 mile (1.811 km) distorted oval layout.
Nissan
/
Datsun
was a presenting sponsor of the races.
[1]
The races were held on a temporary circuit in the
parking lot
of the
Caesars Palace
hotel.
[2]
[3]
[4]
History
[
edit
]
There had been
Can-Am
races at the
Stardust International Raceway
in the mid to late 1960s, but that circuit was bought by developers and then demolished in 1970. The first race was originally supposed to take place as the last race of the 1980 season on November 2, 4 weeks after the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. But when
Watkins Glen
went off the schedule after 1980, the Caesars' Palace Grand Prix gained importance, and more effort was put forth by Bernie Ecclestone and others to make sure this
Las Vegas
race went ahead. The new race ended the year, whereas Long Beach, only 300 mi (480 km) away, started it. But the Las Vegas Caesars Palace circuit was not as popular among the drivers
[
who?
]
as Long Beach, primarily because of the flat, repetitive nature of the circuit, its parking-lot location, and Las Vegas itself. It has been described as one of the worst circuits Formula One has ever visited.
[5]
The track was laid out in the parking lot of the
Caesars Palace
hotel and was set up for a temporary circuit. Wide enough for overtaking, it provided ample run-off areas filled with sand and had a surface that was as smooth as glass. Its counter-clockwise direction, however, put a tremendous strain on the drivers' necks. When
Nelson Piquet
clinched his first World Championship by finishing fifth in 1981, it took him 15 minutes to recover from heat exhaustion after barely making it to the finish. The 1982 race, held in intense heat?another unpleasant feature of this race?was won by Michele Alboreto in a Tyrrell, but that was the end of Formula One racing in Las Vegas, since the races had drawn only tiny crowds (the venue has been described as "an impossibly tight and unedifying circuit that failed to excite drivers or fans"
[6]
) and the 1981 race made a huge loss for the hotel.
Following the withdrawal of Formula One, the event was assumed by the
CART
Indy car
series for
1983
and
1984
. The circuit was modified with turns 1, 6, and 10 connected in a continuous straight, producing a flat 1.125 mi (1.811 km) distorted oval. The two races were contested over 178 laps, a distance of 200.25 mi (322.27 km).
[7]
[8]
[9]
For the 1984 running, the exit of the final corner was widened, increasing lap speeds by around 7 mph from the previous year.
[10]
[
unreliable source?
]
Following the 1984 race, the circuit disappeared from the calendar, with the location now covered with urban development (namely,
the Forum Shops at Caesars
and
the Mirage
).
[11]
[12]
The first Las Vegas Formula One race since 1982 was the
Las Vegas Grand Prix
, running on a 3.853 mi (6.201 km)
[13]
circuit through city streets including
Las Vegas Boulevard
(the Strip), as part of the
2023 World Championship
.
[14]
[6]
Winners of the Caesars Palace Grand Prix
[
edit
]
Lap records
[
edit
]
The official race lap records at the Caesars Palace Grand Prix are listed as:
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Salmans, Sandra (19 August 1982).
"Nissan Promotion (advertising)"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
16 November
2012
.
- ^
"The greatest Formula 1 title showdowns - part four"
.
Autosport
. 11 July 2017
. Retrieved
15 September
2022
.
- ^
Sylt, Christian (17 October 2014).
"F1 plans trip to Las Vegas for grand prix on The Strip"
.
The Independent
. Retrieved
15 September
2022
.
- ^
Wood, Will (18 December 2021).
"Which was F1's best down-to-the-wire title fight?"
.
Racefans
. Retrieved
15 September
2022
.
- ^
"Ten worst... F1 tracks"
. F1 Fanatic. 4 October 2007
. Retrieved
16 November
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Richards, Giles (Nov 12, 2023).
"Formula One gambles on Las Vegas spectacular to break US market"
.
The Observer
.
- ^
"Caeser's Palace"
. Champcarstats.com. 8 October 1983
. Retrieved
16 November
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"1983 Caesars Palace Grand Prix III"
. Champcarstats.com. 8 October 1983
. Retrieved
16 November
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"1984 Caesars Palace Grand Prix IV"
. Champcarstats.com. 11 November 1984
. Retrieved
16 November
2012
.
- ^
"1983 CART Las Vegas Grand Prix intro"
. YouTube. 31 May 2010
. Retrieved
9 January
2016
.
- ^
Henle, Michael (12 July 1992).
"Focus: Las Vegas; On a Failed Track, a Roman-Style Mall"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
6 October
2023
.
- ^
Wolford, Steve (18 April 2023).
"2023 Formula 1 Las Vegas will be 'much better' than 1980s races"
.
KSNV
. Retrieved
6 October
2023
.
- ^
"2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix ? Event Notes ? Circuit Map V3"
(PDF)
.
Federation Internationale de l'Automobile
. 2023-11-17
. Retrieved
2023-11-17
.
- ^
"Las Vegas to host Formula 1 night race from 2023"
. Formula 1. 30 March 2022
. Retrieved
30 March
2022
.
- ^
"Las Vegas GP"
. ChicaneF1
. Retrieved
14 September
2021
.
- ^
"Caesars Palace, 16 Oct 1981 ≪ Single-seater Can-Am ≪ OldRacingCars.com"
.
- ^
"Caesars Palace, 26 Sep 1982 ≪ Single-seater Can-Am ≪ OldRacingCars.com"
.
- ^
"Trans-Am Caesars Palace 1983"
. Racing Sports Cars.
Archived
from the original on 2009-11-18
. Retrieved
14 September
2021
.
- ^
"Trans-Am Caesars Palace 1984"
. Racing Sports Cars.
Archived
from the original on 2021-09-14
. Retrieved
14 September
2021
.
- ^
"Can-Am Challenge Race Caesars Palace, 16 Oct 1981"
. Retrieved
24 May
2022
.
- ^
"Caesers Palace"
. Retrieved
24 May
2022
.
- ^
"Trans-Am Ceasers Palace 1984"
. Retrieved
24 May
2022
.
- ^
"1983 COORS 200"
. Retrieved
24 May
2022
.
External links
[
edit
]