The Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a famous raceway operating from 1960 near the geographic center of France, in Magny-Cours, 250 km south of Paris. It hosted the Formula 1 Grand Prix of France from 1991 to 2008 and many other sports car and motorcycle racing competitions like the Superbike World Championship, the World Touring Car Championship, etc. Given its far inland location in the confluence of the oceanic and continental climate types, the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours has a pleasant ambient temperature for racing most of the year, with cold, short winters, and warm, long summers. The average precipitation gets to 916 mm (36.1 inches), distributed throughout all seasons, so racers need to prepare for driving on a wet surface at Magny-Cours.
The road course is customizable in two layouts: a 3.84-km (2.39-mile) Grand Prix Circuit and a 2.52-km (1.57-mile) Club Circuit. Both circuits in Nevers Magny-Cours run clockwise, with ample runoff and state-of-the-art driver safety technologies available nowadays. There are 17 turns, with different angles and featuring segments reminiscent of other racing circuits like Estoril, Adelaide, the Nurburgring, and Imola. The modern facilities surrounding the track, comfortable grandstands, and challenging trajectory make Magny-Cours an ideal archetype for an F1 raceway, well-worth visiting, and outstanding for racing audiences.
The GP Circuit in Nevers Magny-Cours is a 3.84-km (2.39-mile) FIA Grade 1 racetrack and is the default configuration to compete on Formula 1 races. There are few passing opportunities in this clockwise-oriented track, and drivers must take care to avoid costly mistakes while traversing the circuit's close-angled turns. The average lap time for the GP Circuit is 1:54.2, with an average speed of 120 km/h (75 mph).