The Lords of Albi

The Albi Grand Prix (or Albigeois, depending on the era) is part of our national heritage. It was at the initiative of the AMCCA (Auto Moto Camping Club Albigeois) that its first edition took place in 1933 on the Planques circuit. Ultra-fast, this triangle traced on departmental and national roads started from the hamlet of Planques and crossed the village of Saint-Juéry. Seven editions took place before the war, seeing Pierre Veyron, Prince Bira, Raymond Mays and Luigi Villoresi register their names on the list. After the war, Tazio Nuvolari, Louis Rosier, Maurice Trintignant and André Simon succeeded them, without forgetting Juan-Manuel Fangio, winner in 1949 on Maserati. If the F1 performed in Albi in 1947, the 1953 edition was memorable, pitting the two best drivers of the moment in front of a record crowd, Fangio on BRM and Alberto Ascari on Ferrari. The tires of the BRM V16 and the engine of the Ferrari did not resist this Dantesque duel, allowing Louis Rosier to impose his Ferrari. Having become too fast (Fangio had set the 8,901 km record in 2'52"2, at an average of 186,083 km/h), the dangerous Planques circuit was abandoned in favor of a 2,990 km route called Circuit Raymond Sommer. This was inaugurated in 1954 with a Monomill event, André Simon imposing his Mase