“So much of this racetrack in some way resembles Monaco” says Jackie Stewart in his narration of the pace lap in this broadcast of the 1982 Detroit Grand Prix. I can’t think of much higher praise for a racing course.
This wasn’t just the first Formula 1 race on the city streets of Detroit. It wasn’t just the first F1 race in America’s Mid-West. It was my first Formula 1 race. I’ve written before about the impact the Detroit Grand Prix had on me as a young boy, but finding the entirety of the race on YouTube was an opportunity I couldn’t overlook.
I’m eager to see the return of the USGP, and the Austin facility looks like it will be a good one, but after seeing this video, I can’t help but wish it was being run down Austin’s famous 6th Street than in a purpose-built facility.
0 replies on “Midwest Monaco. Detroit Grand Prix 1982”
Isn’t Detroit known as the Monte-Carlo of the Midwest? 😉
Actually, once upon a time Detroit was known as the “Paris of the Midwest” due to it’s wide boulevards and intersecting circular hubs…
My favorite historical Detroit nickname though, is “The Arsenal of Democracy” owing to the auto manufacturing facilities retooling to produce tanks and other armaments during WWII.
(Am I making it clear enough that I’m from Detroit?)
[…] seen Formula 1 cars thunder down the closed city streets of Detroit, their engines echoing off the windows of the Pontchartrain Hotel. But it was these smaller club […]