The wild history of American open-wheel racing has left IndyCar struggling to recover its former popularity. The current series is trending upwards, and rumor has it that it may return to South America in 2024 to stage an event at the Autódromo Termas de Rio Hondo, a purpose-built circuit in Argentina. IndyCar's first proper foray into South America had a much weirder circuit, however, when CART visited Rio de Janeiro.
In the first season of the infamous split, CART was still called IndyCar, and as the series was filled with popular Brazilian drivers like former Formula One drivers Emerson Fittipaldi, Maurício Gugelmin or Raul Boesel, it was time to bring the action to their home crowd. In total, eight Brazilians would compete in the 1996 season.
24 years later, the Rio 400, as it was called, was never considered to be a non-championship race, instead hosting the second round of the season. Held at Jacarepaguá, the same venue that hosted the Brazilian Grand Prix ten times between 1978 and 1989, the circuit used had a rather unique layout: To bring oval racing to Brazil, a new oval course was constructed that incorporated the road course's back straight.
The roval layout of Jacarepaguá overlaid with the road course for comparison. The unusual shape with two heavy braking zones made for spectacular manoeuvers in the CART cars. Image credit: racingcircuits.info
Its unusual layout led to the circuit being called a roval, and with good reason: The track felt less like an oval, but rather like a road course with only left turns. It was run to oval rules, however, making it a rather unique challenge that led to exciting racing.
The view going into turn 1 was not bad at all at Jacarepaguá - not that the drivers would have had time to admire it.
The high speeds on the back straight and through turns 2 and 3 were almost immediately demonstrated by Mark Blundell just ten laps into the inaugural Rio 400: The Briton lost the brakes of his Reynard 96i going into the final turn, slid across the grass at the apex of the corner and hit the concrete wall (no SAFER barrier or tire bundles) at enormous speed, splitting his car in half. Remarkably, Blundell only suffered a broken foot in an incident that could have been much worse.
Despite the early incident, the race itself was a popular one, especially for the local fans as André Ribeiro took his second-ever victory ahead of Al Unser Jr. and Scott Pruett. This would be the only win by a Brazilian in the event, which lasted until 2000 (having been run as a 200-kilometer race in 1999 and 2000). Other winners were Paul Tracy (1997), Greg Moore (1998), Juan Pablo Montoya (1999) and Adrián Fernandez (2000).
Unfortunately, racing in general has ceased at Jacarepaguá in the years following CART's departure. The 2016 Summer Olympics were to be hosted on the site the track stood on, and construction beginning in 2006 meant that only a shortened version of the road course was still raceable - until that got torn down starting in 2012.
The former site of the Jacarepaguá circuit years after the Olympic Games - not much hints at the racing track that originally occupied this space anymore. Image credit: Google Maps
Ironically, many of the venues constructed for the Olympic Games have been sitting mostly abandoned since the event, and some of them are being dismantled or repurposed.
As is often the case with former tracks, sim racing allows us to still experience them. Jacarepaguá is available in both its road course and roval form in both Automobilista titles, and the road course is available in its 1980s guise as an Assetto Corsa mod here on RaceDepartment.
Meanwhile, IndyCar has returned to Brazil: The reuinified series raced on a street circuit in Sao Paulo from 2010 to 2013, which was laid out the district that Ayrton Senna was born in - although it could have been considered Will Power's back yard as well, as the Australian took three straight wins there from 2010 to 2012, with the final victory going to James Hinchcliffe in 2013.
Full grandstands, hotly-contested races: The Rio 400 (later Rio 200) was quite the spectacle until 2000.
In the first season of the infamous split, CART was still called IndyCar, and as the series was filled with popular Brazilian drivers like former Formula One drivers Emerson Fittipaldi, Maurício Gugelmin or Raul Boesel, it was time to bring the action to their home crowd. In total, eight Brazilians would compete in the 1996 season.
Argentina Was First
Now, this was not the first-ever appearance of US open wheelers in South America, to be exact: In 1971, the USAC Championship Car series opened its season at the Autódromo de Rafaela oval in Argentina, but would never return after that. Just ten days before the green flag flew, the event was upgraded from non-championship to points-paying status - a decision that did not prove to be popular with many teams and drivers. The two back-to-back races on the 3-mile oval were won by Al Unser Sr., who would also go on to win the Indianapolis 500 later that year.24 years later, the Rio 400, as it was called, was never considered to be a non-championship race, instead hosting the second round of the season. Held at Jacarepaguá, the same venue that hosted the Brazilian Grand Prix ten times between 1978 and 1989, the circuit used had a rather unique layout: To bring oval racing to Brazil, a new oval course was constructed that incorporated the road course's back straight.
The roval layout of Jacarepaguá overlaid with the road course for comparison. The unusual shape with two heavy braking zones made for spectacular manoeuvers in the CART cars. Image credit: racingcircuits.info
The Rio Roval
The final result, however, was somewhat in between an oval and a road course: The track was shaped like a trapezoid and featured four turns, but hardly any banking - this meant that turns 1 and 4 saw the drivers braking heavily and going down through the gears like they would on short ovals like Gateway, for example. At 1.864 miles (3 kilometers) in length, the oval was not exactly short, though, so despite the short oval aero package being used there, cars hit rather high speeds approaching turn 4 in particular.Its unusual layout led to the circuit being called a roval, and with good reason: The track felt less like an oval, but rather like a road course with only left turns. It was run to oval rules, however, making it a rather unique challenge that led to exciting racing.
The view going into turn 1 was not bad at all at Jacarepaguá - not that the drivers would have had time to admire it.
The high speeds on the back straight and through turns 2 and 3 were almost immediately demonstrated by Mark Blundell just ten laps into the inaugural Rio 400: The Briton lost the brakes of his Reynard 96i going into the final turn, slid across the grass at the apex of the corner and hit the concrete wall (no SAFER barrier or tire bundles) at enormous speed, splitting his car in half. Remarkably, Blundell only suffered a broken foot in an incident that could have been much worse.
Despite the early incident, the race itself was a popular one, especially for the local fans as André Ribeiro took his second-ever victory ahead of Al Unser Jr. and Scott Pruett. This would be the only win by a Brazilian in the event, which lasted until 2000 (having been run as a 200-kilometer race in 1999 and 2000). Other winners were Paul Tracy (1997), Greg Moore (1998), Juan Pablo Montoya (1999) and Adrián Fernandez (2000).
Olympic Games Spell the End after CART Departure
The race was set to return for 2001 as well, but was canceled after the municipal government failed to provide guarantees regarding the payment of sanctioning fees. This spelled the end CART and IndyCar racing at the venue, as the Indy Racing League - unlike with other tracks like Nazareth Speedway - did not take over the running.Unfortunately, racing in general has ceased at Jacarepaguá in the years following CART's departure. The 2016 Summer Olympics were to be hosted on the site the track stood on, and construction beginning in 2006 meant that only a shortened version of the road course was still raceable - until that got torn down starting in 2012.
The former site of the Jacarepaguá circuit years after the Olympic Games - not much hints at the racing track that originally occupied this space anymore. Image credit: Google Maps
Ironically, many of the venues constructed for the Olympic Games have been sitting mostly abandoned since the event, and some of them are being dismantled or repurposed.
As is often the case with former tracks, sim racing allows us to still experience them. Jacarepaguá is available in both its road course and roval form in both Automobilista titles, and the road course is available in its 1980s guise as an Assetto Corsa mod here on RaceDepartment.
Meanwhile, IndyCar has returned to Brazil: The reuinified series raced on a street circuit in Sao Paulo from 2010 to 2013, which was laid out the district that Ayrton Senna was born in - although it could have been considered Will Power's back yard as well, as the Australian took three straight wins there from 2010 to 2012, with the final victory going to James Hinchcliffe in 2013.
Your Thoughts
What do you think about this unusual oval? Have you watched the CART races at the track back in the day? Let us know in the comments below!Full grandstands, hotly-contested races: The Rio 400 (later Rio 200) was quite the spectacle until 2000.
