Brno: Did you know?

The victory for Crivillé Mick Doohan in 1996, by just 2 thousandths of a second, is one of the closest results in the history of the premier class.

Races have been held at Brno races since the 1930s, and the venue formed part of the World Championship for the first time in 1965.

Since then it has been an ever-present on the calendar, except for between 1983 and 1986, when competition at the urban circuit was halted for safety reasons and the current permanent track was yet to be built, and in 1992 with the fall of the Berlin wall and the disappearance of the communist bloc.

Construction of the current circuit began in 1985, and led to World Championship action returning to Brno two years later. From 1993 it was renamed the Czech Republic Grand Prix.

The track is located 23 kilometers from Brno and 200 kilometers from Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

The official name of the circuit is “Masarykub okruh”, which means “Circuit of Masaryk”, in honor of Tomáš Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia in 1918.

Since 2006, the circuit has been owned by the father of MotoGP rider Karel Abraham.

On the old 602 road, which connects the circuit to the city of Brno, the control tower and the pits of the old urban track can still be seen.

Traditionally, the Grand Prix has taken place in the summer: Between 1965 and 1973 it was held during the month of July; since 1974, it has been run in August.

The track has a maximum climb of 7.5% and a 5% descent.

The victory for Álex Crivillé from Mick Doohan in 1996, by just 2 thousandths of a second, is one of the closest results in the history of the premier class.

Brno is the MotoGP track that has hosted the second most races, after Assen (Holland).

When the Moto3 race starts on Sunday at 11am, the bells of St. Peter’s Cathedral, in the centre of Brno, will play as if it were noon. This is because in 1645, during the siege by Torstenson and after more than three months trying to take the citadel, the Swedish general decided that if he could not conquer it before noon, he would withdraw his troops. However, a man who understood the Swede warned the defenders of the city and at 11am, when the attackers were about to climb the walls, the bell rang for twelve o’clock. The general, true to his word, withdrew his army. Since then, the bells of the cathedral of St. Peter of Brno ring out for twelve an hour before noon.