I think we need to start in the Creuse region to understand the reasons behind this circuit. It’s not just any countryside for Pierre Bardinon. His family and his roots belong here. He was brought up here, in a landscape where all is rugged, all is strong, like the smells that linger in the evenings, the strong smells of the earth - a certain air quality that makes breathing easier. He is deeply attached to his region.It is in the Creuse region that Pierre’s path originates, a path that lives up to the region’s landscapes. As an adolescent, Pierre might not have known that his future lay in the Mas du Clos. He was certainly more sensitive to the noise and rumble of the cars than to the silence of the Creuse sunsets. But... it was the association of both these features that led to the creation of one of the most beautiful circuits in the world. |
The idea of creating a circuit was that of a man who wanted to contribute to his region’s evolution and at the same time work for his own pleasure. Things went very fast: In 1963, the first 400 metre track was created. In 1965, there was the creation of the ASA Mas du Clos, which was affiliated to the FFSA, and the certification of the circuit for all private competition or training. In other words, things went fast, after a start at 400 metres, came an intermediate 1 kilometre version and then the final course in 1967. The news spread fast in the small world of car racing - there was a new Brandshatch in the Creuse region. |
Matra was the first race team to use the circuit; after his accident in Le Mans, Pescarolo came to drive his first laps in the Mas du Clos. Then Ligier, Alpine, Dunlop came for their practice. Jim Clark came to have a look at the circuit and said; "please, Pierre, don’t go any further... if you go any further, you will have to open the circuit to the public, and get certified for official competition." "Yes, I could have gone further said Pierre, but as it was, the circuit already welcomed the best French teams, I could meet the greatest champions, keep my contacts in the field and make friends in the world I loved... and the famous clubs came along! The first ones were Ferrari, Bugatti, Bentley. It was the first club event at the Mas du Clos; at the time they came as a group of three. Porsche was there in 1971, then came Facel-Vega, Gordini, Aston-Martin, Peugeot, Mercedes, Alfa-Romeo, Toyota, Bmw...Clubs, manufacturers, came for public relations, for the sake of sports or for the advertisement of a model, to get to know the place and once they knew it, to come back straight after! The circuit was launched. |
The clubs had their own habits, they reserved the circuit from one year to the next. Pierre indicates that because of the length of winter in the region, the season is, after all, very short - not even 8 months, the occupancy rate can only be measured from April to November. Places must therefore be reserved in advance... Nowadays, from a financial point of view, the activities on the circuit bring 7000 guest-nights a year to the local hotels, to which must be added restaurants and shops. Pierre talks...beside him, Yanne listens and shares memories and projects. The Mas du Clos is the work of a couple, for friends: " Nothing is more important to me than to love friends who share my passion. Friends who come here for their own pleasure, to share the same passion with neither envy nor jealousy". |
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