The Mugello circuit, in the heart of racing

A circuit in the heart of the Mugello valley, where the climbs and descents seem to perfectly describe the perfect gradients for exciting races, only built in the 1970s, despite the area being one of the most popular theatres since the dawn of motorsport in Italy…

Where is the Mugello circuit

Built in the municipality of Scarpiera and San Piero, on the border with Borgo San Lorenzo, the Mugello circuit is now a regular stop on motorcycling calendars, as the Italian Grand Prix is held here – usually in early June.

The circuit is characterised by an uphill straight over a kilometre long, where MotoGP bikes can easily exceed the speed of 330 km/h, by severe changes in gradient and by very fast, blind and demanding corners, such as Arrabbiata 1 and Arrabbiata 2. Also noteworthy are the Casanova-Savelli, a downhill right-left chicane, important for lap times, and the “San Donato” corner, the first on the track, where – especially in MotoGP – you have a big advantage in braking as late as possible.

The history of the Mugello circuit

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the idea of building a track in the area, which had always been affected by non-regulated racing, was supported. Even when the races were promoted by the Automobile Club of Florence, the local automobile federation, accidents were all too frequent, as they had to rely on the existing road circuit, so much so that the state authorities forced a halt to the competitions in 1970 when, during the trials, unfortunately a child who was watching died.
It was in 1972 that, at the request of engineer Agnoletto, the circuit was designed and put into operation, and it immediately took the name of the plain where it was located. In 1988, the circuit was bought by Ferrari, which provided it with the best infrastructure, especially in terms of safety, but without altering the extreme difficulty of the track. Since 1976, first sporadically and then more and more often, it has hosted the Italian motorbike Grand Prix, becoming a fixed stage of the same in the last 30 years.
Due to the contingencies caused by the Covid, Mugello found itself hosting a Formula 1 race for the first time in 2020. On 13 September of that year, Mugello hosted the Tuscan Grand Prix and saw the triumph of Englishman Lewis Hamilton, destined to become the seventh world champion in his category at the end of the championship.