Swiss Grand Prix

The Swiss Grand Prix (French: Grand Prix de Suisse, German: Großer Preis der Schweiz, Italian: Gran Premio di Svizzera) was the premier auto race of Switzerland. The first edition was held in 1934, and it was held every year until 1939. The event returned in 1947 and was held every year until 1954. The event had been scheduled to take place in 1955, before a ban on motorsport in Switzerland was put in place. Every edition from 1934 to 1954 was held at the Circuit Bremgarten. The event returned in 1975 and 1982, but was held at the Dijon-Prenois circuit in France.

History

Bremgarten (1934–1939, 1947–1954)

Grand Prix motor racing came to Switzerland in 1934, to the Bremgarten circuit, located just outside the town of Bremgarten, near the Swiss de facto capital of Bern. The Bremgarten circuit was the dominant circuit on the Swiss racing scene; it was a fast 7.27-kilometre (4.52 mi) stretch made up of public roads that went through stunning countryside and forests, sweeping from corner to corner without any real length of straight. From the outset, Bremgarten's tree-lined roads, often poor light conditions, and changes in road surface made for what was acknowledged to be a very dangerous circuit, especially in the wet- even after it stopped raining and the sun came out, the trees covering the circuit were still soaking wet, and water would drip onto the tarmac for at least an hour. Conditions at this circuit were similar to that of the Nürburgring in West Germany- and this circuit was as highly popular with drivers as the Nürburgring was.