If you grew up watching any form of motorsport, chances are names like Monaco, Monza and Brands Hatch evoke something primal inside of you. Chances are, you’ve also dreamed about taking a high-speed racing machine around one of those tracks. For most of us though, that’ll never be a reality.
Sure there are track days, but those are limited to a privileged few and the number grows even smaller if you factor in international travel. So what’s a petrol-head to do? Well, you can get a sense of what it’s like to race some of the world’s most famous tracks through any number of racing games on your console (and increasingly your smartphone or tablet). Realistic as games have gotten over the past few years though, they still don’t look quite cut it when it comes to seeing every turn as it is in real life.
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One way to supplement the experience, to really study what those legendary tracks look like is to explore them using Google Street View. Yup, that handy navigational aid you use to figure what point B will look like when you’ve traveled there from point A is available for some of the most famous strips of tarmac from around the world.
We’ve gathered together some of our favourites for your driving pleasure. So if you’re a real racing nerd, prepare to spend the next few ours studying corners, chicanes and pitalanes from around the world.
1. Top Gear test track
There can’t be many tracks around the world that have had as much TV airtime as the Top Gear test track. For over 20 series (season 21 kicks off in February), Clarkson, Hammond, May and The Stig have put car after car through its paces on the track.
Originally a World War II Canadian airfield, the track was designed by Lotus Cars as a testing facility for its vehicles and meant to out them through a series of challenges. Hundreds of cars have gone around its bends and shot across its straights and the Google Street View car is now among them. It may not have been the fastest, but it probably is the car with the most tech to have ever gone round the Hammerhead and Gambon.
2. Silverstone
The home of the British Grand Prix, Silverstone is probably the most well-known of the world’s Grand Prix tracks adapted from a World War II airfield.
In recent years there have been motions to move the British Grand Prix away from Silverstone (it’s not exactly the most practical track, nor the easiest to get to), but history is history and each attempt to move it somewhere else has been met with fierce resistance.
3. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Home to the Indy 500, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was originally paved with bricks, earning the track its nickname: “The Brickyard”. Today just 0.91m of the original brickwork remain, but the track has hardly lost its place in American racing lore. There’s a good reason for that too. Since August 19, 1909, 248 automobile races have taken place, with 137 separate drivers winning.
Which configuration of the track you prefer will depend on whether you’re a fan of the all out pace of oval racing or the technical skill and acumen of Formula One.
4. Laguna Seca
Anyone familiar with California’s Laguna Seca will know that it’s renowned for its substantial elevation change (55m) and the infamous two turns referred to as “The Corkscrew”. The track has featured in a number of racing games, including the Gran Turismo series, Forza Motorsport, and the MotoGP series. Jeremy Clarkson obsessives might recall that the time in 2005, when he attempted to beat his Gran Turismo Laguna Seca time of 1:41.148 in a Honda NSX by racing the real track in the same car.
5. Monza
Situated just outside Milan, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza is renowned for having some of the longest straights in Formula One. Indeed, Monza is one of the few tracks on the circuit where F1 cars can reach full speed.
It’s also notorious however for its poor safety history. The circuit has been the arena of many fatal accidents, especially in the early years of the Formula One world championship, and has claimed the lives of 52 drivers and 35 spectators. Various attempts have been made to make it safer, but drivers still think it could do with more run off areas.
6. Monaco
Okay, okay this isn’t really Monaco in F1 weekend mode, but you couldn’t compile a list like this without including the world’s most famous street track. It’s the jewel in F1’s crown. It’s glitz, glamour and massive tax breaks (why else would so many F1 drivers live there?). And holy heck does it look like a nightmare to navigate in normal traffic.
