Circuit du Mas du Clos

Circuit du Mas du Clos at a glance

Location

Saint-Avit-de-Tardes, Creuse

Type

road course

Length

3.072 km (1.908 mi)

Turns

12

Surface

asphalt

Opened

1963

Owner

Bardinon family (Alexandre Bardinon)

Address

Le Mas du Clos

Phone

+33 5 55 66 47 96

Website

masduclos.com/en

Track map and layout

Circuit du Mas du Clos is a technical 3.072 km (1.908 mile) road course with 12 corners, laid out within the grounds of the Bardinon family's Mas du Clos estate near Saint-Avit-de-Tardes in the Creuse. Unlike most circuits of its era, it was not built to a standard competition template but designed to follow the natural, undulating topography of the parkland at around 690 metres of altitude, giving it a flowing, technically demanding character. The BBM asphalt surface is 9-14 metres wide, and the circuit is set within a private estate rather than a conventional motorsport complex, giving it an unusually secluded, parkland feel for a French road course.

Configurations

Events and race weekends

Mas du Clos has never been a championship racing venue; it was built as a private testing and driving facility by Ferrari collector Pierre Bardinon and progressively opened to prestigious manufacturers and teams, including Bugatti, Bentley and Porsche, for testing and demonstration running. The circuit closed in 2010 after failing to meet updated safety standards and reopened in October 2022, after homologation work, under Alexandre Bardinon, grandson of the founder, now operating as a private track day and events venue rather than a competition circuit.

Getting there and parking

The circuit lies within the Mas du Clos estate near Saint-Avit-de-Tardes in the rural Creuse, in the hilly Massif Central foothills of central France. There is no rail station nearby; the closest useful stations are at Guéret or Aubusson, both a substantial drive away, and most visitors reach the circuit by car, typically as part of a longer trip through the Limousin region.

• Limoges-Bellegarde Airport (LIG) · about 90 min drive
• Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport (CFE) · about 100 min drive

Parking

On-site parking is provided for track day and event visitors, generally included with entry.

Book well ahead, as the circuit operates as a private venue with a comparatively small annual programme of track days and events since its 2022 reopening.

Hotels and camping near Circuit du Mas du Clos

Aubusson, the nearest town of any size, offers the closest hotel options; Guéret, the Creuse's departmental capital, has a wider range of accommodation a little farther away. There is no trackside camping culture at this private estate circuit.

Where to look

Aubusson for proximity to the circuit; Guéret for a broader choice of hotels.

Track days, driving experiences and lap records

Since reopening in October 2022 after a 12-year closure, Mas du Clos operates as a private circuit offering car and motorcycle track days, exclusive circuit rental, driver training and corporate incentive events, generally on a smaller and more exclusive scale than mainstream commercial circuits given its private-estate setting.

Who runs days here

• Circuit du Mas du Clos (own track days)both
• Motorsport Academy (Mas du Clos driving courses)car

Lap records

Spectator guide

As a private estate circuit used for track days and manufacturer/team testing rather than public racing, Mas du Clos has no significant spectator infrastructure and is not generally open for casual spectating outside organised events.

Seating

No permanent public grandstands; the circuit is a private facility not set up for general spectating.

Weather

• May-September: cooler upland Massif Central climate given the circuit's ~690 m altitude, with variable conditions

History of Circuit du Mas du Clos

A private circuit built for a Ferrari collection

Circuit du Mas du Clos was founded in 1963 by Pierre Bardinon, one of the world's most celebrated Ferrari collectors, within the grounds of his family estate near Saint-Avit-de-Tardes in the Creuse. Rather than following a standard competition template, the track was laid out to follow the natural, undulating topography of the parkland, producing a flowing, technically demanding circuit reaching its definitive 3,065-metre form by 1967.

A test track for the greats

Built purely for private use, Mas du Clos was never intended to host public championship racing. Instead, Bardinon progressively opened the circuit to prestigious manufacturers and racing teams, including Bugatti, Bentley and Porsche, who used its technical layout for testing and demonstration work, and it became a quietly renowned venue among serious collectors and racing drivers for its combination of seclusion and challenge.

Closure and a long dormancy

As safety and homologation standards for circuits tightened through the 2000s, Mas du Clos fell out of compliance and closed in 2010, entering more than a decade of dormancy during which the track saw no organised activity.

Reopening under a new generation

After several months of upgrade work to secure fresh homologation, the circuit reopened in October 2022 under Alexandre Bardinon, grandson of founder Pierre Bardinon. Today it operates as a private track day, driver training and corporate events venue, preserving its unusual parkland character while opening its gates once again to car and motorcycle enthusiasts more than a decade after closing.

Frequently asked questions

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