Autodrome Saint-Eustache

Autodrome Saint-Eustache at a glance

Location

Saint-Eustache, Quebec

Type

historic circuit (defunct)

Length

1.77 km (1.1 mi)

Turns

15

Direction

clockwise

Surface

asphalt

Opened

1965

Owner

sold to Hydro-Québec, 2019

Track map and layout

Autodrome Saint-Eustache combined a short 0.644 km paved oval with a longer 1.77 km, 15-turn road course sharing the same site northwest of Montreal, plus a drag strip, making it one of Quebec's most versatile club and national-level facilities before it closed. The oval hosted weekly NASCAR-sanctioned short-track racing, while the road course, with its tight, technical sequence of turns, was used for superbike racing and became a fixture on the Formula Drift Canada calendar in its final years. None of the layout survives today; the site was cleared after the 2019 season and sold to Hydro-Québec for infrastructure development.

Configurations

Events and race weekends

No events have been held at Autodrome Saint-Eustache since it closed at the end of the 2019 season; the site was subsequently sold to Hydro-Québec and no longer operates as a race track. In its final years it hosted a NASCAR Pinty's Series national round, a round of the Canadian Superbike Championship, and Formula D Canada drift competition, alongside decades of weekly CASCAR/NASCAR Whelen All-American Series short-track racing on the oval.

Getting there and parking

The former circuit was located in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, roughly 30-35 minutes northwest of downtown Montreal by car. There is no reason to visit the site today for motorsport purposes, as the property has been redeveloped following its sale to Hydro-Québec; nothing of the track remains open to visitors.

• Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) · about 40 min drive

Hotels and camping near Autodrome Saint-Eustache

As the track no longer exists, there is no reason to plan accommodation around it; Montreal, about 30-35 minutes southeast, has the region's full range of hotels for anyone researching the area's motorsport history.

Where to look

Montreal (30-35 minutes southeast) has the region's hotel options; the former track site itself has no visitor facilities.

Track days, driving experiences and lap records

There is no public track access of any kind at the former Autodrome Saint-Eustache site; the facility closed permanently at the end of the 2019 season and the land was sold to Hydro-Québec, so no racing, driving or spectator activity takes place there.

Spectator guide

There is nothing to spectate at the former Autodrome Saint-Eustache; the facility is closed permanently and the property has been redeveloped, so it no longer hosts races, track days or public events of any kind.

History of Autodrome Saint-Eustache

Circuit Deux Montagnes to Autodrome Saint-Eustache

The track that became Autodrome Saint-Eustache opened in 1965 northwest of Montreal, originally known as Circuit Deux Montagnes, and grew over the following decades into a combined short oval, road course and drag strip serving grassroots and national-level Quebec motorsport. For 55 years it was one of the province's busiest racing venues, running weekly short-track programs alongside major touring events.

National-level racing

The 0.644 km paved oval became a fixture of Canadian stock car racing, hosting the CASCAR Super Series through the 1990s and early 2000s and, from 2008, rounds of the NASCAR Pinty's Series national championship, including its National 250 event, which ran most years through 2019. The 1.77 km, 15-turn road course hosted the Canadian Superbike Championship on and off from the early 2000s through 2019, and in its final years the venue also became a stop on the Formula D Canada drift circuit from 2015 to 2017, broadening its appeal beyond traditional circuit racing.

Closure and redevelopment

By the mid-2010s, growing noise complaints from an expanding residential population around Saint-Eustache, combined with the city's need for land to support commercial and infrastructure growth, put increasing pressure on the track's future. On April 9, 2019, an agreement was signed between the Autodrome's operators, the City of Saint-Eustache and Hydro-Québec, under which the property was sold to the utility at the end of that year's racing season. The final NASCAR Pinty's Series race at the venue, decided by a tight championship battle, closed out 55 years of competition, and the site was subsequently cleared for Hydro-Québec's use, ending the Autodrome's run as one of Quebec's principal motorsport venues.

Frequently asked questions

Other tracks nearby

• Montreal Street Circuit (Montreal ePrix) · 32 km · historic circuit (defunct)
• Circuit Gilles Villeneuve · 35 km · street circuit
• Sanair Super Speedway · 84 km · dormant
• Circuit Mont-Tremblant · 85 km · road course
• Circuit Trois-Rivières (GP3R) · 138 km · street circuit
• Calabogie Motorsports Park · 213 km · road course