Circuito Ayrton Senna (Salvador Street Circuit)

Circuito Ayrton Senna (Salvador Street Circuit) at a glance

Location

Salvador, Bahia

Type

historic circuit (defunct)

Length

2.724 km (1.693 mi)

Turns

12

Direction

clockwise

Surface

asphalt (public roads)

Opened

2009

Owner

Government of the State of Bahia (public roads, temporary circuit)

Capacity

60,000

Track map and layout

Laid out on public roads in the CAB (Centro Administrativo da Bahia) district of Salvador, this temporary street circuit made history in 2009 as the first street track ever used by Stock Car Brasil. The original 2009 layout had 7 turns; a reworked version used from 2010 to 2014 stretched to 12 turns over the same 2.724 km (1.693 mi) lap. Corners carried names drawn from Bahian culture and cuisine, including the Curva dos Orixás (named for Afro-Brazilian deities), Curva do Acarajé (named for the local street food), Curva da Balança, Curva do Dendê and Curva da Vitória, giving the circuit a strong local identity distinct from Brazil's purpose-built tracks.

Named corners and sections

• Curva dos Orixás. Named for the orixás of Afro-Brazilian religion, reflecting Salvador's Candomblé heritage.
• Curva do Acarajé. Named for Salvador's signature street food, the deep-fried black-eyed-pea fritter sold across the city.
• Curva da Balança. One of the circuit's technical direction changes along the waterfront roads.
• Curva do Dendê. Named for dendê (palm) oil, a staple of Bahian cooking.
• Curva da Vitória. Named for Vitória, the upscale Salvador neighbourhood the route ran through.

Configurations

Events and race weekends

The circuit hosted Stock Car Brasil every year from 2009 to 2014, six editions in total, and its 2009 debut was the first street race in Stock Car Brasil's history. No races have been held there since the final 2014 event, and it does not appear on any current national racing calendar.

Getting there and parking

The former circuit ran along public roads in the CAB (Centro Administrativo da Bahia) district, Salvador's government and business precinct along Avenida Luís Viana Filho (Avenida Paralela); there is nothing to visit specifically today, but the roads themselves remain part of Salvador's ordinary street network. Salvador's Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport is the main gateway, a short drive from the CAB area, and the city's metro and bus network serve the surrounding districts.

• Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (SSA) · about 15 min drive

There is no circuit to see; the interest today is purely in driving or walking the former route through the CAB district as part of a normal Salvador visit.

Hotels and camping near Circuito Ayrton Senna (Salvador Street Circuit)

The former circuit ran through the CAB district, Salvador's administrative and business precinct, which has limited tourist accommodation of its own; visitors instead base themselves in Salvador's beachfront hotel districts and make the short trip out. There is no camping, RV or event-specific accommodation tied to the site since racing ended in 2014.

Where to look

Barra, Ondina and the historic Pelourinho/Centro area, Salvador's main hotel districts, a short drive from the former CAB circuit.

Track days, driving experiences and lap records

There is no track-day, ride-along or closed-course access of any kind; the former circuit was always temporary public roads reopened to normal traffic outside race weekends, and no racing has used the route since 2014.

Lap records

Spectator guide

There is no event to attend today; during its active years the circuit's 2010 upgrade brought capacity to around 60,000, making it one of Stock Car Brasil's biggest single-weekend crowds while it operated as a street race.

Weather

• year-round: warm, tropical coastal climate typical of Salvador, highs around 27-30°C (81-86°F)

History of Circuito Ayrton Senna (Salvador Street Circuit)

Stock Car's first street race

Brazilian touring cars had never raced on public city streets until Salvador changed that on 9 August 2009. Laid out on roads through the CAB (Centro Administrativo da Bahia) district of Bahia's capital, the temporary circuit hosted the first street race in Stock Car Brasil's history, an instant novelty for a series that had always run on permanent road courses.

Growth and a new name

The experiment proved popular enough that Salvador returned to the calendar the following year with a reworked, longer layout, expanding from the original 7 turns to 12 over the same 2.724 km lap, and infrastructure was upgraded to accommodate roughly 60,000 spectators. The venue was renamed Circuito Ayrton Senna in honour of Brazil's most celebrated Formula 1 champion, and corners took on distinctly Bahian names, the Curva dos Orixás, Curva do Acarajé, Curva do Dendê and others, tying the racing directly to the city's Afro-Brazilian culture and cuisine.

A five-year run, then closure

Salvador hosted Stock Car Brasil every year from 2009 through 2014, six races in all, with Cacá Bueno and Allam Khodair each taking two wins to become the circuit's most successful drivers. By the mid-2010s, though, enthusiasm within Stock Car for street circuits was fading, weighed against the logistical cost and disruption of closing city roads compared with permanent venues. The 2014 race proved to be the last; Stock Car did not return, and the circuit has not hosted competitive racing since. The roads themselves remain in everyday use as part of Salvador's street network, with no trace of the temporary racing infrastructure.

Frequently asked questions

Other tracks nearby

• Circuito dos Cristais · 909 km · road course & oval