Autódromo Internacional de Brasília (Nelson Piquet)
The capital’s circuit opened in 1974 with a Formula 1 race, spent more than a decade closed and half-finished, and finally came back to life in November 2025. Today it’s a rebuilt 5.384 km lap with 16 turns, and in September 2026 it hosted the Stock Car Pro Series’ first-ever endurance race. Here’s where the name comes from, the long history, how a lap works, the records, what races there and how to visit.
Brasília at a Glance
Length 5.384 km / 3.345 mi the main layout since the 2025 rebuild
Turns 16 9 right-handers and 7 left-handers, run clockwise
Track width 15 m / 49 ft on the start-finish straight; 14 m (46 ft) elsewhere
Opened February 3, 1974 with a non-championship Formula 1 race
Location & manager Brasília, Federal District run by Banco de Brasília (BRB) since 2022
Stock Car lap record 1:55.805 Rubens Barrichello, Toyota, 2025
Why Is the Brasília Circuit Named for Nelson Piquet?
The track has had a few names. It opened in 1974 as the Autódromo Emilio Medici, after the military president who inaugurated it, and became the Autódromo de Brasília after the presidential succession later that year. In 1995 the Federal District leased it to NZ Empreendimentos, a company owned by three-time Formula 1 world champion Nelson Piquet, who grew up in Brasília, and from 1996 it carried his name: Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet.
Piquet’s lease ended in the mid-2000s and the Federal District took the circuit back, but the name stuck. During the rebuild, the circuit was also branded Autódromo Brasília BRB after the bank that now runs it. Today you’ll see it called the Autódromo Internacional de Brasília Nelson Piquet in official material, while most fans and the racing series simply call it Brasília.
The family link is still very much alive. When the track reopened in November 2025, Nelson Piquet Jr. took pole and won the main Stock Car race, and his father handed him the trophy.
Brasília Circuit History
Brasília’s story has two very different halves. For 40 years it was a busy national track that also hosted a one-off Formula 1 race and international GT events. Then came the closure in 2014, a cancelled MotoGP round, a cancelled IndyCar race and more than a decade of stalled works, before it finally reopened at the end of 2025.
- 1972–74 Construction starts next to the new capital’s sports complex. The layout is designed by engineer Samuel Dias.
- February 3, 1974 The circuit opens with the non-championship Grande Prêmio Presidente Médici, a week after the Brazilian Grand Prix. Emerson Fittipaldi wins the 40-lap race in a McLaren, with Carlos Reutemann on pole.
- 1979 Brasília is on the calendar for the first Stock Car season. The series goes on to run 39 races here by 2014.
- 1995–96 Nelson Piquet’s company takes over the lease and adds gravel traps, tire barriers and lighting. The track is renamed in his honor, and in December 1996 Piquet and Johnny Cecotto win a non-championship BPR Global GT race here.
- 2002–14 Stock Car races use the 2.919 km outer circuit rather than the full lap.
- 2006 The Federal District takes back management of the circuit.
- 2014 A MotoGP round planned for September is dropped in February after the funding falls through, and Stock Car makes its last visit before the track closes for a major renovation.
- 2015 An IndyCar race set for March is cancelled in January with more than two-thirds of the tickets sold. Work stops, leaving the track half-finished.
- 2022 In May, Banco de Brasília (BRB) signs an agreement with the Federal District government and takes over the circuit from Terracap, the district’s land agency.
- 2025 After years of delays, the first phase of the rebuild, worth about R$60 million out of a planned R$100 million, delivers a new surface, run-off areas, drainage and barriers.
- November 2025 The track reopens on November 28–30 with the penultimate Stock Car round. Felipe Fraga wins the sprint race and Nelson Piquet Jr. wins the main race from pole.
- September 2026 The Stock Car Pro Series runs its first-ever endurance race here. Sergio Sette Câmara and Lucas di Grassi win the two-hour race.
The Long Lap and the 2025 Rebuild
What sets Brasília apart is simply how much track there is. The full lap has always been long: the original 1974 layout measured 5.476 km (3.403 mi), and from the air it wound back and forth inside a roughly rectangular outline. For years, though, the big national series only used the short outer loop. The rebuild changed that, and since November 2025 the Stock Car Pro Series has been racing on the long lap again.
5.384 km / 3.345 mi
Main layout
The longest track in use in Brazilian racing, according to the Stock Car organizers, with 16 turns and three main straights.
40,000 m²
Gravel run-off
About 430,000 sq ft of gravel traps went in during the rebuild, along with roughly 90,000 tires in the barriers.
3,500 m
New curbs
More than 3.5 km (2.2 mi) of curbs built to FIA and FIM standards, plus about 10 km (6.2 mi) of guardrail.
The rebuild kept the original character of the circuit but brought it up to modern safety standards: new asphalt, much bigger run-off areas, new drainage and triple guardrails. The first phase cleared the track for national and South American competition; the pit garages and a “Racing Center” with shops and corporate space were planned as later stages.
Brasília Track Guide: A Lap, Section by Section
The main layout is 5.384 km long with 16 turns, 9 of them right-handers, and it’s run clockwise. A detailed, officially numbered corner map of the rebuilt track isn’t widely published yet, so we’re sticking to what’s confirmed. The map below shows the original 1974–2014 layout with its 12 turns; the rebuilt track follows the same basic shape, but some details have changed.
Start
Start-finish straight
The widest part of the track at 15 m (49 ft), compared with 14 m (46 ft) everywhere else. It’s the first of the lap’s three main straights.
T1–3
The opening corners
A busy first sector with fresh gravel traps on the outside. In the 2026 endurance race, Antonella Bassani ran wide into the gravel at Turn 3 early in the race, so it pays to be patient here.
Back straight
The reta oposta
The long back straight, known locally as the reta oposta, is the second big straight of the lap. With three straights in total, straight-line speed and late braking matter a lot here.
Infield
The miolo
The middle of the lap winds back and forth through the infield. Older maps and track plans used names such as Scavone, Moca, Entrada do Miolo and Junção for corners in this part of the circuit.
Layouts
Six configurations
Besides the 5.384 km main layout there’s an alternative 5.321 km (3.306 mi) car layout, two motorcycle layouts of 5.349 km (3.324 mi) and 5.476 km (3.403 mi), and two short external circuits of 2.828 km (1.757 mi) and 2.530 km (1.572 mi).
Outer loop
The old Stock Car track
From 2002 to 2014, Stock Car raced on the 2.919 km (1.814 mi) outer circuit, which skipped the infield entirely. Old lap times on that layout aren’t comparable with today’s.
Brasília Lap Records
Only laps set in a race count as lap records. Because the rebuild changed the circuit, records from the original layout are listed separately and can’t be compared directly with today’s times. Record lists for the rebuilt track are still young, so times from the 2026 endurance race may not be reflected yet.
1:55.805
Stock Car race lap record
Rubens Barrichello set it in a Toyota Corolla Cross at the November 2025 reopening, the first Stock Car race on the rebuilt track.
2:03.236
Stock Light record
Léo Reis’s lap in a Chevrolet Cruze during the same 2025 reopening weekend.
1:47.696
Old layout record
Clemente de Faria Jr. in a Dallara F301 Formula 3 car in 2007, on the original 5.476 km circuit.
1:51.620
Formula 1, 1974
Emerson Fittipaldi’s fastest lap in a McLaren M23 on the way to winning the 1974 non-championship race.
Races and Events at Brasília
The Stock Car Pro Series is the headline act, and its weekends also bring Stock Light, Turismo Nacional and Formula 4 Brazil. The NASCAR Brasil Series and Copa Truck add a busy end-of-season weekend in November. If you’re following Brazilian racing more broadly, our Interlagos guide covers the country’s current Formula 1 track, and our Goiânia guide covers the MotoGP venue a few hours’ drive away.
September (2026)
Stock Car Pro Series Endurance
Stock Car Pro Series Stock Car Endurance
Brazil’s top touring-car series reopened the track in November 2025, then came back on September 25–27, 2026 for its first-ever endurance race: two hours, two drivers per car and three mandatory pit stops. Sergio Sette Câmara and Lucas di Grassi won in the No. 7 Mitsubishi, ahead of Guilherme Salas and Arthur Gama.
November 28–29, 2026
Copa Truck and NASCAR Brasil finales
Copa Truck NASCAR Brasil Series
Brasília closes out the 2026 seasons for two national series. The NASCAR Brasil Series finale runs November 28–29, and Copa Truck’s final round is on November 29. Truck racing is nothing new here: Fórmula Truck raced in Brasília from 2002 to 2014.
February 3, 1974
Formula 1 in 1974
Formula 1 Non-championship race
The circuit opened with the Grande Prêmio Presidente Médici, a non-championship Formula 1 race held a week after the Brazilian Grand Prix. Emerson Fittipaldi won in his McLaren M23 in front of a big home crowd. Formula 1 never came back.
Brasília Race Calendar: 2026 and 2027
2026 was the circuit’s first full season after the reopening. The big Stock Car weekend has already happened, and the national NASCAR and truck series finish their seasons here at the end of November. None of the series had published a 2027 calendar at the time of writing, so those dates are TBA; check the official channels before you book.
2026 season
| Dates | Event | Series | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25–27 | Stock Car Pro Series, round 9 (Corrida Endurance) | Stock Car Pro Series, with Stock Light, Turismo Nacional and F4 Brazil | Done |
| Nov 28–29 | NASCAR Brasil Series, round 9 (season finale) | NASCAR Brasil Series | Upcoming |
| Nov 29 | Copa Truck, round 9 (season finale) | Copa Truck | Upcoming |
2027 season
Brasília Weather by Season
Brasília sits high on Brazil’s central plateau, so it’s mild for the tropics: highs stay between about 25°C and 29°C (77–84°F) all year. The real difference between seasons is rain, with a wet season from about October to April and a very dry winter. Seasons are flipped from North America and Europe. The figures below are 1991–2020 averages for Brasília from Brazil’s national weather service, INMET.
27°C / 81°F
Summer · Dec–Feb
Average highs of about 27°C (80–81°F) and lows near 18°C (64–65°F). This is the rainy season, with about 180–241 mm (7.1–9.5 in) of rain a month, often in afternoon storms.
26–27°C / 79–81°F
Autumn · Mar–May
Similar temperatures, but the rain tapers off fast: from about 226 mm (8.9 in) in March to 145 mm (5.7 in) in April and just 27 mm (1.1 in) in May.
25–27°C / 78–81°F
Winter · Jun–Aug
The dry season. July averages just 1.5 mm (0.06 in) of rain, days are pleasant and nights are the coolest of the year at about 14–15°C (57–60°F).
27–29°C / 81–84°F
Spring · Sep–Nov
September and October are the hottest months, with highs around 29°C (84°F). Rain returns in October (about 142 mm, or 5.6 in) and peaks in November at 253 mm (10 in).
Visiting Brasília: Tickets, Getting There and Tips
The circuit is right in the middle of the city, so a race weekend here is easy to combine with a look at Brasília’s modernist architecture.
Tickets
Tickets are sold through the official channels of each series; for Stock Car weekends, that means the Stock Car and Vicar websites and social media. For the November 2025 reopening, the grandstand tickets were free: BRB bought them and handed them out online. That model wasn’t confirmed for later events, and no official price list had been published for the 2026 endurance race, so check before you go.
Getting there
The autódromo sits across the road from the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha and the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium, in the city’s central sports complex, and Brasília International Airport is the nearest airport. For the reopening weekend, the Federal District government made public transport free and added special bus lines. Expect official transport announcements before big events.
Tips
The sun is strong year-round at this altitude, so bring sunscreen, a hat and water. The September race fell in the hottest and driest stretch of the year, while the November finales come in the heart of the rainy season, so pack a rain jacket for those. Ear protection is a good idea for the truck races.
Can You Drive the Brasília Circuit?
Not on your own, at least not yet. There’s no regular public track-day program on the main circuit, which is still in its first seasons after the rebuild. The easier way in is karting: the Kartódromo Internacional de Brasília, a 1,100 m (0.68 mi) kart track with six layouts inside the complex, was scheduled to reopen in March 2026 after four years closed, with a leisure area and a simulator room. The Federal District government has also said the complex will open to the public for walking and cycling.
On screen, Automobilista 2 includes Brasília in its Full and Outer versions. Those are the pre-rebuild layouts, so they won’t match the 2025 track exactly, but they’re a good way to learn the shape of the lap.
Talk Brasília With Other Enthusiasts
Heading to a Stock Car weekend, remembering the old days of Fórmula Truck or just chasing a lap time in a sim? Share what you know, ask questions and find people going to the same race in the AutoGathering community.
- Stock Car weekends
- Getting to the track
- Where to watch
- Copa Truck and NASCAR Brasil
- Karting in Brasília
- Brasília photos
- Automobilista 2 lap times
- Circuit news
Brasília Circuit FAQ
How long is the Brasília circuit?
The main layout of the rebuilt Autódromo Internacional de Brasília is 5.384 km (3.345 miles) long with 16 turns, 9 to the right and 7 to the left. The original 1974 layout was 5.476 km (3.403 miles).
Why is the Brasília circuit named after Nelson Piquet?
Nelson Piquet, the three-time Formula 1 champion who grew up in Brasília, leased the circuit through his company from 1995, and it was renamed Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet in 1996.
Did Formula 1 ever race in Brasília?
Yes, once. The non-championship Grande Prêmio Presidente Médici opened the circuit on February 3, 1974, and Emerson Fittipaldi won it in a McLaren. It didn’t count toward the world championship.
Why was the Brasília circuit closed?
It closed in 2014 for a major renovation ahead of planned MotoGP and IndyCar races. Both events were cancelled, the works stalled, and the track stayed shut until November 2025.
When did the Brasília circuit reopen?
It reopened on November 28–30, 2025 with a Stock Car Pro Series round. Nelson Piquet Jr. won the main race from pole.
Who won the 2026 Stock Car endurance race in Brasília?
Sergio Sette Câmara and Lucas di Grassi won the two-hour race on September 27, 2026, in the No. 7 Mitsubishi.
What races are at Brasília in 2026?
After the Stock Car endurance weekend in September, the NASCAR Brasil Series finale runs November 28–29, 2026, and Copa Truck’s final round is on November 29.
Is Brasília in Automobilista 2?
Yes. Automobilista 2 includes Brasília in Full and Outer versions, based on the circuit as it was before the 2025 rebuild.
Explore More Racing Circuits
Brasília is one of 25 circuits and rally events in our South American racing directory. Its nearest neighbor is Goiânia, a few hours’ drive southwest and home of the Brazilian MotoGP round, and Interlagos in São Paulo hosts the Brazilian Formula 1 race.
Photo credits
- Header image: Arne Müseler, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, cropped and resized.
- Spectators line the track at the Autódromo…: Thiago Melo from Brasília, Brasil, CC BY 2.0, cropped and resized.
- Track map of the Autódromo Internacional de…: Will Pittenger, Public domain, cropped and resized.
- A Stock Car Brasil car at Interlagos…: Pedro Henrique Ponchio from São Paulo, Brazil, CC BY 2.0, cropped and resized.
- A racing truck on the pit straight…: Thiago Melo from Brasília, Brasil, CC BY 2.0, cropped and resized.
- Emerson Fittipaldi driving his 1974 McLaren M23…: Nic Redhead, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped and resized.