Brno

Overview

The Brno circuit sits in the wooded hills of the Podkomorské lesy on the western edge of Brno, the main city of Moravia. Most of the track lies within the Brno-Žebětín district, while the start area and the buildings beside it belong to the neighbouring municipality of Ostrovačice, close to the settlement of Kývalka. Known for decades as Automotodrom Brno, it was renamed Creditas Autodrom Brno in April 2026. It carries on the tradition of the Masaryk Circuit, the road course on which racing around Brno began in 1930, and it is best known as the home of the Czech motorcycle Grand Prix.

Technical Specifications and Track Features

A lap measures 5.403 km and has 14 turns, six to the left and eight to the right, with radii from 50 m to 300 m. The track is 15 m wide. It runs across a hillside, with 73.75 m between its lowest and highest points. The steepest climb is 7.5 percent, sustained over 917 m, and the steepest descent is 5 percent over 410 m. Of its 13 straights, the main one runs a little over 636 m. Its fast, flowing corners have made it a favourite with riders. In 2010 it was the third longest track on the MotoGP calendar. The lap was lengthened slightly in 1996, from 5.394 km, and a revised pit entry came into use the same year. Ingo Gerstl set the race lap record of 1:36.065 in a Toro Rosso STR1 in the BOSS GP series in 2017.

Facilities and Specialized Areas

The circuit was built inside the area once covered by the old road course but uses none of its roads. Construction needed a lot of landscaping, and thousands of trees were felled and replanted elsewhere. The pit buildings from the road circuit era still stand, bricked up, beside the main road. The operating company, Automotodrom Brno a.s., was founded in 1994 and organises the motorcycle Grand Prix. Other series to have raced here include TCR Eastern Europe, the Formula 4 CEZ Championship and the Ferrari Challenge.

History

The first race on the Masaryk Circuit was held on 28 September 1930 on public roads through Bosonohy, Kohoutovice, Žebětín, Ostrovačice and other villages west of the city. President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk had agreed in 1929 that the course could carry his name, and Eliška Junková was among its main promoters. In 1949 it staged the Czechoslovak Grand Prix, the only Grand Prix held in the country, in front of a crowd reported at more than 400,000. The road course was shortened in 1949, 1964 and 1975, and it joined the motorcycle World Championship in 1965. Work on a closed, purpose-built track began in 1985, and the first race, a round of the Moravian motorcycle championship, took place on 18 July 1987. Brno then held the Czech motorcycle Grand Prix in most seasons up to 2020, along with World Superbike rounds in 1993-1996, 2005-2012 and 2018, the WTCC from 2006 to 2011, the DTM in 2004 and 2005, the FIA GT Championship and A1 Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi won his first Grand Prix here, in the 125cc class in 1996. After the 2020 race the FIM required a resurfacing that was not carried out, and the Grand Prix did not return until 2025. Karel Abraham, owner for many years, sold the circuit in 2023 to Shakai, which Creditas took over in 2025.