Autódromo Miguel E. Abed

Autódromo Internacional Miguel E. Abed

Location	Amozoc, near Puebla, Mexico
Time zone	UTC-6
Major events	WTCC NASCAR Corona Series LATAM Challenge Series 24 Hours of Mexico Jetta TDI Cup USA Mexican Super Turismo Championship
Road course
Length	3.363 km (2.090 mi)
Turns	18
Oval
Length	2.01 km (1.25 mi)
Turns	4

The Autódromo Internacional Miguel E. Abed is a racing track located in the town of Amozoc, 30 kilometres (18.64 mi) east of the city of Puebla in the Mexican state of the same name.

History

Aerial view.

It was opened in 2005 and considered to be one of Mexico's premier racing facilities.^[1] It features a road course and a 1.25 miles (2.01 km) oval. The track held three World Touring Car Championship events in 2005, 2006 and 2008.

The FIA WTCC Race of Mexico was a round of the World Touring Car Championship, held at the Autódromo Miguel E. Abed near the city of Puebla in Mexico.

The race was first run in the 2005 season, the first season of the revived series.This year, the race was almost cancelled because circuit was not ready to held a competition. It was run every year between 2005 and 2009 except in the 2007 season, when the planned event was cancelled due to problems with the Puebla circuit, although these problems were addressed for 2008. The event was run in June in 2005, in July in 2006, in April in 2008 and in March in 2009. The 2010 running was cancelled due to security and budget fears in the region.

The annual 24 Hours of Mexico race is held at the track since 2006.

The circuit facilities are the most important of the country. It opens to every kind of events including: Test Driving, Driving Experiences, Track Days, 0 to 60 series, Helicopter Experience, Corporate Events, Driving School and Go-Kart circuit.

Layouts

Oval Layout

The track has 18 possible layouts, and several has been used for different events. WTCC used one configuration in 2005 and 2006, and other in 2007 and 2008. NASCAR Corona Series has used the oval in 12 races and other configuration one time. LATAM Challenge Series has used several layouts for this circuit.

The Oval track

This is a counter-clockwise paperclip oval with two long straights of 650 m (0.4 mi), and curves with a radius of 118 m. The main event in this track is the Puebla 240.

The touring car circuit

WTCC Layout

Autódromo Internacional Miguel E. Abed is based on an American style oval with long banked turns and then a twisty, technical infield which is similar to Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba with an extremely rough surface. It has no camber worth noticing on the infield part and elevation change. There is compromise to the setup of the touring car on the touring car circuit whether it go fast on the infield (requires more downforce) or go fast on the oval part (requires more speed). Touring car winning on this circuit requires smart driving as about sheer speed, tyre wear control (because of the rough surface) and strategy.^[2]

Fatalities

On June 14, 2009 During the 97th lap of a 100-lap NASCAR Mexico Series race at Autódromo Miguel E. Abed in Amozoc, Puebla, Carlos Pardo (September 16, 1975 – June 14, 2009) was hit by Jorge Goeters, which caused him to lose control of his car and he crashed sideways into the end of a lower retaining wall at over 200 km/h.^[3] The car was virtually destroyed on impact. He was transported to a local hospital by helicopter, where he was pronounced dead. He was declared the winner of the race since he was leading the race at the last completed lap before the accident occurred, beating Goeters by 0.044 seconds. Pardo, driving for Motorcraft team, had started the race from the last row. He is survived by wife Ana, and an infant child.

References

1. "Todo listo para la inauguracion del Autódromo Miguel E. Abed sede de la 5ª. Fecha del WTCC". WTCC México. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
2. "Puebla". race-game.org. 2006. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
3. "Fallece el piloto Carlos Pardo" (in Spanish). Crónica. 2009-06-15. Retrieved 2009-06-15.

Coordinates: 19°01′48″N 97°59′17″W / 19.03000°N 97.98806°W