Although Lauda himself never raced at Nogaro, his name will reappear on one of the F1 cars in this year’s Nogaro Grand Prix Historique programme.

This year’s Grand Prix de Nogaro Historique, 4-5 September 2010, will be organized in commemoration of the 50^th anniversary of the circuit Paul Armagnac de Nogaro.

Being predominantly an old F2 circuit, of course F2 will be the main course. In the hay days of F2, the Formula was regarded as the birth room of F1 and the championship was being contended by big names, and less familiar names, such as Chevron, Ferrari, GRD, Hart, Lotus, March, Matra, Martini, Maurer, Tecno, Toleman and Ralt. But F2 was also the domain of F1 stars like Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Chris Amon, Bruce McLaren and many others. Engines were mostly Cosworth – based on Ford blocks – and Honda, though some other units appeared, including various Fiat based units and dedicated racing engines from BMC and BRM. The Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC) will be offering her F2 championship contenders one free practice, one qualifying and two races of 25 min’s each.

Older yet are the Formula Junior (1959-1963) grids, later split into F2 and F3, which were reintroduced in 1964. The Elva became the first mass-produced British Formula Junior car. Other early British designs included the Gemini – born Moorland – and the Lola MkII. The FIA Lurani Trophy will offer its contenders one qualifying and two races of 25 min’s each.

Nogaro also was a trusted F1 test track in the old days, so it’s only natural that we will find a seventies, eighties Grand Prix grid on the menu. McLaren, Ferrari, Williams, Tyrrell, Brabham, Lotus, March, Shadow, Surtees, Osella, and Arrows cars, to name but a few, with old names on the sides like Lauda, Piquet, Stewart, Fittipaldi, Rosberg, Villeneuve and Mansell  will go into their fifth race of the year.

The weekend will be supported by trusted organizers like the Formula Renault Classic, Kent Formula Ford Trophy, Challenge GT Tourisme and the Trophée Maxi 1000.

You will find the the Nogaro Paul Armagnac circuit in the southwest of France near the Pyrenees. The track was built in 1960 and since hosted rounds of the French Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world championship, the FIA Sportscar Championship, the Formula 3000 series, the Formula 3 Euro Series and the FIA GT Championship, as well as their annual Grand Prix de Nogaro Historique.