The circuit's perimeter follows the natural shoreline of Pergusa Lake, giving it a roughly oval character with sweeping curves rather than tight technical sections. The dusty, abrasive surface is a defining characteristic of the venue — it wears tyres quickly and demands respect, particularly in the opening laps of any event when rubber has not yet been laid down. Formula 3000 races held here in particular became notorious for difficulties with circuit organisation and marshalling standards.
Racing at Pergusa began in earnest during the 1960s, when the circuit hosted sportscars events such as the Coppa Città di Enna. These early meetings attracted competitive machinery from across Italy and beyond. In the late 1960s and into the 1970s, the circuit gained a higher international profile when it hosted the Mediterranean Grand Prix, a non-championship Formula One event that ran from 1967 through to 1984, bringing single-seater racing to Sicily for the first time.
The Coppa Florio, one of the oldest motorsport trophies in the world, was revived at Pergusa beginning in 1974 as a sportscar race. Through the latter half of the 1970s and into the early 1980s, the Coppa Florio counted towards the World Sportscar Championship, with races held in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, and 1981 carrying championship points. The circuit also hosted the European Touring Car Championship on several occasions during this period, beginning in 1977.
In 1989, the Italian round of the Superbike World Championship took place at Pergusa, raising the circuit's profile in motorcycle racing. The early 1990s brought a period of infrastructure upgrades, after which the venue attracted more international series including the FIA Sportscar Championship, the FIA GT Championship, and the International Formula 3000. The Ferrari Festival was held at the circuit in 1997.
The circuit continued to serve as a venue for domestic Italian championships throughout the 2000s, hosting the Italian Formula Three Championship regularly from 1980 until 2004, and later the Italian GT Championship. Euro Formula 3000 races were held at Pergusa from 1999 to 2003.
In its later years, the circuit hosted rounds of the European Touring Car Cup in 2013, 2014, and 2015. A round of the TCR Italy Series was held in 2015. In 2020, Creventic organised a 12-hour endurance race at the circuit under the revived Coppa Florio name, run over two days on 10 and 11 October as part of the 24H GT Series. The Italian GT Championship returned to the venue in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and the TCR Italy Championship ran there in 2024.
Pergusa occupies an unusual place in Italian motorsport geography. As the only circuit in Sicily, it has historically provided an important access point to competitive racing for drivers and teams from the island and the broader southern Italian region. The revival of the Coppa Florio name at the venue, both in the 1970s and again in 2020, demonstrates a conscious effort to connect contemporary motorsport at Pergusa to Italy's deep early-twentieth-century racing heritage. The circuit remains one of very few in the world built entirely around a natural lake.
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