Circuit Les Planques

The circuit began on the shorter side of the triangle in the hamlet of Les Planques on the edge of Albi. From the start, drivers turned right toward the village of Saint-Antoine, then climbed to Saint-Juéry where a hairpin reversed their direction southward. The route crossed a railway line over a bump before joining a long straight called Montplaisir. A second long straight along what is now the Route de Millau returned competitors to the start-finish line. The roads were characteristically bumpy and narrow, and the circuit was described as a demanding challenge for drivers of the era.

The first major modification came in 1934 to remove the problematic hairpin at Les Planques. Volunteers built a 225-metre ramp along the edge of the circuit, along with an underpass to route drivers to the pit area. The starting line was permanently fixed at this location, and a timing tower was built at the southern end of the grandstand — the only surviving structure from that period. These works secured international homologation for the circuit. The overall length was trimmed to 8.911 kilometres in 1934 as a result.

In 1954 the circuit was shortened dramatically, to 2.991 kilometres, by removing Saint-Juéry from the route entirely and confining racing to the lower section of the original triangle. This shortened layout was simultaneously renamed Circuit Raymond Sommer.

The Albi Grand Prix was staged at Les Planques from 1933 through 1939, resuming from 1946 after the Second World War as a non-championship Formula One race. The circuit was strongly associated with Raymond Sommer, a celebrated privateer driver who had impressed the local crowds in Formula Two competition in 1947. When Sommer died in 1950, the 1954 shortened circuit was named in his honour.

The 1951 French motorcycle Grand Prix was held at Les Planques and was marked by the fatal accident of motorcycle racer Dario Ambrosini during the event.

The Albi Grand Prix on the longer circuit attracted quality entries in the Formula One era, including cars running to Formula One regulations. The lap record on the 8.911-kilometre Grand Prix circuit was set by Ken Wharton in a BRM Type 15 at 2:52.0 during the 1953 Albi Grand Prix. On the shortened 2.991-kilometre Raymond Sommer circuit, the Formula One lap record was set by André Simon in a Maserati 250F at 1:17.1 during the 1955 Albi Grand Prix.

The catastrophic 1955 Le Mans disaster, in which more than eighty spectators died, prompted French authorities to review road circuits across the country. Circuit Les Planques was judged too dangerous to continue operating and was officially closed that year. Motor racing in the Albi region transferred in 1959 to a purpose-built venue, the Circuit d'Albi, situated to the west of the city, which initially hosted Formula Two and subsequently Formula Three competition.