The automotodrom was conceived and delivered with unusual speed, completing construction in 15 months before its opening in September 1978. Its location in the Grobnik valley near Rijeka placed it in one of Croatia's most industrially active regions, and the facility was designed to serve both competitive motorsport and driver training purposes. Alongside race events, the circuit has been used for test rides of prototype vehicles as well as training programs for fire engine, ambulance, and police drivers operating in crisis conditions.
From 1978 to 1990, Automotodrom Grobnik served as the home of the Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix, a round of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championship. This gave the circuit consistent international visibility throughout the 1980s and made it one of the few world championship venues in the socialist bloc outside the Soviet sphere. The race attracted top-level MotoGP machinery and drew significant crowds to the region. When Yugoslavia dissolved in the early 1990s, the circuit lost its world championship status and the event ceased.
Following the loss of the Grand Prix, the circuit continued to host regional and national events. The Italian GT Championship visited in 1997 and 2000, and the Interserie endurance series raced at Grobnik in 1999 and 2000, maintaining some international presence.
A significant renovation program was carried out between December 2017 and April 2018, modernizing the facilities and track infrastructure. This investment positioned the circuit to attract a new generation of international series.
One of the most notable chapters in the circuit's modern history came in 2020 when Automotodrom Grobnik hosted rounds of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series as a late replacement for Autodrom Most, whose Czech round was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. The spectacle of American-style stock car racing on the Adriatic coast proved a success, and the circuit was included on the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series calendar again in both 2021 and 2022.
The automotodrom now hosts the Croatia Prix (Croatian: Nagrada Hrvatske), a race counting toward the FIA CEZ Formula 3 and Circuit Championships. Regular events on the calendar include rounds of the Sidecar World Championship, the Austria Formula Cup, TCR Eastern Europe Touring Car Series, GT Cup Series, Alpe Adria International Motorcycle Championship, Histo-Cup Austria, and the Porsche Sprint Challenge Central Europe. The circuit serves as a hub for Central European club and championship racing.
Automotodrom Grobnik occupies a distinctive place in motorsport history as the principal venue of the Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix for twelve consecutive years. Its continued operation after the political transformations of the 1990s and its successful renovation in 2017-2018 demonstrate the track's enduring importance to Croatian and Central European motorsport. The hosting of NASCAR events added an unexpected dimension to the venue's identity, bringing a form of racing rarely seen outside Western Europe and North America to the Adriatic region.