Planning for the circuit began in 1967, with construction commencing in December 1969 as part of an ambition to make Dijon a centre of the automotive world. The project was championed by François Chambelland, a rugby player and wrestler, and was developed with the assistance of Formula One racers Jean-Pierre Beltoise and François Cevert, along with motoring journalist José Rosinski. Despite chronic underfunding and the absence of support from the city government, the circuit was declared open on 26 May 1972, with Guy Ligier making the first timed lap. The inaugural race, for two-litre prototypes run ten days later, was won by Arturo Merzario.
The first Formula One race at Dijon-Prenois ran in 1974 on the circuit's original layout, measuring 3.289 km (2.044 mi). Lap times fell below the one-minute mark, creating a significant problem: the pace differential between frontrunners and backmarkers resulted in severely congested traffic, making the race difficult to manage. This flaw directly prompted an extension to the circuit added in 1976, reprofiling several corners and lengthening the track to its current configuration of 3.801 km before Formula One returned in 1977.
The unofficial all-time record for the original short circuit is 0:58.790 seconds, set by Niki Lauda in a Ferrari 312B3 during qualifying for the 1974 French Grand Prix.
Dijon hosted the French Grand Prix in 1974, 1977, 1979, 1981, and 1984, alternating with the Paul Ricard circuit at Le Castellet. The 1979 French Grand Prix produced one of the most celebrated wheel-to-wheel battles in Formula One history: a prolonged duel for second place across the final laps between Gilles Villeneuve in a Ferrari and René Arnoux in a Renault, with the position changing multiple times before Villeneuve prevailed. The race itself was won by Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the other Renault — Renault's first Formula One victory and the first win for a turbocharged car in the world championship.
The 1982 season brought an unusual arrangement to Dijon. The French Grand Prix that year was held at Paul Ricard, so Dijon hosted the Swiss Grand Prix — despite the circuit being located in France, not Switzerland. The Swiss Grand Prix had not been held since 1954 due to the Swiss federal ban on motor racing, enacted in the aftermath of the 1955 Le Mans disaster in which 83 people including the driver Pierre Levegh were killed. Keke Rosberg won the 1982 Swiss Grand Prix in his Williams FW08, claiming his first Formula One victory four seconds ahead of local favourite Alain Prost in a factory Renault. The outright unofficial all-time track record for the full circuit is 1:01.380, set by Alain Prost in a Renault RE30B during qualifying for that same 1982 event.
The final Formula One race at Dijon was the 1984 French Grand Prix, won by Niki Lauda for McLaren. Lauda's teammate Alain Prost set the fastest lap at 1:05.257, averaging 214 km/h (133 mph). Patrick Tambay had taken pole in a factory Renault RE50 turbo and led for the first 47 laps before being overtaken by Lauda, finishing second. Lauda claimed his third and final world championship that year.
Although Formula One has not returned to Dijon since 1984, the circuit has remained in continuous use. Long-distance racing continued with a World Sportscar Championship presence across multiple decades. The FIA GT Championship visited in 1998. The track was renovated in 2001, when a go-kart circuit was added to the complex. Truck racing has been held at Dijon since 1988, and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters made a visit in 2009. The circuit currently hosts club events, the Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or historic meeting, and national French championships.
Dijon-Prenois occupies a distinctive place in motorsport history: a modestly sized regional circuit that produced championship-deciding moments and racing that etched itself permanently into collective memory. The Villeneuve-Arnoux battle of 1979 remains a standard reference for close racing, and the anomaly of a Swiss Grand Prix in France in 1982 gives the circuit a unique footnote in world championship records. The original 1974 layout, though used only once at the highest level, directly shaped the circuit's evolution into the version that generated those defining moments.