Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City

Last updated April 11, 2020

The Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City is an Olympic Park which was used during the 1968 Summer Olympics. Found in the area of Mexico City known as the Magdalena Mixhuca, the park continues to serve as a venue for cultural, social, worship and sport events. The Park is administered by the gevenment of Mexico City.

1968 Summer Olympics

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez

("Rodríguez Brothers Racetrack") is a 4.304 km (2.674 mi) race track in Mexico City, Mexico, named for the famous Rodríguez brothers, Pedro and Ricardo. Built in a public park in 1962, the circuit hosted its first Formula One Grand Prix the same year, as a non-Championship race. The following year the Mexican Grand Prix became a full World Championship event. The circuit remained part of the F1 calendar through 1970, when spectator overcrowding caused unsafe conditions. When the track re-opened in 1986, the circuit boasted a new pit complex, as well as improved safety all around. The Mexican GP remained until 1992, when the circuit once again became too unsafe for the Formula One cars of the period and Mexico did not return until further upgrades were completed in 2015.

The circuit is located within the public park of the Magdalena Mixhuca in northeast Mexico City. The circuit is owned by the Government of the City, but is currently operated under concession by Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento, S.A. de C.V. or CIE, through OCESA, one of CIE's subsidiaries. CIE also organizes the NASCAR and Desafío Corona races in this circuit and rents the circuits to other parties, including race organizers, automobile clubs and track amateurs for fees that are controversial due to their disproportionately high amounts compared to other ex-F1 courses.

The circuit itself has a very bumpy surface, mostly due to Mexico City's location on a geologically active region. Furthermore, with an elevation of 2,285 m,(7,500 ft) the thin air makes breathing more difficult for both the drivers and their cars. The circuit got its name shortly after it opened when Ricardo Rodríguez died in practice for the non-Championship 1962 Mexican Grand Prix (Ricardo's brother Pedro would also lose his life behind the wheel years later).

The circuit has an extremely fast final corner (the Peraltada) before a long start/finish straight, and thus reminded some of Monza; however, unlike Monza's Curva Parabolica, the Peraltada curve is slightly banked, allowing even more speed through the corner. It was at this corner that Rodríguez crashed, although it is unclear whether this was due to excess speed or suspension failure. After the Mexican Grand Prix of 1992, a baseball stadium was built on the inside of this curve. When the Champ Car series began using the track in 2002, the Peraltada curve was partially bypassed by a series of sharp turns entering and exiting the baseball field; re-entering the Peraltada halfway through.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series started racing at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in the 2005 season, with a chicane on the main straightaway to slow the cars down. They also introduced a curve between the short course and the Ese del Lago to bypass the latter, but avoiding the stadium detour. Martin Truex, Jr. won the race in 2005, and Denny Hamlin won in 2006. For the 2007 race, the chicane was removed to increase passing opportunities down the front straight and into turn 1, and Juan Pablo Montoya from Bogotá, Colombia, won the race.

The A1 Grand Prix series started racing at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in the 2007 season using the full-track configuration used by Formula 1. Alex Yoong from Malaysia won the sprint race and Oliver Jarvis from the United Kingdom won the feature race.

It is also the location of the FIA World Endurance Championship's 6 Hours of Mexico endurance race and the Mexico City ePrix.

Foro Sol Baseball stadium

The Autódromo is unique in the sense that there is a baseball stadium inside Turn 14. The stadium, called Foro Sol is home to the Diablos Rojos del México, and also hosts music concerts.

Artists like Madonna, The Rolling Stones, U2, and Paul McCartney are just a few of the names that have played there. The Coca-Cola Zero Festival was held at the racetrack on April 12, 2008. Acts include The Smashing Pumpkins, The Mars Volta, My Chemical Romance, My Morning Jacket, Belanova, Bright Eyes, Kinky, Miranda, La Gusana Ciega, Jumbo, Division Minuscula, Timo Maas, Quiero Club, The Faint, Chetes, Le Baron, and Austin TV.

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The Mexican Grand Prix is an FIA-sanctioned auto race held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. It first appeared as a non-championship event in 1962 before being held as a championship event in 1963–1970 and 1986–1992. The Grand Prix returned in 2015 at the Mexico City circuit.

The 1969 Gran Premio de Mexico was a Formula One motor race held at the Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca, Mexico City on October 19, 1969, two weeks after the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. It was race 11 of 11 in both the 1969 World Championship of Drivers and the 1969 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 65-lap race was won by McLaren driver Denny Hulme after he started from fourth position. Jacky Ickx finished second for the Brabham team and his teammate Jack Brabham came in third.

The 1986 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mexico City on October 12, 1986.

The 1987 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 18, 1987. It was the fourteenth round of the 1987 Formula One season. It was the 11th Mexican Grand Prix and the second since the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was renovated and returned to the World Championship calendar.

The 1988 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 May 1988 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City. It was the fourth race of the 1988 Formula One World Championship. The 67-lap race was won by Alain Prost, driving a McLaren-Honda, with teammate Ayrton Senna second and Gerhard Berger third in a Ferrari.

The 1992 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City on 22 March 1992. It was the second race of the 1992 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The 1970 Formula One season was the 24th season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 21st World Championship of Drivers and the 13th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers. Thirteen races were held between 7 March 1970 and 25 October 1970, with the Drivers' Championship won by Jochen Rindt and the Constructors' title by Lotus. Rindt died four races before the end of the season, but had earned just enough World Championship points that no other driver managed to surpass his total by the end of the season. It is the only season to date in which the World Drivers' Championship title had been awarded posthumously. Jacky Ickx driving for Ferrari finished the season strongly, but his low 4th-place finish in the penultimate round ensured that Rindt's title lead would stand. In the end, all of Rindt's 45 points came from his five wins in the season.

Pedro Rodríguez de la Vega was a Mexican Grand Prix motor racing driver. He was the older brother of Ricardo Rodríguez.

Ricardo Valentín Rodríguez de la Vega was a Mexican racing driver who competed in the 1961 and 1962 Formula One seasons. His elder brother, Pedro, was also a noted racing driver who had much success in sports car racing and Formula One. At the age of 19 years and 208 days when first racing for them at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, he became the youngest Formula One driver ever to race for Ferrari, a title he still holds today. At this Grand Prix he also became the youngest driver to start a Formula One race until the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix and the youngest driver to start from the first row until the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, and at the 1962 Belgian Grand Prix he became also the youngest driver to score points in Formula One until the 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a 4.304 km (2.674 mi) motorsport race track in Mexico City, Mexico, named after the racing drivers Ricardo and Pedro Rodríguez. The circuit got its name shortly after it opened when Ricardo Rodríguez died in practice for the non-Championship 1962 Mexican Grand Prix. Ricardo's brother Pedro also lost his life behind the wheel nine years later. Since 2015 the track once again is a host of the Formula One Mexican Grand Prix, an event it previously hosted in two separate time periods on a different layout, the last occasion of which was in 1992.

The Corona México 200 presented by Banamex is a discontinued NASCAR Nationwide Series stock car race held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez road course in Mexico City, Mexico. The inaugural race was held in 2005 and the final race was held in 2008. The 2005 race marked the first time that NASCAR had run a Busch Series race on a road course since 2001, and at one time the Mexico City race was one of three road races on the Busch/Nationwide circuit.

Foro Sol is a sports and concert venue built in 1993 inside the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in eastern Mexico City. It is located near the Mexico City International Airport and is operated by Grupo CIE.

The I Gran Premio de Mexico was held on 4 November 1962 at the Magdalena Mixhuca circuit, Mexico City. The race was a non-championship event run to Formula One rules and attracted a large entry, including many top teams and drivers. The race was run over 60 laps of the main circuit, and was eventually won by Jim Clark and Trevor Taylor, sharing a drive in a Lotus 25. The race meeting was marred by the death during practice of local driving prodigy Ricardo Rodríguez. The circuit would later be renamed the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez to honour him and his brother Pedro.

Mexico City Metro Line 9 is one of the 12 metro lines built in Mexico City, Mexico.

A Mexican Grand Prix is a Grand Prix type race that takes place at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit in Mexico City. Similarly named major races are as follows:

The Mexico City ePrix is an annual race of the single-seater, electrically powered Formula E championship, held in Mexico City, Mexico. It was first raced in the 2015–16 season.

The 2016 Mexico City ePrix was a Formula E motor race held on 12 March 2016 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the fifth championship race of the 2015–16 Formula E season, the single-seater, electrically powered racing car series' second season. It also was the 16th Formula E race overall. The race was initially won by Lucas di Grassi, but later the win was handed to Jérôme d'Ambrosio because di Grassi's car was found to be underweight. This was d'Ambrosio's second Formula E win, after the 2015 Berlin ePrix, where he had also benefited from a disqualification of di Grassi.

The 2019 Mexico City ePrix was a Formula E electric car race held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in the centre of Mexico City on 16 February 2019. It was the fourth round of the 2018–19 Formula E season and the fourth edition of the event as part of the championship. The 45-lap race was won by Audi driver Lucas di Grassi after starting from second position. António Félix da Costa finished second for Andretti and Edoardo Mortara came in third for Venturi.

References

1968 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. Part 1. pp. 72, 74, 76-77.

Coordinates: 19°24′19″N99°5′46″W / 19.40528°N 99.09611°W / 19.40528; -99.09611

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