Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet The Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet (Nelson Piquet International Autodrome), also known as Jacarepaguá after the neighbourhood in which it was located, was a motorsport circuit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Opened in 1977, it hosted the Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix on ten occasions, and was also used for CART, motorcycle racing and stock car racing. In 2012, it was demolished to make way for facilities to be used in the 2016 Summer Olympics. The original circuit was built between 1971 and 1977 on the site of the Barra da Tijuca road course, which had itself
Nelson Piquet Jr. both the Sprint and Main races at the first event of the season at Brands Hatch, as well as scoring a point for the fastest lap. He also drove for the HiTech/Piquet Sports in the GP2 Series, winning his first race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, and tested for the BAR-Honda Formula One team. In 2006, Piquet took second place in the championship behind British driver Lewis Hamilton in his second year of GP2. During the 2007 season he was the official test and reserve driver for the Renault Formula One team. The 2008 season saw Piquet promoted to the Renault