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 despite never before racing on an oval. During practice, Piquet's car ran over a metallic piece of debris and drove through turn 3 at full speed. But when driving through turn 4, Piquet abruptly took his foot off the pedal to enter the pit lane, which resulted in his hitting the wall. Piquet suffered serious foot and ankle injuries and was forced to sit out the race. He returned after rehabilitation in 1993 and managed to qualify. He started in 13th position, but finished in 32nd, dropping out with engine problems after only 38 laps. Alongside Formula One, Piquet took