1957 Pescara Grand Prix

The 1957 Pescara Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 18 August 1957, at the Pescara Circuit near Pescara in Italy. The race was the seventh, and penultimate round of the 1957 World Drivers' Championship. The race, which was the only Formula One World Championship race at the track, is best remembered for being held at the longest ever circuit to stage a Formula One World Championship Grand Prix. The track is 25 km/16 miles long and is now part of the SR16bis on the coast of Pescara. It was also the first of the two consecutive Italian races, and after the subsequent race at Monza was complete, it became the first time that two Formula One World Championship races had been held in the same country in the same year.

The temporary public road circuit used for this race was located near the picturesque town of Pescara. It was extremely dangerous; so much so that Enzo Ferrari, a man not known for compassion for his drivers, did not send his team to the race out of fear for his drivers' safety.

Coppa Acerbo

The Coppa Acerbo was an automobile race held in Italy, named after Tito Acerbo, the brother of Giacomo Acerbo, a prominent fascist politician. Following Italy's defeat in World War II, and the consequent demise of fascism, the race was renamed the Circuito di Pescara, and in some years was also referred to as the Pescara Grand Prix (Gran Premio di Pescara). The race was run between 1924 and 1961 and over the years was held to a variety of vehicle class regulations and durations. In 1957 the Pescara Grand Prix formed a round of the Formula One World Championship, a race which still holds the record as having the longest circuit length ever used for a Championship event.

Pescara Circuit

The Coppa Acerbo races were held over a 24–26 km (15–16 mi) circuit, beginning and ending at Pescara, on the Adriatic coast. The course layout featured an inland route through the Abruzzo hills, that passed through several villages, followed by a long, straight descent back to the coast, where a tight right-hand corner led on to a four-mile (6 km) long straight running next to the sea. The pit and paddock complex was located at the end of this straight. In an effort to slow competitor speeds past these pits the Pescara circuit became one of the first to have an artificial chicane installed, just before the pit lane. The Pescara circuit layout holds the record as the longest circuit to ever to host a Formula One World Championship event, with the Nürburgring Nordschleife coming second at about 23 km.