Emerson Fittipaldi won the first race here. It was February 3, 1974, a non-championship Formula One event called the Grande Premio Presidente Emilio Medici, one week after the official Brazilian Grand Prix. Twelve cars started. Eighty-five thousand spectators watched. The local driver claimed the trophy, and the track that had just opened took its name from the country's military president. Over the next half-century, that track would be renamed three times, leased to a former F1 world champion, announced for MotoGP, announced for IndyCar, cancelled from both, abandoned for eleven years, and finally - in late 2025 - reopened for the penultimate round of the Stock Car Pro Series. The Autódromo Internacional de Brasília has been many things. Only one of them, briefly, was a functional race circuit.
Construction started in 1972. Engineer Samuel Dias designed the layout. Two years of work produced a permanent circuit for a capital city that had previously relied on temporary street courses. The opening race was timed to the 1974 Brazilian Grand Prix one week earlier, with the same Formula One drivers stopping in Brasília for the non-championship event. Eighty-five thousand spectators turned up to watch twelve cars run. Emerson Fittipaldi - Brazilian, on his way to two F1 world championships, local hero - won. The track was named for then-president Emilio Medici, the general who had authorized its construction. When Medici left office after the 1974 election, the name changed to Autódromo de Brasília. For two decades the circuit hosted national-level series: Formula 3 Sudamericana, Stock Car, Formula Truck. No international races. No Formula One return.
From 1995, the circuit was leased to NZ Empreendimentos, a company owned by Nelson Piquet - three-time Formula One world champion, Brazilian racing aristocracy. The track took his name. Gravel traps, tyre barriers, lighting systems were installed to bring it back up to modern safety standards. In 1996 the circuit hosted a promotional race of the BPR Global GT Series. Piquet himself drove in the 2 Hours of Brasília, teamed with Johnny Cecotto in a BMW Motorsport entry. They won. The next year the BPR became the FIA GT Championship, and the Brasília race proved a one-off. Piquet proposed moving the Brazilian Grand Prix here from Interlagos starting in 1999. Nothing came of it. In 2006 the Federal District regained control of the circuit, citing NZ Empreendimentos' inattention to the facility's management.
On August 19, 2013, the announcement came that MotoGP would return to Brazil - at Brasília, starting September 28, 2014. Major reconfiguration of the circuit was planned, along with facility upgrades, all required to meet contemporary safety standards. Funding never materialized. The event was removed from the 2014 MotoGP calendar on February 24, 2014. Eighteen months later, on September 18, 2014, came a second announcement: the IndyCar Series would open its 2015 season at Brasília on March 8. Construction resumed. Plans were scaled back to just four corner modifications. Two-thirds of the tickets sold. A title sponsor signed on. On January 29, 2015 - one day after the sponsor deal - the newly elected district government cancelled the race, declaring it a waste of public funds amid a growing financial crisis. The circuit was left half-renovated, with track changes begun but not finished.
From 2014 through 2025, the Autódromo Internacional de Brasília sat unused. The district governor had promised completion by April 26, 2015, for a rescheduled Stock Car round. That did not happen. Years passed. Plans came and went. Brazilian motorsport continued at Interlagos in São Paulo and at smaller regional circuits, while the capital's track - across the road from the Estádio Nacional that hosted 2014 World Cup matches - aged in place. On May 13, 2022, Banco de Brasília (BRB) signed a 30-year agreement taking ownership from the state-owned Terracap, with a commitment of R$60 million for renovation. The work started slowly, then started seriously in 2025. The circuit got slight layout revisions along with a modernized facility. Renaming followed again: Autódromo Brasília BRB.
On November 30, 2025, stock cars ran competitively on the circuit for the first time in over a decade. The 2025 Stock Car Pro Series brought its penultimate round here, with Stock Light racing alongside. Tickets for the reopening race were free, a gesture that reflected the project's complicated history. The announced 2026 calendar includes Brazilian Superbike in August; Stock Car, Stock Light, F4 Brasil, and Turismo Nacional in September; Fórmula Truck in October; NASCAR Brasil and Copa Truck in November. The circuit lies next to the Ayrton Senna Sports Complex - named for the other Brazilian F1 world champion, the one who died at Imola in 1994 - and across from the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium. Fittipaldi's 1974 winning lap was more than five decades ago. The track his victory opened is, at long last, running again.
Coordinates 15.78°S, 47.90°W in Brasília's Federal District, elevation approximately 1,160 m on the central plateau. The circuit sits near the Ayrton Senna Sports Complex and Estádio Nacional. Recommended viewing altitude 2,500-4,000 ft AGL to observe the track layout and its proximity to Brasília's planned-city geometry. Brasília International Airport (SBBR) is approximately 10 km southwest of the circuit and handles all commercial traffic. Airspace near the federal capital has controlled access; coordinate with Brasília Approach for any overflights. Best visibility May through September during the dry season.