Museum of the Circuit du Comminges

The Musée du Circuit du Comminges in Saint Gaudens (about 100km south-west of Toulouse) is essentially a documentary museum that tells the history of the Grand Prix du Comminges. Between 1925 and 1954, 18 Grands Prix cars and 15 motorcycle Grands Prix were organized on the Circuit du Comminges circuit, attracting the most illustrious drivers of their time, and bringing together several tens of thousands of spectators (up to 80,000!).

The Museum of the Circuit du Comminges

Labeled “Place of Automotive History” by the FFVE, the museum is located on what was once the drivers’ park, above the finish line. This is one of the places that has always been part of the circuit.

If the Museum of the Circuit du Comminges opened its doors in April 2017, it was in 1979 that an association of enthusiasts patiently undertook to gather the documentation on the Grand Prix du Comminges. Starting from scratch, they now have a collection of several thousand documents, with many originals. There are posters, photos, newspaper articles, but also account books of the event or teams, turn-by-turn statements …

2 vehicles only in the museum, a Terrot 500cc motorcycle from 1928, and a car, an Amilcar CGSS also from 1928. If this Amilcar did not race the Grand Prix du Comminges, it allows the visitor to get an idea of what a race car was like in that heroic era.

The Grand Prix du Comminges

Among the winners, we find all the major names in motor racing of those years, with Louis Chiron, Philippe Étancelin, Luigi Fagioli, Raymond Sommer, Jean-Pierre Wimille, Luigi Villoresi or Charles Pozzi, running on Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Talbot, Delahaye or Ferrari…

Objects and films

In addition to the documents, the Circuit du Comminges Museum exhibits objects related to the race: helmets gloves, trophies, tools, plates… The museum team has painstakingly reconstructed a diorama of the climb to the park, with the exact slope of the road, the grandstands and a collection of miniatures of cars that raced the Grand Prix du Comminges.

The team of volunteers has also assembled an interesting video collection made up of amateur films and INA archives, which allow us to relive this epic in pictures.

The Museum du Circuit du Comminges received as a gift part of the library of journalist Jean-Louis Moncet, which can be consulted on site. A shop corner offers posters, postcards, reproductions, books, “rally” plates, key chains… whose sale helps the development of the museum.

The surroundings of the Museum of the Circuit du Comminges

Below the Driver’s park where the museum is established is the finish line and a long climb that allowed competitors to slow down before joining this park. This climb is lined with stands that have been preserved and even restored, allowing to better understand what the spectators sitting in these stands saw and lived. The park also makes it easy to accommodate groups or clubs for a guided tour. As a bonus, beautiful views of the nearby Pyrenees (depending on the weather).