Stéphane Clair, CEO of the Circuit Paul Ricard, shares his enthusiasm as his team look ahead to this new challenge.
What stands out for you in the 2020 calendar at the Circuit Paul Ricard?
Stéphane Clair: I think what stands out is the diversity of activities and events that are available here. There really is something for everyone. The Circuit Paul Ricard doesn't just host motorsport events. We also have non-motorised sports, such as cycling. It is worth noting that we have an annual membership scheme, including entry to the majority of the various events held here, for our most loyal and passionate fans.
I’d also like to mention that we were lucky enough to enjoy a very good occupancy rate last year, with 264 days of activity. Thanks to the quality of work done and also to our magnificent facilities, combined with the mild weather conditions enjoyed by the region, the track is also used for many advertising and promotional photoshoots and films. We are equally delighted that our diversification strategy, now more focused on corporate events, has enabled us to organise an ever increasing number of seminars.
The Circuit Paul Ricard has developed a reputation for being highly committed to sustainable development. What does that involve, in practical terms?
When renovation work was undertaken at the circuit in the early 2000s, from the outset, the site was designed with sustainability in mind and in harmony with its surroundings. Since then, many additional measures have been implemented: a rainwater collection system, bee health monitoring, 24-hour measurement of sound emissions and mitigation of noise pollution by planting trees and the creation of a large mound, recycling of tyres, sorting and recycling of cans and the development of “soft” sports activities. The track has also acquired a fleet of electric and hydrogen vehicles, installed photovoltaic sunshades, charging terminals for electric vehicles and, since 2018, a hydrogen production and supply station. Sustainable development is an integral part of our identity, shared by all of our staff.
Do you feel you have accomplished what you set out to achieve with the three-star certification of the FIA’s environmental accreditation programme?
Once again, I’m very proud of the work done by the circuit’s staff, led by Nathalie Reitzer, our Director of Human Resources and Sustainable Development on this project. Everyone showed total and unwavering commitment to the project throughout the FIA’s audit, which lasted almost a year. We should be pleased to have become the first and only French racetrack and the second F1 circuit in the world to obtain the highest level of this environmental certification. It’s a great achievement but it’s not the end of the road. We have to keep up our efforts, be even more innovative, more involved and think about what improvements can be made in line with the suggestions of the FIA. It’s a constant commitment, something we must keep working on every day.
For the circuit’s 50th anniversary, you unveiled a new logo. Can you tell us a bit more about this?
For this special year, we decided to create a temporary logo, well, one for this year at least, so that all our events in 2020 could be labelled “50 years”. I think it’s fairly self-explanatory, really, with the name of the circuit, the key dates and the figure “50”, which features the same design as our distinctive run-off areas.
What in particular have you got planned to celebrate this 50th anniversary?
We have chosen to organise a series of special events and activities throughout the year, rather just have a one-off celebration on the day itself, April 19. You’ll see, there will be plenty of surprises! In any case, we really want to be looking towards the future, although we are very proud of our past achievements and our history. Celebrating our 50th anniversary is above all about us anticipating the next 50 years.
