Pau Motors Festival

Pau Motors Festival: Automotive Celebration on the Historic Urban Circuit

ℹ️ 2026 Edition Cancelled — event on hold since 2023. The Pau Motors Festival did not take place in 2024 (lack of private funding due to competition from the Paris Olympics), nor in 2025 (financial difficulties of ASAC BB, the organizing association, placed under safeguard procedure), nor in 2026. The city of Pau and local stakeholders are working towards the event's return, with a stated hope for 2027.

The Pau Motors Festival is Pau's major automotive event, heir to the legendary Grand Prix de Pau created in 1933. The festival takes place on the Pau-Ville circuit, one of France's last urban circuits, a 2.769 km track in the heart of the station district that has been the pride of the Béarnese city for nearly a century.

An Exceptional Automotive Heritage

The Grand Prix de Pau, created in 1933, is one of Europe's oldest urban car races. Legendary drivers like Maurice Trintignant, Juan Manuel Fangio, and Jim Clark have raced on this circuit. During the editions held (the last in 2023), the Pau Motors Festival perpetuated this tradition by bringing together modern races and the Historic Grand Prix, with over 250 drivers from all continents.

Historic Races and Exceptional Vehicles

The Pau Classic Grand Prix gathered exceptional collector cars: historic Formula 1, GTs, pre-war cars, and other legendary machines. Drivers competed in European championship events on the historic circuit, offering a unique automotive spectacle in an urban setting.

European Low-Carbon Mobility Forum

The Pau Motors Festival included a European Low-Carbon Mobility Forum, bringing together public and private stakeholders around the challenges of deploying low-carbon mobilities. The Forum was maintained autonomously in 2024 (May) and 2025 (April 28-29, Pavillon des Arts), supported by the Communauté d'Agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées, independently of the suspended car races.

A Festival Beyond Automotive

During its editions, the festival offered live concerts, an open-air cinema (drive-in) screening cult automotive films, a gastronomic area (Place Gourmande), and activities for the whole family. The Pau Motors Festival was a true festive event that animated the city for several weeks in May.

And the Future?

According to official communications from the Circuit de Pau and local press (La République des Pyrénées), the return of the Grand Prix and the Pau Motors Festival is conditional on the financial stabilization of the organizer and the return of private partners. A return in 2027 remains the stated horizon. To follow the news, consult the official website pau-motors.com and the Facebook page Grands Prix de Pau.