As is the case with many European circuits, the Circuit Dijon-Prenois evolved from a street circuit. Motorsport events had been a regular fixture in the Burgundy town of Dijon since the 1920s, and at the end of the sixties the French race driver François Chambelland formulated the concept of an "automobile stadium."

Between 1974 and 1984 the Stade Automobile de Dijon hosted six Formula 1 grands prix. With an average speed of over 200 km/h, the flowing circuit was one of the fastest on the Formula 1 calendar.