Race Track: Hockenheimring
Location: Hockenheim
Raceday: Sunday, 24 July 2005
Time: 2000 (race) [Local time]
2004 winner: Michael Schumacher
The Hockenheim circuit was built in 1939 as a high-speed test track
for Mercedes-Benz who needed a venue to test for the Tripoli Grand
Prix. The original track was almost 8 kilometres long and was
formed of two long curved straights with a long corner at either
end.
When war broke out the construction was halted and in the post-war
Germany the Nurburgring became the venue for Formula One, with
Hockenheim hosting a few smaller events. When a plan to build an
Autobahn through the circuit was approved, the government supplied
Hockenheim with a large sum by way of compensation. This money was
used to build a new circuit, the now famous Hockenheim circuit
which cut through the forest before looping into the wonderful
stadium section around which large grandstands were erected.
In 1968 Hockenheim hit the headlines when Jim Clark was killed
there in an F2 race. Nevertheless, Formula One came to the track in
1970 as the Nurburgring was quickly becoming outdated. Once the
Nurburgring had been updated however the sport returned there,
leaving Hockenheim with national and F2 events.
In 1976, Niki Lauda suffered horrific burns at the Nurburgring and
from that point on Hockenheim became the home of the German Grand
Prix. In 1980 Patrick Depailler was killed in testing at the track,
and a chicane was put in to break up the fast Ostkurve. Didier
Pironi suffered terrible injuries to his legs in an accident in
1982, though Patrick Tambay brought the Ferrari team some
consolation with a win that weekend.
Since the debut of Michael Schumacher, the German Grand prix at
Hockenheim has become one of the most atmospheric races of the
season, the noise in the stadium section being quite deafening at
times. In 2002 the long runs through the forest were done away with
and the layout of the track was heavily modified. Despite arguments
that the track had lost some of its character, the first race at
the new track, in 2002, was deemed a great success.
Hockenheim is a small town in South-central Germany, some 90km away
from the international Frankfurt Am Main Airport. The A5 road link
is the most convenient to use when coming from Frankfurt.
Stuttgart Echterdingen Airport lies 110km away to the north-west,
while the Konrad Adenauer Airport at Koln/Bonn and Dusseldorf Rhein
Ruhr Airport are a little more remote, but linked by the A61
route.
Image taken from
Racing-Live.com
