Home
- > Europe
  - > Germany

Hockenheim-Ring Short Course

Discusss this track in the e-Tracks forums.

Circuit info:

Address:: Hockenheim-Ring GmbH
Motodrom
68766 Hockenheim
Germany
PH:: (49) 6205 9500
Fax:: (49) 62 05 1 41 22
Circuit length:: 1.639 miles/2.638 km
Circuit type:: Permanent road course

Circuit history:

The German town of Hockenheim has become synonymous with motor racing thanks to its famous circuit, which is among the most frequently-used in the world.

The origins of the circuit began with a conversation in 1930 between timekeeper Ernst Christ and his young assistant, who suggested putting on a race in their home town of Hockenheim. Taken with the idea, Christ took the idea to the mayor, Philipp Klein, and (appropriately) on Christmas Day 1931, the municipal council unanimously approved the plans for the new circuit.

Building work began on March 23, 1932, and only two months later on May 25 the first motorcycle race in Hockenheim got under way. For this small town, it marked the beginning of a long association with motor sport.

The essentially triangular course began on the edge of the town and headed out into the forest roads, before looping back on itself. In 1938 the Hockenheim-Ring assumed its more familiar oval layout, with the inclusion of the Ostkurve and widening of the straights creating a high-speed course. Wooden grandstands and other spectator facilities sprung up, and the gradual change from a temporary course to a permanent facility began.

In the Second World War the track was seriously damaged, with the surface broken up by tracked vehicles and the wooden structures torn down. Nevertheless, the motor sports fans in the region were keen to get things going again, and in 1947, the Hockenheim-Ring GmbH was established to look after the economic side of the organisation. Racing resumed again in May 1947.

The construction of the Mannheim to Walldorf autobahn forced the circuit owners to make changes, as its course sliced through the track on the edge of the town. Plans were drawn up for a new motodrome section by Ernst Christ in 1961, with the final design by John Hugenholz constructed in time for the 1965 season. This included a new pit straight and a fan-friendly stadium section, as well as a short course.

A sad chapter in the 'new' Hockenheim unfolded in spring 1968, when Jim Clark crashed to his death in a Formula Two race. A small memorial stone was laid in the forest as a memorial to the great Scot. Chicanes were added on the forest staights as a result of the crash.

Construction work at the Nürburgring meant that Hockenheim played host to the German Grand Prix for Formula One in 1970. In comparison with the Nordschleife, racers of the day found Hockenheim to be rather soul-less and unexciting. The Grand Prix was Hockenheim's for good after Niki Lauda's near-fatal crash at the 'Ring in 1976.

Minor changes were made to the circuit during the 1980s and 1990s: a chicane was inserted at Ostkurve in 1980 after Patrick Depailler's fatal crash, although this was not used by the motorcycle racers. The other chicanes were also reprofiled in the 1990s to make them slower.

In 1999, plans were announced for a wholesale revision to the circuit. The FIA had demanded changes if Hockenheim was to retain the Grand Prix. At 6.8km it was felt to be too long and with large parts heading through forest sections it was not a spectator-friendly facility. A public consultation was held and several layouts discussed, with the aim of creating more overtaking possibilities.

On December 21, 2001, Hockenheim-Ring GmbH received approval for the project, and work began on February 4, 2002. The Hermann Tilke-penned revisions cost of some 62 million euros and boasted impressive new grandstands which boosted capacity from 83,000 to 120,000. The new circuit was good for racing, but many lamented the loss of the long lazy straights, which marked out the old circuit as something different from the rest of the modern autodromes.