Bremgarten circuit

Bremgarten

Bern , Switzerland
Route type:	temporary racetrack
Opening:	1931
Formula 1 venue :	1950-1954
Decommissioned:	1955
Track layout
Route data
Important events:	Formula 1 , motorcycle world championship
Route length:	7.280  km (4.52  mi )
Records
Track record: (Formula 1)	2: 39.7 min. ( Juan Manuel Fangio , Mercedes Grand Prix , 1954)

Coordinates: 46 ° 56 '57.8 "  N , 7 ° 24' 29.6"  E ; CH1903:  597685  /  one hundred ninety-nine thousand eight hundred and thirteen

Memorial stone Grand Prix Suisse in Bern-Brünnen

The Bremgarten circuit (known colloquially as Bremer ) was a 7.28-kilometer motorsport racing circuit in the Bremgartenwald in the area of ​​the city of Bern ( Switzerland ). On the street course was u. a. the Swiss Grand Prix was held.

history

1931-1939

The race track was built in 1931 as a motorcycle race track in the woods north of Bern. The route had no straights, but consisted of many high-speed curves.

The Swiss Grand Prix for motorcycles took place on the route between 1931 and 1937 . Last year the FICM even hosted the race as the European Grand Prix and was therefore decisive for the awarding of the European Motorcycle Championship title this season.

The first automobile race was held on this track as early as 1934, which resulted in a fatal accident that cost Hugh Hamilton his life. Right from the start, the three-lane streets of Bremgarten were a very dangerous course, especially in the wet, due to poor lighting conditions and changing road surfaces. From 1935 to 1939, the race for the Swiss Grand Prix on the Bremgarten circuit was one of the Grandes Épreuves for the European Grand Prix Championship . Rudolf Caracciola won three of the six races held before the Second World War .

1947-1954

Tennis curve, seen from the southwest, 2014

In 1947 the first post-war motorcycle Grand Prix took place, which was also the European Championship race at the same time. In 1949 and from 1951 to 1954 , the Swiss Grand Prix was held in Bremgarten as part of the motorcycle world championship. In 1948 and 1950 the Swiss Grand Prix took place on the Circuit des Nations in Geneva , so a Bern Grand Prix was organized. In 1948, the two-time European champion Omobono Tenni from Italy was killed in a fall on the second Eymatt curve. In 1952, the three-time vice world champion in the sidecar class Ercole Frigerio also had a fatal accident in this curve, which was then named after Tenni .

After the war, three races of the Grand Prix season for automobiles were held in Bremgarten again between 1947 and 1949 . There were three fatal accidents at the 1948 Grand Prix . In addition to the motorcyclist Tenni, the Italian Achille Varzi and the Swiss Christian Kautz were killed. In 1950 the race became part of the newly founded Formula 1 as the Grand Prix of Bremgarten and remained on the racing calendar until 1954.

Since 1955

Former course of the race track in the Bremgartenwald

With the exception of hill climbs and rallies, Bremgarten has not hosted any official motorsport events since 1955, as circuit races are banned in Switzerland after the catastrophe at the 1955 Le Mans 24 Hours . In 1961 the road cycling world championships were held on the route . In Bern-Brunnen A memorial stone was erected at this racetrack.

Some of the streets still follow the course they were then (2014), but remnants of the course can no longer be found.

statistics

All winners of Formula 1 races in Bremgarten

No.	year	driver	constructor	engine	tires	time	Route length	Round	Ø pace	date	GP the
1	1950	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	P	2:02:53.7 h	7.28 km	42	149.279 km / h	0June 4th	Switzerland
2	1951	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	P	2: 07: 53.6 h	7.28 km	42	143.445 km / h	May 27th
3	1952	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	Ferrari	P	3: 01: 46.1 h	7.28 km	62	148.990 km / h	May 18
4th	1953	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Ferrari	P	3:01:34.4 h	7.28 km	65	156.367 km / h	23 Aug
5	1954	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	Mercedes	C.	3:00: 34.5 h	7.28 km	66	159.650 km / h	22 Aug

Record winner
Driver: Juan Manuel Fangio (2) • Driver nations: Italy (3) • Constructors: Alfa Romeo / Ferrari (2 each) • Engine manufacturer: Alfa Romeo / Ferrari (2 each) • Tire manufacturer: Pirelli (4)

References

See also

• List of motorsport racetracks

literature

• Grand Prix Suisse In: NZZ am Sonntag Special. June 26, 2009, ISSN  0376-6829 , pages 2–3 ( PDF file; 2.6 MB ).

Web links

Commons : Bremgarten circuit  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Bremgartenwald car racing track in 1953 and today , maps, AURA photo agency.
• History of the Bremgarten racetrack