Lausitzring

Lausitzring
EuroSpeedway Lausitz

Address: DEKRA Automobil GmbH Lausitzallee 1 01998 Klettwitz
District of Klettwitz , municipality of Schipkau , Brandenburg , Niederlausitz , Germany
Route type:	permanent race track
Owner:	DEKRA Automobil GmbH
Operator:	EuroSpeedway Verwaltungs GmbH
Building-costs:	158 million euros
Start of building:	June 17, 1998
Opening:	August 20, 2000
Grand Prix track
Automobile sport
Route data
Important events:	ADAC Masters Weekend , ADMV Classic Cup, DTM , IDM , Porsche Carrera Cup , Porsche Sports Cup , Red Bull Air Race World Championship , RCN
Route length:	4.534  km (2.82  mi )
Curves:	14th
Audience capacity:	120,000
Records
Track record: (automobile)	1: 32.21 min. ( Heikki Kovalainen , Dallara - Nissan , 2004)
2 mile super speedway
Tri-oval
Route data
Route length:	3.256  km (2.02  mi )
Curves:	3
Curve superelevation:	up to 5.7 °
Records
Track record: (automobile)	0: 34.62 min. (Tony Kanaan, Reynard - Honda , 2001)
Motorcycle race track
Route data
Important events:	Superbike World Championship
Route length:	4.265  km (2.65  mi )
Curves:	13
Records
Track record: (motorcycle)	1: 37.357 min. ( Chaz Davies , Ducati Panigale R , 2016 )
http://www.dekra-lausitzring.de/

Coordinates: 51 ° 31 '54 "  N , 13 ° 55' 44"  E

The Lausitzring , also known as EuroSpeedway Lausitz , is a motorsport facility in the southern part of Niederlausitz , in the district of Klettwitz (test track also districts of Meuro , Schipkau and Hörlitz ) of the municipality of Schipkau in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district in Brandenburg ; about 115 kilometers south-southeast of Berlin , 40 km southwest of Cottbus and 55 km north of Dresden . The facility was opened in 2000 as a Grand Prix course , speedway and test track .

The name EuroSpeedway Lausitz initially used is a mixture of a word borrowed from the English language and the German name of the region (in English this would be called Lusatia ). The English term “EuroSpeedway” referred to the high - speed oval (superspeedway), which is unique in continental Europe . The name "Lausitzring" has been used primarily by the operating company again since 2010. When the Lausitzring was sold to the expert organization DEKRA in November 2017, the name was changed to DEKRA Lausitzring .

history

The beginnings

The construction of a racing track in the former Brandenburg open-cast lignite mine as a replacement for the AVUS was already favored at the time of the German Democratic Republic and was included in the five-year plan from 1986. The opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989 initially delayed construction, but the increased traffic from downtown Berlin to the Berliner Ring accelerated the search for an alternative race track in the greater Berlin area. In 1998 the end of racing at AVUS was sealed and the EuroSpeedway Lausitz was opened one year after the AVUS closing ceremony in 1999 .

With the completion of the opencast mine in Lusatia by the GDR, the plans were resumed. The company Lausitzring Project GmbH was founded in 1991 to look for a suitable location for the new race track in Lausitz. The choice fell on the former Meuro opencast mine . The Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Regional Planning of the State of Brandenburg approved this location in the Schipkau office with its communities of Klettwitz, Meuro, Drochow, Hörlitz and Annahütte on September 8, 1995. Just 17 days later, the Förderverein Lausitzring e. V. founded. The association has been the owner of the area since then and leases the race track to the operating companies.

On June 17, 1998, after three years of planning, construction of the new race track began. Construction was interrupted for 2 months in August of the same year due to an objection procedure by a resident, but could be resumed promptly thanks to the support of the citizens' initiative “Pro Lausitzring” and the ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg. The citizens' initiative “Pro Lausitzring” later went to Club 98 e. V. and still supports the EuroSpeedway Lausitz today.

The foundation stone for the main stand was laid on May 14, 1999, and the first asphalting work followed in June 1999. After 18 months of construction, the topping-out ceremony was celebrated on December 2, 1999. The finishing work was completed by August 2000. The cost of building the Lausitzring amounted to 158 million euros, 123 million euros were taken over by the state of Brandenburg.

Based on German race tracks , the race track was originally supposed to be officially called the Lausitzring . For reasons of better marketability of the route, especially in North America, the name should be changed to Eurospeedway Berlin-Brandenburg a few weeks before the opening of the facility . After violent protests in the local press and population, the name was then changed to EuroSpeedway Lausitz .

2000-2004

On August 20, 2000, 110,000 spectators celebrated the official opening of the new EuroSpeedway Lausitz . Just a week later, the first racing event started with the German Motorbike Road Championship (IDM) and the DTM on September 3rd . The race on Sunday had to be canceled due to heavy rain. The BERU Top 10 came to Lausitz on October 15, and the Porsche GTP Weekend on October 22.

On April 25, 2001, Michele Alboreto had a fatal accident during test drives for the Le Mans 24-hour race on the DEKRA test oval next to the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. This season the Superbike World Championship came to Lusatia for the first time on June 10th and the DTM for the second time on August 12th. The first open air concert with AC / DC took place on June 16. However, the German 500 was planned as the season highlight - for Saturday, September 15, 2001. Overshadowed by the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in the USA , the American CART series held its first oval race in Europe. American Memorial ”was renamed. Formula racing cars drove at average speeds of over 330 km / h in the triangle of the tri-oval, with one lap lasting less than 40 seconds and being followed almost completely by around 100,000 spectators. 13 laps before the end of the exciting race, the Italian Alessandro Zanardi , two-time CART champion and former Formula 1 driver, hurled straight onto the racetrack when exiting the pit lane. Drivers like Patrick Carpentier were still able to evade, but his team colleague Alex Tagliani rammed Zanardi's car with around 300 km / h to the side of the cockpit. The chassis was torn in two by the impact, with Zanardi sustaining severe injuries to his legs. The race was ended neutralized under yellow flags, the television broadcast in ORB / ARD was canceled. Zanardi was flown to Berlin-Marzahn by helicopter, where his lower legs had to be amputated in the hospital.

The IDM was shown on May 12th in 2002. The British ASCAR series came to Eurospeedway on May 26th and June 30th with great success. The Superbike World Championship took place on June 9th. For the third time in a row, the DTM was in Lausitz on June 14th. The Champ Car series wanted to start here for the second time, but had to cancel for cost reasons. The owner and operating company, consisting of IBG, a subsidiary of Bankgesellschaft Berlin , Dekra (10%) and the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district (10%), filed for bankruptcy on June 20, 2002. On December 31, 2002, the future of the Eurospeedway was secured by the operation of the Lausitz racetrack by EuroSpeedway Lausitz Betriebs GmbH.

At the DTM race on June 8, 2003, the GP course was to be combined with “Turn 1” for the first time. Instead of turning left into the winding curve after the start / finish, the first steep curve of the Trioval should be used. But during the test drives on the Friday before the race, the Abt Audis of Christian Abt and Laurent Aïello were damaged . Since other teams also spoke of tire problems, it was decided to return to the normal GP course for the race. Another attempt to go into the oval of the EuroSpeedway was not started by the DTM. The V8-Star was the first German racing series to race on the Tri-Oval course on July 6th. In the spring of 2003 the CART series was able to successfully hold its second race. In the preliminary program, Alessandro Zanardi symbolically completed the aborted race of 2001 by completing 13 laps in a 2001 racing car with prosthetic legs, with great participation from the audience. On July 20th, the World Series by Nissan drove on the track for the very first time .

Pit exit of the Lausitzring

On January 1, 2004, the newly founded operating company EuroSpeedway Lausitz GmbH took over operations. The lease with the owner, the Förderverein Lausitzring e. V., ran for 5 years. Up to 2008, up to 5.8 million euros in subsidies from the state of Brandenburg should flow to EuroSpeedway Lausitz GmbH to secure operations and investments. The DTM was seen on June 6th and the IDM on August 1st. The historic Formula 1 championship celebrated its premiere on the track on July 4th . The quarter mile cup was held for the first time in Lausitz. 50,000 visitors saw Herbert Grönemeyer's open air concert on June 18 .

2005-2008

Historic Formula 1 at the Eurospeedway (2005)

Final concert of the Böhsen Onkelz in June 2005

In 2005, the DTM made two guest appearances in Lusatia, on May 1st and September 18th. The race in France had to be canceled, whereupon the EuroSpeedway stepped in. With the Eastside 100 , an oval race with Formula 3 cars was held for the first time in Germany on the last weekend in August . The Superbike Motorcycle World Championship returned on September 11th after a one-year break. On October 9th, the A1 Grand Prix series took place for the only time . The highlight of the year was the farewell festival of the Böhsen Onkelz in front of 120,000 spectators on June 17th and 18th.

View of the main grandstand of the ring

In 2006 the DTM stopped on April 30th and the IDM on June 11th. BELCAR celebrated its premiere with its Holiday Race on July 23rd. Again the Beru Top 10, the Porsche GTP Weekend and for the third time in a row the Quarter Mile Cup. The Eastside 100 of the German Formula 3 Cup took place again, this time on the last weekend in July. There have been no races on the Tri-Oval course since 2006.

In the first quarter of 2007 another Europe-wide tender for the sale and operation of the racetrack was opened. For the seventh time, the DTM made a guest appearance on this racetrack on May 20th. Again, at the idea of ​​the ITR (DTM umbrella organization), the route of the EuroSpeedway was changed a little for the DTM race. This time it concerned the starting curve. With the help of mobile curbs, a tight bend was created that lengthened the racetrack by 36 meters. This should create a better overtaking opportunity for the pilots. On April 29th the IDM and on August 5th the ADAC GT Masters came to Lausitz.

After a year of tendering and negotiation, in June the management of the racetrack was awarded to the “bidding group alpha-Technik” from January 1st, 2009. The contract runs until December 31, 2016. The IDM came on April 27, 2008, the DTM on May 18 and the ADAC GT Masters on September 7; there was also a 24-hour race. The quarter mile cup of the SPRINT petrol stations made its fifth appearance in Lausitz.

Another change was made to the EuroSpeedway in 2008 for the DTM race. This time it concerned the pit entrance: Since the curiosity arose during a safety car phase in 2007 that the drive through the pit lane with integrated tire change was shorter than the drive behind the safety car on the racetrack, the so-called "turn 3 “created a new pit entrance. In contrast to the original pit entry, which was via the motorcycle variant of the course, this does not provide an advantage of a good 250 meters. This pit entrance was dismantled in 2015 after the DTM had already used the old pit entrance via the motorcycle variant in 2014 .

2009-2016

The EuroSpeedway Verwaltungs GmbH under the direction of the managing director Bert Poensgen took over the operation of the plant on January 1st, 2009. The season traditionally opened in April with the Easter bonfire. Up to 14,000 spectators saw the IDM races, which took place on the Eurospeedway between April 24th and 26th. At the end of May, the DTM was back again. For the first time in many years abroad, the Shell Eco-Marathon was back in Germany. The Jim Clark Revival, which moved from the Hockenheimring to Lausitz, the motorcycle weekend of the ADAC Hessen-Thuringia and the ADMV Classic Cup were all new to see . The ADAC Masters Weekend was on view from July 3rd to 5th and for the sixth time the Quarter Mile Cup of the SPRINT petrol stations. The VW / Audi brand meeting (VW blisters) has been part of the event for years. At the end of the season, the “autumn glow” motor sport event was held.

The Red Bull Air Race World Championship took place from August 6th to 8th in 2010.

and display information about the image

Red Bull Air Race World Championship on the EuroSpeedway

In 2012, the Nürburgring Circuit Challenge (RCN) took place for the first time on August 18 and 19 . The test oval was used for the first time, so that a lap over the long distance had a total length of 11.3 km. The steep curves of the test oval, which were elevated by up to 49 °, were not used, instead driving below this incline.

From the 2016 season , the Lausitzring will again be part of the FIM Superbike World Championship racing calendar . The contract runs for three years.

Since 2017

The racetrack was sold to DEKRA on November 1, 2017, and the operator also announced that there was a need for renovation and modernization in the double-digit million range. DEKRA is planning a test and development center for autonomous and networked driving on the area - in conjunction with the neighboring DEKRA Technology Center - and has announced that it will invest more than 30 million euros, including building a kind of ghost town in the infield . All driving scenarios relevant in this context should be mapped there. Various overland routes are planned. The test oval in the DEKRA Technology Center depicts motorway scenarios. A wide variety of urban conditions are to be simulated on the parking areas with mobile and flexible buildings. Target groups for the inspection and test services include automobile manufacturers, suppliers and engineering service providers.

In 2018, several events were held at the DEKRA Lausitzring by various organizers, including the DRX (German Rallycross Championship), the IDM and, as a season highlight, the DTM. There were also some tuning festivals and the extreme obstacle course event Tough Mudder . DEKRA itself or other organizers also offered race track training for cars and motorcycles. DEKRA itself does not want to be the organizer of other racing events, but rents out the track for motorsport events.

In 2019 the DTM made two appearances at the DEKRA Lausitzring. Once on the test days before the actual start of the season and on a usual racing weekend. Again there were some tuning festivals such as the Reisbrennen or the L8 Night. In addition, the extreme obstacle course Tough Mudder was held again. DEKRA continues to invest in the location. For example, there has been an emissions laboratory since July 2019 that is authorized, for example, to register cars for the Japanese market. There is also a plan to become a center for autonomous and networked driving.

other events

In addition to car races, driver safety training courses and other sporting events take place at the DEKRA Lausitzring . For the first time in years, a large open-air concert with Mia and Nena is planned for Whitsun 2019.

Track variants at the DEKRA Lausitzring

Aerial view of the Lausitzring

The Lausitzring includes a 2 mile tri-oval including an infield and a 5.8 km test oval. The 2-mile super speedway has three banked curves with an incline of a maximum of 10% / 5.7 °. The track is up to 24 m wide and the longest straight is 800 m. The test oval is 5.8 km long and has two steep banked curves with an incline of up to 49 °.

• Superspeedway: 2.0 mi (3.2 km)
• Grand Prix track long: 4.534 km
• Grand Prix track short: 3.4 km
• Grand Prix track including turn 1: 4.5 km
• Short Grand Prix route including Turn 1: 3.4 km
• Motorcycle Grand Prix route: 4.265 km
• Grand Prix route for short motorcycle racing: 3.2 km
• Long distance: 11.3 km
• DEKRA Test Oval: 5.8 km
• Handling course: 1.8 km
• Drift course: 0.8 km
• DEKRA Off Road site: 224,000 m²

Starting curve

After the start and finish straight, there are three different variants for the start curve at the Lausitzring. You can drive on the elevated curve "Turn 1" of the tri-oval, which is a direct connection between the start and finish straight and the back straight. Alternatively, the curve combinations T1 - T5 of the infield can be negotiated. To the originally fast T1 variant, a new tight bend was created in 2007 with the help of mobile curbs , which is a 36 m longer variant, which is supposed to facilitate overtaking maneuvers.

Back straight

The back straight between "Turn 1" and "Turn 2" of the tri-oval is the longest straight on the route. The straight line of the super speedway is used for automobile races. For motorcycle races, there is also another straight line which, for the safety of motorcyclists, offers more distance from the boundary wall of the super speedway. At the end of the back straight there is next to "Turn 2" a left turn, which is the beginning of the second infield area. In 2007 an alternative short connection was created with a new bend, which shortens the back straight and is a 1.1 km shorter connection between the back straight and the Apcoa curve.

If the test oval is included for long-distance races, the back straight will not be used. The entrances and exits to the test oval are right at the beginning and end of this straight.

Target curve

In automobile races, "Turn 3" of the tri-oval is used as the target curve. Shortly before the start of this curve, the infield leads back onto the super speedway. The excessive "Turn 3" is not used in motorcycle races. The infield of the course has an alternative route variant that only leads back to the target straight after "Turn 3". This track variant also serves as part of the pit entrance in automobile races. Since this variant is a good 250 m shorter, the curiosity arose in the 2007 DTM race that the drive through the pit lane with integrated tire change was shorter than the drive behind the safety car. As a result, an alternative pit entrance for automobile races was created, which led into the pit lane at the exit of "Turn 3". This pit entrance was rebuilt in 2015 after the DTM had already used the old pit entrance via the motorcycle variant in 2014 . In contrast, the entrance to the pit lane on the Superspeedway is in front of "Turn 3".

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  Starting curve

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  DTM starting curve

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  Back straight

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  Target curve

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  Pit entrance

Accidents

In 2001, there were two fatalities: a sports caretaker from the route safety and the Audi works driver and former Formula 1 driver Michele Alboreto , who had an accident on the test track outside the tri-oval after a tire damage.

In the same year there was a serious accident as part of the Champ Car Series . After Alessandro Zanardi's last pit stop, he collided with Alex Tagliani's car . At the pit exit, Zanardi got onto the green strip that separates the racetrack from the pit exit and threw uncontrollably onto the track, where he was hit by Tagliani at 320 km / h. His car was torn in two. Zanardi had to be resuscitated seven times and lost both legs above the knees. However, that didn't stop him from getting back into a racing car after two years. In 2003, before the series appeared again, he finished the 13 laps at the Lausitzring that he had missed after the accident and completed “his” race. The fastest lap time achieved here would have been enough for 5th place in the qualification.

Transport links

The Lausitzring is located directly on the A 13 at the Klettwitz exit. The federal highway 96 runs through Senftenberg, about seven kilometers away . The well-developed Brandenburg state road 60 leads from Senftenberg train station via Hörlitz directly to the ring. The station is classified in station category 5. Trains from Berlin, Cottbus, Dresden and surrounding cities stop here. A bus shuttle to the ring will be set up for important events.

energy

Aerial view of the Lausitzring with a wind turbine

In 2011/2012 a wind turbine of the type Enercon E-126 was built on the Euro Speedway Lausitz , which until January 2014 was the most powerful wind turbine type in the world. The tower is 135 meters high, the rotor diameter is 127 meters, the rated output is 7.6 MW. The annual standard energy capacity of the plant is around 17 million kWh of electrical energy.

Web links

Commons : EuroSpeedway Lausitz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Website change to www.lausitzring.de EuroSpeedway Lausitz, accessed on October 4, 2011.
2. ↑ New operator for Lausitzring . In: Der Tagesspiegel , January 3, 2009, Brandenburg edition.
3. ^ History and beginnings of the EuroSpeedway Lausitz . ( Memento of November 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) EuroSpeedway Lausitz, accessed on March 18, 2010.
4. ↑ Eurospeedway with reference to Lausitz . The racetrack near Hörlitz has a local connection again. In: Berliner Zeitung , July 18, 2000.
5. ↑ The Lausitzring is broke . ( Memento from March 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: Berliner Morgenpost , June 20, 2002
6. ↑ Lease agreement secures the continuation of the Lausitzring Ministry of Economics, State of Brandenburg
7. ↑ Stefan Ehlen: 2018: F1 track architect Hermann Tilke is to rebuild the Lausitzring. Motorsport.com, March 8, 2017, accessed May 2, 2020 . 
8. ↑ Ralf Krüger: Lausitzring also in 2006 without state subsidy . In: Sächsische Zeitung , January 19, 2007
9. ↑ VW blisters from July 24th to 26th on the EuroSpeedway Lausitz ( Memento from November 23rd 2010 in the Internet Archive )
10. ↑ VW bubbles on the EuroSpeedway . Press release of the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, accessed March 18, 2010
11. ↑ 11,500 visitors to the autumn glow ( memento from November 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Press release of the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, accessed on March 18, 2010.
12. ↑ RCN Long Distance Challenge Lausitzring . lausitzring.de, August 18 and 19, 2012
13. ↑ RCN 6 Lausitzring Hotlap Mathol Racing Cayman # 350 on YouTube
14. ↑ WorldSBK returns to the Lausitzring . From: worldsbk.com , November 16, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
15. ↑ The operating company will hand over the Lausitzring race track to the new owner at the end of 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017 . 
16. ↑ Lausitzring becomes a ghost town. In: Lausitzer Rundschau . July 18, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017 . 
17. ↑ 2018 season: Top-class things at the Lausitzring. Accessed October 31, 2018 (German). 
18. ^ Roman Wittemeier: Dekra takes over Lausitzring: DTM could stay. In: motorsport-total.com. July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017 . 
19. ↑ Test center at Lausitzring already booked for two years. Accessed December 1, 2019 . 
20. ↑ Lausitzring: world's largest wind power plant in 2011 . In: Lausitzer Rundschau , September 15, 2011. Accessed June 9, 2013.