Nivelles-Baulers

Complexe Européen de Nivelles-Baulers
Nivelles-Baulers

Nivelles , Belgium
Route type:	permanent race track
Opening:	1971
Formula 1 venue :	1972-1974
Decommissioned:	June 30, 1981
Demolition:	Late 1990s
Track layout
Route data
Important events:	Formula 1 , Formula 5000 , Formula 2
Route length:	3.724  km (2.31  mi )
Curves:	7th
Records
Track record: (Formula 1)	1: 09.82 min. ( Clay Regazzoni , Ferrari , 1974)

Coordinates: 50 ° 37 ′ 12.3 "  N , 4 ° 19 ′ 45.7"  E

Nivelles-Baulers

The Complexe Européen de Nivelles-Baulers or short Nivelles-Baulers was a motorsport race in Nivelles , Belgium . The 3.724 km long circuit, opened in 1971 and abandoned in 1981, was the venue for the Belgian Grand Prix in 1972 and 1974. At that time, alongside the Paul Ricard Circuit , it was considered a pioneer of the so-called "retort courses" and the safest route for Formula 1 .

history

After the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack, which was largely made up of closed public roads in the 1960s, was considered too unsafe for Formula 1 , alternatives had to be found for the Belgian Grand Prix. Since the Flemish and Walloon politicians agreed to alternately host the Belgian Grand Prix in Flanders and Wallonia in the future, the Nivelles track was built as a counterpart to the Flemish Circuit Zolder .

In order to meet the safety needs of the ever faster Formula 1, the circuit was designed by the Dutch race track designer Hans Hugenholtz with a lot of safety considerations in mind: It was flat and barely overcame height differences, except for a small hill at the end of the start-finish straight, the curves were long and to drive smoothly. For the conditions at the time, the spectator areas were far away from the actual route in order to provide the vehicles with sufficient run-off areas. This led to criticism from two sides: While the drivers criticized the allegedly boring route, the system was also controversial among the spectators, as they could only observe the vehicles from a great distance.

The operators of the racetrack quickly ran into financial problems: after it opened in 1971, the first serious crisis arose in 1974; the 1974 Formula 1 Grand Prix could only be held with massive financial support from the sponsors. In 1975 bankruptcy followed. The Grand Prix planned for 1976 was not held in Nivelles , despite the fact that the track was taken over by a curator , as the road surface had deteriorated over the years and was no longer classified as safe enough for Formula 1. Formula 1 moved to Zolder again this year.

A renewal of the road surface could not be carried out due to a lack of investors, which is why no more Formula 1 races were planned on the continuously deteriorating track. In 1980, car races in Nivelles were finally ceased altogether; until 1981 the Belgian motorcycle association KNMV held individual motorcycle races in Nivelles.

When the approval as a racetrack expired on June 30, 1981, no application for an extension was made and the track was closed. The race track and buildings such as the pit lane fell into disrepair and were demolished at the end of the 1990s to make way for the new “Portes de l'Europe” industrial estate. Since the new buildings and streets of the industrial park are based on the layout of the racetrack, the route can still be seen from the air today.

route

Emerson Fittipaldi , winner of the two Formula 1 races at Nivelles-Baulers, in a McLaren M23 in 1974

The 3.724 km long and clockwise route was characterized by a long start-finish straight that ended in a quick right bend. A combination of right-hand bends called Big Loop by the racing drivers was used to reach the back straight with two medium-fast chicanes, at the end of which a slow 180 ° bend led back to the start-finish. The route had a total of seven curves that were easy to drive; tight baffles or hairpin bends were deliberately avoided in the planning. If necessary, the route could be shortened to a so-called “club course” by driving a cross connection on the start-finish straight in front of turn 1, which ended on the back straight between turns 4 and 5.

The fastest lap ever driven was 1.09.82 minutes, driven by Clay Regazzoni in a Ferrari in qualifying for the 1974 Formula 1 Grand Prix . The official lap record was 1'11.32 min. driven by Denis Hulme on a McLaren M23 in the later race. The lap record for motorcycles was 1.23.5 min and was set in 1976 by Barry Ditchburn on a Kawasaki in the 750cc class.

In addition to the actual race track, there was a smaller, independent track in the area of ​​corners 4 and 5, which was used for kart races.

run

In 1972 and 1974 the track hosted the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix. Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi won both races . Other internationally important events were the Formula 5000 races in 1972, Formula 2 in 1973 and the Formula 750 for motorcycles in 1976 and 1978 .

National and international races were also held on the kart track . In September 1980, the future Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna drove a round of the Kart World Championship in Nivelles, which he finished second. Michael Schumacher , who was 11 years old at the time, was among the spectators of this race . Schumacher, later also Formula 1 world champion, recalled in interviews that Senna's driving style impressed him so much that he asked for the driver's name after the race.

statistics

All winners of Formula 1 races in Nivelles-Baulers

year	driver	constructor	engine	tires	time	Route length	Round	Ø pace	date	GP of
1972	Emerson Fittipaldi	lotus	ford	F.	1: 44: 06.700 h	3.724 km	85	182.423 km / h	June 4th	Belgium
1974	Emerson Fittipaldi	McLaren	ford	G	1: 44: 20.570 h	3.724 km	85	182.019 km / h	12th of May

Web links

Commons : Nivelles-Baulers  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Photos and report (English)
• Race results ( Memento from February 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
• Track layout
• Youtube - Video about the Formula 1 GP 1972
• Youtube - Video about the Formula 1 GP 1974

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michael Schmidt: "Course fluctuations" ( Sport auto , issue 6/2007, pages 111,112)
2. ^ The century of racing , Adriano Cimarosti, Stuttgart 1997, pp. 244, 247.
3. ↑ "Circuits of the Past: Nivelles-Baulers"
4. ↑ Portes de l'Europe as well as untitled. Openstreetmap , accessed October 18, 2011 . 
5. ^ "Belgian Grand Prix 1974" ( Memento from February 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ ^{a b} "RaceRacesVitesse - pdf document"
7. ↑ "Ayrton Senna - The day on which the sun fell from the sky"