Motorsport history of St. Wendel

Street circuit St. Wendel

St. Wendel
Route type:	temporary racetrack
Owner:	City of St. Wendel
Operator:	MCW - Motorsport Club St. Wendel eV
Opening:	May 6, 1951
Decommissioned:	May 3, 1964
Street circuit from 1950–1964
Route data
Important events:	Motorcycle world championship , sidecar world championship
Route length:	3,788  km (2.35  mi )
Curves:	11
Audience capacity:	40000
Records
Track record: (motorcycle)	1: 50.7 min. (Tommy Robb, Honda , 1963)
Street circuit from 1982–1992
August Balthasar Memorial Trophy
Route data
Important events:	German motorcycle road championship , Formula E.
Route length:	4.5  km (2.8  mi )
Curves:	13

The old street circuit

1962 on the old street circuit, ascent in Tholeyerstrasse

The St. Wendel Motorsport Club organized races in St. Wendel from 1949 . At first these were held in the nearby town of Eisweiler on the so-called Allerburg-Ring. Later, in search of a larger and wider racetrack, the almost 3.8 km long street circuit in St. Wendel was found, which could hold up to 75,000 spectators. The races took place on it from 1950. Over time, the event got bigger and bigger and soon there were also marquees and star visits over the entire race weekend. In 1951 the film Bitter Rice had its German premiere in St. Wendel on the occasion. In 1952, the German Supreme Motorcycle Sports Commission and the French Motorsport Federation agreed that German and French riders could also compete in the Saarland's national prize .

In May 1953 an international race, the “1. International Prize of the Saarland ”. From 1954 this "International Prize" was officially called the "Saarland Grand Prix " by order of the FIM . After the Saarland was reintegrated into the Federal Republic, the name was changed back to the “Internationaler Preis des Saarlandes”, as otherwise there would have been an overlap with the German Grand Prix . In 1964, the St. Wendel Motorsport Club was now a local association of the ADAC Saarland, and the last race on the street circuit took place. The downhill section of the street course was named August-Balthasar-Straße after the chairman of the MCW at the time, August Balthasar. Colloquially, however, this street is still called “racetrack”.

Fastest racing laps

year	driver	brand	Top speed
1953	Tommy Wood	Norton	113.4 km / h
1954	Maurice Quincey	Norton	114.2 km / h
1955	John Grace	Norton	122.854 km / h
1956	John Storr	Norton	120.36 km / h
1957	Eric Hinton	Norton	121.76 km / h
1958	Harry Hinton	Norton	121.87 km / h
1959	Paddy Driver	Norton	124.76 km / h
1960	Dickie Dale	Norton	124.65 km / h
1961	Frank Perris	Norton	123.63 km / h
1962	Gary Hocking	MV Agusta	126.5 km / h
1963	Mike Duff	Matchless	124.31 km / h
1964	Luigi Taveri	Honda	126.48 km / h

The new course 1982–1992

From 1982 to 1992 there was a new edition on a changed route by the MSC Nordsaar with Juppi Brill as race director. Although a few races of the German Motorcycle Championship were held, it was no longer possible to build on the great successes on the old street circuit. After the fatal accidents of Gerold Fischer and Klaus Liegibel , racing was stopped.

The old and the new course are basically still preserved, apart from a few changed branches and curves as well as new traffic circles, but without the notorious cobblestones.

Wendelinuspark racetrack

Wendelinuspark racetrack

Address: Golfparkallee, 66606 St. Wendel
St. Wendel
Route type:	semi-permanent racetrack
Owner:	City of St. Wendel
Operator:	ADAC Saarland
Time zone:	UTC + 1 ( CET )
Supermoto track
Route data
Important events:	Supermoto
Route length:	1.18  km (0.73  mi )
Curves:	13
Audience capacity:	15000
Classic car route
Route data
Important events:	Vintage motorcycle racing
Curves:	9
Audience capacity:	15000
www.wendelinuspark.de

Coordinates: 49 ° 28 ′ 10 ″  N , 7 ° 8 ′ 28 ″  E

The Wendelinuspark racetrack consists of an off-road section and parts of the parking lot and the inliner circuit of the Wendelinuspark .

With the founding of the Wendelinuspark, a suitable site was found to revive the motorsport tradition in St. Wendel. In 2003, the Supermoto World Championship was held for the first time on the new circuit, which is a bit away from the old route . The start-finish straight corresponded to the (imaginary) extension of the north straight of the old route.

Since 2003 the ADAC Saarland has been organizing a supermoto event on the "Wendelinuspark race track" in the Wendelinuspark . B. in the years up to 2007 the European championship, 2008 and 2009 a run of the world championship. since 2011 one run of the International German Supermoto Championship (IDSM) has been held on the racetrack.

In addition to this main event, slalom races were also held in Wendelinuspark .

In 2009 and 2010, on the occasion of the 60th motorsport anniversary, you could admire original motorcycles from the heyday of motorsport in St. Wendel. The star of this event was former world champion Luigi Taveri . The classic car version of the route is approved for 22 vehicles. In 2012 and 2014 a “Motorsport Classic” with a presentation drive was again driven on the old street circuit.

• 

  Supermoto on the race track in Wendelinuspark

• 

  Rally presentation on the race track in Wendelinuspark

Rallying

The new street circuit was revived again in the 2000s. For example, special stages of the World Rally Championship were held there several times as a spectator circuit. In 2006 the route was driven in the opposite direction.

Web links

• mcw-motorsporthistoriker.de - website of the MCW motorsport historian St. Wendel
• Drive the Supermoto circuit on YouTube
• Drive from Colin McRae on the new city tour on YouTube

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Youtube video from 1953, annotated (part 3)
2. ^ ^{A b} Youtube video from 1953, annotated
3. ↑ Information board in the St. Wendel restaurant "Zum Ochsen".
4. ↑ Bernd Bouillon: How it all began. (pdf) (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on July 8, 2018 (the history of St. Wendeler Motorsport).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  
5. ↑ 4 races, 4 winners - excitement in the Wendelinuspark. In: supermoto.de. Retrieved July 8, 2018 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Bernd Bouillon: Announcement for Motorsport Classic 2012. (pdf) (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on July 8, 2018 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )