Brooklands vs AVUS - Battle of the Race Circuits 14
In the 14th battle of the race circuits we have a battle between Brooklands, who won the previous rounds, and the new contender you voted for, the AVUS!
0:00 Introduction
0:30 Brooklands
2:05 AVUS
Brooklands in England opened in 1907 and is seen as the First ever purpose built race track in the World. It was an initiative from entrepreneur Hugh F. Locke-King.
Because racing on public roads was banned by the British law, he want to built a permanent racing venue. They built the circuit near the village of Weybridge, southwest of London.
Brooklands was a combination of a high banked oval, with a road circuit on the infield. There was also a steep hill to test vehicles.
Before and after the First World War Brooklands had a huge boom. Motorsport was only for the rich those days. Not only the drivers themselves, but also the audience consisted only of wealthy people. “The right crowd and no crowding” was the circuits slogan.
WWII would eventually become the downfall of Brooklands. The aircraft manufacturer Vickers was located on the infield. During WWII, this factory had to run at full speed and capacity, and so expansion was necessary.
Since the circuit was not used during the war, a part of the banking was demolished. Moreover, the circuit was easy to recognize from the air by the German Air Force. To camouflage it, holes were made in the surface in which trees were planted.
In 1946, the site was sold to Vickers, which went further with the demolition of parts of the banking. Half a century later, Brooklands finally gets the status of being monument, which therefor prevents further demolition. Today, a part of the old Brooklands Circuit belongs to the Brooklands Museum and can be visited by the public.
The AVUS was a kind of a street circuit near the German capital of Berlin. It opened in 1921 and was one of the fastest circuits in the World. Two very long straights, connected with an articficial loop on both sides. It actually was an experimental multiple lane Highway which could be also used as race track.
The original AVUS was 19.569 km, or 12.160 Miles long and hosted the 1926 German Grand Prix. After a reconstruction in 1936 and a re-opening in 1937 it also hosted the inaugural Berlin Grand Prix in 1937.
Interesting, during the 1936 reconstruction the famous ‘Wall of death’ was built. A huge high banked version of the northern loop. A similar corner was planned to replace the southern loop too. The Works were already started when World War Two broke out. Today you can still see the remains of the unfinished southern loop.
After world war two the AVUS was two more time used for the German Grand Prix. First in 1954 there was a Formula One race at the AVUS which was not counting for the championship.
However, for political reasons in 1959, two years befor the Berlin wall was built, the German Grand Prix was held at the AVUS to give the people in the Russian occupation zone the opportunity to visit the Grand Prix.
But actually the AVUS with it’s high banked corner was too dangerous for Formula 1. In 1967 the ‘Wall of Death’ was demolished and replaced by a flat corner. But the German Grand Prix never returned.
After that, the AVUS was used for Formula 3 and touring car races. But in 1998 it was found too dangerous for all racing. Moreover, not too far from Berlin a brand new permanent circuit was built, the Lausitzring. So that resulted in the closure of the AVUS for racing.
In 1999 there was one finale vent to say goodbye to the old AVUS. However, the grandstand and control tower are still there. Today. many tourists are supprized to see a grandstand along the gighway when they enter Berlin.
Special thanks to Simon Smith for the voiceover. Visit also his channel: / higherplaingames
If you want to support Circuits of the past, go to: / circuitsofthepast
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8 июл 2024
