AVUS
) |
The Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße ('Automobile traffic and training road'), known as AVUS (German pronunciation:
Circuit
The highway is located in the southwestern districts of Berlin, linking the
While normal for a road, it is unusually shaped for a race track as it is essentially two long straights in the form of a dual carriageway, with a hairpin corner at each end. The north curve featured a steep banking from 1937 to 1967. While the original layout was 19.569 km (12.160 mi) long, the southern turn was moved several times, to shorten the track to 8.300 km (5.157 mi), then 8.109 km (5.039 mi) without the banking, 4.879 km (3.032 mi) and finally 2.639 km (1.640 mi).
History
In 1907 the
Race track
At the time of opening, AVUS was 19.569 km (12.160 mi) long – each straight being approximately half that length, and joined at each end by flat, large-radius curves, driven counter-clockwise.
While the Grand Prix motor racing scene still evaded German tracks, the circuit from 1922 was also the site of motorcycle races. On 11 July 1926 the track played host to the first international German Grand Prix for sports cars, organised by the Automobilclub von Deutschland, the former KAC. The 1921 roadway turned out to be insufficient: Already, in practice two days before, the young Italian driver Enrico Platé (not to be confused with the Argentinian driver and team owner of the same name) was involved in a crash that killed his mechanic. During the race, in heavy rain, two track marshals died when Adolf Rosenberger lost control and hit the indicator board and the timekeeper's box, with a third employee succumbing to his injuries in hospital a few hours later. The Grand Prix was won by his fellow team-member, the so-far unknown Mercedes-Benz salesman Rudolf Caracciola, from Remagen, driving a private, eight-cylinder "Monza" Kompressor type. The fastest lap of 161 km/h (100 mph) was set by Ferdinando Minoia in an OM.
From 1927 the German Grand Prix was relocated to the new and more secure Nürburgring circuit in the Western German Eifel range, while the AVUS received a new asphalt surface and served as an experimental track for rocket cars.
On 23 May 1928
Due to the Great Depression annual auto races were not resumed until 1931, when Caracciola again won in a Mercedes-Benz SSK, succeeded by Manfred von Brauchitsch the next year after Caracciola had switched to Alfa Romeo.
The competition on 22 May 1932 saw further notable participants like the
In 1935 Luigi Fagioli won the race in a Mercedes-Benz W25; however, the track was no longer adequate for cars reaching average race speeds of far over 200 km/h (124 mph). In an effort to make AVUS the "world's fastest race track", the 1936 season was skipped and while the track hosted the cycling road race, the marathon and 50 km walk athletic events of the 1936 Summer Olympics, the north curve was turned into a steeply banked turn (43°) made of bricks.[4] It became dubbed the wall of death, especially as it had no retaining barrier, so cars that missed the turn easily flew off it.[5] The Silver Arrows raced only once on the banked version, in 1937. As the AVUS race did not count towards the championship, non-GP cars were allowed, which permitted the use of streamlined cars, similar to the cars used for high speed record attempts. This race was run in two heats; during qualifying for the second heat, Luigi Fagioli stuck his Auto Union Type C on pole position, with a time of 4 minutes and 8.2 seconds at an average speed of 284.31 km/h (176.66 mph) - which was the fastest motor racing lap in history until this time was bettered by Tony Bettenhausen in qualifying for the 1957 Race of Two Worlds at Monza. It was also bettered by four drivers during the 1971 Indianapolis 500. Mercedes driver Hermann Lang's average race speed of about 276 km/h (171 mph) was the fastest road race in history for nearly five decades, and was not matched on a high-speed banked-circuit until the mid-1980s at the 1986 Indianapolis 500.[6]
No major race was held after 1937 as, in early 1938, the popular German race driver
Post-war
The first AVUS race after the war was held on 1 July 1951 for Formula Two and Formula Three cars, won by East German driver Paul Greifzu. For post-war racing, the original extremely long straights were shortened by the introduction of a new south turn roughly in the middle (just before the Hüttenweg exit, where it can still be seen), reducing the track length to 8.300 km (5.157 mi). After World War II, the Berlin Wall, with its Checkpoint Bravo at Dreilinden/Drewitz, came no closer than about one mile (1.6 km) to the former South Turn. It is a common yet incorrect belief that the Berlin Wall cut the AVUS in half.
It was not until 19 September 1954 that this shorter track hosted a non-championship
After 1961, Grand Prix racing did not race on banked circuits until
The old banked circuit can be seen in the film A Dandy in Aspic (1968) featuring period racing cars.
Racing was continued with a flat north turn, but AVUS only held national touring cars
In 1995, the race 2 of DTM had to be cancelled, after a multi-car pileup blocked the circuit; later that September, British driver Kieth O'dor was killed in a Super Touring Car event when his car spun and was rammed sideways, with the impact on the driver's side.[7]
AVUS today
After the fall of the Berlin wall, the closure of the AVUS for race events became increasingly problematic over traffic and associated environmental concerns. After the last races in 1998, a farewell event with veterans was held in 1999. Since 2000, the new
Gallery
-
ADAC Reichsfahrt, 1922
-
Caracciola (left) after winning the 1926 German Grand Prix
-
AVUS race, 1931
-
Start of the 1932 race, with Manfred von Brauchitsch in front
-
Streamlined Mercedes-Benz W25 Silver Arrow on the banking, 1937
-
1955 race, two cars on the north banking
-
North end, view from theFunkturm
-
Motel with former control tower
Lap times
The official race lap records at AVUS are listed as:
See also
- List of Formula One circuits
- EuroSpeedway Lausitz
References
- ^ https://www.stadtmuseum.de/en/article/the-avus#:~:text=The%20Avus%20is%20regarded%20as%20the%20world%E2%80%99s%20first,was%20also%20still%20being%20used%20as%20a%20racetrack.
- ISBN 978-386153117-3, pp. 31-32 (in German).
- ISBN 9783922561125, pp. 22–47, p. 22 (in German).
- ^ "1937 Grand Prix Season – Part 2". The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- ^ "Tracks-Germany". The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- ^ "1986 Indianapolis 500". racing-reference.info. Racing Reference.
- ^ Search Results
- ^ a b c d "AVUS - Racing Circuits". Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 1994 » AVUS Round 16 Results". Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "1994 ADAC AVUS-Rennen 16.Lauf Deutsche Formel-3-Meisterschaft Ergebnis Rennen 2" (PDF). Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "STW Cup 1995 » AVUS Round 14 Results". Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "ADAC GT-Cup Avus 1994". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "AVUS - Motorsport Magazine". Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ "1993 ADAC AVUS-Rennen 17.Lauf Deutsche Formel-3-Meisterschaft Ergebnis Rennen 1" (PDF). Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 1993 » AVUS Round 18 Results". Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 1992 » AVUS Round 8 Results". Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "ADAC GT-Cup Avus 1993". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 1991 » AVUS Round 8 Results". Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "1991 ADAC AVUS-Rennen 4.Lauf Deutsche Formel-3-Meisterschaft Ergebnis Rennen" (PDF). Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "DRM Avus 1983". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "DRM Avus 1978". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "Interserie Avus 1977". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "Procar Avus 1980". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "Rennsport Trophäe Avus 1983". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "Interserie Avus 1984". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 1988 » AVUS Round 10 Results". Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "1984 ADAC AVUS-Rennen 3.Lauf Deutsche Formel-3-Meisterschaft Ergebnis Rennen" (PDF). Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "1959 German Grand Prix". Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ "GP Avus 1967". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "1937 Avusrennen". Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ "1935 Avusrennen". Retrieved 22 August 2022.
External links
- 1936 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. pp. 644–7, 682-5, 932-5.
- FORIX about the AVUS track
- Historic Purpose Built Grand Prix Circuits on Google Maps