Short Track.
Short Track.
Hockenheimring GmbH 6832 Hockenheim Germany Tel: (49) 6205 702124 Track Length: 6.815km (GP), 2.638km (Short)This circuit, best known for the unexplained accident which caused Jim Clark's death in 1968, was originally a 4.78 mile track which went from the Ostkurve to the edge of the town of Hockenheim. When the Autobahn past the town was built in 1966 the track had to be modified, and the redesign was performed by John Hugenholz, the resulting track being 4.206 miles long. When the first grand prix was held, two chicanes were inserted on the main straights (the Jim Clark Schikane and the Ayrton Senna Schikane), and a third was added in the Ostkurve after Depailler died in testing during 1980. The first chicane was reprofiled in 1989, and in 1992 the Ostkurve was reprofiled still further to slow the cars down. Further reprofiling in 1994 led to a track length of 4.220 miles.
At the end of 1999 plans appeared for a shorter 4.023 km Grand Prix track. Click here for a map of how it fits in with the 1999 track. However, after environmental concerns and public inquiries, a new 2.711 mile layout was devised, which was used for the 2002 German GP. Unfortunately, the tarmac for the rest of the track which used to go through the forest was ripped up.
Hockenheim was originally opened May 1932 using a 12 km layout shown above. It was an anti-clockwise circuit, and it was used until 1937, after which it was remodelled to form the 7.7 km/4.78 mile circuit mentioned earlier.
