The 'German Grand Prix' (''Großer Preis von Deutschland'') is an annual automobile race. The
Grand Prix motorcycle racing event is also called German GP but this article concentrates on the automobile GP.
As Germany was banned from taking part in international events after World War II, the German GP became part of the
Formula One World Championship in 1951. It is organized by
AvD (Automobile Club of Germany) since 1926. The well-known
ADAC hosts many other races, eg. since 1995 the second F1 race in Germany at the
Nürburgring.
History
In
1907,
Germany staged the first of the ''
Kaiserpreis'' races at the
Taunus Circuit, with entries limited to touring cars with engines of less than eight
litres. The race was won by
Italian Felice Nazzaro in a
Fiat. Like the
Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt held from 1908 to 1911, it was a precursor to the German Grand Prix.
The first national event in German
Grand Prix motor racing came to the
AVUS (Automobil Verkehrs und Übungs-Straße) race course in southwest
Berlin in
1926 as a sports car race. The first race at AVUS, in heavy rain, was won by Germany's native son,
Rudolf Caracciola in a
Mercedes-Benz. The event was marred by
Adolf Rosenberger's crash into one of the marshals' huts, killing three people. The German Grand Prix became an official event in
1929, but would not return to AVUS again until
1959, and then only once.
The Grand Prix moved to the new, 28
km (17.4mi)-long course at
Nürburgring, inaugurated on
June 18,
1927 with an
ADAC ''
Eifelrennen''. It would mainly stay there on the 22.8km (14.2mi) 'Nordschleife' (North Loop) course until the
1970s, when the rival
Hockenheimring would take over due to safety concerns.
The
1930 and
1933 German Grands Prix were both cancelled due to the country's economic problems.
Starting in 1934, there were often several races with
Silver Arrows Grand Prix cars in Germany each year, eg. the ''Eifelrennen'', the AVUS race, and several
hillclimbs. Yet only the GP at the Nürburgring was the national ''
Grande Epreuve'' that counted toward the
European Championship from
1935 to
1939.
After
Bernd Rosemeyer and
Hans Stuck scored one victory each,
Rudolf Caracciola took the German GP in 1937 and again in 1939, a feat no other German driver could accomplish between 1937 and 1995, when
Michael Schumacher won. Also, two upset wins were scored by foreigners
Tazio Nuvolari and
Dick Seaman in the late 1930s.
At that time, a new track had been built near
Dresden, called the ''Deutschlandring'', which was intended to host the 1940 German Grand Prix. However, the race was never run due to
World War II.
After WWII, Germany and German drivers were banned from international contests until 1951, so the inaugural F1 Season in 1950 did not include the German GP.
Due to the decline in attendance after the retirement of Mercedes and
Juan Manuel Fangio, the
AvD returned the German GP to AVUS in 1959. Due to the simple layout of this high speed track and several accidents, it was considered a bad move. In anticipation of 1961 rule changes in F1, the 1960 GP was held for
Formula 2 cars of
Porsche as well as the F2
Ferrari Dino of
Wolfgang von Trips, which did not show up. This GP did not count towards the World Championships, and was also held on the shorter 7.7km (4.8mi) Nürburgring ''Südschleife'' (South Loop).
After the former F2 rules were declared the new F1, Porsche entered Formula 1 in 1961. Additional F1 races were held at their home town
Stuttgart at the
Solitude circuit. These races, joined with
Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championship events, drew an average of 288,000 spectators. There were rumors the German GP might be moved to the more popular track, yet the opposite happened, as the Solitude races were cancelled after 1965, while the GP had returned to the Nürburgring ''Nordschleife'' in 1961.
In 1970, drivers asked for safety improvements on short notice which could not be made, and the German GP moved to the Hockenheimring, which was already modified. After a rebuild, the ''Nordschleife'' hosted six more GPs. F1 finally declined to race there after 1976, and
Niki Lauda's crash sealed this.
Since
1977, the Hockenheimring became the German Grand Prix's permanent home, with the exception of
1985 on the new 4.5km (2.8mi) Nürburgring. Already back in
1984 an additional F1 race had been held at the Nürburgring following the inauguration of its modern "Grand Prix Strecke" layout. Following the success of Schumacher, this went on to become the venue for a second annual F1 race in Germany, the
European Grand Prix or
Luxembourg Grand Prix since 1995.
In 2006 it was reported that from 2007 until 2010, the German Grand Prix would be shared between the
Nürburgring (former home of the European Grand Prix) and the
Hockenheimring. The former would hold the races in 2007 and 2009, the latter in 2008 and 2010. However, the name for the 2007 Grand Prix was later changed. While originally intended to be the German Grand Prix
[1], the Nürburgring currently lists the 2007 event as "Großer Preis von Europa" (
European Grand Prix).
[2]
Sponsors
Großer
Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland '1987-2006'
Winners of the German Grand Prix
''A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.''
''A cream background indicates an event which was part of the pre-
war European Championship.''
External links
★
German Grand Prix Results, Live Timing, Quiz & Discussion
References
1. 2007 FIA Formula One championship circuit and lap information, published on February 14, 2007
2. Nürburgring
3. Originally to be held at Nürburgring, the title was changed to European Grand Prix due to a dispute over ownership of the German Grand Prix name. See Autosport: Name row leads to return of European GP
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