Circuit Park Zandvoort
Encyclopedia
Circuit Park Zandvoort is a motorsport
race track
located in Burgemeester van Alphenstraat 108, 2041 KP in the dunes north of the town of Zandvoort
, in the Netherlands
, near the North Sea
coast line.
There were plans for races at Zandvoort before World War II
: the first street race was held on June 3, 1939. However, a permanent race track was not constructed until after the war, using communications roads built by the occupying German army. Contrary to popular belief John Hugenholtz
cannot be credited with the design of the Zandvoort track, although he was involved as the Nederlandse Automobiel Ren Club chairman (the Dutch Auto Racing Club) before becoming the first track director in 1949. Instead, it was 1927 Le Mans winner, S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis who was brought in as a track design advisor in July 1946 although the layout was partly dictated by the existing roads.
The circuit was inaugurated on August 7, 1948. The following year the race was called the Zandvoort Grand Prix and in 1950 it became the "Grote Prijs van Nederland" or Dutch Grand Prix
. The Dutch Grand Prix was a round of the World Drivers Championship for the first time [but not a Formula One race, as the World Championship was for Formula Two
cars that year and in 1953]. There was no GP at Zandvoort in 1954 (a sportscar-event replaced it), but 1955 saw the first proper Formula One
race counting for the World Championship. After 2 more years without a race the Dutch Grand Prix was back on the World Championship(s) calendar in 1958 and from then on remained a permanent fixture (with the exception of 1972) until , when it was held for the last time.
To solve a number of problems that had made it impossible to develop and upgrade the track, the most important one being noise pollution for the inhabitants of the part of Zandvoort closest to the track, the track management adopted and developed a plan to move the most southern part of the track away from the housing estate and rebuild a more compact track in the remaining former 'infield'. In January 1987 this plan got the necessary 'green light' when it was formally approved by the Noord-Holland Provincial Council. However, only a couple of months later a new problem arose: the company that commercially ran the circuit (CENAV), called in the receiver and went out of business, marking the end of "Circuit van Zandvoort".
Again the track, owned by the municipality of Zandvoort, was in danger of being permanently lost for motorsports. However, a new operating company, the Stichting Exploitatie Circuit Park, was formed and started work at the realization of the track's reconstruction plans. Circuit Park Zandvoort was born and in the summer of 1989 the track was remodeled to an interim Club Circuit of 2.6 kilometres (1.6 mi), while the disposed southern part of the track was used to build a Vendorado Bungalow Park and new premises for the local soccer and hockey clubs.
In 1995, CPZ (Circuit Park Zandvoort) got the "A Status" of the Dutch government and began building an international Grand Prix Circuit. This project was finished in 2001 when, after the track was redesigned to a 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi) long circuit and a new pits building was realized (by HPG, the development company of John Hugenholtz jr, son of the former director), a new grandstand was situated along the long straight. One of the major events that is held at the circuit, along with DTM and A1GP, is the RTL
Masters of Formula 3
, where Formula Three
cars of several national racing series compete with each other (originally called Marlboro Masters, before tobacco advertising ban). A noise restriction order was responsible for this event moving to the Belgian Circuit Zolder for 2007 and 2008. However, the race returned to its historical home in 2009.
Circuit Park Zandvoort played host to the first race in the 2006/07 season
of A1 Grand Prix
from 29 September-1 October 2006. On 21 August 2008, the official A1GP site reported that the 2008/09 season
's first race has moved from the Mugello Circuit
, Italy
to Zandvoort on the 4–5 October 2008 due to the delay in the building the new chassis for the new race cars. The Dutch
round moved to TT Circuit Assen
in 2010. A1GP bankrupted before its fifth season and the Dutch round was replaced with Superleague Formula
and only wanted to give up his vegetable garden in the dunes if the track's designers named a nearby corner after him. On the other hand, many different stories about Tarzan Corner are known.
The circuit design has been modified and altered several times over time:
The corners are named as follows (the numbers correspond to the image above, starting at the start/finish line):
The elevation difference is 15 metres (49.2 ft).
racing simulation for X86-based PCs. This was later converted to NASCAR 4, NASCAR 2002, 2003 and other simulations using a converter from website 'The Pits'. The current layout is used in the SimBin
game RACE 07 - Official WTCC Game
, TOCA Race Driver 3
, Race Pro
and the online simulation iRacing where it is laser scanned for millimeter accuracy.
The layout from 1973 to 1980 can be driven in the ISI
game Rfactor
: it is included in the "Grand Prix 1979" mod.
The circuit can also be driven in the "DTM Race Driver" games for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
competition. The 2010 edition of the race attracted Lornah Kiplagat
, a multiple world champion, who won the ladies 5 km race.
Motorsport
Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...
race track
Race track
A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...
located in Burgemeester van Alphenstraat 108, 2041 KP in the dunes north of the town of Zandvoort
Zandvoort
Zandvoort is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.Zandvoort is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach, bordered by coastal dunes...
, in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, near the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
coast line.
History
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
: the first street race was held on June 3, 1939. However, a permanent race track was not constructed until after the war, using communications roads built by the occupying German army. Contrary to popular belief John Hugenholtz
John Hugenholtz
Johannes Bernhardus Theodorus "Hans" Hugenholtz, in English-speaking countries a.k.a. John Hugenholtz was a Dutch designer of race tracks and cars....
cannot be credited with the design of the Zandvoort track, although he was involved as the Nederlandse Automobiel Ren Club chairman (the Dutch Auto Racing Club) before becoming the first track director in 1949. Instead, it was 1927 Le Mans winner, S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis who was brought in as a track design advisor in July 1946 although the layout was partly dictated by the existing roads.
The circuit was inaugurated on August 7, 1948. The following year the race was called the Zandvoort Grand Prix and in 1950 it became the "Grote Prijs van Nederland" or Dutch Grand Prix
Dutch Grand Prix
The Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One automobile race held at Circuit Zandvoort, from 1948 to 1985. It was a part of the World Championship from 1952, and designated the European Grand Prix two times, 1962 and 1976, when this title was an honorary designation given each year to one grand prix...
. The Dutch Grand Prix was a round of the World Drivers Championship for the first time [but not a Formula One race, as the World Championship was for Formula Two
Formula Two
Formula Two, abbreviated to F2, is a type of open wheel formula racing. It was replaced by Formula 3000 in 1985, but the FIA announced in 2008 that Formula Two would return for 2009 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship...
cars that year and in 1953]. There was no GP at Zandvoort in 1954 (a sportscar-event replaced it), but 1955 saw the first proper Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
race counting for the World Championship. After 2 more years without a race the Dutch Grand Prix was back on the World Championship(s) calendar in 1958 and from then on remained a permanent fixture (with the exception of 1972) until , when it was held for the last time.
To solve a number of problems that had made it impossible to develop and upgrade the track, the most important one being noise pollution for the inhabitants of the part of Zandvoort closest to the track, the track management adopted and developed a plan to move the most southern part of the track away from the housing estate and rebuild a more compact track in the remaining former 'infield'. In January 1987 this plan got the necessary 'green light' when it was formally approved by the Noord-Holland Provincial Council. However, only a couple of months later a new problem arose: the company that commercially ran the circuit (CENAV), called in the receiver and went out of business, marking the end of "Circuit van Zandvoort".
Again the track, owned by the municipality of Zandvoort, was in danger of being permanently lost for motorsports. However, a new operating company, the Stichting Exploitatie Circuit Park, was formed and started work at the realization of the track's reconstruction plans. Circuit Park Zandvoort was born and in the summer of 1989 the track was remodeled to an interim Club Circuit of 2.6 kilometres (1.6 mi), while the disposed southern part of the track was used to build a Vendorado Bungalow Park and new premises for the local soccer and hockey clubs.
In 1995, CPZ (Circuit Park Zandvoort) got the "A Status" of the Dutch government and began building an international Grand Prix Circuit. This project was finished in 2001 when, after the track was redesigned to a 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi) long circuit and a new pits building was realized (by HPG, the development company of John Hugenholtz jr, son of the former director), a new grandstand was situated along the long straight. One of the major events that is held at the circuit, along with DTM and A1GP, is the RTL
RTL Group
RTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. It has 45 television and 32 radio stations in 11 countries...
Masters of Formula 3
Masters of Formula 3
The Masters of Formula 3 is a Formula Three race held annually, usually at the Circuit Park Zandvoort in the Netherlands. Due to noise restrictions in the Zandvoort area, the 2007 and 2008 races were held in the Belgian circuit of Zolder...
, where Formula Three
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
cars of several national racing series compete with each other (originally called Marlboro Masters, before tobacco advertising ban). A noise restriction order was responsible for this event moving to the Belgian Circuit Zolder for 2007 and 2008. However, the race returned to its historical home in 2009.
Circuit Park Zandvoort played host to the first race in the 2006/07 season
2006-07 A1 Grand Prix season
The 2006–07 A1 Grand Prix season was the second season for the A1 Grand Prix series.It began on 1 October 2006, at Circuit Park Zandvoort, and the season ended at Brands Hatch on 29 April 2007. A1 Team Germany won it with 128 points, 35 points lead ahead Team New Zealand.-Teams:24 teams, each...
of A1 Grand Prix
A1 Grand Prix
A1 Grand Prix was a 'single make' open-wheel auto racing series. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most formula racing series. As such, it was often promoted as the "World Cup of Motorsport"...
from 29 September-1 October 2006. On 21 August 2008, the official A1GP site reported that the 2008/09 season
2008-09 A1 Grand Prix season
The 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season was the fourth and final season in its short history. It was announced that Ferrari will be supplying the engines. All cars and official merchandise are contractually obligated to portray the slogan "Powered by Ferrari"....
's first race has moved from the Mugello Circuit
Mugello Circuit
Mugello Circuit is a race track in the Mugello region of Italy near Florence. Its length is . It has 15 turns and a long straight.Grand Prix motorcycle racing host an annual event here . Also, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters hold an annual event. The track is property of Scuderia Ferrari which...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to Zandvoort on the 4–5 October 2008 due to the delay in the building the new chassis for the new race cars. The Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
round moved to TT Circuit Assen
TT Circuit Assen
The TT Circuit Assen is a motorsport race track built in 1955 and located in Assen, Netherlands. Host of the Dutch TT race, it is considered "The Cathedral" of motorcycling by the fans...
in 2010. A1GP bankrupted before its fifth season and the Dutch round was replaced with Superleague Formula
The circuit
The circuit gained popularity because of its fast, sweeping corners such as Scheivlak as well as the "Tarzanbocht" (Tarzan corner) hairpin at the end of the start/finish straight. Tarzanbocht is the most famous corner in the circuit. Since there is a camber in the corner, it provides excellent overtaking opportunities. It is possible to pass around the outside as well as the easier inside lane. This corner is reportedly named after a local character who had earned the nickname of TarzanTarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
and only wanted to give up his vegetable garden in the dunes if the track's designers named a nearby corner after him. On the other hand, many different stories about Tarzan Corner are known.
The circuit design has been modified and altered several times over time:
- 1948-1971: length 4.193 kilometres (2.6 mi)
- 1972-1979: length 4.226 kilometres (2.6 mi)
- 1980-1989: length 4.252 kilometres (2.6 mi)
- 1990-1998: length 2.526 kilometres (1.6 mi)
- 1999–present: length 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi)
The corners are named as follows (the numbers correspond to the image above, starting at the start/finish line):
- Tarzan corner (1)
- Gerlach corner (2)
- Hugenholtz corner (3)
- Hunzerug (4)
- Rob Slotemaker corner (5)
- Scheivlak (6)
- Masters corner (formerly Marlboro corner) (7)
- Renault corner (8)
- Vodafone (9)
- Audi S corner (10 + 11)
- Kumho corner (12)
- Arie Luyendyk (formerly Bosuit) (13)
The elevation difference is 15 metres (49.2 ft).
Fatal accidents
In the history of the circuit, several fatal accidents have occurred.| Name | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Wim Gerlach | June 10, 1957 | The corner in which he died was named after him. First fatality on the circuit. |
| Werner Engel | May 1, 1958 | Crashed his Mercedes 300SL cabriolet during the final stage of that year's Tulip Rally Tulip Rally The Tulip Rally , first held in 1949, is the oldest Dutch rally competition.The teams are divided into three classes: Tour, Sport and Expert. The Expert Class is for the navigators which in the past 2–6 years in the Top-20 of the Sport class have ended, or the previous years in the Top-20 of the... . As was usual at the time, the Tulip Rally's final stage was run as a race at the Zandvoort Racing Track, but in anti-clockwise direction, so as to counter unfair advantages for local (Dutch) drivers with racing experience of the track. Engel's car crashed and overturned on the back-stretch of the track, on the short straight leading away from Tunnel-Oost (in the direction of Scheivlak Corner) and came to rest upside down on the track. |
| Chris Lambert | July 28, 1968 | Lambert was driving his Brabham-FVA BT-23C in the "Grote Prijs van Zandvoort", the Dutch round of the European Formula 2 Championship. It all went wrong on lap 10. Lambert was trying to fend off Clay Regazzoni’s Tecno, which had started just in front of him but had stalled on the exit of Tarzan Corner just after the start, losing a lap on the complete field before restarting. Speedworld described the incident that followed in a matter-of-fact style that was typical of the old days: “Although a lap behind the whole field to start with, Regazzoni was blazing a trail through the rear of the field and came up to overtake Lambert as they approached the right-hander over the East Bridge. He tried to take the Englishman on the inside but the cars touched and Lambert shot off the track into the guard rail. Unfortunately some straw bales had been placed in front of the rail and these naturally compressed into a ramp and Lambert's car went over the top and dived onto the pedestrian path below. Lambert was killed instantly along with a woman spectator. Regazzoni's car was inverted, but the driver crawled out almost unscathed |
| Piers Courage Piers Courage Piers Raymond Courage was a racing driver from England. He participated in 29 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 January 1967. He achieved 2 podiums, and scored a total of 20 championship points.- Biography :Piers Courage was the eldest son and heir of the Courage brewing... |
June 21, 1970 | His car's suspension or steering broke on the flatout 'Tunnel Oost'-bump. Instead of rounding the bend, the car went straight on into the steep dunes, disintegrated on impact and caught fire as the engine broke away from the monocoque; automatic fuel-sealing equipment was not yet being used. During the impact one of the front wheels broke loose and hit Courage's head, taking off his helmet (wheel and helmet came rolling out of the cloud of dust simultaneously). It may safely be assumed that Courage was killed instantly (or at least severely wounded and knocked unconscious) when the wheel hit him, moments before the car burst into flames (instead of being killed by the fire). This is in accordance with the fact that the monocoque was upright [not upside down, as is often stated by those who confuse the Courage and Williamson accidents) when it came to rest and did not seem to trap its driver in any way. |
| Roger Williamson Roger Williamson Roger Williamson was a British racing driver who died during the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort Circuit in the Netherlands.-Biography:... |
July 29, 1973 | He lost control of his car due to a suspected tyre failure during the F1 Dutch Grand Prix 1973 Dutch Grand Prix The 1973 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on July 29, 1973. Zandvoort returned to the Formula 1 calendar following a year's absence for extensive safety upgrades to the race track including new asphalt, new barriers and a new race control tower... and crashed into the barriers, spun upside-down and caught fire. David Purley David Purley David Charles Purley, GM, was a British racing driver born in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. He participated in 11 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at Monaco on 3 June 1973... stopped his own race and tried unsuccessfully to save Williamson. The circuit was poorly prepared and not enough extinguishers were on hand. |
| Rob Slotemaker Rob Slotemaker Rob "Sloot" Slotemaker was a racing driver from the Netherlands.... |
July 29, 1979 | He broke his neck and died during a non-F1 event. |
| Hans-Georg Bürger Hans-Georg Bürger - Career :Bürger started his racing career at 23 years of age, winning the German Slalom title in 1976, and graduating to the Renault 5 Cup. In his rookie season he finished with 3 wins and 2nd overall in the championship. Thanks to the help of German magazine Autozeitung, in 1978 Bürger joined the... |
July 20, 1980 | Crashed fatally in his Tiga F280-BMW at Scheivlak-Corner during the warm-up for the Grote Prijs van Zandvoort, the Dutch round of the European Formula 2 Championship. He succumbed to his head injuries in hospital two days later. |
Use in simulations / games
In 1998, the older "classic" Zandvoort circuit layout from 1967 was modeled in detail and can be driven in the Grand Prix LegendsGrand Prix Legends
Grand Prix Legends is a computer racing simulator developed by Papyrus Design Group and published in 1998 by Sierra Entertainment...
racing simulation for X86-based PCs. This was later converted to NASCAR 4, NASCAR 2002, 2003 and other simulations using a converter from website 'The Pits'. The current layout is used in the SimBin
SimBin
SimBin Studios is a Swedish video game developer- and publisher founded in 2003 that develops racing simulators for Windows and the current-generation consoles. The company has its headquarters in Vara and the main development studio in Gothenburg...
game RACE 07 - Official WTCC Game
RACE 07 - Official WTCC Game
Formula Raceroom is a free add-on pack to RACE 07 developed by SimBin and adds a Formula One style car and Hockenheimring circuit to the original game.-Tracks:Three layouts of the Hockenheimring circuit are playable.* Hockenheim GP* Hockenheim Short...
, TOCA Race Driver 3
TOCA Race Driver 3
TOCA Race Driver 3 is the third title of TOCA racing video game series, developed and published by Codemasters. TOCA Race Driver 3 was released in Europe and North America on February 24, 2006...
, Race Pro
Race Pro
Race Pro is a sim racing video game developed by SimBin and published by Atari exclusively for Xbox 360. The game is described as having "ultra realistic car models" with cars ranging in power from to . The game uses the new Lizard game engine whereas the PC SimBin games used the Gmotor engine...
and the online simulation iRacing where it is laser scanned for millimeter accuracy.
The layout from 1973 to 1980 can be driven in the ISI
Image Space Incorporated
Image Space Incorporated, commonly known as ISI is an Independent video game developer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, specializing in the fields of...
game Rfactor
RFactor
rFactor is a computer racing simulator, designed with the ability to run any type of four-wheeled vehicle from street cars to open wheel cars of any era. rFactor aimed to be the most accurate race simulator of its time...
: it is included in the "Grand Prix 1979" mod.
The circuit can also be driven in the "DTM Race Driver" games for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
Running competition
Since 2008, the course has been used as the venue for the Runner's World Zandvoort Circuit Run, a 5-kilometre road runningRoad running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
competition. The 2010 edition of the race attracted Lornah Kiplagat
Lornah Kiplagat
Lornah Kiplagat is a Dutch long-distance runner. She was born in Kabiemit, Rift Valley Province, Kenya and came to the Netherlands in 1999. She gained Dutch citizenship in 2003 and has competed for the Netherlands since...
, a multiple world champion, who won the ladies 5 km race.