DTM fans love the natural grandstands, which offer a perfect view of the action in Spielberg. It used to be all about top speed, with the track taking drivers round another hill. Not so today, however… The man responsible for this change is Hermann Tilke, who has made the circuit fit for the future – for the second time.
Every racetrack has its hour of birth. The “Red Bull Ring” in Spielberg has not one, but three. The circuit celebrated its debut as the “Österreichring” in 1969, was resurrected as the “A1-Ring” in 1996, and was once again brought back to life in 2011 under the name “Red Bull Ring”. Hermann Tilke was involved in both phases of modifications. The designer from Aachen has already planned or modernised more than 60 circuits. Spielberg is the only track he has revisited. “That is the first time we have built a circuit twice,” he says.
Spielberg was the beating heart of Austrian motor racing as early as the 1960s. It beat somewhat faster back then though. The 5.911-kilometre circuit was regarded as a terrifying, high-speed track – one of the fastest in the world. When the two Ferraris triumphed in the first Formula 1 race to be held at the “Österreichring” on 16th August 1970, causing thousands of Tifosi to charge down the hillsides towards the track, you would have been hard pushed to differentiate between Spielberg and Monza, the Mecca of speed.
The Formula 1 circus attracted fans to the “Österreichring” arena on 17 occasions, before that golden era drew to a close. As well as speed, the safety of the drivers had also taken on a crucial role in motor racing. After so many years, the circuit found itself lagging behind in this respect. It was time for a facelift. This was a case for racetrack surgeon Tilke.
The Austrian patient was in desperate need of some aesthetic surgery. Formula 1 was due to return to Spielberg on 21st September 1997. Tilke and his team had less than 12 months to transform the fossil of a racetrack into a circuit that complied with the latest safety standards. Back then, the team of architects drew all their sketches by hand. And there were a lot of drawings. The problems were both practical and challenging.
“There was a risk of the hillside sliding,” says Tilke. “But there were still farms and a chapel on top of the hill, so we had to secure it with props to ensure it did not slide.” When Formula 1 then made its triumphant return to Spielberg in 1997, a torrential downpour washed the mud from the non-vegetated hillside straight down into the pit lane. “That was a catastrophe for me. The teams took it in their stride, however, and set to work with shovel and brush.”
The track was now 4.326 kilometres long. The “A1-Ring” was born and, between 2001 and 2003, hosted a DTM series that even then featured a certain Martin Tomczyk. Then Spielberg disappeared from the motorsport radar for a few years and turned into a motor motorsport park with on- and off-road tracks. Tilke again was the mastermind in the background. Déjà-vu in the Styria region of Austria. A good third of the circuit was rebuilt, but the layout remained unchanged. Ten years after the first DTM race in Spielberg, Tomczyk returned to the renamed Red Bull Ring in 2011 – and won.
This year the circuit is once again on the DTM calendar – a fact that pleases both the reigning champion and his fellow drivers. They are looking forward to the tight Castrol EDGE corner at the end of the start-finish straight, which they must exit with enough momentum for the subsequent long straight; to the Remus corner, which offers the best opportunity for overtaking manoeuvres; to the demanding infield and final two corners. And the best news: the circuit has not changed since 2011. The hillside is still there.
Source : BMW