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The race circuit was founded as Österreichring and hosted the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from 1970 to 1987. It was later shortened, rebuilt and renamed the A1-Ring, it hosted the Austrian Grand Prix again from 1997 to 2003. The track was then closed and demolished, bought by Red Bull's Dietrich Mateschitz. Renamed the Red Bull Ring the track will be rebuilt and reopened for 2011, when it will host a round of the 2011 DTM season.

The old Österreichring was more often referred to as being located at Zeltweg, which is bigger and better known. However, the circuit was never relocated, only modified.

In addition, the one-off 1964 Austrian Grand Prix was held at Zeltweg Airfield, so this name was already known.

The original track

The track was known for being very fast, as every corner was a fast sweeper and were taken in no lower than 4th gear, as well as noticeable changes in elevation during the course of a lap. Like most fast circuits it was a hard circuit on engines but considerably more difficult on tires. Many considered the Österreichring to be dangerous, especially the "Boschkurve", a 180-degree right-hand corner with almost no run-off area. Some of the track was just road with little to no protection at all, even up to the final Austrian Grand Prix there in 1987. Tragically, American driver Mark Donohue died after crashing at the Vost-Hugel Kurve in 1975. In 1976, the Vost-Hugel Kurve was tightened and made into one right hander rather than 2 right-handers with a small section between, and in 1977 it was slowed down and became the Hella-Licht chicane, going from the fastest to the slowest corner on the track. It is also known that four-times World Champion Alain Prost often said that all tracks can be changed but that the Österreichring should remain unchanged, just adding run-off areas would be fine, which eventually did happen up until the original track's final year in 1995. The track was known for having many crashes at the start of races (especially 6-foot-wide [1.8 m] Formula One cars at the Austrian Grand Prix) because the start finish was very narrow (about 30 feet wide [9.1 m], most start finish straights on other tracks were 60 to 80 feet wide [18 to 24 m]) and it did not provide enough space for cars attempting to pass others, especially cars that stalled or broke at the start.

The A1-Ring

The Österreichring's safety concerns reached a head in 1987 when that year's race needed two restarts following crashes on the starting grid. As a result, the track was abandoned by Formula One for nearly a decade. In 1995 and 1996, it was totally rebuilt, at the same site, by Hermann Tilke. Its length was shortened from 5.942 km (3.692 mi) to 4.326 km (2.688 mi), and the fast sweeping corners were replaced by three tight right-handers, in order to create overtaking opportunities. Its three long straights, as well as a twisty infield section, asked for a setup compromise.

As much of the construction work was paid for by the cellphone provider A1, the track was renamed the A1-Ring. It proceeded to host seven Formula One Austrian Grands Prix between 1997 and 2003, as well as several DTM races and Austrian motorcycle races in 1996 and 1997.

Recent news

The grandstands and pit buildings were demolished in 2004, rendering the track unusable for any motorsport category.

In late 2004 and early 2005, there were intense discussions concerning whether the owner of the circuit, Red Bull, would find another use for the site, or return motor sports to the venue. There was a circuit extension proposal using part of the old Österreichring. As of January 2005, return of motor sports seemed more unlikely than ever, as Dietrich Mateschitz publicly announced that he had no intention of wasting money on a deficitary circuit. The failure of the project, which was of considerable importance to the surrounding municipalities, may even have serious political repercussions, as Styrian governor Waltraud Klasnic had strongly supported the project.

In 2006, Austrian racing driver Alexander Wurz claimed he would buy the circuit and have it renovated, but the idea never came to fruition.

Throughout 2005, there was speculation of Red Bull Racing renovating the track to use it as a test venue.

In 2007, talks involving Red Bull, KTM, VW and Magna International for a neuer Österreichring failed, after VW pulled out.

In July 2008, DTM chiefs decided not to include Österreichring on the 2009 Calendar - but plans for the revival of the track continued.

Late in 2008, Red Bull began their €70m reconstruction of the track and DTM chiefs considered a return to the circuit in 2009.

In October 2008, the track owner Dietrich Mateschitz ruled out any chance of the track hosting a MotoGP or Formula One Grand Prix in the future, and said it would only be used for DTM events.

In September 2010, it was confirmed that the circuit would host a round of the 2011 DTM season, now known as the Red Bull Ring.

In November 2010 F2 announced that Round 6 of the 2011 F2 championship would take place at the Red Bull Ring.

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The circuit will officially re-open at a special event over the weekend of May 14 & 15 2011 which will include displays of various Red Bull sponsored teams including Red Bull Racing.

The FIA Historic Formula One Championship has been invited to provide the headline race attraction with a race on each day for Formula One cars from the 3 litre period.

[wikipedia]

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Cannon Beach Raceway by Justin Kraemer

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One final one for the road before I pack up camp and head back north. Last night was special for a lot of reasons, mostly because it was the last night Jackie I spent here in Cannon Beach on our honeymoon... but also becaue there was a pretty cool sunset/fog/cloud combo going on in the sky. I'm holding back a ton of goodies, so be patient =)

I'll admit this one came out a bit wild, but I kind of wanted it that way. Sometimes it's fun to push all of those sliders in directions you usually don't!

www.justinkraemerphotography.com

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Alike Velodrome in Houston Texas. by Patrick

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The Alkek Velodrome is a 333meter, concrete track. Its banking ranges from 33 degrees in the turns to 9 degrees in the straights. It was built in 1986 and has held everything from Junior Regionals to Olympic Qualifiers.

For the past 30 years, the Alkek Velodrome has been owned and operated by the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department. In 2007 the city transfered the management and operations of the Velodrome, leasing it to The Greater Houston Cycling Foundation or GHCF.

lost forest by sheenjek

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another reflective perspective On Black

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