Opel-Rennbahn
 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (March 2014) |
 | |
| Location | Rüsselsheim am Main, Hessen, Germany |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 49°57′54″N 8°24′59″E / 49.96500°N 8.41639°ECoordinates: 49°57′54″N 8°24′59″E / 49.96500°N 8.41639°E |
| Capacity | 50,000[1] |
| Opened | 1919 |
| Closed | 1946 |
| Oval | |
| Length | 1.5 km (0.93 mi) |
| Turns | 2 |
The Opel-Rennbahn 'Opel Racetrack' [2] is a former race track, which was built by the Adam Opel AG in 1919. It was located in a forest about two kilometers south of Rüsselsheim am Main at the Schönauer Hof. The site is owned by the city Mainz, which operates a waterworks there.
Use from 1919 to 1946[]
Due to its design as an oval track racing circuit, with a track width of twelve meters and its the high steep curves, it was considered one of the fastest racetracks in Europe in the 1920s. Average speeds of up to 140 km / h were possible. The Opel racetrack was used for public bicycle, motorcycle and car racing and attracted up to 50,000 visitors at peak times.[1] Among others, Jimmie Simpson, and Hermann Lang started here. It was also the test track of Adam Opel AG, which often tested new developments here, including the rocket car Opel RAK.1.[3] Due to the technical development in Motorsport as well as the opening of the Nürburgring and the Hockenheimring, however, fewer and fewer racing events were held on the racetrack from 1930 onwards. After the end of World War II the site was temporarily used by the US Army.
State since 1946[]
Since 1946, the use of the Opel racetrack had been completely abandoned, but the facility was not been demolished. In 1949 the lease with the city of Mainz expired. As a result, holes were made in the slope in order to plant trees there. In the 1960s, part of the home straight was demolished in order to facilitate the new construction of the L3012 state road. The slope is partly overgrown today, but it is still easy to see; in particular the steep wall curves are almost completely preserved. More recently, the historic complex has been integrated into the Rhein-Main Regional Park as an industrial heritage site.[4] A small, accessible platform with information boards has been protruding into the north curve since 2013.
Weblinks[]
- Automobil- und Technikgeschichte der Opel-Rennbahn by Werner Schollenberger, accessed on October 23, 2016.
- Die Opel-Rennbahn at www.ruesselsheim.de
- Kulturdenkmal OPEL-Rennbahn with the kind support of the Kulturdenkmal OPEL Rennbahn e. V., which is in the process of being founded in 2018/19
References[]
- ^ a b "50,000 spectators once came to the Opel racetrack". FAZ online. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "The Opel racetrack, automobile and technology history". Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Opel History 1920–1929". Opel Media. Archived from the original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Regionalpark-Tourenguide" (PDF). Regionalpark RheinMain. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- Motorsport in Germany
- Defunct motorsport venues in Germany