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34-653: The highway is located in the southwestern districts of Berlin, linking the Stadtring at the Funkturm junction in Charlottenburg with Nikolassee . It runs through the Grunewald forest along the historic Königsweg road from Charlottenburg to Potsdam and the parallel Berlin-Blankenheim railway line. While normal for a road, it is unusually shaped for a race track as it is essentially two long straights in

68-491: A Hatton Garden diamond seller. He attended the independent Uppingham School . In Germany, learning the diamond trade, he gained an interest in motorbikes and races. Returning to Britain, he worked for two years at Lloyd's of London for no pay, then for another year at £1 a week. Between 1906 and 1908, he won all three London to Land's End Trials motorcycle races. In 1910, he began racing cars at Brooklands . He christened his car Blue Bird , painting it blue, after seeing

102-522: A Mercedes-Benz SSK , succeeded by Manfred von Brauchitsch the next year after Caracciola had switched to Alfa Romeo . The competition on 22 May 1932 saw further notable participants like the Earl Howe , Hans Stuck and Sir Malcolm Campbell . The Czechoslovak driver, Prince George Christian of Lobkowicz , died when his Bugatti Type 54 crashed in the southern hairpin. The following events were won by Achille Varzi (1933) and Guy Moll (1934), to

136-672: A barrier and exploded into a fireball in North Curve, which he survived. In 1995, the race 2 of DTM had to be cancelled, after a multi-car pileup blocked the circuit; later that September, British driver Kieth O'dor was killed in a Super Touring Car event when his car spun and was rammed sideways, with the impact on the driver's side. After the fall of the Berlin wall, the closure of the AVUS for race events became increasingly problematic over traffic and associated environmental concerns. After

170-503: A high-speed banked-circuit until the mid-1980s at the 1986 Indianapolis 500. No major race was held after 1937 as, in early 1938, the popular German race driver Bernd Rosemeyer was killed in a land speed record attempt on a straight section of the Autobahn Frankfurt – Darmstadt (present-day Bundesautobahn 5 ), at which point the high-speed AVUS was considered too dangerous for the fast Grand Prix race cars. Furthermore, it

204-594: A historic monument. The fastest official race lap records at AVUS are listed as: Bundesautobahn 100 Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 548955182 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:56:33 GMT Malcolm Campbell Major Sir Malcolm Campbell MBE (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948)

238-589: The Battle of Mons in August 1914. Shortly afterwards he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 5th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment , a Territorial Force unit, on 2 September 1914. He was soon drafted into the Royal Flying Corps , where he was a ferry pilot, for his instructors believed he was too clumsy to make the grade as a fighter pilot. During the late 1930s, he commanded

272-684: The Berlin Wall , with its Checkpoint Bravo at Dreilinden/Drewitz, came no closer than about one mile (1.6 km) to the former South Turn. It is a common yet incorrect belief that the Berlin Wall cut the AVUS in half. It was not until 19 September 1954 that this shorter track hosted a non-championship Formula One race. This "Grand Prix of Berlin" was mainly a show dominated by the Mercedes-Benz W196 drivers Karl Kling (the winner) and Juan Manuel Fangio . No serious competition

306-575: The Kaiserlicher Automobilclub (KAC) association devised a fee-financed circuit, as both a motor-sport venue and a testing track for the motor industry. A developing company was established in 1909; however, a lack of finances and official authorisations delayed the start of construction until spring 1913. During the Great War works discontinued, and though Russian Army prisoners were temporarily employed in AVUS's construction,

340-476: The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu . He broke nine land speed records between 1924 and 1935, with three at Pendine Sands and five at Daytona Beach . His first two records were accomplished whilst driving a racing car built by Sunbeam . In 1925 Campbell set a new lap record of 100 mph (160.93 km/h) at Brooklands in a streamlined Chrysler Six . On 4 February 1927, Campbell set

374-672: The provost company of the 56th (London) Division of the Territorial Army . From 1940 to 1942, he commanded the military police contingent of the Coats Mission tasked with evacuating King George VI , Queen Elizabeth and their immediate family from London in the event of German invasion. On 23 January 1943 he was transferred from the Corps of Military Police to the General List . On 16 December 1945, having attained

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408-727: The water speed record four times, his highest speed being 141.740 mph (228.108 km/h) in the Blue Bird K4 . He set the record on 19 August 1939 on Coniston Water , Lancashire (now in Cumbria). Campbell stood for Parliament without success at the 1935 general election in Deptford for the Conservative Party , despite his links to the British Union of Fascists . Reportedly, he once adorned his car with

442-438: The "world's fastest race track", the 1936 season was skipped and while the track hosted the cycling road race, the marathon and 50 km walk athletic events of the 1936 Summer Olympics , the north curve was turned into a steeply banked turn (43°) made of bricks. It became dubbed the wall of death , especially as it had no retaining barrier, so cars that missed the turn easily flew off it. The Silver Arrows raced only once on

476-530: The Automobilclub von Deutschland, the former KAC. The 1921 roadway turned out to be insufficient: Already, in practice two days before, the young Italian driver Enrico Platé (not to be confused with the Argentinian driver and team owner of the same name) was involved in a crash that killed his mechanic. During the race, in heavy rain, two track marshals died when Adolf Rosenberger lost control and hit

510-664: The German Grand Prix was relocated to the new and more secure Nürburgring circuit in the Western German Eifel range, while the AVUS received a new asphalt surface and served as an experimental track for rocket cars . On 23 May 1928 Fritz von Opel ("Rocket Fritz") achieved a speed record of 238 km/h (148 mph) in an Opel RAK2 . Due to the Great Depression annual auto races were not resumed until 1931, when Caracciola again won in

544-544: The age limit of 60, Campbell relinquished his commission and was granted the honorary rank of major . Campbell competed in Grand Prix motor racing , winning the 1927 and 1928 Grand Prix de Boulogne in France driving a Bugatti T37A . Campbell broke the land speed record for the first time in 1924 at 146.16 mph (235.22 km/h) at Pendine Sands near Carmarthen Bay in a 350HP V12 Sunbeam , now on display at

578-453: The banked version, in 1937 . As the AVUS race did not count towards the championship, non-GP cars were allowed, which permitted the use of streamlined cars, similar to the cars used for high speed record attempts. This race was run in two heats; during qualifying for the second heat, Luigi Fagioli stuck his Auto Union Type C on pole position, with a time of 4 minutes and 8.2 seconds at an average speed of 284.31 km/h (176.66 mph) - which

612-431: The form of a dual carriageway, with a hairpin corner at each end. The north curve featured a steep banking from 1937 to 1967. While the original layout was 19.569 km (12.160 mi) long, the southern turn was moved several times, to shorten the track to 8.300 km (5.157 mi), then 8.109 km (5.039 mi) without the banking, 4.879 km (3.032 mi) and finally 2.639 km (1.640 mi). In 1907

646-466: The great annoyance of the new Nazi rulers, who declared the victory of German drivers and cars a matter of national pride. They strongly backed the construction of the new Silver Arrows ( Silberpfeile ) generation of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union . In 1935 Luigi Fagioli won the race in a Mercedes-Benz W25 ; however, the track was no longer adequate for cars reaching average race speeds of far over 200 km/h (124 mph). In an effort to make AVUS

680-420: The indicator board and the timekeeper's box, with a third employee succumbing to his injuries in hospital a few hours later. The Grand Prix was won by his fellow team-member, the so-far unknown Mercedes-Benz salesman Rudolf Caracciola , from Remagen , driving a private, eight-cylinder "Monza" Kompressor type. The fastest lap of 161 km/h (100 mph) was set by Ferdinando Minoia in an OM . From 1927

714-964: The land speed record at Pendine Sands , covering the Flying Kilometre (in an average of two runs) at 174.883 mph (281.447 km/h) and the Flying Mile in 174.224 mph (280.386 km/h), in the Napier-Campbell Blue Bird . He set his final land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on 3 September 1935, and was the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph, averaging 301.337 mph (484.955 km/h) in two passes. Campbell developed and flotation-tested Blue Bird on Tilgate Lake, in Tilgate Park , Crawley . He set

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748-473: The last races in 1998, a farewell event with veterans was held in 1999. Since 2000, the new EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Brandenburg is considered the replacement venue for competition. The round race control tower at the north end still remains with its prominent Mercedes-Benz and Bosch sponsorship insignia. It is used as a (now closed) public restaurant and motel. The old wooden grandstand is protected as

782-469: The play The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck at the Haymarket Theatre . Campbell married Marjorie Dagmar Knott in 1913, but they divorced two years later. Campbell then married Dorothy Evelyn Whittall in 1920; their son Donald was born in 1921, and their daughter, Jean, in 1923. Dorothy, who became Lady Campbell when he was knighted in 1931, later described him as "quite unfitted for

816-575: The role of husband and family man". They divorced in 1940. Campbell married Betty Nicory in 1945 in Chelsea . Campbell wrote a number of "motoring mystery" novels including Salute to the Gods which was the source material for the 1939 motion picture Burn 'Em Up O'Connor . At the outbreak of the First World War , Campbell initially enlisted as a motorcycle dispatch rider and fought at

850-685: The series used a road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway . The AVUS banking was dismantled in 1967 to give way to an expanded intersection under the Funkturm tower. From the top of this tower, one can see that the AVUS is not perfectly straight. The old banked circuit can be seen in the film A Dandy in Aspic (1968) featuring period racing cars. Racing was continued with a flat north turn, but AVUS only held national touring cars DTM and Formula Three events. The length of

884-407: The track was roughly cut in half twice in the 1980s and 1990 as racing on straights became unpopular. Also, chicanes were added to reduce entry speed into the North Curve. Yet, some incidents and accidents occurred. The BMW of Dieter Quester rolled over when exiting the last corner, and crossed the finish line sliding on its roof, with sparks flying, for a podium finish. The car of John Winter hit

918-411: The track was still unfinished. From 1920 the remaining road work was financed by businessman and politician Hugo Stinnes . The circuit, including a gate building and several stands, was inaugurated during the first post-war International Automobile Exhibition (IAA) with a motor race on 24 September 1921. Afterwards the road was open to the public at a charge of ten Marks . At the time of opening, AVUS

952-455: The war was held on 1 July 1951 for Formula Two and Formula Three cars, won by East German driver Paul Greifzu . For post-war racing, the original extremely long straights were shortened by the introduction of a new south turn roughly in the middle (just before the Hüttenweg exit, where it can still be seen), reducing the track length to 8.300 km (5.157 mi). After World War II,

986-423: Was 19.569 km (12.160 mi) long – each straight being approximately half that length, and joined at each end by flat, large-radius curves, driven counter-clockwise. While the Grand Prix motor racing scene still evaded German tracks, the circuit from 1922 was also the site of motorcycle races . On 11 July 1926 the track played host to the first international German Grand Prix for sports cars, organised by

1020-473: Was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called Blue Bird , including a 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam . His son, Donald Campbell , carried on the family tradition by holding both land speed and water speed records. Campbell was born on 11 March 1885 in Chislehurst , Kent, the only son of William Campbell,

1054-616: Was no wall or fence. German driver and journalist Richard von Frankenberg had previously walked away from a similar spectacular crash at the same site, but Behra would have no such luck as his body impacted a flagpole head-first after he was flung from his car. After 1961, Grand Prix racing did not race on banked circuits until 2000 . The banked sections at Autodromo Nazionale Monza and Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry were considered dangerous by international racing standards. They were used in connection with chicanes for some time, then abandoned. Banking only returned to Formula One in 2000 when

AVUS - Misplaced Pages Continue

1088-479: Was present, as many teams had refused to show up and the German Grand Prix was still held on the Nürburgring. Finally AVUS hosted its only world championship Formula One race with the 1959 German Grand Prix on 2 August, won by Tony Brooks . This race weekend also saw the death of French driver Jean Behra in a supporting sports car race, as his Porsche RSK flew over the top of the north turn banking, as there

1122-399: Was the fastest motor racing lap in history until this time was bettered by Tony Bettenhausen in qualifying for the 1957 Race of Two Worlds at Monza. It was also bettered by four drivers during the 1971 Indianapolis 500. Mercedes driver Hermann Lang 's average race speed of about 276 km/h (171 mph) was the fastest road race in history for nearly five decades, and was not matched on

1156-552: Was to be connected to the growing Reichsautobahn network in 1940 by extending it south towards the Berliner Ring , therefore the original hairpin at Nikolassee was demolished and replaced by a junction. A planned banked south turn was never built; the cleared grounds in the Grunewald forest were used as a proving ground ("Keerans Range") by the American occupation forces after World War II . The first AVUS race after

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