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Bob Wollek

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The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe , but throughout the years has visited other continents including Asia and South America . At the end of 2009, the championship was replaced by the FIA GT1 World Championship , which morphed into the FIA GT Series for 2013.

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77-531: Robert Jean Wollek (4 November 1943 – 16 March 2001), nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg , France . He won a total of 76 races in his career, 71 in Porsche cars, including four editions of the 24 Hours of Daytona and one edition of the 12 Hours of Sebring . He died in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation after the day's practice sessions for

154-707: A world championship with rounds across the world. Cars which fit the GT1 class were eligible to race only in the FIA GT1 World Championship , as the ACO (organizer of the Le Mans 24 Hours ) banned the cars from the event and all of its associated series. This meant that the category that once was eligible to race not only in the FIA GT, Le Mans Series and numerous national championships, was now only able to run in

231-559: A "round robin" system. After the end of the 2004 season, the FIA renamed the classes GT1 and GT2, and somewhat liberalized the GT1 regulations, allowing "supercars". While this was made to accommodate the Saleen S7 , the biggest beneficiary was the purpose-built Maserati MC12 , which led the FIA to impose aerodynamic limitations on the Italian car. However, thanks to a weight penalty system,

308-462: A car dealership for Jaguar . On Friday 16 March 2001, while leaving Sebring International Raceway following practice for the 12 Hours of Sebring , Wollek continued a tradition of cycling between the circuit and his accommodation, which took him west on Highway 98 . While he had been riding close to the edge of the pavement, he was struck from behind by a van driven by an elderly driver from Okeechobee, Florida at approximately 4:30 p.m. He

385-610: A minor incident, so the car had to be retired. In 1998, Porsche scored a 1–2 win, but Bob was once again on the less-lucky runner-up car. After the 1998 season, Porsche retired its GT1 cars from the Mercedes-dominated FIA GT Championship , providing only Porsche 911 based cars for the lower GT classes. In 2000, Wollek scored many class wins in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in a Porsche 996 GT3 . The last race Wollek entered

462-639: A neo-classical castle and a small zoo ; the Parc de la Citadelle , built around impressive remains of the 17th-century fortress erected close to the Rhine by Vauban ; the Parc de Pourtalès , laid out in English style around a baroque castle (heavily restored in the 19th century) that now houses a small three-star hotel, and featuring an open-air museum of international contemporary sculpture. The Jardin botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg (botanical garden)

539-468: A number of permanent public displays of its collections of scientific artefacts and products of all kinds of exploration and research. The commune of Strasbourg proper had a population of 291,313 on 1 January 2021, the result of a constant moderate annual growth which is also reflected in the constant growth of the number of students at its university (e. g. from 42,000 students in 2010 to 52,000 students in 2019). The metropolitan area of Strasbourg had

616-545: A population of 853,110 inhabitants in 2019 (French side of the border only), while the transnational Eurodistrict had a population of 1,000,000 in 2022. In the Middle Ages , Strasbourg (a free imperial city since 1262), was an important town. According to a 1444 census , the population was circa 20,000; only one third less than Cologne , then a major European city. Strasbourg is the seat of internationally renowned institutions of music and drama: Other theatres are

693-467: A skiing accident which ended his skiing career, Wollek began racing cars when he entered the Mont-Blanc Rally in 1967 driving a Renault 8 Gordini and won. The following year, when his skiing career ended, he started his racing career when he entered a Volant Shell scholarship race taking place at the Le Mans ' Bugatti Circuit , finishing runner-up to François Migault . Wollek later entered

770-463: A support series in some rounds of the main championship. The FIA defines a GT car as "an open or closed automobile which has no more than one door on each side and a minimum of two seats situated one on each side of the longitudinal centre line of the car; these two seats must be crossed by the same transversal plane. This car must be able to be used perfectly legally on the open road, and adapted for racing on circuits or closed courses." All races in

847-703: Is a tertiary establishment for research and education in Ethics . This center is located at the premises of the old faculty of medicine in Strasbourg. The Center’s name in French is CEERE ( Centre européen d’enseignement et de recherche en éthique ). International schools include: Multiple levels: For elementary education: For middle school/junior high school education: For senior high school/sixth form college: The Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire (BNU) is, with its collection of more than 3,000,000 titles,

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924-468: Is also an adjacent church Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux Protestant ) serves as a shrine for several 15th-century wood-worked and painted altars coming from other, now destroyed churches and installed there for public display; especially the Passion of Christ . Among the numerous secular medieval buildings, the monumental Ancienne Douane (old custom-house ) stands out. The German Renaissance has bequeathed

1001-687: Is among the few cities in the world that is not a state capital that hosts international organisations of the first order. The city is the seat of many non-European international institutions such as the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine and the International Institute of Human Rights . It is the second city in France in terms of international congress and symposia, after Paris . Strasbourg's historic city centre,

1078-1053: Is chiefly known for its sandstone Gothic Cathedral with its famous astronomical clock , and for its medieval cityscape of Rhineland black and white timber-framed buildings, particularly in the Petite France district or Gerberviertel ("tanners' district") alongside the Ill and in the streets and squares surrounding the cathedral, where the renowned Maison Kammerzell stands out. Notable medieval streets include Rue Mercière , Rue des Dentelles , Rue du Bain aux Plantes , Rue des Juifs , Rue des Frères , Rue des Tonneliers , Rue du Maroquin , Rue des Charpentiers , Rue des Serruriers , Grand' Rue , Quai des Bateliers , Quai Saint-Nicolas and Quai Saint-Thomas . Notable medieval squares include Place de la Cathédrale , Place du Marché Gayot , Place Saint-Étienne , Place du Marché aux Cochons de Lait and Place Benjamin Zix . In addition to

1155-594: The Grande Île (Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988, with the newer " Neustadt " being added to the site in 2017. Strasbourg is immersed in Franco-German culture and although violently disputed throughout history, has been a cultural bridge between France and Germany for centuries, especially through the University of Strasbourg , currently the second-largest in France, and

1232-971: The Hôpital civil . As for French Neo-classicism , it is the Opera House on Place Broglie that most prestigiously represents this style. Strasbourg also offers high-class eclecticist buildings in its very extended German district, the Neustadt , being the main memory of Wilhelmian architecture since most of the major cities in Germany proper suffered intensive damage during World War II. Streets, boulevards and avenues are homogeneous, surprisingly high (up to seven stories) and broad examples of German urban lay-out and of this architectural style that summons and mixes up five centuries of European architecture as well as Neo-Egyptian, Neo-Greek and Neo-Babylonian styles. The former imperial palace Palais du Rhin ,

1309-943: The Eurocorps and the European Ombudsman of the European Union . An organization separate from the European Union, the Council of Europe (with its European Court of Human Rights , its European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines most commonly known in French as "Pharmacopée Européenne", and its European Audiovisual Observatory ) is also located in the city. Together with Basel ( Bank for International Settlements ), Geneva ( United Nations ), The Hague ( International Court of Justice ) and New York City (United Nations world headquarters), Strasbourg

1386-602: The Hôtel du Département facing it, as well as, in the outskirts, the tramway-station Hoenheim -Nord designed by Zaha Hadid . The city has many bridges, including the medieval and four-towered Ponts Couverts that, despite their name, are no longer covered. Next to the Ponts Couverts is the Barrage Vauban , a part of Vauban 's 17th-century fortifications, that does include a covered bridge. Other bridges are

1463-699: The Théâtre jeune public , the TAPS Scala , the Kafteur ...  Strasbourg, well known as a centre of humanism , has a long history of excellence in higher education, at the crossroads of French and German intellectual traditions. Although Strasbourg had been annexed by the Kingdom of France in 1683, it still remained connected to the German-speaking intellectual world throughout the 18th century, and

1540-603: The border with Germany in the historic region of Alsace . It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin department and the official seat of the European Parliament . The city has about three hundred thousand inhabitants, and together Greater Strasbourg and the Arrondissement of Strasbourg have over five hundred thousand. Strasbourg's metropolitan area had a population of 860,744 in 2020, making it

1617-518: The " Hôtel de Hanau " (1736, now the city hall); the Hôtel de Klinglin (1736, now residence of the préfet ); the Hôtel des Deux-Ponts (1755, now residence of the military governor ); the Hôtel d'Andlau-Klinglin (1725, now seat of the administration of the Port autonome de Strasbourg ) etc. The largest baroque building of Strasbourg though is the 150-metre-long (490 ft) 1720s main building of

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1694-561: The 1880s can be found along the newly reopened Rue du Rempart , displaying large-scale fortifications among which the aptly named Kriegstor (war gate). As for modern and contemporary architecture , Strasbourg possesses some fine Art Nouveau buildings (such as the huge Palais des Fêtes and houses and villas like Villa Schutzenberger and Hôtel Brion ), good examples of post-World War II functional architecture (the Cité Rotterdam , for which Le Corbusier did not succeed in

1771-688: The 2011 season was the last time GT1 cars contested in international motorsport. The 2012 FIA GT1 season was contested with GT3 cars (yet retaining GT1 in series' title), but the series was finally cancelled after the year had concluded, being replaced by the FIA GT Series. In 2010 the GT2 class was planned to have a separate championship having rounds held only in Europe , known as the FIA GT2 European Championship, but this series

1848-674: The Alpine Trophy Le Mans which he won, earning himself a place for the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans where he finished 11th overall and 2nd in class on his debut driving an Alpine A210 . In 1969, Wollek made his debut in single seater racing competing in Formula France before graduating to the French Formula Three Championship . During a round at Rouen-Les-Essarts , Wollek was involved in a fatal accident which killed Jean-Luc Salomon, when

1925-544: The FIA GT Championship were of endurance type , a full race distance lasting a minimum of 500 km or a maximum of three hours, with the exception of the Spa 24 Hours , Istanbul 2 hours and the exhibition Mil Milhas Brasileiras , which is run over a thousand miles (1609 km) and was planned to be a round of the championship in 2007. However, with the release of the 2007 FIA GT Championship schedule and rules,

2002-401: The FIA GT series becomes more of a sprint race event, with all races being a maximum of 2 hours with the exception of the Spa 24 Hours . In 1997, due to increasing interest from manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz , Porsche and Panoz , the FIA took over control of the expanding BPR Global GT Series , standardizing the race-length at 500 km instead of the usual four hours, liberalizing

2079-514: The Gaulish word for fortified enclosures, cognate to the Old Irish ráth (see ringfort ) and arganto(n)- (cognate to Latin argentum , which gave modern French argent ), the Gaulish word for silver, but also any precious metal, particularly gold, suggesting either a fortified enclosure located by a river gold mining site, or hoarding gold mined in the nearby rivers. After the fifth century

2156-467: The German artillery to lay their guns. A librarian from Munich later pointed out "...that the destruction of the precious collection was not the fault of a German artillery officer, who used the French map, but of the slovenly and inaccurate scholarship of a Frenchman." The municipal library Bibliothèque municipale de Strasbourg (BMS) administers a network of ten medium-sized libraries in different areas of

2233-475: The German district include: Avenue de la Forêt Noire , Avenue des Vosges , Avenue d'Alsace , Avenue de la Marseillaise , Avenue de la Liberté , Boulevard de la Victoire , Rue Sellénick , Rue du Général de Castelnau , Rue du Maréchal Foch , and Rue du Maréchal Joffre . Notable squares of the German district include Place de la République , Place de l'Université , Place Brant , and Place Arnold . Impressive examples of Prussian military architecture of

2310-481: The Gothic Église protestante Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune with its crypt dating back to the seventh century and its cloister partly from the eleventh century; the Gothic Église Saint-Guillaume with its fine early-Renaissance stained glass and furniture; the Gothic Église Saint-Jean ; the part-Gothic, part- Art Nouveau Église Sainte-Madeleine etc. The Neo-Gothic church Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux Catholique (there

2387-615: The Nazi occupation (atrocities such as the Jewish skull collection ) and the British and American bombing raids . Some other notable dates were the years 357 ( Battle of Argentoratum ), 842 ( Oaths of Strasbourg ), 1538 (establishment of the university ), 1605 (world's first newspaper printed by Johann Carolus ), 1792 ( La Marseillaise ), and 1889 (pancreatic origin of diabetes discovered by Minkowski and Von Mering ). Strasbourg has been

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2464-435: The Rhine opened in 2004 and is the most extended (60-hectare) park of the agglomeration. The most recent park is Parc du Heyritz (8,7 ha), opened in 2014 along a canal facing the hôpital civil . As of 2020, the city of Strasbourg has eleven municipal museums (including Aubette 1928 ), eleven university museums, and at least two privately owned museums ( Musée vodou and Musée du barreau de Strasbourg ). Five communes in

2541-484: The Vosges and Black Forest mountains, results in poor natural ventilation, making Strasbourg one of the most atmospherically polluted cities of France. Nonetheless, the progressive disappearance of heavy industry on both banks of the Rhine, as well as effective measures of traffic regulation in and around the city have reduced air pollution in recent years. Strasbourg is divided into the following districts: The city

2618-515: The architectural contest) and, in the very extended Quartier Européen , some spectacular administrative buildings of sometimes utterly large size, among which the European Court of Human Rights building by Richard Rogers is arguably the finest. Other noticeable contemporary buildings are the new Music school Cité de la Musique et de la Danse , the Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain and

2695-457: The cathedral, Strasbourg houses several other medieval churches that have survived the many wars and destructions that have plagued the city: the Romanesque Église Saint-Étienne , partly destroyed in 1944 by Allied bombing raids ; the part-Romanesque, part-Gothic, very large Église Saint-Thomas with its Silbermann organ on which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Albert Schweitzer played;

2772-649: The city became known by a completely different name, later Gallicized as Strasbourg ( Lower Alsatian : Strossburi ; German : Straßburg ). That name is of Germanic origin and means 'town (at the crossing) of roads'. The modern Stras- is cognate with the German Straße and English street , both derived from Latin strata ("paved road"), while -bourg is cognate with the German Burg and English borough , both derived from Proto-Germanic *burgz ("hill fort, fortress"). Gregory of Tours

2849-551: The city of Argentoratum, which they now call Strateburgus "), where he was exiled. The Roman camp of Argentoratum was first mentioned in 12 BCE; the city of Strasbourg which grew from it celebrated its 2,000th anniversary in 1988. The fertile area in the Upper Rhine Plain between the rivers Ill and Rhine had already been populated since the Middle Paleolithic . Between 362 and 1262, Strasbourg

2926-542: The city some noteworthy buildings (especially the current Chambre de commerce et d'industrie , former town hall , on Place Gutenberg ), as did the French Baroque and Classicism with several hôtels particuliers (i.e. palaces ), among which the Palais Rohan (completed 1742, used for university purposes from 1872 to 1895, now housing three museums) is the most spectacular. Other buildings of its kind are

3003-471: The city took part in the Protestation at Speyer . It was also one of the first centres of the printing industry with pioneers such as Johannes Gutenberg , Johannes Mentelin , and Heinrich Eggestein . Among the darkest periods in the city's long history were the years 1349 ( Strasbourg massacre ), 1518 ( Dancing plague ), 1793 ( Reign of Terror ), 1870 ( Siege of Strasbourg ) and the years 1940–1944 with

3080-529: The coexistence of Catholic and Protestant culture . It is also home to the largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque . Economically, Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as a hub of road, rail, and river transportation. The port of Strasbourg is the second-largest on the Rhine after Duisburg in Germany, and the second-largest river port in France after Paris . Until

3157-489: The cost escalation, moved down to the GT2 class. Mercedes completely dominated the new category and the other manufacturers pulled out after the end of the 1998 season. This left Chrysler's Viper to become the dominating car in the series, with the aging Porsche 993 GT2 and the Lister Storm providing a certain degree of competition. However, there was no lower inexpensive category for amateur drivers, and this led to

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3234-652: The creation of the N-GT class in 2000. While the manufacturer field in the main class blossomed, the new category became swamped with Porsches and Ferraris, but lower running costs meant both classes enjoyed a balanced number of entries. In order to boost the championship's status, the SRO added the 24 Hours of Spa , previously a touring car race , to the calendar, where it became the series' most important race. The FIA also banned official manufacturer involvement, although certain teams had preferential treatment, with Porsche establishing

3311-779: The diverse post-graduate schools: The three institutions merged in 2009, forming the Université de Strasbourg . Its component schools include: Two American colleges have a base in Strasbourg: Syracuse University , New York, and Centre College , Kentucky. There is also HEAR ( Haute école des arts du Rhin ) the celebrated art school , and the International Space University in the south of Strasbourg ( Illkirch-Graffenstaden ). The European Center for Studies and Research in Ethics

3388-474: The eighth-largest metro area in France and home to 14% of the Grand Est region's inhabitants. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau had a population of roughly 1,000,000 in 2022. Strasbourg is one of the de facto four main capitals of the European Union (alongside Brussels , Luxembourg and Frankfurt ), as it is the seat of several European institutions, such as the European Parliament ,

3465-479: The factory team with privately entered cars, but was also hired to become part of the official Porsche Le Mans team in 1978, 1979, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1996, 1997, and 1998. In 1981, he even raced a Group C -spec Kremer -built Porsche 917 , about a decade after these cars were retired initially. Wollek never won the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall, despite coming close in a few of his thirty attempts. In 1997, his leading factory-entered Porsche 911 GT1 suffered damage in

3542-405: The fifth century AD, the city was known as Argantorati (in the nominative , Argantorate in the locative ), a Celtic Gaulish name Latinised first as Argentorate (with Gaulish locative ending, as appearing on the first Roman milestones in the first century) and then as Argentoratum (with regular Latin nominative ending, in later Latin texts). That Gaulish name is a compound of -rati ,

3619-455: The fight for the championship is protected from more domineering cars. The level of competition remains tight, with gentlemen drivers managing to fight for the wins with professional drivers, some of them with Formula One experience. Following the 2009 season, the SRO announced that the FIA GT Championship's two categories, GT1 and GT2, would break off into separate series. The GT1 category became

3696-628: The following day's race, the 12 Hours of Sebring . Prior to his racing days as a university student, Wollek was also a member of the French National Skiing Team between 1966 and 1968 competing in the Winter Universiade , he won three gold and two silver medals altogether (see table on the right) His skiing career came to an end when he was injured during preparations for the Winter Olympics . Prior to

3773-404: The metropolitan area also have museums (see below), three of them dedicated to military history. The collections in Strasbourg are distributed over a wide range of museums, according to a system that takes into account not only the types and geographical provenances of the items, but also the epochs. This concerns in particular the following domains: The Université de Strasbourg is in charge of

3850-548: The most political and thus heavily criticized of all German Strasbourg buildings epitomizes the grand scale and stylistic sturdiness of this period. But the two most handsome and ornate buildings of these times are the École internationale des Pontonniers (the former Höhere Mädchenschule , with its towers, turrets and multiple round and square angles and the Haute école des arts du Rhin with its lavishly ornate façade of painted bricks, woodwork and majolica . Notable streets of

3927-687: The most recognizable names in the sport. During his three decades of sports car racing , almost exclusively in Porsches , he won the 24 Hours of Daytona four times (1983, 1985, 1989, 1991) and the DRM in 1982 and 1983, with the Porsche 936 and Porsche 956 entered by the Joest Racing team. In the mid-1970s, he raced a Porsche 935 K2 improved and entered by the Kremer Racing team from Cologne . For many years, Monsieur Porsche challenged

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4004-400: The new World Championship. A few GT1 were entered in the LMGT1 class at the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans . The GT1 cars continued to race in the World Championship in 2010 and 2011, but in 2012 the series switched exclusively to GT3 machinery due to shrinking car counts and the fact that most of the cars were ageing and no one was willing to build new models. This meant that the San Luis round of

4081-506: The north, or 650 kilometres (400 mi) as the river flows, whilst the head of navigation in Basel is some 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the south, or 150 kilometres (93 mi) by river. In spite of its position far inland, Strasbourg has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ), though with less maritime influence than the milder climates of Western and Southern France . The city has warm, relatively sunny summers and cool, overcast winters. The third highest temperature ever recorded

4158-442: The ornate 19th-century Pont de la Fonderie (1893, stone) and Pont d'Auvergne (1892, iron), as well as architect Marc Mimram 's futuristic Passerelle over the Rhine, opened in 2004. The largest square at the centre of the city of Strasbourg is the Place Kléber . Located in the heart of the city's commercial area, it was named after general Jean-Baptiste Kléber , born in Strasbourg in 1753 and assassinated in 1800 in Cairo . In

4235-535: The pair plus Jean-Pierre Jaussaud , Richard Scott and Mike Beuttler were all fighting for the lead at Scierie, where the track is a two-lane road. In 1971, Wollek switched to Formula Two driving for Ron Dennis 's Rondel Racing . After a shaky start with only one point that year , he improved his performance for the following year with a single win at Imola and 21 points, placing him seventh. Despite this success, he abandoned his Formula One ambition to concentrate on sportscar racing where he would become one of

4312-493: The river to the German town Kehl . The historic core of Strasbourg, however, lies on the Grande Île in the river Ill , which here flows parallel to, and roughly 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from, the Rhine. The natural courses of the two rivers eventually join some distance downstream of Strasbourg, although several artificial waterways now connect them within the city. The city lies in the Upper Rhine Plain , at between 132 and 151 metres (433 and 495 ft) above sea level, with

4389-424: The seat of European institutions since 1949: first of the International Commission on Civil Status and of the Council of Europe , later of the European Parliament , of the European Science Foundation , of Eurocorps , and others as well. Strasbourg is situated at the eastern border of France with Germany. This border is formed by the Rhine , which also forms the eastern border of the modern city, facing across

4466-430: The second-largest library in France after the Bibliothèque nationale de France . It was founded by the German administration after the complete destruction of the previous municipal library in 1871 and holds the unique status of being simultaneously a students' and a national library. The Strasbourg municipal library had been marked erroneously as "City Hall" in a French commercial map, which had been captured and used by

4543-523: The square is a statue of Kléber, under which is a vault containing his remains. On the north side of the square is the Aubette (Orderly Room), built by Jacques François Blondel , architect of the king, in 1765–1772. Strasbourg features a number of prominent parks, of which several are of cultural and historical interest: the Parc de l'Orangerie , laid out as a French garden by André le Nôtre and remodeled as an English garden on behalf of Joséphine de Beauharnais , now displaying noteworthy French gardens,

4620-435: The technical regulations and leaving commercial exploitation in the hands of one of BPR's founders, Stéphane Ratel, who managed to get TV support from the pan-European TV station Eurosport . The new manufacturers built "homologation specials", racing-bred cars that took full advantage of the new rules, to build quasi-prototypes with very limited production runs of 25 cars. Chrysler , Lister and Marcos, not wanting to accompany

4697-423: The top two specifications being GT1, or Grand Touring Cars , and GT2, or Series Grand Touring Cars . Each category has an annual driver champion, team champion, and manufacturer champion. Both categories are based on production road car designs, which must be produced in a minimum quantity of 25 examples to qualify. Both types may undergo significant modifications from the road car they are based on, but GT1 allows

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4774-597: The total destruction of this institution in 1870, however, a new collection had to be reassembled from scratch. Today, Strasbourg's different public and institutional libraries again display a sizable total number of incunabula, distributed as follows: Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire , ca. 2,120, Médiathèque de la ville et de la communauté urbaine de Strasbourg , 349, Bibliothèque du Grand Séminaire , 238, Médiathèque protestante , 66, and Bibliothèque alsatique du Crédit Mutuel , 5. FIA GT Championship FIA currently defines several categories of GT cars with

4851-429: The town. A six stories high "Grande bibliothèque", the Médiathèque André Malraux , was inaugurated on 19 September 2008 and is considered the largest in Eastern France. As one of the earliest centres of book-printing in Europe (see above: History), Strasbourg for a long time held a large number of incunabula — books printed before 1500 — in its library as one of its most precious heritages: no less than 7,000. After

4928-430: The university attracted numerous students from the Holy Roman Empire , with Goethe , Metternich and Montgelas , who studied law in Strasbourg, among the most prominent. With 19 Nobel prizes in total, Strasbourg is the most eminent French university outside of Paris. Until 2009, there were three universities in Strasbourg , with an approximate total of 48,500 students in 2007, and another 4,500 students attended one of

5005-454: The upland areas of the Vosges Mountains some 20 km (12 mi) to the west and the Black Forest 25 km (16 mi) to the east. This section of the Rhine valley is a major axis of north–south travel, with river traffic on the Rhine itself, and major roads and railways paralleling it on both banks. The city is some 397 kilometres (247 mi) east of Paris . The mouth of the Rhine lies approximately 450 kilometres (280 mi) to

5082-636: The use of exotic materials, better aerodynamics , larger brakes , wider tyres and larger engine admission restrictors. For the 2006 season, the FIA created a new class called GT3. GT3 cars are even closer to their production counterparts and are very simply racetrack prepared with the essentials (rollcages for safety, stripped interiors, race spec fuel tanks, etc.). All cars are performance balanced together via different weights, restrictors, tyre pressures etc. Prestigious motorsports makes such as Aston Martin , Chevrolet , Dodge , Lamborghini , Ascari and Maserati take part in FIA GT3 European Championship ,

5159-412: Was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) in August 2003, during the 2003 European heat wave . This record was broken, on 30 June 2019, when it reached 38.8 °C (101.8 °F) and then on 25 July 2019, when it reached 38.9 °C (102.0 °F). The lowest temperature ever recorded was −23.4 °C (−10.1 °F) in December 1938. Strasbourg's location in the Rhine valley, sheltered from strong winds by

5236-549: Was also planned to be in the series, but this was quickly folded as the interest level wasn't high). However, this series is not an FIA-sanctioned championship. In 2012 the series abandoned the GT4 class and moved to GT3 exclusively. As of the end of the 2009 season , Vitaphone Racing Team have won their fifth consecutive Teams' Championship in the GT1 category, while AF Corse earned their fourth consecutive title. Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini , both driving for Vitaphone, earned their third Drivers' Championship titles in

5313-433: Was cancelled. A lone GT2 event was held in 2010 at the Spa 24 Hours with the winners being awarded the FIA GT2 European Cup. This was the last time GT2-spec cars contested in SRO-sanctioned series. A new Blancpain Endurance Series was announced for 2011 which re-established some of the endurance format of the former FIA GT Championship, although this series only utilised the FIA's GT3, GT4, and Supersports categories (GT2

5390-413: Was captured by the German army in June 1940 at the end of the Battle of France ( World War II ), and subsequently came under German control again through formal annexation into the Gau Baden -Elsaß under the Nazi Gauleiter Robert Wagner ; since the liberation of the city by the 2nd French Armoured Division under General Leclerc in November 1944, it has again been a French city. In 2016, Strasbourg

5467-433: Was created under the German administration next to the Observatory of Strasbourg , built in 1881, and still owns some greenhouses of those times. The Parc des Contades , although the oldest park of the city, was completely remodeled after World War II. The futuristic Parc des Poteries is an example of European park-conception in the late 1990s. The Jardin des deux Rives , spread over Strasbourg and Kehl on both sides of

5544-491: Was due to sign this agreement upon returning home after Sebring. Strasbourg Strasbourg ( UK : / ˈ s t r æ z b ɜːr ɡ / , US : / ˈ s t r ɑː s b ʊər ɡ , ˈ s t r ɑː z -, - b ɜːr ɡ / ; French: [stʁasbuʁ] ; German : Straßburg [ˈʃtʁaːsbʊʁk] ; ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France , at

5621-671: Was governed by the bishops of Strasbourg ; their rule was reinforced in 873 and then more in 982. In 1262, the citizens violently rebelled against the bishop's rule ( Battle of Hausbergen ) and Strasbourg became a free imperial city . It became a French city in 1681, after the conquest of Alsace by the armies of Louis XIV . In 1871, after the Franco-Prussian War , the city, as part of the Imperial Territory of Alsace–Lorraine , became German again, until 1918 (end of World War I ), when it reverted to France. Strasbourg

5698-565: Was promoted from capital of Alsace to capital of Grand Est . Strasbourg played an important part in the Protestant Reformation , with personalities such as John Calvin , Martin Bucer , Wolfgang Capito , Matthew and Katharina Zell , but also in other aspects of Christianity such as German mysticism , with Johannes Tauler , Pietism , with Philipp Spener , and Reverence for Life , with Albert Schweitzer . Delegates from

5775-456: Was the 2001 12 Hours of Sebring in a Porsche 996 GT3-RS. Wollek had already won there in 1985 with A. J. Foyt , driving a Porsche 962 . Despite being over 50 years of age and still racing competitively, Wollek had developed a fitness regime of riding bicycles to stay in good physical condition, especially for the longer races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans , to which he rode from home across France. Typical of many other racing drivers, Bob ran

5852-634: Was the first to mention the name change: in the tenth book of his History of the Franks written shortly after 590 he said that Egidius , Bishop of Reims , accused of plotting against King Childebert II of Austrasia in favor of his uncle King Chilperic I of Neustria , was tried by a synod of Austrasian bishops in Metz in November 590, found guilty and removed from the priesthood, then taken " ad Argentoratensem urbem, quam nunc Strateburgum vocant " ("to

5929-594: Was transported to Highlands Regional Medical Center in Sebring and was pronounced dead on arrival. Wollek was due to start in the Petersen Motorsports Porsche 996 GT3-RS with Johnny Mowlem and Michael Petersen, however out of respect the car was withdrawn from the race. On race day, the organizers held a one-minute silence in memory of Wollek. Prior to his death, he announced he would retire from racing to serve as an ambassador for Porsche , and

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