EuroSpeedway Lausitz
The EuroSpeedway Lausitz is a race track located near Klettwitz in the state of Brandenburg in Eastern Germany, near the borders to Poland and the Czech Republic.
It was originally named Lausitzring as it is located in the region the Germans call Lausitz (Lusatia), but was renamed EuroSpeedway Lausitz for better international communication.
The EuroSpeedway has a feature which is unique in continental Europe: a highspeed oval race track, as used in the USA by NASCAR, IndyCars and CART Champ Car racing. The 3.2 km (2 mi) triangular shaped oval (similar to Pocono Raceway) was used twice in 2001 and 2003 by open seater CART races named German 500 (won by Kenny Bräck and Sébastien Bourdais), plus a few British SCSA races.
As far back as 1986, in the former communist East Germany, it was planned to convert one of the huge open coal mine pits into a race track. In the late 1990s, this idea was taken up again in order to built a replacement for the AVUS in Berlin.
Winding in the infield of the high-speed tri-oval, there is a regular road race track for automobile and motorbike racing, using various track configurations up to roughly 4500m. The stands around the tri-oval have a capacity of 120,000, while the huge main grandstands have 25,000 seats, and unlike many circuits, the entire circuit can be seen from the main grandstand. Also a test oval with long straights and steeply banked corners is located next to the track. All tracks can be connected to form a 11km long endurance racing course, but this option was not yet used for a major event, but has a test track capability.
The EuroSpeedway has been in use for motor racing since 2000. Among other series, DTM (German Touring Car Championship) and Superbike racing take place there annually.
Like all modern tracks, the EuroSpeedway was built to the highest possible safety standards. However, in its first year of operation there were three serious accidents at the track. On April 26, 2001 former Formula 1 driver Michele Alboreto was killed while testing an Audi R8 sportscar. On May 3 of the same year an unexperienced track marshal was killed when he was hit by a touring car during test session. Finally, on September 15, 2001 Alex Zanardi, the very popular 2-time champion of the American CART series lost both his legs in an accident on the track's oval. Despite these accidents the EuroSpeedway is still considered a safe track, as none of the accidents had anything to do with the circuit's layout.
On October 2, 2005 EuroSpeedway played host to the A1 Grand Prix series on its road course.
The official EuroSpeedway anthem "Speed Kings" was recorded by the veteran East German band the Puhdys in 2000.