Still impressed about the great race we had at Austria last week, let's take a look at the impressive Red Bull Ring. Maybe a bit of a hidden gem, but certainly worth a visit to see some good racing, and some of the best infrastructures to be found.
The Red Bull Ring, formerly known as the Österreichring and the A1-Ring is situated in the Styrian mountains in the Murtal region.
Built in 1969 as the Österreichring, the original track had a length of 5,911 km. In 1996 the track was redisigned by Herman Tillke and shortened to 4,236 km. After these adaptations, it hosted F1 again from 1997 'till 2003. When Red Bull bought the track in 2008, reconstruction of the paddock area and grandstands started. Starting with a DTM race in 2011, the now renamed Red Bull Ring hosted a Formula 1 grand prix again in 2014. ELMS has raced here since 2013 and payed its third visit to the track.
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| The track literally runs up and down a hill which gives the spectators amazing views from almost anywhere on the track. |
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Even for us, your humble servants, the new media centre gives us a superb view over the pitlane and track.
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| View into T1 |
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| Grandstand view over start/finish straight and pitlane |
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| Bull sculpture in the entrance hall of the main building |
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In the end, it's all about "the Bull"
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If the track and racing isn't enough, there's more than one reason to say in Austria for a few days ...
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| When in Austria, drive up a mountain pass (Grossglockner) ... |
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| and enjoy some amazing views |
Kristof Vermeulen.
