In 1963, Formula One held its first exhibition event at the Zeltweg Airfield, located in Styria. The airfield had been modified in 1958 to allow it to be used for motorsports, using the runway and taxiways for straights. Following the successful event, the Austrian Grand Prix joined the Formula One calendar for the 1964 season. However complaints from drivers about the poor surface led to the FIA abandoning the circuit before a 1965 event could be held. Left without a major event, the organizers turned to the World Sportscar Championship and offered a 500 km event to take place starting in 1966. This event proved more successful due to the ability of the sportscars to handle the bumpy surface better than a Formula One car.
In 1969, due to demands once again from racers for a better circuit, the Österreichring was built in the mountains less than a mile from Zeltweg Airfield. Once the new circuit was completed, the sports car event moved to its permanent home. Due to the freshness of the track, the organizers expanded the event to a 1000 km endurance. The smoothness of the new racing surface allowed for greater reliability and greater ease in achieving the longer distance. The high-speed nature of the layout also allowed for quick races, with some events running under five hours. However, with rule changes in the evolved World Championship of Makes in 1976, the event became limited to a maximum of six hours due to the decrease in overall speed of the competitors.
The 1976 event also became the final 1000 km race at the Österreichring. A second Austrian race was added to the separate World Sportscar Championship, held at the smaller Salzburgring. Due to safety concerns and a shrinking schedule, the Österreichring was dropped from the 1977 season, leaving the Salzburgring one final event before it too was abandoned, marking the final Austrian event in the World Sportscar Championship.
Following the rebuilding of the Österreichring into the new A1-Ring in 1997, the FIA GT Championship briefly resurrected the sportscar endurance race in a modified form. A four-hour event was run in 1997 covering nearly 700 km, followed by 500 km races in 1998, 2000, and 2001. The FIA chose not to return to the circuit after the 2001 event, and the A1-Ring was eventually partially torn down in 2004, until it was rebuilt as Red Bull Ring in 2011.
† - The 1975 event was scheduled for 1000 km, but was stopped after 600 km due to heavy rain.
External links
- Zeltweg Airfield (1958-1968)
- Österreichring (1969-1976)
January 28, 2023
1000, zeltweg, this, article, does, cite, sources, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, july, 2017, learn, when, remove, th. This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 1000 km Zeltweg news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring originally known as the 500 km Zeltweg was an endurance sports car event held near Spielberg Austria Originally based at the Zeltweg Airfield the race moved to the Osterreichring and was lengthened to a 1000 km distance and there it continued to be a regular event in the World Sportscar Championship until 1976 4 Hours of Red Bull RingEuropean Le Mans SeriesVenueRed Bull RingFirst race1933First ELMS race2013Last race2021Duration4 HoursPrevious names500 km Zeltweg1000 km ZeltwegHistory Edit The Zeltweg Airfield circuit used from 1966 to 1968 The Osterreichring used from 1969 to 1976 The A1 Ring used from 1997 to 2001 In 1963 Formula One held its first exhibition event at the Zeltweg Airfield located in Styria The airfield had been modified in 1958 to allow it to be used for motorsports using the runway and taxiways for straights Following the successful event the Austrian Grand Prix joined the Formula One calendar for the 1964 season However complaints from drivers about the poor surface led to the FIA abandoning the circuit before a 1965 event could be held Left without a major event the organizers turned to the World Sportscar Championship and offered a 500 km event to take place starting in 1966 This event proved more successful due to the ability of the sportscars to handle the bumpy surface better than a Formula One car In 1969 due to demands once again from racers for a better circuit the Osterreichring was built in the mountains less than a mile from Zeltweg Airfield Once the new circuit was completed the sports car event moved to its permanent home Due to the freshness of the track the organizers expanded the event to a 1000 km endurance The smoothness of the new racing surface allowed for greater reliability and greater ease in achieving the longer distance The high speed nature of the layout also allowed for quick races with some events running under five hours However with rule changes in the evolved World Championship of Makes in 1976 the event became limited to a maximum of six hours due to the decrease in overall speed of the competitors The 1976 event also became the final 1000 km race at the Osterreichring A second Austrian race was added to the separate World Sportscar Championship held at the smaller Salzburgring Due to safety concerns and a shrinking schedule the Osterreichring was dropped from the 1977 season leaving the Salzburgring one final event before it too was abandoned marking the final Austrian event in the World Sportscar Championship Following the rebuilding of the Osterreichring into the new A1 Ring in 1997 the FIA GT Championship briefly resurrected the sportscar endurance race in a modified form A four hour event was run in 1997 covering nearly 700 km followed by 500 km races in 1998 2000 and 2001 The FIA chose not to return to the circuit after the 2001 event and the A1 Ring was eventually partially torn down in 2004 until it was rebuilt as Red Bull Ring in 2011 Winners EditYear Drivers Team Car TimeZeltweg Airfield1966 Gerhard Mitter Hans Herrmann Porsche System Porsche 906 3 07 52 5501967 Paul Hawkins Paul Hawkins Ford GT40 Mk II 3 15 54 5301968 Jo Siffert Porsche System Engineering Porsche 908 2 55 17 790Osterreichring1969 Jo Siffert Kurt Ahrens Jr Freiherr von Wendt Porsche 917 5 23 36 9801970 Jo Siffert Brian Redman J W Automotive Porsche 917K 5 08 04 6701971 Pedro Rodriguez Richard Attwood J W Automotive Porsche 917K 5 04 26 1001972 Jacky Ickx Brian Redman SpA Ferrari SEFAC Ferrari 312PB 4 58 46 2801973 Henri Pescarolo Gerard Larrousse Equipe Matra Simca Matra Simca MS670B 4 48 57 8001974 Henri Pescarolo Gerard Larrousse Equipe Gitanes Matra Simca MS670C 4 51 20 2701975 Henri Pescarolo Derek Bell Willi Kauhsen Racing Team Alfa Romeo T33 TT 12 3 34 50 550 1976 Dieter Quester Gunnar Nilsson Schnitzer BMW BMW 3 0 CSL 6 00 16 400A1 Ring1997 Klaus Ludwig Bernd Maylander AMG Mercedes Mercedes Benz CLK GTR 4 00 55 8161998 Klaus Ludwig Ricardo Zonta AMG Mercedes Mercedes Benz CLK LM 2 47 34 9752000 Mike Hezemans Tom Coronel Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper GTS R 3 00 01 8112001 Peter Kox Rickard Rydell Prodrive Allstars Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello 3 00 09 952Red Bull Ring2013 Pierre Thiriet Mathias Beche Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca 03 3 00 09 3512014 Paul Loup Chatin Nelson Panciatici Oliver Webb Signatech Alpine Alpine A450b 4 00 16 2482015 Filipe Albuquerque Simon Dolan Harry Tincknell Jota Sport Gibson 015S 4 00 21 5462016 Pierre Thiriet Mathias Beche Ryō Hirakawa Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca 05 4 00 04 3662017 Will Owen Hugo de Sadeleer Filipe Albuquerque United Autosports Ligier JS P217 4 00 57 8762018 Roman Rusinov Andrea Pizzitola Jean Eric Vergne G Drive Racing Oreca 07 4 00 14 2422021 Robert Kubica Louis Deletraz Ye Yifei Team WRT Oreca 07 4 00 49 743 The 1975 event was scheduled for 1000 km but was stopped after 600 km due to heavy rain External links EditMotor Racing Circuits Database Zeltweg Airfield 1958 1968 Motor Racing Circuits Database Osterreichring 1969 1976 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1000 km Zeltweg amp oldid 1098468200, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
