Circuits of the past Travel Guide By Herman Liesemeijer, maker of the website www.circuitsofthepast.com Author: Herman Liesemeijer Date of publication: 04-12-2016 Publisher: Circuits of the past Copyright © Herman Liesemeijer 2016 © 2016 Herman Liesemeijer. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied, reproduced, displayed or modified without the prior written consent of the author. Contact by www.circuitsofthepast.com. Index Reims-Gueux ...................................................................................... 4 Nivelles-Baulers ................................................................................. 6 Roskilde Ring ..................................................................................... 8 Brno-Masaryk ..................................................................................... 9 Nürburgring Südschleife ..................................................................... 11 Reims-Gueux One of the most famous and finest circuit ruin is the former circuit of Reims-Gueux, in Northern France. This street circuit had permanent facilities like the stone pit building with restaurant, impressive grandstands and a turnable score board. And the best is that all these facilities are still there. More about the history of the Reims-Gueux circuit here. How to get there? The pits and grandstands are located at the D27 between the villages Thillois and Gueux, close to the city of Reims in Northern France. Take the E46 exit Soissons Tinqueux and follow the N31 in the direction of Soissons. You are already in line with the old back straight. About 2 Km./1.25Miles further you arrive at a roundabout which is on the site of the former Thillois Corner. Take the exit Gueux and you are on the Start/Finish straight. View this location in Google Maps. Tips You can park your car or motorcycle in the old pits. You can walk freely at the grounds and enter the old pit building. However, I do recommend against going to the top floors of the old restaurant! The banisters of the stone stairs are completely rotted away, making it very dangerous to continue upstairs. I personally have done this twice to photograph and film. My advice, do not risk your life and enjoy the video I made there. Click here to watch the video. Although the roads have been modernized, it is still possible to do a complete lap at the first two versions of the circuit. The last and most famous version is more difficult, because it ends halfway into the cornfields. Actually, it's not even legal to enter the dead end section. For orientation I recommend you to watch this video. Nivelles-Baulers This photo has been made in 1998. The pitbuilding is already demolished. Although the remains of the Nivelles circuit in Belgium become fewer and fewer, this circuit may not be missing in this guide. More so since the circuit stood at the cradle of my website. To read how it all came so I recommend that you read this article. The Nivelles-Baulers circuit was operational from 1971 to 1981. After the closure it lay fallow to the end of the 90's and was often used for illegal racing. In 1998 they started the reconstruction to a business park, which is still in progress. Bit by bit will the last remains of the circuit disapear to make way for new companies. More about the history of the Nivelles-Baulers circuit here. How to get there? Coming from the E19 from or to the Belgian capital of Brussels you take the exit Nivelles Nord. Follow the N252 direction Nivelles. At the second roundabout you take the second exit to Parc d'Affaires. A few yards further you enter a T junction. You're now at Start/Finish! Turn left to follow the circuit in the driving direction. View this location in Google Maps. Tips The current road follows in general the old circuit, including the so called "Big Loop", a very challenging combination of two very fast right turns. However, do not be tempted by these beautiful corners to drive fast. The speed limit here is 50 Km. per hour and there are now pedestrian crossings and side streets. I recommend you to watch this video to orientate. Following the track you come at a point where the road is blocked by a gate. Behind this gate is a heavily neglected and overgrown part of the old circuit. I would strongly point out that it is illegal to enter this section. When you drive back to the highway you pass an old entrance. The foundations of the old ticket houses are still recognizable. But there is also another fence. Even if this gate is open, it is illegal for unauthorized persons to enter the site. Roskilde Ring The Roskilde Ring in Denmark was operational from 1953 to 1968. From 1961 to 1963 it was the home of the Danish Grand Prix. It was a short and stwisty track, actually more a kart track than a Formula One circuit, and it was described by Sir Stirling Moss as "A most pecular raceway". More about the history of the Roskilde Ring here. How to get there? the location of the former Roskilde Ring is now a park in the Danish city of Roskilde. The easiest way to find it is to drive to the Scandic Hotel Roskilde. The adress is Ved Ringen 2, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark. You can park at the hotel parking and a path between the hotel building and the parking brings you in the park. View this location in Google Maps. Tips Although the track has been complete demolished, there is still something to discover for the real fanatics. Around the pond you can still recognize the banking of one of the corners. Also the terraces of the natural grandstands around the circuit are still clearly recognizable. However, these are largely overgrown. At some places are signs placed that refer in three languages to the past of the park. Don't forget to walk into the hotel before of after your visit to the park. In a corner of the lobby are photos from the glory days of the circuit. Brno-Masaryk Talking about the Brno circuit most people will think about the current permanent racing venue, well known for the annual MotoGP of the Czech Republic. But from 1930 to 1986 the circuit of Brno was a long and challenging street circuit. For safety reasons it was replaced by a modern track in 1986. More information about the history of the Brno circuit here. How to get there? From the highway E50 you take the exit Popuvky Autodrom and follow the road into the direction of Brno. You are now on the pre-war version ot the street circuit. About one kilometer/0.6 Mile after the village of Bosonohy you see the old pits on your left hand. View this location on Google Maps. Tips The only thing that refers to the street circuit is the permanent pits that still stands beside the road. However, a passage has been made in the center of the pits to reach the company that is settled behind. It is well worth the effort to do a lap at the over 29 Km./18 Miles pre-war version of the track. But I can tell you from personal experience that it is very difficult to find the first vertex. The old road has been upgraded to a modern highway. About one kilometer/0.6 Mile after Start/Finish you come at the point where you have to exit on the right at the point they turned left in the old days. Follow the highway until Kohoutovice, the second vertex. From there you drive in the direction of Zebetin and Ostrovacice. If you want to do a lap at the old street circuit I reccomend strongly to study the location with Google Maps, or a similar service, and with my photo report of a lap at the pre-war track. If you're in the area should not miss a visit to the current circuit. The pre-war circuit passes several times an entrance of the new circuit, which are clearly indicated by signs. Note: The permanent circuit is not open for public every day. The best preserved part of the old track starts 1.5 Km./0.9 Mile after the sharp bend in Ostrovacice. Please be aware that the current road turns right here in a long wide corner. Just before that corner you have to turn left and you're on a narrow road where time seems to have stood still. The road takes you through a picturesque tunnel. But after a Mile you see the old tarmac leading into the bushes, while new tarmac turns left. Here you have to turn and drive back to the main road to continue. Just follow the new main road and you're back on the track after a few Miles. Nürburgring Südschleife Every year many tourists and motorsport fans visit the famous Nürburgring in Germany, for an event or to test their driving skills on the legendary Nordschleife. (North Loop). But less people know that there has also been a Südschleife (South Loop). This section was used from 1927 to 1975. When the modern Grand Prix Circuit was built in 1981 they sacrificed the disused Südschleife. More about the history of the Nürburgring Südschleife here. How to get there? Coming from the Grand Prix Circuit you follow the K72 direction Müllenbach. This road is the old Südschleife. For the contiuation this video of a lap on the Südschleife may be helpful. View this location on Google Maps. Tips Driving at the K72 you see at a several point on your right hand a camp site called "Camping am Nürburgring". Park here and cross the road, because on the other side you will find an original stone telephone pole of a Marshall Post.