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The
circuit at Hockenheim
was built in 1939 by
Mercedes-Benz, who
wanted somewhere to test
its cars at high-speed,
yet was redesigned much
later to include the
signature stadium
section with colourful
grandstands.
Racing at the
redesigned Hockenheim
started in 1966, and by
1970 F1 came to the
track due to the
Nurburgring’s
inadequate facilities
for modern GP racing.
Jochen Rindt won
the first German GP at
Hockenheim, but once it
had been upgraded the
race went back to the
Nurburgring a few years
later.
For the past two
decades Hockenheim has
acted as the venue for
the German GP, and while
there have been
memorable races here in
the past many terrible
incidents have
stigmatized the circuit.
Jim Clark was
killed in an unexplained
accident during a
Formula 2 race in 1968;
Patrick Depailler was
killed during testing in
1980, and Didier Pironi
almost lost his life in
a dramatic qualifying
crash at the 1982 GP.
The present track
has received many
complaints by F1 teams,
officials, and fans, and
have apparently been
apeased by the notice of
plans to totally
redesign the tunnel
sections of the circuit.
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