 Detailed map of the Lausitzring including all layouts | |
| Location | Klettwitz (Brandenburg,Germany) |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°32′0″N13°55′10″E / 51.53333°N 13.91944°E /51.53333; 13.91944 |
| Capacity | 120,000 |
| FIA Grade | 2 (2 layouts) |
| Owner | Dekra Automobil GmbH (2017–present) |
| Operator | EuroSpeedway Verwaltungs GmbH |
| Broke ground | 17 June 1998; 27 years ago (1998-06-17)[1] |
| Opened | 20 August 2000; 25 years ago (2000-08-20)[2] |
| Former names | Lausitzring (2010–2017) EuroSpeedway Lausitz (2000–2009) |
| Major events | Current: DTM (2000–present) European Truck Racing Championship (2001–2002, 2025) ADAC GT Masters (2007–2017, 2020–2022, 2025) Former: World SBK (2001–2002, 2005–2007, 2016–2017) Sidecar World Championship (2001–2002) Champ CarGerman 500 (2001, 2003) ADAC GT Masters (2007–2017, 2020–2022) FIA GT (2000) A1GP (2005) F3 Euroseries (2005–2006, 2009) World Series by Nissan (2003–2004) ASCAR Racing Series (2002–2003) |
| Website | https://dekra-lausitzring.de/ |
| Superspeedway (2000–present) | |
| Length | 3.256 km (2.023 mi) |
| Turns | 3 |
| Banking | up to 5.7° |
| Race lap record | 0:34.747 ( Tony Kanaan,Reynard 01I,2001,CART) |
| Grand Prix Circuit (2000–present) | |
| Length | 4.345 km (2.700 mi) |
| Turns | 14 |
| Race lap record | 1:32:059 ( Scott Mansell,Benetton B197,2004,F1) |
| Grand Prix Circuit with Banked Turn 1 (2021–present) | |
| Length | 4.601 km (2.859 mi) |
| Turns | 10 |
| Race lap record | 1:32.085 ( Maro Engel,Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo,2022,GT3) |
| Motorcycle Circuit (2000–present) | |
| Length | 4.297 km (2.670 mi) |
| Turns | 14 |
| Race lap record | 1:36.634 (Chaz Davies,Ducati Panigale R,2017,World SBK) |
| Sprint Circuit (2004–present) | |
| Length | 3.478 km (2.161 mi) |
| Turns | 12 |
| Race lap record | 1:13.100 ( Patrick d’Aubreby,Benetton B192,2005,F1) |
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TheLausitzring (formally known as theDekra Lausitzring for ownership reasons) is arace track and test track located nearKlettwitz (a civil parish ofSchipkau,Oberspreewald-Lausitz district) in the state ofBrandenburg in northeastGermany, near the borders ofPoland and theCzech Republic. It was originally named Lausitzring as it is located in the region ofLusatia, known asLausitz inGerman, but was renamedEuroSpeedway Lausitz for better international communication from 2000 to 2010. Lausitzring has been in use formotor racing since 2000. Among other series,DTM (German Touring Car Championship) takes place there annually. It also used to host theSuperbike World Championship.
The Lausitzring has a feature which is unique in continental Europe: a high-speedoval race track, as used in the United States byNASCAR andIndyCar. The 3.256 km (2.023 mi)tri-oval (similar toPocono Raceway) was used twice by open seaterCART races namedGerman 500 (the September2001 American Memorial won byKenny Bräck, and the May2003 German 500 bySébastien Bourdais), plus a few BritishSCSA Stock cars races. In 2005 and 2006, theGerman Formula Three Championship held races at the oval,[3][4] with a pole position lap average speed of 251.761 km/h (156.437 mph)[5] and a race average of 228.931 km/h (142.251 mph).[6]
As far back as 1986, in the former communistEast Germany, it was planned to convert one of the huge opencoal mine pits into a race track. In the late 1990s, this idea was taken up again in order to build a replacement for theAVUS inBerlin, which after the fall of the Berlin Wall had more traffic than before. The construction of the EuroSpeedway Lausitz began on 17 June 1998.[1] The facility was officially opened during a public ceremony on 20 August 2000.[2]
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 4.562 km (2.835 mi). 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. Next to the racing facility, there is a test oval with two long straights connecting two steeply banked U-shaped corners. The test oval has a total length of 5.800 km (3.604 mi), with each of its two straights measuring about 2.500 km (1.553 mi) in length. All tracks can be connected to form a 12.030 km (7.475 mi) longendurance racing course, but so far this option has been used only for testing and never as part of a major event.[citation needed]
There were three serious accidents at the facility in its first year of operation. On 25 April 2001, formerFormula One driverMichele Alboreto was killed on the test oval after crashing at high speed due to a tyre failure.[7][8] Alboreto was testing anAudi R8 in preparation of his participation at the2001 24 Hours of Le Mans. Just over a week later, on 3 May 2001, atrack marshal was killed when he was hit by a touring car during a test session.[citation needed]
The third serious accident occurred on 15 September 2001, when the venue's tri-oval hosted the2001 American Memorial. It was the first race of the AmericanCART series to be held in Europe, but it was eventually overshadowed by the accident in which the series' two-time championAlex Zanardi was involved. Zanardi lost control of his car at the pit exit following a late stop for fuel and the car slid onto the tri-oval, where it was hit from the side byAlex Tagliani's car at full speed. The impact split the front of Zanardi's car from the rest of it and caused the driver to suffer a traumatic amputation of both of his legs. Tagliani was not seriously injured, having suffered some bruising as a result of the crash.
The last concert of German hard rock bandBöhse Onkelz took place on 17 and 18 June 2005 at the Lausitzring under the nameVaya Con Tioz, in front of approximately 120,000. It was the biggest open air show by a German band ever.
On 9 October 2005, Lausitzring played host to theA1 Grand Prix series on its road course. The fastest lap of the meeting was set byNicolas Lapierre and was 0.45 seconds slower than the lap record for the 4.345 km (2.700 mi) circuit held byHeikki Kovalainen.
Lausitzring played host to Round 6 of the2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship. As the last two events of the 2010 Championship (Rounds 7 and 8) were cancelled, the 2011 series was cancelled as well. The series then suffered an overall three-year hiatus before finally returning in September 2016 and September 2017.[9]
On 1 November 2017, the entire facility was sold to the vehicle inspection companyDekra, which announced plans to modernize it and use it as a proving ground for road car innovations.[10] Amid fears that the purchase would mark the end of public racing events at the circuit, Dekra announced that it would not organize such events, but other companies would remain welcome to organize them and Dekra would rent the circuit to them for the purpose.[11] TheDTM has continued to organize races at the circuit ever since.
As of June 2025, the fastest official race lap records at Lausitzring are listed as:
On 1 November 2017,Dekra acquired the Lausitzring as a test site, especially forautonomous driving.[55] In April 2019 test and verification of communication elements took place on the Lausitzring. Participants wereFord,Samsung,Vodafone,Huawei,LG Electronics and others. Topics were communication matters.[56]
Dekra organised also anOpen-air festival, that took place in May 2019.[57]
The Lausitzring also appeared in theTop Gear Germany Special whereThe Stig's German cousin sets laptimes in their £5,000 everyday second-hand sports saloons.Jeremy Clarkson in aFord Sapphire Sierra RS Cosworth withJames May inMercedes-Benz 190E Cosworth andRichard Hammond in theBMW M3. The trio later filmed aYouTube video where May "got lost" and Hammond "forgot to put the camera on" and Clarkson had a Welsh accent.
Complementary racing events, such asDTM are on the agenda.[57]
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| Geographic | |
