Zolder
Encyclopedia
- Zolder redirects here. For the town of the same name see Heusden-ZolderHeusden-ZolderHeusden-Zolder is a municipality located in the Belgian province of province of Limburg near Hasselt. On 1 January 2006 Heusden-Zolder had a total population of 30,769...
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The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlaemen, is an undulating 4.011 km (2.5 mi) motorsport
Motorsport
Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...
race track in Heusden-Zolder
Heusden-Zolder
Heusden-Zolder is a municipality located in the Belgian province of province of Limburg near Hasselt. On 1 January 2006 Heusden-Zolder had a total population of 30,769...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
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Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
Belgian Grand Prix
Belgian Grand Prix
The Belgian Grand Prix is an automobile race, part of the Formula One World Championship....
on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the 1980 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix
Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix
The Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season from 1949 to 1990.-Multiple winners :-Multiple winners :-By year:...
. The F1 circus moved to Zolder after Spa-Francorchamps was deemed too fast and too dangerous. It switched between Nivelles-Baulers
Nivelles-Baulers
Nivelles-Baulers was a race track near Brussels, Belgium locally referred to as Nivelles in French and Nijvel in Dutch.Built in 1971, the circuit hosted two rounds of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix in 1972 and 1974 during the time when the race was supposed to alternate between Walloon and...
for 4 years until Nivelles was considered boring by the F1 community. From 1975 to 1982, Zolder was the location of the Belgian Grand Prix. Zolder is probably best remembered as the place Gilles Villeneuve
Gilles Villeneuve
Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve, better known as Gilles Villeneuve , was a Canadian racing driver. An enthusiast of cars and fast driving from an early age, he started his professional career in snowmobile racing in his native province of Quebec...
died during qualifying at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix
1982 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1982 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zolder on May 9, 1982. It was the fifth round of the 1982 Formula One season.-Qualifying:...
, an event that signified the beginning of the end for the Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
circuit as a Formula One venue (although the accident was not caused by problems with the track). The Belgian Grand Prix was held here only once more in 1984
1984 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1984 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zolder on April 29, 1984. It was the third round of the 1984 Formula One season.- Finishing Grid :- Notes :*This was the last F1 race to take place at Zolder...
before going back to the shortened Spa-Francorchamps circuit which has hosted the Belgian Grand Prix nearly every year since.
Zolder has also been used for cycling events including the UCI Road World Championships
UCI Road World Championships
The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale...
twice in; 1969 and 2002 and the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships
UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships
The UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships sponsored by the Union Cycliste Internationale consists of both a men's and women's cyclo-cross world championship:* Men - UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships – Men's elite race...
in 1970 and 2002.
In the beginning of 2006, the track underwent some adaptations to increase safety. In 2007, the track hosted a Champ Car World Series Grand Prix, and a round of the FIA GT Championship. The track was venue of a round of the World Series by Renault
World Series by Renault
The World Series by Renault, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, is a motor racing series. The series consists of the flagship Formula Renault 3.5 Series , the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the Eurocup Mégane Trophy...
championship from 2003 to 2006, and replaced Zandvoort
Circuit Park Zandvoort
Circuit Park Zandvoort is a motorsport race track located in Burgemeester van Alphenstraat 108, 2041 KP in the dunes north of the town of Zandvoort, in the Netherlands, near the North Sea coast line.- History :...
as site for the Masters of Formula 3
Masters of Formula 3
The Masters of Formula 3 is a Formula Three race held annually, usually at the Circuit Park Zandvoort in the Netherlands. Due to noise restrictions in the Zandvoort area, the 2007 and 2008 races were held in the Belgian circuit of Zolder...
in 2007 and 2008. Zolder was featured on the car program Top Gear in 2008. In the episode, the show's British hosts competed against their German counterparts from D MOTOR. Now, Zolder hosts the FIA WTCC Race of Belgium and the GT Belcar
Belcar
The Belcar Endurance Championship is the national sports car racing championship of Belgium. The series is sanctioned by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium and run by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation . The series' title sponsor is Mediagroep Van Dyck.Since the 2007 season, the series has run...
championship, including the 24 Hours of Zolder
24 Uren van Zolder
The 24 Hours of Zolder is a yearly sports car and touringcar endurance race held at Circuit Zolder in Belgium....
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