InterContinental Life
Hungarian Grand Prix - 1st August 2010 © Hungaroring
4 kilometres in 80 seconds
The Formula 1 Hungaroring just outside Budapest is the venue for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The track is considered one of the most beautiful in the world.
You can’t beat record-breaking Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher around this track, at least not where the statistics are concerned. He holds the lap record, has the most victories (four) and the most pole positions (seven). The Hungaroring is around 20 kilometres from the centre of Hungarian capital Budapest along the M3 motorway. For his track record, Schumacher completed the course, which is exactly 4,383.08 metres, in 80 seconds, which means he drove on average of nearly 200 kilometres per hour.
Since 1986, the Formula 1 circus has been stopping at the Hungaroring once a year. It is the venue for the “Hungarian Grand Prix”. The idea came from racing sport guru Bernie Ecclestone. He developed the plan in 1983, so the story goes. It’s nothing unusual these days, but back then it was a real sensation. In 1983, Hungary was ruled by communists, it was under the sway of the Soviet Union, behind the Iron Curtain. The Formula 1 race planned was the firs one behind the Iron Curtain, and Ecclestone actually pulled it off. It was another four years after the first Hungarian Grand Prix that democracy came to Hungary following the peaceful revolution of 1989/1990.
It was probably thanks to the totalitarian conditions at the time that the track was completed in just eight months. A pretty unbelievable achievement. The planners thought it all out well, as the Hungaroring is in a valley. This means that the 70,000-strong crowd can see nearly 80 percent of the entire track from their viewpoint up in the grandstands. When the drivers head to the start line on 1st August, they will have the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim and seven other races left of the season. But the big question is will anyone beat Michael Schumacher around the Hungaroring this time?
Dates
Hungarian Grand Prix
1st August 2010
www.hungaroring.hu/en
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