Grenzlandring
Encyclopedia
Race track
A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...
oval in the Lower Rhine
Lower Rhine
The Lower Rhine flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hoek van Holland, Netherlands.Almost immediately after entering the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into many branches. The main branch is called the Waal which flows from Nijmegen to meet the river Meuse; after which it is called Merwede...
area of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, around the town of Wegberg
Wegberg
Wegberg is the northernmost town in the district of Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Wegberg is situated between Mönchengladbach in the northeast and Erkelenz in the southeast. The city lies in the Naturpark Maas-Schwalm-Nette, a nature and wildlife park hugging the border to...
, located close to Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach , formerly known as Münchengladbach, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine half way between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border....
and the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
town of Roermond
Roermond
Roermond is a city, a municipality, and a diocese in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.The city of Roermond is a historically important town, on the lower Roer at the east bank of the Meuse river. It received city rights in 1231...
.
The Grenzlandring, to many foreigners also known as Wegbergring or Wegberg Ring, is told to be "discovered" nearly undamaged after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when during one dark 1947 night, Dr. Carl Marcus (during WWII a double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
for the Nazis as well as the MI6, codenamed 'Dictionary' by them), the town mayor from the nearby city of Rheydt
Rheydt
Rheydt is a borough of the German city Mönchengladbach, located in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 1918 and then again from 1933 through 1975 it was an independent city....
, drove along a more or less straight looking country road. When he passed a bicycle rider more than once, he suddenly realised that this road must be a full circle. In fact, a 9005 metres (5.6 mi) long and 6.8 metres (22.3 ft) wide egg-shaped concrete ring road had been built prior to WWII around Wegberg and the neighboring village of Beeck and completed in 1938 or 1939, at total costs of about 3.3 million Reichsmark
German reichsmark
The Reichsmark was the currency in Germany from 1924 until June 20, 1948. The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig.-History:...
. As it was intended for military purposes, the construction had not made been public nor was the road shown in maps.
Initiated and organised by the silk weaving mill owner and keen racing driver Emil "Teddy" Vorster (Rheydt) and his Rheydter Club für Motorsport (RCM) (from 1949 on the organisation was in the hands of the Motorsport-Union-Grenzlandring, a co-operation of four motorsport clubs of the Lower Rhine
Lower Rhine
The Lower Rhine flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hoek van Holland, Netherlands.Almost immediately after entering the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into many branches. The main branch is called the Waal which flows from Nijmegen to meet the river Meuse; after which it is called Merwede...
region) the first race was held on September 19 1948, in front of about 250,000 spectators, although "just" 100,000 people had been expected to show up. The all-time average lap record was set in September 1949 by the already famous Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n Georg "Schorsch" Meier
Georg Meier
Georg Meier was a German motorcycle racer famous for being the first foreign winner of the prestigious Senior TT the Blue Riband race of the Isle of Man TT Races in 1939 riding for the factory BMW team and the first motor-cycle racer to lap a Grand Prix course at over 100mph.-Biography:Meier was...
(overall winner of the 1939 Isle of Man TT
Isle of Man TT
The International Isle of Man TT Race is a motorcycle racing event held on the Isle of Man and was for many years the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world...
) on a supercharged BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
500 motorbike at 216 km/h (134.2 mph) (clockwise driven) while Toni Ulmen
Toni Ulmen
Toni Ulmen was a racing driver from Düsseldorf, Germany. He participated in 2 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on May 18, 1952. He scored no championship points....
in September 1951 set the all-time record for cars, driving his Veritas
Veritas
In Roman mythology, Veritas, meaning truth, was the goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn and the mother of Virtue. It was believed that she hid in the bottom of a holy well because she was so elusive. Her image is shown as a young virgin dressed in white...
2000 RS to 212 km/h (131.7 mph) (anti-clockwise driven).
Yet, on August 31 1952, Helmut Niedermayr
Helmut Niedermayr
Helmut Niedermayr was a racing driver from Germany. He participated in one World Championship Grand Prix, on August 3, 1952...
from Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
crashed his Reif/Veritas-Meteor Formula 2 at the exit of the Roermonder Kurve at a speed of nearly 200 km/h (124.3 mph), due to never cleared up reasons, killing at least 13 (some sources even claim a 14th but unknown dead person) and injuring another 42 spectators. Although the actual event was not stopped to avert panic among the crowds racing was subsequently banned from the venue by the government, after a total of four anti-clockwise and only one (in 1949) clockwise driven competitions that had been attended by up to 300,000 people.
External links
- http://www.forix.com/8w/6thgear/grenzlandring.html
- http://www.grenzlandring.de/
- http://www.ac-grenzlandring.de/
- http://www.landkartenarchiv.de/rennstrecken_grenzland.htm
- http://www.oldtimer.de/aktuelles/Grenzland/Grenzlandring_Revival.htm
- Dr. Carl Marcus, the MI6 asset codenamed 'Dictionary'