The Opel-Rennbahn'' 'Opel Racetrack' '' is a former race track built by the

Adam Opel AG Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...

in 1919. It was located in a forest about two kilometers south of

Rüsselsheim am Main Rüsselsheim am Main (, ) is the largest city in the Groß-Gerau district in the Rhein-Main region of Germany. It is one of seven special status cities (implementing several functions that counties normally provide) in Hessen and is located on t ...

at the ''Schönauer Hof'' and was Germany's first purpose build racing track. The site is owned by the City of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

, which now operates a waterworks there.

Use from 1919 to 1946

Due to its design as an

oval track racing Oval track racing is a form of motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic is almost u ...

circuit with a track width of twelve meters and its high, steep curves, it was considered one of the fastest racetracks in Europe in the 1920s. Average speeds of up to 140 km / h were possible. The Opel racetrack was used for public

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

and car racing, and attracted up to 50,000 visitors at peak times. Among others,

Jimmie Simpson Jimmy H. Simpson (1898–1981) was a British motorcycle racer. Simpson spent many years as a works rider, first with AJS and later with Norton. He was one of the most successful riders before World War II. Career Beginnings Simpso ...

, Guido Mentasti and

Hermann Lang Hermann Albert Lang (6 April 1909 – 19 October 1987) was a German racing driver who raced motorcycles, Grand Prix cars, and sports cars. Prewar racing Born in Cannstatt near Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Hermann Lang had to go to wo ...

started their careers here. It was also the test track of

, which often tested new developments here, including the rocket car Opel RAK.1. Due to the technical development in

Motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

as well as the opening of the

AVUS The ('Automobile traffic and training road'), known as AVUS (), is a public road in Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1921, it was also used as a motor racing circuit until 1998. Today, the AVUS forms the northern part of the Bundesautobahn 115. C ...

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

and the

Hockenheimring The Hockenheimring, officially Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other mot ...

, however, fewer and fewer racing events were held on the racetrack from 1930 onwards. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the site was temporarily used by the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

State since 1946

Since 1946, the use of the Opel racetrack has been completely abandoned, but the facility was not demolished. In 1949 the lease with the city of Mainz expired. As a result, holes were made in the slope in order to plant trees there. In the 1960s, part of the home straight was demolished in order to facilitate the new construction of the L3012 state road. The slope is partly overgrown today, but it is still easy to see; in particular the steep wall curves are almost completely preserved. More recently, the historic complex has been integrated into the Rhein-Main Regional Park as an industrial heritage site. A small, accessible platform with information boards has been protruding into the north curve since 2013.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Automobil- und Technikgeschichte der Opel-Rennbahn
by Werner Schollenberger, accessed on October 23, 2016.

at www.ruesselsheim.de
Kulturdenkmal OPEL-Rennbahn
with the kind support of the Kulturdenkmal OPEL Rennbahn e. V., which is in the process of being founded in 2018/19 1919 establishments in Germany 1946 disestablishments in Germany Buildings and structures in Groß-Gerau (district) Defunct motorsport venues in Germany Motorsport venues in Hesse Rüsselsheim