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1000 Km Zeltweg

The 1000 km Zeltweg (originally known as the 500 km Zeltweg) was an endurance sports car event held near Zeltweg, Austria. Originally based at the Zeltweg Airfield, the race moved to the �sterreichring where it continued to be a regular event in the World Sportscar Championship.

History

The Zeltweg Airfield circuit used from 1966 to 1968

The �sterreichring, used from 1969 to 1975

In 1963, Formula One held its first exhibition event at the Zeltweg Airfield, located in Styria. The airfield had been modified in 1958 to allow it to be used for motorsports, using the runway and taxiways for straights. Following the successful event, the Austrian Grand Prix joined the Formula One calendar for the 1964 season. However complaints from drivers about the poor surface led to the FIA abandoning the circuit before a 1965 event could be held. Left without a major event, the organizers turned to the World Sportscar Championship and offered a 500 km event to take place starting in 1966. This event proved more successful due to the ability of the sportscars to handle the bumpy surface better than a Formula One car.

In 1969, due to demands once again from racers for a better circuit, the �sterreichring was built in the mountains less than a mile from Zeltweg Airfield. Once the new circuit was completed, the sports car event moved to its permanent home. Due to the freshness of the track, the organizers expanded the event to a 1000 km endurance. The smoothness of the new racing surface allowed for greater reliability and greater ease in achieving the longer distance. The high-speed nature of the layout also allowed for quick races, with some events running under five hours. However with rule changes in the evolved World Championship of Makes in 1976, the event became limited to a maximum of six hours due to the decrease in overall speed of the competitors.

The 1976 event also became the final 1000 km race at the �sterreichring. A second Austrian race was added to the separate World Sportscar Championship, held at the smaller Salzburgring. Due to safety concerns and a shrinking schedule, the �sterreichring was dropped from the 1977 season, leaving the Salzburgring one final event before it too was abandoned, marking the final Austrian event in the World Sportscar Championship.

Following the rebuilding of the �sterreichring into the new A1-Ring in 1997, the FIA GT Championship briefly resurrected the sportscar endurance race in a modified form. A four hour event was run in 1997 covering nearly 700 km, followed by 500 km races in 1998, 2000, and 2001. The FIA chose not to return to the circuit after the 2001 event, and the A1-Ring was eventually partially torn down in 2004.

Winners

Year	Drivers	Team	Car	Time
Zeltweg Airfield
1966	Gerhard Mitter Hans Herrmann	Porsche System	Porsche 906	3:07:52:550
1967	Paul Hawkins	Paul Hawkins	Ford GT40 Mk.II	3:15:54.530
1968	Jo Siffert	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 908	2:55:17.790
�sterreichring
1969	Jo Siffert Kurt Ahrens Jr.	Freiherr von Wendt	Porsche 917	5:23:36.980
1970	Jo Siffert Brian Redman	J.W. Automotive	Porsche 917K	5:08:04:670
1971	Pedro Rodr�guez Richard Attwood	J.W. Automotive	Porsche 917K	5:04:26.100
1972	Jacky Ickx Brian Redman	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Ferrari 312PB	4:58:46.280
1973	Henri Pescarolo G�rard Larrousse	Equipe Matra-Simca	Matra-Simca MS670B	4:48:57.800
1974	Henri Pescarolo G�rard Larrousse	Equipe Gitanes	Matra-Simca MS670C	4:51:20.270
1975	Henri Pescarolo Derek Bell	Willi Kauhsen Racing Team	Alfa Romeo T33/TT/12	3:34:50.550^�
1976	Dieter Quester Gunnar Nilsson	Schnitzer BMW	BMW 3.0 CSL	6:00:16.400
A1-Ring
1997	Klaus Ludwig Bernd Mayl�nder	AMG-Mercedes	Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR	4:00:55.816
1998	Klaus Ludwig Ricardo Zonta	AMG-Mercedes	Mercedes-Benz CLK LM	2:47:34.975
2000	Mike Hezemans Tom Coronel	Carsport Holland	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	3:00:01.811
2001	Peter Kox Rickard Rydell	Prodrive Allstars	Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello	3:00:09.952

� - The 1975 event was scheduled for 1000 km, but was stopped after 600 km due to heavy rain.

External links

Motor Racing Circuits Database - Zeltweg Airfield (1958-1968)

Motor Racing Circuits Database - �sterreichring (1969-1976)

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