Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Circuit Zandvoort old Layout 1948 - 1989 (Old Zandvoort Full Lap with Abandoned Sections)

In this Circuits of the past video, Herman shows you where the original layout of the Zandvoort

circuit used to be. The Zandvoort circuit is home to the Dutch Formula 1 Grand Prix.

We start our lap on the start/finish straight of the current track. This part of the layout

is still original as it opened in 1948. Only the track itself has been modernized.

Before the permanent Zandvoort circuit opened there was already a street circuit at the famous Dutch

seaside resort. You hear more about that in another video.

We now approach the famous Tarzan Corner. Why is it called Tarzan? Well, there are

different stories about that and you can read about them on the Circuit of the past website.

Here you can see some of the action from the time when there was no asphalt escape route

unlike today. Only there existed a proper gravel trap! Getting beached at the beach so to speak.

The Tarzan Corner is a hard breaking point at Zandvoort and famous for its

many spectacular overtakes. Except for the asphalt escape route, the Tarzan Corner itself

actually is still in its original form.

In the old days the pit exit used to be before

Tarzan. So many drivers used to make use of it during their overtaking maneuvers.

For 2020 however, renovations moved it to the pit exit being after the Tarzan Corner.

After Tarzan comes the Gerlach Corner, a fast right-hander which is very tricky in the wet.

Next comes the Hugonholtz Corner, named after the former circuit director John Hugenholtz,

who also designed circuits like Suzuka, Nivelles and the Motodrome section of Hockenheim. In 2020

the Hugenholtz Corner has been changed for the return for Formula 1 to create a wider entrance

to the paddock. They moved it to the inside and as compensation they've increased the banking.

Here you see a photo of the original Hugenholtz Corner taken during a track day in 1993.

The guy in the yellow white Opel Ascona is Herman Liesemeijer, founder of the Circuits of

the past website and YouTube channel. He filmed all of the footage and I'm Simon Smith, I just

do the voiceovers and I run a gaming channel called Higher Plain Games if you're interested.

After the Hugenholtz Corner comes the most exciting part of the Zandvoort circuit.

A full throttle blast through three sweeping corners with considerable elevation changes.

Interestingly, only the second kink has a name the Rob Slotemaker Corner, after

the Dutch driver who lost his life here. The old name is Jan de Wijker zijn veld.

That caused some confusion though, because Murray Walker thought the first kink was called Zijn veld

and the second Jan de Wijker. 'Jan de Wijker zijn veld' means Jan de Wijker his field and

actually was the name of the potato field which was here before there was a racetrack. I'm quite

sure i've potatoed many a pronunciation during this video and so I hereby apologize to all Dutch

people from now on. Now we enter the Scheivlak Corner. The most demanding corner of Zandvoort. Fortunately

this section is still original too. However, in the 1990s this part was also left abandoned...

In 1989 the municipal of Zandvoort, owner of the circuit ground, sold a part of the circuit to built

a holiday resort there. Those days politicians actually wanted to get rid of the circuit,

not realizing its full potential. However, circuit director Hans Ernst managed to

get the money to build a new section, so that the circuit could remain operational.

From then on they use a 2.5 kilometer shorter layout called the interim circuit.

A part of the old circuit was demolished for construction of the holiday resort,

whilst the other unused parts were left abandoned, as you can see on Herman's photos from the 1990s.

We're now back at the current Zandvoort track.

Since 1999 this part of the original layout has been in use again. But in the old days we went

straight on here whereas the new track now turns right. Here was the fast left right combination

named Hondenvlak. In the late 1970s this section became controversial because of its high speeds.

For the 1979 Dutch Grand Prix they built a temporary chicane in the second kink.

Here you can see a photo from Rob Petersen that shows the construction of that temporary chicane.

From 1980 there was a permanent solution and the fast left-right was changed into a chicane

named Marlboro Corner. Herman took these photos

of the Marlboro Corner in the late 1990s, shortly before its demolition.

We now have a look at the part of the current circuit from where we've just came from.

And here is where the old track used to be.

Today this is a golf course, but the owner was so friendly he drove Herman around on the old

circuit layout with a golf car. Appropriate huh? I can feel the G-forces from here.

Here you see remains of an old kerbstone left on the golf course. Useful for blaming a golfing

excuse for a poor hole I'm sure. As you can see, the track was higher than the current golf course.

However, all the dunes where the spectators watched the action on the track are all still here.

Now we're approaching a notorious part of the old Zandvoort circuit...

The fast kink at Tunnel Oost which is Dutch for Tunnel East.

This was the site of some terrible accidents during the Dutch Grand Prix.

First in 1970 Piers Courage died here after a crash in the fast kink at Tunnel Oost.

In 1973 Roger Williamson died at the same corner after he crashed on the exit of the Hondenvlak.

His car overturned and came to a stop at the Tunnel Oost.

Right here then the car caught fire and Roger Williamson died in the flames.

Today Tunnel Oost is gone. It was already demolished during the 1990s to prevent naughty

boy racers such as Herman joy riding around the abandoned part of the track.

We're now on the site of Tunnel East.

After the tunnel the track originally continued through a forest.

As you can see, some of the woodlands are still around.

On this part was a short straight leading to the fast left right combination

named 'Bos In'. Here are some photos of this section taken by Herman in 1998.

Nowadays the public road crosses where the circuit used to be.

And on this small parking lot was the beginning of the right-hand corner. Here you can see the

same site in 1998 where the remaining part of the old track ended here. The part after

the kerbstones was a new access road to a trailer park that was here into the mid 1990s.

If we walk a little further you'll see a fence and remains of the

old service road of the original Zandvoort circuit.

So, now we're on the other side of the fence and we're walking on the old service road.

We'll follow the layout of the old track again. This part is now a holiday resort.

As we showed earlier, here was the old 'Bos In' Corner which is Dutch for 'Into the woods' However,

in the 1960s the forest was cut down because of a small beetle infestation that caused wood rot.

Here you can see a photo from 1958 when there was a forest. And here's the same site

in 1972 after that forest had been cut down. The photos in this video from the 1970s and 1980s

are from the collection from Rob Petersen, the former speaker of the Zandvoort circuit. He's been

supplying Herman with photos since he started the Circuits of the past website back in 2003.

For the 1973 Formula 1 Grand Prix the track needed some major renovation. So the fast Bos In

Corner was changed into a chicane named Panorama Corner. Here you can see the works in action.

And here you see the new Panorama Corner. Just like the Tarzan Corner it proved to be very

popular with spectators and fans alike as it provided great overtaking and a visual spectacle.

So whizzing back to present time, here we are bang on the same location.

Just like on the golf course you can recognize where the track used to be.

Along the sides you can still see the dunes where the spectators watch the races.

This was the short straight between the Bos In Corner and the Bos Uit Corner.

As you may have guessed 'Bos Uit' is Dutch for out of the woods.

Here on top of this dune the Bos Uit Corner started.

Today there are bungalows here from the holiday resort.

Until 2020 there was still some remains of the

Bos Uit Corner on the parking lot of the current Zandvoort circuit.

However, during the 2020 renovations for Formula 1, this remain has been demolished.

Here we follow the remains a few years before the demolition.

Until 2019 there was also a service road following the old track.

But for the new banked version of the ArieLuyendijk Corner this has also been demolished too.

Before we do the sprint back to the start finish, Herman first shows you the new banked

Arie Luyendijk Corner. In another video you'll see the full layout of the current Zandvoort circuit.

Now we're on the start/finish straight again and also back onto the original layout

of the Zandvoort circuit just as it opened in 1948. If you squint it's like time never passed.

If you want to know more about the original Zandvoort circuit, please visit the website

www.circuitsofthepast.com

There you can find a download of

a free ebook around seven abandoned racetracks that you can visit legally.

For now though, thank you very much for watching and don't forget to subscribe and click on that

notification bell, so that you don't miss the next video from another classic circuit from the past.