Fascination for street circuits: Hartmut Beyer visits Norisring

Hartmut Beyer, C.E.O. of Bucharest Ring, visited the Norisring street circuit in the German city of Nuremberg last weekend. Beyer was one of the VIP guests at the fifth round of the DTM, the German touring car series, for which the Norisring round is the annual highlight. Some 140,000 spectators turned out over the weekend to watch the races at the 2.3 kilometres short circuit.

"More and more people are discovering the fascination of street circuits" says Beyer, who himself masterminded the plan to create such a circuit in the Rumanian capital of Bucharest. "The Norisring is a traditional venue, where races have been organised for more than 60 years, while our Bucharest Ring is comparatively new, featuring innovative elements for spectators and visitors."

Indeed, the street circuit movement is catching on: with Valencia and Singapore, even Formula 1 will have two street races this year in addition to the traditional event in Monte Carlo. Another FIA-sanctioned series, the FIA GT Championship, will be in the spotlights for the second year running during the Bucharest City Challenge. There are plans for many other motor racing events in major European cities. "I have good contacts with the organisers of several racing categories and championships and also with cities interested in having their own race events", said Beyer at the Norisring. "This weekend, I have had some good talks again, too."