In the 1930s, serious plans were developed for a permanent car racing track in the Netherlands. At the time, there were already two circuits for motorbike riders, the renowned Drenthe Circuit and the TT Practice Circuit in Limburg. On 3 June 1939, the first car race was held on a road circuit in Zandvoort. Although the war broke out soon afterwards, the huge success of these races convinced the Mayor of Zandvoort, Mr. Van Alphen, to develop plans for a track to the north of the beach resort.

Even then, the mayor was acutely aware that more was needed to draw the crowds than just sun, sea and sand. On 7 August 1948, the first car race was held on Zandvoort’s new track. The Royal Dutch Motorbike Association organised the first motorbike race on the Zandvoort dune circuit on 28 August 1948. Sporting highlights in the period to 1973 included the 1952 Grand Prix, which was a world championship race, the Grand Prix of 1961 when all 15 starting vehicles made it to the finish without a single pit stop, and the Dutch Grand Prix in 1955, won by Fangio and Mercedes.

The last world championship race at Zandvoort was in 1985. In 1972, the owners – Zandvoort city council – no longer wanted to put up the money necessary to modernise the track and make it safe. On 7 February 1973, a 15-year lease was signed between the city council and Cenav B.V. (shareholders: NAV and KNAC). Crash barriers were built around the entire race track, and at the back of the circuit a speed control section was laid, the Panoramabocht. New pits and VIP rooms were also created. The total cost was over 3 million guilders.

In the 1970s and 1980s, noise was a major issue in the racing world. Drivers used silencers from 1979 onwards but opponents believed it was not enough. Although the circuit generated tens of millions of guilders for the economy, the opposition persisted. In 1983, the mayor and aldermen of Zandvoort once again took a positive approach to the circuit. A key change occurred in 1985 – The Council of State decided that the track’s presence did not obstruct house-building in Zandvoort.

Nonetheless, at the end of 1985 came a new problem: a bungalow development was proposed right next to the track. However, the circuit management devised a ready-made solution, and on 27 March 1986 presented the Columbus Egg, which involved repositioning the circuit by moving the section of track closest to residential buildings some 400 metres further away.

‘A’ status: In a letter of 28 September 1988, the State Secretary for Welfare, Health and Culture informed Zandvoort and the Province of North Holland about its provisional ‘A’ status. The State Secretary also said that an action plan including nine conditions should be drawn up. In 1992, the circuit owners signed a 20-year ground lease contract with Zandvoort City Council, as a result of which races will be run at Zandvoort until the year 2013.

On 23 November 1993 (the interim circuit had since been completed in June 1989) the steering group made its final decision on the action plan after which the Provincial Executive gave its assent. However, the Provincial Executive wanted to hear what the Provincial Council had to say. Finally, on 4 July 1994, the plan gained majority support in the province, although only after the track owners had promised an additional contribution of 250,000 guilders to relocate a campsite. Opposing state members saw the relocation as recompense for agreeing to the plan.

Finally, on 4 July 1994 the action plan received majority support from the Provincial Executive of North Holland. A positive recommendation was therefore given to the outgoing State Secretary for Welfare, Health and Culture. On 23 December 1994 the State Secretary of the new Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport sent a letter to the chair of the Lower House of the States-General requesting that the ‘A’ status be granted. Parliament honoured this request in June 1995, after which track management could start developing its plans.
Since then a new pit complex has been created and the track has been extended to 4300 metres. In 2001, the new main grandstand was completed.

Formula 1 History

"Jerry visited The Netherlands in 1994 during the 50th anniversary D-Day celebrations. He was with a group of veterans from the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division and stayed with a Dutch family in the town of Nijmegen, which was one of the main locations of the Operation Market Garden in WorldWar 2"

In 1999, Formula One Team Williams staged a demonstration race at the Zandvoort circuit in Holland. To their no doubt delighted surprise, 40,000 people showed up at the new designed 2.6 mile circuit 15 miles from Amsterdam. We were surprised, because there had been no Grand Prix of Holland since 1985. Most of us assume that tracks dry up and blow away once Formula 1, NASCAR or CART abandon them. It''s a a mis-assumption. Nashville is very much alive and we suspect North Wilkesboro will survive. We checked and found that Zandvoort still exists under the name Circuit Park Zandvoort. It is still very active. Its premier event is the Masters of Formula Three Championship. It also hosts other types of Formula, Sedan and Sports Car racing, including Dutch, Belgian and German Championships. The pit complex has been completely rebuilt. Last season the track was lengthened from 1.6 mile to 2.6 mile.

Zandvoort itself is one of the most popular beach resorts in Holland, partially due to its proximity to Amsterdam. There are numerous beach hotels catering to many varied tastes. The terrain is sand dune, with few trees. This characteristic made it one of the best viewing facilities in Formula One. If the Smith-Wheeler group that now owns Sears Point, is bulldozing hills to make for better viewing areas, they might make a trip to Zandvoort and have a look. If you stand on the tallest dune in the center of the track, you can see most of it. Unlike most new road courses, which trace their origins to some computer program, Zandvoort had a different heritage. It was based on a road cut through the dunes by the Wehrmacht in World War II. The Germans used the road to connect their shore batteries. Mayor Van Alphen refined the German plan into a track that most experts considered superb. The track was designed by a groep of Dutch motorcycle enthousiasts, advised by Sammy Davis, winner of the 24 Hrs. of Le Mans in 1927. Being in dune country, Zandvoort was slightly undulating and featured several elevation changes, particularly the famous Scheivlak corner, which went down and to the right. The corners were of many different cambers and angles. The Tarzan hairpin at the end of the pit-straight, was one of most famous corners in racing. Until Formula One went chicane-happy and installed one at Zandvoort, there was a very fast backstretch. When the winds blew, sand would be an additional hazard.

Zandvoort was opened in 1948 and hosted some non-championship events until 1952 when it hosted the Dutch Grand Prix. For the first ten years, Grand Prix scheduling was sporadic. Zandvoort did not host a race in 1954, but did have one on June 19, 1955, just one week after the LeMans tragedy, when everyone else was cancelling races. Zandvoort then joined the cancellers and held no races in ''56 and ''57. The Grand Prix returned in 1958 and continued uninterrupted through 1971. After no race in ''72, the Grand Prix resumed in ''73 and continued every year until 1985. With scheduling that would drive U.S. promoters crazy, the Grand Prix was held as early as May 20th (1962) and as late as August 31st (1980), August was the most popular month, with eleven of the thirty races held during that month.

Entered in the inaugural 1952 event were a variety of cars, with Ferrari, Gordini, Cooper-Bristol, Connaught, H.W.M., E.R.A., Frazer-Nash, and Maserati all represented. It was a time of Ferrari domination, so Alberto Ascari won the pole and pulled away and led a dull procession of three Ferraris to the finish. Ascari repeated his performance in 1953. When racing returned it 1955, it was Mercedes-Benz and Fangio''s turn to dominate, with Stirling Moss second in qualifying and in the race.

After the two year layoff, the 1958 race was scheduled for Whit Monday on May 26. Mercedes was gone and the British teams were beginning their domination of racing. Stirling Moss won in of all things, a front-engined Vanwall. 1959 saw an early race duel between Belgian Jo Bonnier, in a front-engined B.R.M. and our own Masten Gregory in a rear-engined Cooper Climax. Gregory''s car developed transmission trouble and he had to slow down and finished third. In 1960, Lance Reventlow and Chuck Daigh were entered in the heavy, front-engined Scarabs, but these had to be withdrawn. More auspicious was the debut of Jim Clark in a Lotus, who challenged Graham Hill for fourth place before retiring with a bad transmission. By this time, Phil Hill was driving for Ferrari. Phil went out late with engine woes. Later that year, Hill was to capture his first win for Ferrari at Monza. For 1961, Hill, in the famous shark-nosed Ferrari and on his way to his World Championship, finished second at Zandvoort to teammate Wolfgang Von Trips by less than a second.

There followed nine years of British domination with Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Jochen Rindt, Graham Hill and Jack Brabham winning in various combinations of Lotus, Brabham, and Matra chassis and B.R.M., Climax, Repco and Ford engines--ugly, spindly, cars that sometimes had only half their sheet metal.

In the 1970 race, Piers Courage, an heir to the British brewing giant, Courage, crashed, turned over and burned. Courage did not survive. The vastly under-rated and largely forgotten Jackie Ickx returned Ferrari to victory in 1971 after a truly magnificent, prolonged duel in the rain with Pedro Rodriguez. Unlike most road races today, these two passed and re-passed each other several times on the race track.

Jackie Stewart was then head of the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA). Among other safety considerations, this group campaigned for circuit improvements. One of their tenets was the installation of Armco barriers. Armco barriers were erected at tracks around the world, including Watkins Glen where they are now very much detested by NASCAR drivers. 1971 winner Jackie Ickx was very much at odds with Stewart and his safety movement. Ickx went so far as to resign from the GPDA in 1970. After missing 1972 because the track was deemed unsafe, racing returned to Zandvoort in 1973 after a million dollars worth of improvements were made. On lap eight, Roger Williamson had the misfortune of testing one of the new Armco barriers. It partially collapsed and acted as a launcher, sending Williamson''s car into the air. It landed on the track, upside down and in flames. In a scenario eerily reminiscent of Indy 1955, David Purley, Williamson''s close friend, stopped his car and vainly tried to free the trapped Williamson while track marshals looked on, offering no assistance. When the fire truck finally arrived, it was too late. Ronnie Peterson led from the start until a gearbox broke six laps from the finish, allowing Jackie Stewart to pass for the win.

1974 saw Ferrari return to glory with Niki Lauda leading Clay Regazzoni to a one-two sweep. In 1975 James Hunt and the Hesketh team won their first race by first outsmarting the field on a wet-to-dry tire change and then capably holding off Lauda''s more powerful Ferrari in the closing laps. Coming in eighth was Mark Donohue in a Penske-Ford. In 1976, Hunt, now driving for McLaren and on his way to the World Championship, won again, this time beating Regazzoni and Mario Andretti, who was driving a Lotus. Two Penske entries went out with gearbox and drive-shaft trouble. Mario Andretti started on the pole in 1977 but was passed on the start by James Hunt. Andretti, used to passing wherever he could, then had the gall to try to pass Hunt on the outside going into the Tarzan corner. Hunt wound up in the grass and Andretti lost a few places. Andretti recovered and soon was trying the same outside passing maneuver on Niki Lauda. However, before he could make the pass, Andretti''s Lotus engine went sour and Lauda took the win.

1978 was Mario''s World Championship year and he included the Dutch Grand Prix in his year''s list of five wins. Unlike the battles of previous years, no one could touch Mario. Australia''s Alan Jones won in 1979, completing a hat-trick that had started at Hockenheim and continued at the Osterreicchring. Jones, despite a balky transmission, had dueled with Gilles Villeneuve, until Jones forced Villeneuve into putting a wheel wrong and spinning out of the lead. Villeneuve blew a tire a lap later and retired for good. 1980 was Jones'' Championship year, but it was Jones'' turn to put a wheel wrong early in the Zandvoort race. Nelson Piquet won after a hard-fought race that saw him passing Frenchmen Rene Arnoux and Jean-Pierre Jabouille.

Piquet won the Championship the following year, but it was Alain Prost, in a turbocharged Renault, who won at Zandvoort after a thrilling early race duel with Alan Jones. Jones wore out his tires and faded to third. Ferrari was back in the winner''s circle in 1982 as Didier Pironi, less than two months after the tragic death of teammate Villeneuve at Zolder, Belgium and a month away from suffering catastrophic injuries himself at Hockenheim, beat Nelson Piquet.

Rene Arnoux and Patrick Tambay led a Ferrari one-two in 1983. That feat was duplicated by Alain Prost and Niki Lauda in 1984 in McLaren-Porsches. Coming in third, while still winless in his Grand Prix career was Nigel Mansell in a Lotus Renault. Prost and Lauda would reverse their Zandvoort finishing positions in the Championship standings. The Zandvoort win was one of five that year for Lauda who had now come back to racing a second time (the first time from life-threatening injuries and the second time from retirement) and won his third World Championship. Prost had six victories in his column, but Lauda beat him on points--barely--72 to 71 and one half. For the Zandvoort finale a year later, Prost and Lauda would reverse things, with Lauda superbly winning the race, but Prost taking the Championship. Like the Zandvoort track, it was Lauda''s last year as a driver.
The respected British writer, Nigel Roebuck, called Zandvoort ''the greatest circuit for racing that F1 has ever known''. Despite this attribute, Zandvoort disappeared from the Formula One calendar in 1986 and has never returned. It was lacking in the things that really mattered, like suites and adequate facilities for the corporate elite. Never mind that just about everyone considered it a great circuit for racing. We must never let sport interfere with making money, must we? While there''s no Formula One race, there''s a major casino. Maybe there''s some hope, however, that Zandvoort would be re-instated instead of F1 going to another chicane-filled atrocity. Our 1994 Michelin Guide to the Netherlands treated the Dutch Grand Prix as if it were still an active race. Maybe Michelin knows something the rest of us don''t. Their guidebooks are highly respected. Or, maybe that''s just how French gets translated into English; we remember that another Michelin Guide had mentioned that ''several spectators'' had been killed in the 1955 LeMans tragedy.