Starting as early as 1903, the hills outside of Stuttgart, Germany were used for racing. First it was bicycles, followed by motorcycles and eventually automobiles. As time progressed, the track that came to be known as “Solitude” evolved from a hillclimb course to a full FIA-sanctioned road course. Between 1953 and 1965, Solitude hosted a wide variety of international-caliber events including races for sports cars, Formula Juniors, Formula Two and even Formula One. However, in 1965 governmental bureaucrats, fearing the use of public roads for motorsport and the liability that came with it, put a halt to racing at Solitude and with it brought an end to a fascinating 60-year period in German and international motorsport.
When we stumbled across this month’s Web site, devoted to the history of Solitude, all we could say was, “Wow!” This site is one of the most thorough sites devoted to a lost racing venue that we have ever seen. In addition to covering the entire history and development of the course, in movies, text and photographs, this site also contains separate sections devoted to all the drivers, racecars and motorcycles that have competed or won at Solitude. Additionally, there are no less than seven Flash movie presentations on the history of the course, as well as a very extensive photo gallery and even an 82-photograph “virtual lap” of the course as it looks today. Written in both German and English, this site is definitely one that you should take a look at:
