Circuit Bremgarten
The Circuit Bremgarten was a motorsport race track in Bern, Switzerland, which formerly hosted the Swiss Grand Prix from 1933 to 1954 and the Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix in 1949 and from 1951 until 1954. Additional Bern Grands Prix were run for Voiturette, Formula Two and sportscars.
Bremgarten was built as a motorcycle racing track in 1931 in the Bremgartenwald in the north of Bern, well outside of the separate municipality Bremgarten bei Bern. The circuit itself had no true main straight, instead being a collection of high-speed corners. It hosted its first automobile race in 1934, which claimed the life of driver Hugh Hamilton. In 1948 it claimed the life of Italian racer Achille Varzi. From the outset, Bremgarten's tree-lined roads, often poor light conditions and changes in road surface made for what was acknowledged to be a very dangerous circuit, especially in the wet.
1955 ban
In reaction to the June 1955 Le Mans disaster, motor racing for position with passing and the risk of collisions like in Le Mans was banned in Switzerland, with the exception of hillclimbing and rallying which are time trial runs of single vehicles. The August 21 1955 Swiss Grand Prix was cancelled, thus Bremgarten has not hosted an official motorsport event since 1954.Although there were 1975 Swiss Grand Prix and 1982 Swiss Grand Prix, they took place in France, at Dijon-Prenois. On June 6, 2007 an amendment to lift the ban was passed by the lower house of the Swiss parliament, 97 in favour and 77 opposed. The legislation failed to pass the upper house, and was withdrawn in 2009 after being rejected twice.
For electric cars, the circuit racing ban was lifted, and Switzerland hosted its first motor race in 64 years when the 2018 Zurich ePrix was held as a round of the all-electric Formula E championship.
Motorcycle racing
The Grand Prix of Bern took place at Bremgarten from 1931 to 1937 and also in 1947 and 1948. In August 1931 the Bern Grand Prix took place and the Irish motorcyclist Stanley Woods won the 500cc event on a Norton. He won three more events here; 1932 350cc and 500cc races and 1933 500cc race also on a Norton. Jimmie Guthrie won the 350cc and 500cc races in 1937.The Bremgarten Circuit was one of the original rounds of the Grand Prix motorcycle World Championship during the inaugural season of 1949 and from 1951 to 1954. Famous riders who raced here included:, Freddie Frith and Geoff Duke. Italian racer Omobono Tenni was killed at Bremgarten during practice for the 1948 event.
Bern Grand Prix
Additional races were held as Grosser Preis von Bern, like the 1939 Bern Grand Prix and 1952 Bern Grand Prix.Traces
Most of the circuit is gone, built over, or was reduced to a bicycle track in the forest without consideration to conservation. Only the northwestern part, the right hand curves Eymatt and Tenni, and sections in the forest remain both paved and on the original layout.Lap records
At the Nürburgring, the lap record set in the 1930s by the Silver Arrows GP cars was not beaten until 1957, and in case of Bremgarten, never, as F1 in 1954 was still 5 seconds too slow, and Swiss racing was banned afterwards.The fastest official race lap records at the Circuit Bremgarten are listed as: