The Most Dangerous Racing Roads in the World
Motorsports can be extremely exhilarating with the fast-paced action and the incredible skill often required to manoeuvre vehicles in the way they do – but there’s always the risk of danger when travelling at such fast speeds and so closely together.
Even on tracks deemed safe, drivers are never free from risk and this was shown all too clearly last year on the opening lap of the Bahrain GP in F1 when former Haas driver Roman Grosjean managed to narrowly escape as his car turned into a fireball. Some tracks have become so famous they’ve even become features in modern games.
The Isle of Man TT
One of the most prestigious motorcycle races in the world, but often regarded as one of the most dangerous races too – winding through tight village roads and open cliffsides, the riders can reach speeds of almost 200 miles-per-hour as they pass inches away from brick walls and telephone poles. Since 1911, the race has claimed 260 lives for just the competitors, and as the course remains open to the public throughout the race week without speed limits there are many fans that have left the island injured too.
Nürburgring Nordschilfe
One of the most famous racetracks in the world has hosted some of the premier motorsports in its time but is now most widely known as being a track open to the public – with 73 corners and spanning almost 13 miles, it is an extremely technical track even for those most experienced. The danger comes from the amateur public drivers – with an estimated 3-12 deaths per year, many traverse the track thinking they know the ins and outs only to be caught out by the steep embankments and tricky turns like the carousel, whilst a fun day out for many, some things certainly should be left to the professionals.
Indy Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway
An oval track banked at between 18 and 31 degrees depending where you are on the track and over 40 cars all travelling at high speeds? Sounds like a recipe for disaster. There are always the famous images of the cascading effect of one car spinning at over 160mph and catching multiple cars as it does so, and this is part of the danger for the tracks – if one car goes off, it’s more than likely going to catch many others before it comes to a standstill, and with the cars and shells being made so lightweight, there can often be little to protect the drivers or fans too.
These are just a few of the many, there are a huge number of honourable mentions that certainly could’ve made this list with the likes of Le Mans, Spa-Francorchamps, and many others – it’s often easy in some regard to forget how dangerous motorsports can be, but from time to time the tracks do like to send a reminder.
Pic: https://www.nascar.com/gallery/2021-nascar-cup-series-schedule-in-photos/#photo-2