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Hermann Tilke
Hermann Tilke (2009).jpg
Tilke in 2009
Born
Hermann Tilke

(1954-12-31) 31 December 1954 (age 69)
Olpe, Germany
Occupation
  • Engineer
  • racing driver
  • circuit designer
Children 1

Hermann Tilke (born 31 December 1954) is a German engineer, racing driver and circuit designer, who has designed numerous Formula One motor racing circuits.

Racing

During the 1980s, Tilke competed in touring car racing, mainly on the old Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit. He also competed in VLN endurance racing and the 24 Hours Nürburgring. He and Dirk Adorf won some VLN races with a V8Star Series in 2003 and 2004.

Civil engineering

After completing his civil engineering degree with specialization in transport and traffic management at Fachhochschule Aachen, Tilke established Tilke Engineering in 1984, combining skills in architecture, civil engineering and electronic engineering to provide complete solutions for motor racing and waste disposal projects.

Formula One

Tilke is one of four designers recognised by the FIA but has, with the exception of the Silverstone redesign in 2010, been the only one to be commissioned to design Formula One tracks. One of his first minor tasks was to design and build a short access road at the Nürburgring, earned due to contacts made by his racing efforts there. His first major job was the transformation of the fast Österreichring to the much shorter A1-Ring in Austria, in the 1990s.

Tilke was involved in the radical overhauls of European circuits, such as the Hockenheimring, Circuit de Catalunya and Nürburgring, as well as Fuji Speedway in Japan.

Tilke secured the contracts to design many high-profile new world circuits from scratch, mainly in Asia but also in eastern Europe. He designed Sepang International Circuit, Bahrain International Circuit, Shanghai International Circuit, Istanbul Park Racing Circuit, Valencia Street Circuit, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Yas Marina Circuit, Korea International Circuit and the Buddh International Circuit. Tilke also designed the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, where F1 made its return to the United States in 2012. Tilke's latest designs include Sochi Autodrom which hosted its first race in 2014 with the debut of Russia in F1, Kuwait Motor Town (Kuwait) which opened officially in 2019, and the Hanoi Street Circuit which was set for an inaugural race in April 2020 but got cancelled due to COVID-19.

Tilke has designed every track with several other engineers from Tilke Engineering, as well as F1's former commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone. After viewing the track site and "once factors such as topography, wind direction, infrastructure and soil quality are known" the design work can begin. Tilke focuses on "conceiving dramatic architecture that reflects the host country, like Sepang's lotus-leaf grandstands in Malaysia", while also aiming for spectator comfort and clear viewing. He "build[s] corners that promise a fast and interesting race but avoid pulling the field apart".

List of circuits

Tilke has secured contracts to design many new circuits.

Key
Highlighting
Colour Meaning
Blue Circuit was not developed
Pink Circuit renovated
Grey Circuit abandoned
Year Circuit Location
1996 Austria A1 Ring Spielberg, Styria, Austria
1999 Malaysia Sepang International Circuit Sepang District, Selangor, Malaysia
2001 Germany Sachsenring Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Saxony, Germany
2002 Germany Nürburgring Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Germany Hockenheimring Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
2004 Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit Sakhir, Southern Governorate, Bahrain
China Shanghai International Circuit Jiading District, Shanghai, China
2005 Japan Fuji Speedway Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Turkey Istanbul Park Tuzla, Istanbul, Marmara Region, Turkey
2006 Mexico Cancún Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
China Jingkai Street Circuit Yizhuang, Beijing, China
2007 Spain Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Montmeló, Catalonia, Spain
Romania Bucharest Ring Bucharest, Romania
United States Colorado Motorsports Country Club Circuit Colorado, United States
2008 Singapore Marina Bay Street Circuit Marina Bay, Singapore
Latvia Kandavas Kartodroms Kandava, Latvia
Spain Valencia Street Circuit Valencia, Spain
2009 Indonesia Lippo Village International Formula Circuit Lippo Karawaci, Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Spain Ciudad del Motor de Aragón Alcañiz, Aragon, Spain
2010 Republic of Ireland Dublin Street Circuit Dublin, Ireland
South Korea Korea International Circuit Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, Honam, South Korea
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Motorcity Kazakhstan
United States Atlanta Motorsports Park Dawson County, Georgia, United States
Norway Oslofjord Panoramic Racepark Oslofjord, Oslo, Eastern Norway, Norway
2011 Norway Rudskogen Motorpark Rakkestad, Østfold, Norway
India Buddh International Circuit Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
2012 Russia Moscow Raceway Volokolamsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia
United States Circuit of the Americas Austin, Texas, United States
Russia Sibirian Ring Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia
2013 United States Port Imperial Street Circuit New Jersey, United States
Chile Autodromo y Centro Cultural Motorpark Chile
Germany Bilster Berg Bad Driburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
2014 Russia Sochi Autodrom Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia
Croatia Osijek - Tvrđa Osijek and Tvrđa, Croatia
Croatia Bistra - Zagreb Bistra and Zagreb, Croatia
Thailand Chang International Circuit Buriram, Thailand
2015 Germany Mercedes-Benz Arena Temporary Track Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Mexico Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Mexico City, Mexico
2016 Canada Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit Duncan, British Columbia, Canada
Morocco Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan Marrakech, Marrakesh-Safi, Morocco
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit Azadliq Square, Baku, Azerbaijan
2017 Indonesia Jakabaring International Circuit Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia
Indonesia Sentul International Circuit Bogor, West Java, Indonesia
2018 Philippines Pradera Verde Racing Circuit Lubao, Pampanga, Central Luzon, Philippines
China V1 Auto World Tianjin Tianjin, China
2019 Kuwait Kuwait Motor Town Ali Sabah Al Salem, Ahmadi Governorate, Kuwait
Russia Igora Drive Priozersk, Leningrad Oblast, Russia
2020 Vietnam Hanoi Street Circuit Nam Từ Liêm, Hanoi, Vietnam
Indonesia Jakarta Monument Street Circuit Jakarta, Indonesia
2021 Saudi Arabia Jeddah Corniche Circuit Jeddah Corniche, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2023 Kazakhstan Sokol International Racetrack Sokol, Almaty, Kazakhstan
United States Las Vegas Strip Circuit Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Hermann Tilke para niños

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