Locals Clear Way for Hockenheim Facelift

A plan to give the Hockenheim motor racing track a major facelift looked set to go ahead on Monday after residents living near the German Grand Prix circuit said they backed a revamp.

Local residents groups voted overwhelmingly in favour of a plan to modernise the ageing track where British driver Jim Clark was killed in 1968, clearing the way for the company running Hockenheim to embark on a 95 million mark ($44.64 million) redevelopment.

"It's a big relief for us. We are proud that the local population is so clearly in favour of Hockenheim," Hartmut Tesseraux, spokesman for Hockenheimring GmbH said.

Hockenheim's contract to stage the German Grand Prix runs out after this year's event on July 29.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said the track needed to be brought into line with modern Grand Prix technology and safety requirements to secure its position as host.

The southwestern circuit has hardly changed since it first staged the German Grand Prix 31 years ago and Hockenheimring feared the track could lose the race to the Lausitzring, a brand new track 130 kms south of Berlin.

"I will get in touch with Bernie Ecclestone now and I hope that we can sign the promotion deal in February," Hockenheim mayor Gustav Schrank said.

Under the plan, the circuit will be shortened from 6.8 kms to four kms and its entire infrastructure will be refurbished and the number of seats will be increased. Work is expected to begin later in the year.

Baden-Wuerttemberg state premier Erwin Teufel promised Ecclestone around 30 million marks in grant-aid to help with the revamp late last year.

Ecclestone said he saw no reason why the contract to stage the Grand Prix could not be extended until 2008 if the redevelopment went ahead.

Security at the track came in for scrutiny after a Frenchman cut his way through a fence and crossed the track midway through last year's Grand Prix.