Valentino Rossi is fit again. Will he attract more than 250,000 motorbike racing fans this year?

Why is this the event of the year? What about the fireworks?

I love the firework festival! But you do not have to be a motorbike fan, yet you may easily notice something changes in the town every August. Streets are filled with people speaking foreign languages and the town literally doesn’t go to sleep for three or four nights.

Grand Prix of the Czech republics attracts more than a hundred thousands fans to Brno every year – record is 240,000 tickets sold. This is one of the few times you may see Brno on Eurosport – or, actually, on any TV station.

Hurray, I love racing. What should I do?

Visit the official webpage for the price of the tickets, detailed schedule of practices and races and advices on travelling to the venue. Also, read my older article about my favorite stand at the circuit.

I hate events like this. Will the MotoGP race affect my life?

Fear not. If you live downtown, you should prepare that Friday and Saturday night are going to be slightly wilder than usual. Also, it is better to avoid driving on D1 higway (Brno to Prague) on Saturday afternoon and evening.

Keep following our Facebook page for any actual news.

Will Valentino Rossi be OK after the hard crash several weeks ago?

Yes. Doctors allowed him to race in Brno. According to some rumors, he may even anounce leaving Yamaha for Ducati here.

A WTCC race (photo by rykerstribe)

Tickets cost CZK 350 (€15) or more; there is free entrance to Friday practise sessions.

The privately-owned racing venue is still facing financial problems and it is likely that there will be no WTCC race in 2011, so if you are a racing fan, don’t miss this opportunity.

No more World touring car championship in Brno (photo by rykerstribe)

This is probably the last season you can enjoy the races of Superbike World Championship, GT1 WC, FIA Grand Tourismo WTCC and several other prestigious series at the Brno racing circuit. The only world chapionship race to stay for 2011 is the most popular one – MotoGP.

The privately-owned track does not have enough money to pay for race fees. The town is donating the circuit with CZK 10,000,000 (€400,000) every year but according to the managers of the track, this is not enough.

I am not a big fan of state donations to commercial venues – however, the tracks attracts hundreds of thousand visitors every year to Brno. Restaurants, hotels, taxi drivers and other businesses make a great profit thanks to Automotodrom Brno, but the only subject that pays (almost) all the costs is the owner of the racing track. That is quite unfair.

Not hosting the prestigious races will affect the economy of the whole region, not talking about losing probably the greatest international promotion of the town. I hope someone in the town council is going to realise this, before it’s too late.

Superbike crash (by driver1998)

A popular series of superbike races heads to Brno. Circuit located in quarter Žebětín will host the 9th race of this season on the weekend of June 9-11.

You may show your support to Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa, Noriyuki Haga or many other popular racers.

Affordable tickets for adults, free entrance for kids

Tickets for the Saturday race cost only CZK 300 – and children up to the age of 14 (140 cm) will be admitted free if they are accompanied by an adult person. People older than 63 have a free entrance to some stands, too.

World Superbike Championship is popular for the friendly atmosphere at venues – you may use your ticket for all grandstands and get really close to the motorcycles.

The celebration of the 80th anniversary of Masaryk circuit went horribly wrong last weekend. Giorgio Bartocci had to be transported to the University hospital in a critical condition after a serious crash of his Lamborghini.

Since the black Saturday, news about Giorgio’s health have been slighlty positive. According to respected Twitter stream MotosportPrint, Giorgio Bartocci has a broken leg, broken ribs and 2nd degree burns to 40% of his body but is now off a respirator.

It was the first serious accident at Automotodrom Brno, considered to be a very safe track, in many years. The rescue operation brought to life some discussions about whether the track marshals were ready for such a big crash or not. Bartocci was trapped in the burning car for one minute and the first one who tried to get him out was an unprotected engineer who got his face burned. According to experts quoted by Czech Twitter stream F1sports, the firefighters did everything in the right way. It seems that racing can never be totally safe. [Updated: Respected blog Jalopnik described the response as even worse than the crash itself. This is not a good mark for the track marshals.]

Let’s hope that accident like this won’t happen any time soon and that Giorgio gets well.

Updated at 5 p.m., May 25

Mr Bartocci was transported to Italy today in stabilized condition. His family appreciated the medical care he received in Brno.

2008 FIA GT race (source: automotodrombrno.cz)

Prepare your earplugs – FIA Grand Tourismo race is taking place on the Automotodrom Brno at 2:15 p.m. on Sunday, May 23. The race is a part of the world championship.

You can show your support to prestigious car makers like Aston Martin, Corvette, Lamborghini, Ford, Maserati and Nissan.

There will be several former F1 drivers racing, including Tomáš Enge, Karl Wendlinger, Enrique Bernoldi, Mika Salo or Stéphane Sarrazin (the list of drivers is based on a Wikipedia article, so do not take it overseriously).

Tickets cost from CZK 150 to CZK 800.

80th anniversary of Masaryk circuit

First race at Masaryk cicruit, the dangerous ancestor of Automotodrom Brno, was held 20 years ago – there will be several concerts and other events in the venue during the weekend, so you may celebrate the tradition of racing in Brno.

Support races

(The timetable is still provisional.)

• Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo – Sat 1 p.m., Sun 10 a.m., Sun 3:45 p.m.
• FIA GT3 European Championship – Sat 2:15 p.m., Sun 12:15 a.m.
• Porsche Carrera Cup Italia – Sat 3:45 p.m., Sun 11:15 a.m.

The Grand Prix of the Czech republic takes place at a modern closed racing track “Automotodrom Brno” but from the 1930s to the 1980s racers risked their lives at streets of Brno’s quarters Bosonohy, Žebětín, Kohoutovice and Lískovec.

I found some nice YouTube videos showing the old track, full of long and quick straights and sharp curves, often bordered by trees or old houses.

By the way, you can ride it in your car or on a bike — just don’t race on it.

Czechoslovak newsreel about the 1957 Grand Prix

A short documentary about Jarno Saarinen’s race in 1972

Jazz, hot girls and communist policemen – racing used to be classy! Too bad Jarno Saarinen died in an accident some time later.

German TV spot about the 1982 race

Note that the track goes more through new ugly suburbs than through the old villages.

1949 layout in Grand Prix Legends

Virtual drive through the old layout, including Žebětín (around 2:00).

Grand Prix Legends lap with commentary

One more virtual lap, this time with a commentary and without Žebětín.

Map

If you are interested in the old track, enjoy this map with links to photos.

Parking lot next to the Moravian Archive in Lískovec is always empty

If you are travelling to Brno by car, just print this article and have it always in your vehicle.

Parking in the centre of Brno

The very centre of the town between (Masarykova st. and Česká st.) is closed for cars. You can leave your vehicle in several places around, but I recommend two: a roof of Vaňkovka shopping mall and a parking house at Moravské náměstí sq. They both have closed circuit TVs which makes the parking somehow secure.

Special tip: Parking at Vaňkovka is free during weekends.

(The only) park & ride solution

If you want to leave your car somewhere outside the inner town and travel there by public transportation, I recommend leaving your car at a large parking lot near the Moravian archive. It is not an ideal solution, as you have to take a walk to a bus stop at Netroufalky st. or a tram stop at Osová st., but it is free and the parking lot is located close to D1 highway.

Parking at the exhibition ground (or at Velodrome)

The streets around the exhibition ground get really crowded during big expos, so it’s a pretty good idea to use some of the parking houses around. You only have to prepare about CZK 100 for a day. The same works for concerts at Velodrome or at Riviéra venues, which are located in the same place as the exhibition ground.

Airport parking

If you fly from Brno and need to get to the airport by your own car, you can park it there for approx. CZK 200 per day (depends on the total time, see a machine-translated price list). Taking a taxi is way cheaper and you can also use a bus connecting the airport with main train station (the ride takes 20 minutes), so think twice about spending your money for parking.

Parking at Automotodrom Racing Circuit

There are huge parking lots around the racing circuit at Brno-Žebětín (Automotodrom or Masaryk Circuit), but during races of Superbike WC and MotoGP, it’s pretty hard to find a free place. Park your car in the centre and take a free bus from Mendlovo náměstí sq. or leave your car in a camp or in a nearby village and take a walk to the circuit.

Parking in suburbs: rent a garage if you can afford it

It’s complicated to find a parking place at late evening in most of suburbs. If you don’t want to walk 3 blocks from your car to your flat, rent a garage via a real estate agency for approx. CZK 1,500 a month.

How can the police punish you for wrong parking?

Especially constables, who should care more about citizens’ safety and lost dogs, are obsessed with punishing drivers for wrong parking, no matter how absurd the situation may be. I know people whose cars were towed away for standing 10 centimeters outside the very parking place etc. – these people swear that the police is financially connected with the tow-away companies.

Connected or not, just don’t give the cops reasons to harrass you. The fines go up to CZK 2,500 (€100).

Max Biaggi has been competing in the WSC since 2007 and has won 3 races. (source: Wikimedia Commons)

You can listen to the roaring motorcycle engines at the Masaryk Circuit from Friday July 24 to Sunday July 26 – there’s will be a race of World Superbike Championship (WSB) held at the Automotodrom Brno.

The cheapest tickets cost only CZK 350 (€13.50), so if you want to see a competition of Max Biaggi, Noriyuki Haga, Michel Fabrizio, Ben Spies and Jakub Smrž, you just have to spare one dinner in a restaurant.

A crowd of fans at MotoGP 2007, photo by "teliko82"

Stand C.

That’s because:

• It’s where the most enthusiastic fans with flags and horns usually meet.
• You can observe three nearby curves where many interesting things happen.
• It’s where winners stop and meet their fans or throw their gloves at them.
• The tickets for most events are much cheaper than tickets to the main stand, but not much more expensive than the tickets to stands with worse position or atmosphere.
• It’s a very large stand (approx. 500 m long) so you can take walks or change your position between races.

Map

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Virtual Circuit Tour

There is a nice virtual tour at the webpage of Automotodrom Brno; click the links in the bottom-left corner to see what would you see at all the stands.

Thanks to its 73.75 m elevation change, Automotodrom Brno (also known as Masaryk Circuit) is one of the most challenging tracks in Europe.

There’ll be also races of series “Porsche Cayman”, “FIA Formula Two”, “SEAT Eurocup”, “Formula Master” and “Abarth”. Check the complete timetable and information on transportation at the website of Automotodrom Brno (thumbs up for an expat-friendly site).

Tickets will be sold at the main entrance of Automotodrom Brno since Friday. Sunday entrance is €11, weekend tickets cost €15. There’s a free entrance on Friday.

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