When people think about historic circuits in Germany, names such as the Nurburgring, Hockenheimring or the old AVUS usually come to mind, but Germany once had many smaller circuits when motorsport was far removed from international championships and factory backed teams, one of those forgotten places was the Motodrom Gelsenkirchen, also known as the Almaring.
The circuit is located Ückendorf district of Gelsenkirchen on the grounds of the former Alma coking plant, the circuit was a product of the Ruhr region’s strong working-class motorsport culture. It wasn’t built to host F1 or major international championships. Instead, it gave ordinary drivers a place to race, often in heavily modified cars that were prepared by their owners themselves.
For several years, the Motodrom became a lively local racing venue, attracting huge numbers of competitors and spectators. Normally, racing is in our veins; some people enjoyed watching, while others wanted to compete themselves. But by the early 1980s, the future of the circuit had become increasingly uncertain.
Motodrom Gelsenkirchen: A Racing Track Born in the Ruhr
The story of the Motodrom Gelsenkirchen circuit is closely connected with the industrial character of the Ruhr region, for generations, cities such as Gelsenkirchen were shaped by coal mines, factories and coking plans, and motorsport developed alongside that industrial culture, and there was a strong appetite for inexpensive forms of racing that ordinary people could participate in.
The Motodrom was established in 1969 on the former Alma coking plant grounds; rather than creating a large permanent racing complex, the organizers developed a compact circuit that could accommodate several forms of short-track competition.
The Almaring was a short 750-meter layout combining characteristics of a road course and an oval. It featured five corners, meaning the action was fast and continuous, with little time for drivers to relax. This wasn’t the kind of circuit where a driver could disappear into the distance for several minutes; instead, the races became extremely intense.
The Almaring Became a Grassroots Racing Hotspot
The organization behind the circuit was the Rheinländische Altwagen-Gemeinschaft, later renamed the Rheinländische Autorenn-Gemeinschaft, or RAG, under the leadership of president Anton Brenner, the organization helped establish the Motodrom as a regular destination for amateur racing.
Events were generally held twice a month, traditionally on the first and third Sunday, this regular schedule helped transform the circuit from a small local venue into one of the region’s most popular grassroots racing locations.
Its popularity also increased after the nearby Vestlandring in Recklinghausen closed, with one of the region’s other short-track venues gone, the Almaring became an even more important meeting place for drivers looking somewhere to compete.
The racing was organized around an Auto Speedway, or Altwagen-rennen format, these were short, fast heat races in which drivers battled around the compact circuit, sometimes completing a lap in less than 30 seconds, with such a short lap, there was almost no separation between the competitors, one mistake could immediately put a driver into traffic, while a successful move could change several positions in only a few seconds.
A Circuit Built for Ordinary Drivers
What made the circuit interesting was the type of people who raced there, this waws grassroots motorsport in its purest form.
The majority of competitors came from the surrounding Ruhr area, many of them working-class enthusiasts who built and prepared their own cars, the paddock wasn’t dominated by professional teams with large transporters and dozens of mechanics, and the drivers also often worked on their own cars and repaired them between races.
Almaring gave people with limited budgets an opportunity to race, you didn’t necessarily need a famous name, a major sponsor or an expensive factory-built racing car, you needed a car, prepare it, and courage to take it onto a very short and unforgiving circuit. There were a lot of competitors, at some events, around 150 to 200 competitors could reportedly turn up for a race day.
Most competitors were German amateurs from the Ruhr area and surrounding regions, but drivers from neighboring countries also made the journey, around 30 to 50 competitors from abroad could reportedly travel to the circuit on some weekends, from Netherlands or Belgium.
From NSU and Opel to BMW and Porsche
There were several different models competing in separate racing classes, and modified European production cars were particularly common. The NSU was one of the recognizable machines associated with the circuit, while Opel Kadetts, BMW 2002s and Volkswagen Polos could also be found competing. Some cars remained relatively close to their road-going origins, while others were transformed into purpose-built racing machines.
There were also more exotic machines, a Porsche 914/6 could appear among the field, giving spectators the chance to see a very different type of car fighting on the same compact piece of asphalt as more ordinary car.
It hosted also categories involving hot rods, minirods, midget cars and winged sprint cars.
Racing Was Close, Loud and Sometimes Rough
The small dimensions of the Almaring naturally produced close racing, with only 750 meters to a lap, there was little opportunity to escape from the cars around you, competitors were constantly catching, defending and attempting to pass.
The racing was fast and physical, particularly in the stock-car-style categories, for spectators, that was part of the attraction. Almaring wasn’t designed to provide a polished, a real motorsport experience, it was loud, busy and accessible, with the paddock and racing action forming part of the same grassroots environment.
The cars were prepared by enthusiasts, the races were frequent, and the spectators were close to the action.
Why Did the Motodrom Gelsenkirchen Close?
📷 Image by NatiSythen, CC BY-SA 3.0
The very characteristics that made the Motodrom popular eventually contributed to its downfall, by the early 1980s, the relationship between the circuit and its surroundings had become increasingly difficult.
The major problem was noise, the races were held regularly and involved highly modified cars, short-track machinery and loud engines, with the circuit located to residential areas in Uckendorf, the noise became controversial issue, local opposition grew stronger, and residents complained about the sound produced by the events.
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The Final Race Came in 1984
📷 Image by Spantax, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Motodrom Gelsenkirchen held its final race in 1984, after that, the sound of racing engines disappeared from the former Alma site.
Unlike many famous circuits that were demolished and replaced by new development, the Almaring was largely left behind. The old racing surface gradually became part of the surrounding landscape. Vegetation spread across areas of the former circuit, while sections of asphalt and old barriers remained as reminders of what had once been there.
Over time, the place became another lost motorsport location, for people walking through the area today, it can be difficult to imagine that the same ground once hosted hundreds of amateur competitors and crowds of spectators.
A Forgotten Chapter of German Motorsport
The story of the Motodrom Gelsenkirchen is interesting precisely because it was never a major international circuit, there were no F1 grand stands, it didn’t become famous for world championship victories or legendary professional drivers.
Instead, its importance came from the people who used it, the Almaring represented a period when motorsport could be much closer to ordinary life. A mechanic worker, factory workers or enthusiast from the Ruhr region could build a car, prepare it in his spare time and take it racing on Sunday.
The cars didn’t need to be perfect, the teams didn’t need enormous budgets, and the drivers didn’t need to become famous, they simply needed a place where they could race, for several years, the Motordrom Gelsenkirchen provided exactly that!
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FEATURED IMAGE CREDITS: Image by Spantax, CC BY-SA 3.0
OUR SERIES: More Circuits From the Past
Part 1: The Legendary Tracks That Time Erased
Part 2: When Formula 1 Took Over the Streets
Part 3: Dangerous Legends – The Risky Circuits of F1 History
Part 4: When F1 Left Them Behind: Some Circuits of the 1970s
Part 5: Forgotten F1 Circuits of the Turbo Era
