One last Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort: A sad farewell to iconic corners

Formula 1 returned to Zandvoort in 2021, following a 36-year hiatus for the premier class at the circuit, which is beautifully nestled amongst the North Sea dunes. Now it’s all over again; the Dutch were unwilling to go beyond 2026 – just like Barcelona and Spa-Francorchamps – to switch to a rotation system, meaning the race could only be held every two years.

We are on the eve of the Grand Prix weekend in Zandvoort, and the name of the place alone describes where we are: the name Zandvoort is more than 900 years old and derives from the location of the settlement where fishermen first practised their trade.

The site lay slightly lower than the surrounding area, which provided natural shelter from the weather. Such a ford in the sand was called ‘sandevoerde’, from which the name Zandvoort was derived.

The Zandvoort circuit opened in 1948, but let’s be honest: would you have known the story behind corner names such as Hunserug or Scheivlak? We’ve done a bit of research.

The corner names on this traditional Dutch circuit are a mix of tributes to manufacturers and people. Corners such as Renaultbocht (8) or Audi S-Bocht (10) are self-explanatory. We’d rather focus on the classic names.

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Schwarz die heutige Pistenführung von Zandvoort, grau die frühere

Foto: Visit Zandvoort

Tarzan (1) – Where this right-hand bend now lies after the start/finish straight, there used to be Maarten Zwemmer’s potato field. He looked rather wild, so his friends called him Tarzan.

Gerlach (2) – Named after the sports car driver Dr Willem Gerlach, who was killed in an accident here in 1957.

Hugenholtz (3) – This bend, which is now heavily banked, was originally called the ‘Hairpin’. When circuit director Hans Hugenholtz retired in 1973, the bend was named after him. Hugenholtz not only managed Zandvoort, but also designed several famous race circuits, such as Suzuka, Zolder, Jarama and the Motodrom at Hockenheim! Hugenholtz died in 1995 in the Bentveld district of Zandvoort.

Hunserug-Knick – Literally: ‘Hunse’s Back’. The name goes back to Cas Hunse, a manager at the Royal Dutch Motorcycling Association, who once advised Zandvoort’s mayor, Henri van Alphen, on the construction of the circuit.

Slotemakerbocht (4) – The bend is named after Rob Slotemaker, who was not only a brilliant all-rounder (rally, sports cars, single-seaters), but also a pioneer who founded a racing drivers’ school back in 1954. Slotemaker lost his life at this bend in 1979, during a race for the Camaro Superstar Cup.

Scheivlak (6) – Simply means a boundary between two plots of land; literally: ‘field division’. The former Duke Quarles van Ufford drew the boundary here between the public dunes and his land.

Arie Luyendyk Bocht (13) – The bend at the entrance to the start-finish straight is named after the two-time Indy 500 winner. This is fitting, as the bend is even more banked than those at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.