Editing Circuit Zolder (section)

==History==
Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the [[Formula One]] [[Belgian Grand Prix]] on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the 1980 [[Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix]]. F1 moved to Zolder in 1973 and with the exception of a race at [[Nivelles-Baulers]] in 1974, Zolder was the location of the Belgian Grand Prix until 1982. That year, Canadian driver [[Gilles Villeneuve]] was killed during qualifying at the [[1982 Belgian Grand Prix]]. Villeneuve's [[Ferrari 126 C#126C2 (1982)|Ferrari 126C2]] collided at speed with the [[March 821]] of [[Jochen Mass]]. The Ferrari was torn up in the accident and when rolling, Villeneuve was thrown from the car.

After Villeneuve's death, the Belgian Grand Prix was held at [[Spa-Francorchamps]] in [[1983 Belgian Grand Prix|1983]], before returning to Zolder one final time in [[1984 Belgian Grand Prix|1984]]. Fittingly, [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] driver [[Michele Alboreto]] won the race carrying Villeneuve's #27 on his car. Since {{f1|1985}}, the Belgian Grand Prix has permanently moved to Spa.

Zolder has also been used for cycling events including the [[UCI Road World Championships]] twice in 1969 and 2002 and the [[UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships]] in 1970, [[2002 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships|2002]] and [[2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships|2016]]. The latter saw the first confirmed use of [[mechanical doping]] when [[Femke Van den Driessche]] was  found to have a secret motor inside her bike.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/pro-cyclist-caught-hidden-motor-bike-race-article-1.2516543|title=Cyclist Femke Van den Driessche caught with hidden motor inside bike during race|date=1 February 2016|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|first1=Nathaniel|last1=Vinton|access-date=29 February 2016}}</ref> Since 2009, Circuit Zolder has hosted a [[cyclo-cross]] race in December for the [[UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup|World Cup]]. The circuit hosted the [[UCI BMX World Championships]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.circuit-zolder.be/en/events/uci-bmx-world-championships-2015 |title=UCI BMX World Championships |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=Circuit Zolder |access-date=25 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923203734/http://www.circuit-zolder.be/en/events/uci-bmx-world-championships-2015 |archive-date=23 September 2015 }}</ref> In 2019 and for the first time ever the [[UCI BMX World Championships]] returned to Circuit Zolder.

In the beginning of 2006, the track underwent safety adaptations. In 2007, the track hosted a [[Champ Car World Series]] [[Zolder Grand Prix|Grand Prix]], and a round of the [[FIA GT|FIA GT Championship]]. The track was venue of a round of the [[World Series by Renault]] championship from 2003 to 2006, and replaced [[Circuit Park Zandvoort|Zandvoort]] as site for the [[Masters of Formula 3]] in 2007 and 2008. Zolder was featured on the car programme [[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]] in 2008. In the episode, the show's British hosts competed against their German counterparts from [[DMAX (TV channel)#Some programmes shown on DMAX|D MOTOR]]. Zolder hosted also the [[FIA WTCC Race of Belgium]] in 2010, 2011, and 2020. The last race they drove in 2011 was won by [[Robert Huff|Rob Huff]] in a Chevrolet and [[Gabriele Tarquini]] in a SEAT. The [[World Touring Car Championship|WTCC]] then disappeared from the Belgian circuits until in 2014 the circus returned to Spa.

At this time, mainly the [[Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe|Blancpain Sprint Series]] and the [[Belcar|BRCC]] national championship hosted a race in Zolder. The [[24 Hours of Zolder]] endurance event is also held as a stand-alone event around the end of August or the beginning of September. [[NASCAR Whelen Euro Series]] have hosted their final race of the season in Zolder since [[2015 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series|2015]].<ref>{{cite web|title=NASCAR Whelen Euro Series: What's New In 2015|url=https://www.whelen.com/motorsports/article?a=nascar-whelen-eurp-series-whats-new-in&date=2015-04-20%2014:18:03|website=whelen.com|publisher=[[Whelen Engineering Company|Whelen]]|date=20 April 2015|access-date=5 August 2019|archive-date=5 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805102410/https://www.whelen.com/motorsports/article%3Fa%3Dnascar-whelen-eurp-series-whats-new-in%26date%3D2015-04-20%252014:18:03|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2019, for the first time in 17 years, the [[Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters]] returned to Circuit Zolder.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.autosport.com/dtm/news/140978/dtm-abandons-nightrace-format-at-misano|title=DTM abandons night-race format at Misano round for 2019|last=Khorounzhiy|first=Valentin|work=autosport.com|publisher=[[Autosport]]|date=12 January 2019|access-date=5 August 2019}}</ref> But the circuit lost its place in the DTM calendar to Spa-Francorchamps in [[2022 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters|2022]].