太空看地球10条伟大的赛道编辑本段回目录
从看台上或电视上看到的赛道几乎是一模一样的——不过是一条宽阔的柏油路，几辆赛车在上面你挣我抢。但是换一个角度，从太空鸟瞰时，我们可以欣赏到这些赛道的结构以及它们对赛手驾驶能力的极限要求。
Here are 10 of the best, as seen from space. We may have left out your favorite, but that’s where you come in. Tell us what you’d include and why it should be listed.
这里展示的是从太空中观看时，最棒的10条赛道。如果我们可能漏掉了你最喜欢的赛道欢迎通知我们，以及你觉得它应该上榜的理由。
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
1.印第安纳波利斯汽车赛道
Speedway, Indiana
美国印第安纳
Sure, it’s essentially four left turns. And it is home to the Indianapolis 500. But if you think that’s all it is, you are sadly mistaken.
总的来说，这条赛道有四个左转弯。它是印第安纳波利斯500英里比赛（ Indianapolis 500）的举办地点。但如果你认为知道这些就算了解了印第安纳波利斯汽车赛道，你是大错特错了。
It is the stage upon which some of racing’s greatest dramas have been played out. It is where triumph and tragedy transpire in milliseconds. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is rare in American motorsports, for it is history. Built in 1909 as a testing facility for auto manufacturers, The Brickyard has been the home to more historic races than possibly any other single track in the world.
在这条赛道上，曾经上演过最具戏剧性的几幕。有时胜负就在几毫秒之间。就它的历史来说，印第安纳波利斯赛道是美国赛车史上非常珍奇的一条赛道。它建造于1909年，当时作为汽车制造商的测试设施，这个"砖场"（赛道最初是以超过300万块砖头所砌成，因此被称作"砖场"）上举办过的重要赛事比世界上其他任何一条赛道都要多。
That’s the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course on the right, with 14 holes adjacent to the backstretch and four inside the “oval.”
赛道的右边是“砖场克洛斯高尔夫球场”（Brickyard Crossing Golf Course ），有14个球洞毗邻赛道，另有4个球洞在“椭圆”形的正中央。
Image: GeoEye
图片来源：GeoEye
Nurburgring
2.纽博格林赛道
Nurburg, Germany
德国尼尔堡
At more than 17 miles long with 170 corners, this track didn’t cause Sir Jackie Stewart to dub it “The Green Hell” for nothing. It was long considered the single toughest purpose-built racetrack in the world. The greatest drivers in history, including Juan Manuel Fangio, Tazio Nuvolari and Bernd Rosemeyer, fought and won here. A victory at The Nurburgring puts you in the pantheon of greats, and a lap time here remains the benchmark by which performance cars are measured.
总长超过27.35公里，有170个弯道，这条赛道被杰基·斯图尔特爵士（Sir Jackie Stewart，英国车手，曾是三届F1世界冠军）称作“绿色地狱”不是没有原因的。这是长期以来公认最难的一条专业赛道。历史上最伟大的车手，包括胡安·曼纽尔·范吉奥（Juan Manuel Fangio），塔基奥·努瓦拉里（Tazio Nuvolari）和伯恩德·罗森迈尔(Bernd Rosemeyer)，都曾在这里夺冠。在纽博格林的一场胜利足以让你荣登赛车“万神殿”，一直以来，汽车制造商们将在这条赛道跑完一圈所需的时间作为汽车测试的基准。
The ‘Ring was built in 1927 as a local government project. It featured four configurations and was home to arguably the two greatest races in history: Fangio’s victory in the 1955 German Grand Prix and Tazio Nuvolari’s GP win in 1935. The track has been modified and reconfigured over the years, but it remains one of the most storied places in motorsports.
在条环道建于1927年，作为地方政府的一个项目。纽博格林赛道拥有四种不同的路线配置，并且是历史上两场最重要的比赛的举办地：1955年德国大奖赛范吉奥和1935年大奖赛塔齐奥·诺瓦拉利的夺冠。这条赛道这几年来几经修改，及重新规划路线配置，但它仍然是赛车运动历史上最著名的赛道之一。
Image: Google/Digital Globe
图片来源：谷歌/数字地球
Circuit de Monaco
3.摩纳哥赛道
Monaco
摩纳哥
In 1929, racing cars through the streets of the principality only seemed ludicrous. Today it actually is ludicrous. One-time Formula 1 champion Nelson Piquet once said racing in Monaco is like flying a helicopter in your living room. He wasn’t exaggerating. The principality’s first Grand Prix was organized in 1929 by local businessman Anthony Noghès, and former winners read like a who’s who of racing: Schumacher, Senna, Prost, Hill, Moss … the list goes on for days.
1929年，在摩纳哥公国街道上赛车显得有些滑稽。今天，它的的确确是很滑稽。一届的F1赛车冠军尼尔森·皮奎特（Nelson Piquet）就曾说过，在摩纳哥驾驶赛车就像是在客厅里开飞机。他这么说一点也不夸张。摩纳哥的第一个大奖赛由当地商人安东尼·诺盖斯（Anthony Noghès）于1929年举办，之后各届的冠军名字读出来就是一本赛车名人录：舒马赫，塞纳，普罗斯特，希尔，莫斯……念完恐怕要花上几天。
Setting up the track takes six weeks; tearing it down requires another three. It includes the slowest turn in all of F1, the hairpin at Grand Hotel, where cars slow to 40 mph, and one of the fastest, a flat-out sweeper through a tunnel taken at 160 mph. It’s a difficult circuit that rewards skill over horsepower, and to win at Monaco is a highlight of any driver’s career.
配置赛道需要6个星期；清理它又需要3个星期。它拥有F1中最慢的一个转弯，大宾馆处的发夹弯，车速慢到64公里时速，以及时速最快的一个转弯，在 一个隧道处的时速达到257公里。这是艰难的一条赛道，需要车手有卓越的技能，能赢得摩纳哥站的比赛是所有车手职业生涯的亮点。
Here’s the actual F1 course, outlined in yellow and purple:
下面图中用黄色和紫色标出了F1赛车中实际的路线：
Images: 1) GeoEye. 2) Will Pittenger.
图片来源：1）GeoEye。2） 维尔·皮滕杰（Will Pittenger）
Eldora Speedway
4.埃尔多拉赛道
Rossburg, Ohio
美国俄亥俄州，罗斯堡
Eldora harks back to a time when dirt-track racing was the way a young race car driver in North America made his or her name. If they survived. Tracks like this half-mile clay oval were nicknamed bullrings, not because of their shape but because they were responsible for more shattered bodies than the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas. Built in 1954, the Big E hosts the King’s Royal, the Dirt Late Model Dream and the World 100, among other events.
埃尔多拉赛道唤起了一个时代的记忆，一个北美年轻赛车手们在砂土赛道上成名的时代。前提是他们能活着完成比赛。像这样长800米的椭圆形赛道被称为“斗牛场”，不是因为它的形状，而是因为在这里丧生的选手比西班牙的凡塔斯头牛场还要多。建于1954年的埃尔多拉赛道上举办了皇家赛车（the King’s Royal），砂土越野梦幻赛（the Dirt Late Model Dream）与世界100车赛（world 100）等。
Image: Google/State of Ohio/OSIP
图片来源：谷歌/美国俄亥俄州立/约瑟夫
Circuit de Spa Francorchamps
5.斯帕赛道
Francorchamps, Belgium
比利时，斯帕
Spa is wide open, hilly and bedeviled by treacherous weather conditions. That alone would make this track, built in 1920, among the most challenging on the planet.
斯帕是一条位于山区的开放式赛道，天气情况也变化莫测。仅仅这点就让这条建于1920年的赛道，获得地球上最具挑战性的赛道的称号。
Ah, but then there is Eau Rouge, a set of corners that almost literally tries to tie cars in knots. Drivers go into the turn downhill and to the left before, moments later, turning it around to go uphill and to the right, often at insane velocities. Get it wrong, and it will be more than just your car in a knot. Get it right and revel in your glory.
其中的Eau Rouge弯道包括了一系列转弯，路线之曲折，几乎可以打成结了。赛车先是经历一个下坡左转，过一会儿，又一个上坡右转，而且往往是在高速行驶途中。搞不好，最后打成结的不仅仅是赛车，你自己可能也需要绷带缠上几圈。能顺利通过，等待你的则是胜利和荣耀。
Image: Google/Aerodata International Surveys
图片来源：谷歌/国际空间资料
Philip Island Grand Prix Circuit
6.菲利普岛大奖赛赛道
Philip Island, Victoria, Australia
澳大利亚维多利亚，菲利普岛
The Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit may get Formula 1, but Philip Island gets MotoGP, which is just as badass. The first track was built in 1926, but the current track was built about mile-and-a-half away from the original. It’s had an on-again, off-again racing history, as maintenance and financing waxed and waned, but it remains Australia’s premier purpose-built track. A long high-speed straight, ridiculously fast turns and hair-raising elevation changes provide lots of excitement for riders and spectators like.
菲利普岛赛道在世界摩托车锦标赛中的地位，与F1赛车中的墨尔本赛道相当。第一条赛道建于1926年，但目前的赛道距原址约2.4公里。因为维修和资金问题，它经历了几次兴衰，但仍然是澳大利亚首屈一指的专用赛道。一条长长的高速直道，近乎不合理的快速转弯，惊心动魄的高度变化，让赛车手和观众的肾上腺素激增。
Image: Google/Digital Globe
图片来源：谷歌/数字地球
Bonneville Speedway
7.博讷维尔赛道
Great Salt Lake Desert, Utah
美国犹他州大盐湖沙漠
How fast can you go? Bonneville Speedway is the only place to answer this question. The salt flats are white as snow, hard as concrete and so vast you can see the curvature of the earth.
你能开多快？博讷维尔赛道是唯一能回答这个问题的地方。盐滩洁白如雪，而且十分坚固，广阔的一望无际，你甚至能看到远处弯曲的地平线。
First used as a race track in 1912, racing on the salt flats didn’t become truly popular until the 1930s when Ab Jenkins and Sir Malcolm Campbell competed to set land speed records. The probable high point of racing on the slat flats was in the 1960s, when Art Arfons and Craig Breedlove spent months one-upping each other for the record.
1912年首次将这里作为赛道，而直到20世纪30年代，阿勃·詹金斯(Ab Jenkins)和马尔科姆·坎贝尔爵士(Sir Malcolm Campbell )竞相在这里打破陆地速度纪录之后,在盐滩上的赛车才开始受到欢迎。20世纪60年代可以说是盐滩赛车的最高峰，彼时阿特·阿尔丰( Art Arfons)和克雷格·布里德拉夫(Craig Breedlove)花了几个月的时间互相打破彼此创下的记录。
Even now, the fastest of the fast prove their stuff at Bonneville.
即使是今天，人们要证明他们是“快中之快”时，还是将这里作为首选地。
Images: 1) Google/USDA Farm Service. 2) BLM. 3) NASA.
图片来源：1）谷歌/美国农业部农业服务。2）土地管理局。 3）美国航天局。
Daytona International Speedway
8.代托纳国际赛道
Daytona Beach, Florida
美国佛罗里达州，代托纳海滩
Daytona is more than a track. It is a temple to NASCAR, where 168,000 of the faithful congregate for the biggest race of the season. Yes, NASCAR does at times seem like little more than pro wrestling with fenders. But watching 43 “stock” cars — each weighing 3,500 pounds and putting out around 700 horsepower — trading paint on this tri-oval superspeedway is a sight to behold.
代托纳不仅仅是一条赛道。这里是纳斯卡赛车的圣殿，每年有16.8万名“信徒”聚在这里观看当赛季最大规模的比赛。激烈的纳斯卡赛车有时更像是职业摔跤。当43辆“纳斯卡”赛车——每个都重达1.5吨，大约700马力——一起出现在赛场上，场面极为壮观。
The 2.5-mile banked track, opened in 1959, is one of two on the NASCAR calendar that use restrictor plates to limit the cars’ top speeds. Some of the biggest names in stock car racing have won at Daytona, including Richard Petty, Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip, to name a few. Dale Earnhardt won here, and died here, too.
这条长4公里的倾斜赛道于1959年启用，是两个使用限位板限制赛车最高速度的纳斯卡车赛之一。有很多著名的纳斯卡车手在代托纳夺冠，包括理查德·佩蒂（Richard Petty），鲍比·阿利森（Bobby Allison）和达雷尔·沃尔特里普（Darrell Waltrip）。戴尔·恩哈特（Dale Earnhardt ）也曾在这里夺冠，也最终战死在这条赛道上。
The track can be configured for sports car and motorcycle racing, but the Daytona 500 remains the marquee event.
这条赛道可配置作为汽车和摩托车赛场，但代托纳500汽车赛仍是这里举行的最重大赛事。
Image: GeoEye
图片来源：GeoEye
Circuit de la Sarthe
9.法国勒芒赛道
Le Mans, France
法国勒芒
How far can you go in 24 hours? There’s only one place to truly answer that question: Circuit de la Sarthe in small rural town of Le Mans. The 24 Heures du Mans is the oldest endurance race in motorsports, and the place automakers go to prove their mettle.
24小时里你能跑多远？只有一个地方能够真正回答这个问题：法国乡村小镇勒芒的勒芒赛道。勒芒24小时耐力赛（The 24 Heures du Mans ）是赛车运动史上中最古老的耐力赛，也是汽车制造商证明自己实力的地方。
The race, first run in 1923, is run on public roads. The purpose of the race was to concentrate on sporty production cars, though these days many of the cars bear only a passing resemblance to their production counterparts. All of the major manufacturers have raced at Le Mans at some point, and the track has seen some of the great rivalries in motorsports, perhaps most famously the Ferrari-Ford rivalry.
1923年第一届勒芒24小时耐力赛在公路上进行。比赛意图将重心引到运动量产车上，尽管近年来参赛的车型与对应的量产版本只有很少的相似之处。几乎所有的汽车制造商都先后出现在勒芒的赛场上，该赛道也见证了赛车运动史上的“世纪之战”，其中最著名的也许是60年代的“法拉利-福特之战”。
of the 1960s.
Images: 1) Google/IGN-France. 2) Wikimedia Commons
图片来源：1）谷歌/ IGN法国。2）维基共享资源
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
10.拉斯维加斯赛道
Las Vegas
拉斯维加斯
It seems somehow fitting that a city so much larger than life would have a track to match. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is actually four tracks in one — the one-third mile Bullring paved oval, a half-mile Dirt Track clay oval, The Strip drag strip and the 1.5-mile Superspeedway tri-oval. You’ll find just about everything from NASCAR stock cars and NHRA drag racers to karts running somewhere at the speedway. And Vegas being Vegas, anyone with the dough can get behind the wheel of something insanely powerful and peel off a few laps.
对于拉斯维加斯这么一个大的有点不真实的城市来说，确实需要一条赛道和它相配。拉斯维加斯赛道，实际上是四条合在一起的赛道——500多米长的斗牛场椭圆形赛道 ，800多米长的椭圆形砂土赛道，拖车赛的拖车跑道和2.4公里的三椭圆形超级赛道。在拉斯维加斯赛道上，可以看到从纳斯卡赛车到NHRA拖车赛到卡丁车的各种车赛。拉斯维加斯就是拉斯维加斯，在这里，不管是谁，只要有钱，就可以让车轮飞转 。
Image: GeoEye
图片来源：GeoEye
