The Sachsenring is a circuit with a great sporting tradition: races in the streets near the city of Chemnitz began in 1920 and continued until 1990. In 1996 it was decided to build a permanent circuit about ten kilometers from the German city, which hosted its first Grand Prix in 1998. Since then, continuous improvements have been made to the facility, including a radical change in the layout of the track in 2001. Its curves, numerous and narrow, make this circuit one of the slowest on the calendar, but these same characteristics make the races at Sachsenring always very close.