So, I wonder what this will leave us with? Can they do a race in Vegas, or Laguna?

I'm honestly saddned and can't help but feel that the Michelin debacle had a hand in the declining attendance.

Okay boys, party at Nola's pad!

E

 

I hope Vegas.....my wife already said "if F1 goes to Vegas, we're going"

 

all i know, it better be somewhere out west

 

Las Vegas would be pretty cool. I wish it would come down here to Miami, but unfortunately we don't have a track set up for F1.

 

They should probably hold it in Las Vegas or LA. LA did host several USGP races in the past, and frankly the primary popularity of F1 lies in both coasts. I frankly wouldn't take the trouble to fly to Indy just to watch one race, but then again, I live in California.

 

So I take that there is a definitive decision from FIA/Ecclestone that the USGP @ Indy is no more. Sad, sad.

Well, part of it is the unfortunate fact that there seems to be so little interest in the nation of Nascar and truck races and Indy cars, which many think are comparable to f1 cars (!!)

Used to be in the old daze when we had Watkins Glen, Long Beach and at least one more somewhere..........ahhh.

We'll just have to see what happens........does Speed Channel drop coverage for the US markets next year and we're really, seriously screwed then??!!!

 

I don't think Speed would drop coverage. In fact, I think the F1 portion of the board is the most popular part of the board at Speed Forums.

I did appreciate that Speed TOTALLY stepped up and had expanded coverage for the USGP. i watched every minute of it.

I think for 08 we are screwed spare the Montreal GP.

E

 

I'm very glad that it will not be at indy anymore... i'm really hoping its at Laguna Seca.... right in my back yard... ahhh i'm wishing on that one ! I'll keep my fingers crossed !


Hmm other then that, i dont think their should be a USGP if its not at laguna. I don't think the US deserves one IMO...just listen to the comments said when its broadcast on CBS... they make it sound like we never heard of F1...

btw, Ferrari 1-2 in Germany

p.s. Nola i might be heading to Europe for 2-3 weeks in sept, soo i may see you at Monza or Spa... i'm going to both if i go ! ooo and if you want to join me, i'll be hitting the tracks over there !

 

So, you see no value in having two races back to back (Montreal and Indy) just 747 miles apart? Really, you people on the fault lines really see the world through some specially colored glasses...

As much as I love Laguna Seca (it's an excellent driver's rhythmn circuit in F1-Challenge PC game), there is no way it is equipped in terms of FIA safety standards to host a GP. The runnoff areas simply are not there. And I've said before you will not see a race in Las Vegas, and I'll stand by my remarks.

In fact, there are no current tracks in the US featuring the modern designs of the newer venues in Malaysia, Turkey and Bahrain. It will take $100 Million to design and build a completely new track in a major market to attract F1 back to the US. That's not gonna happen. Meantime, F1 is done in the US... put a fork in it. Speed will continue to cover F1 without a US GP as they did for decades before the Indy era.

Ecclestone is simply pricing some of the tracks out of the game so he can prune the season to 16 races at the newer venues (China), and restore Imola, and others. It's really a shame that FIA is driving traditional tracks into economic oblivion. No more France at Magny, Silverstone is blackmailed every year, Australia is annually on the chopping block, etc. And without a brace of races in NA to make it financially worthwhile, Indy's loss will put pressure on Montreal, one more time.

Sad to say it's no longer a sport of tradition, but of money...

 

 

GONe??? Don't we have another one in Montreal???

 

Doesn't Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham (AL) meet FIA standards?

http://www.barbermotorsports.com/

<snip>

"The track hugs the area’s hilly terrain in a natural way, and the course has a scintillating combination of tricky turns and exhilarating elevation changes. The track meets current FIA and FIM racing standards and includes generous runoff areas, gravel traps, a trackside medical center, and a helicopter pad. Spectator areas are mostly situated uphill, so 75 percent of the track can be seen at any time."

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...ors-page7.html

 

As much as I'd love seeing a race here in my backyard (vegas), I can't see them closing down the strip for the time needed to host an f1 event. Downtown would be an option as they just hosted an event there, but it just wouldn't seem very F1-like. A modified track at the speedway may work best, but it wouldn't be the same as having it on the strip. Maybe it's a tradition thing with me or I have this thing about a race on the strip being the monaco of the united states.

 

Um, yea, all FIA approved tracks have gravel traps but F1 is going with paved run-offs where gravel pits used to exist, both at new tracks and retrofitted at several existing venues. Main track 50ft wide as well. I'm too lazy to check, but most US circuits (outside of Indy and the NASCAR ovals) only dream of 50ft wide tracks. Barber is a newer facility, and hosts bike and ALMS events, but another subtle nuance of F1 is that they sometimes don't like to compete on tracks where F1 times can be compared with other series.

They also seem to turn down their noses at tracks hosting Motorcycle events (whats AMA Superbike to the FIA?), feeling that bike events are best held at "OLD" F1 tracks. I don't support this view, just stating a pattern I have seen through the years.

 

Sweet! The Amstel and Jenever are on me...

I'm sad to see the USGP go. It is a spectacular track. Hopefully MotoGP will make it big there.

EG, It would be great if you swing over to A'dam...I can show around the local "entertainment" . If you're going to the races in Monza or Spa then great. If not, then just visiting the tracks is lame, unless you visit the Nurburgring. Ther you can arrange a driving workshop or at least take the race taxi around Nordschliefe.

 

Let's start an MBWorld $100 million fundraiser !!!! send $$$ to my PayPal !

ain't that the sad truth !


Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com

 

It has always been about money, glamour and the lifestyle. Go watch "Grand Prix" the movie and you'll see.

 

Sweet i sure will if this trip happens... i was actually on planning on actually driving on the tracks- not just going to look at them thats why i invited you. I would probably shot myself if i'm near such a track and i can't get myself in there and drive.. i want to visit quite a few tracks - i'm looking up information regarding track days so i can go in there and have some fun ! as time gets closer i'll be giving you more details

 

Hmmm... that would require a lot of planning to hit track days or something like that, besides getting cars to drive (driving from Spa to Monza is not practical). Again, at the Nordschliefe you run what you brung, but IDK what kind of requirements they have.

Here's some info on track days around Europe:

http://www.circuit-days.co.uk/index.php

And some specific Nordschliefe info:

http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/beginners.html

 

I watched Grand Prix on the big screen in original release and several times since.

The money, glamour and lifestyle you refer to was on the sidelines (among the landed gentry spectating), not really on the cars (no advertising/sponsorship) or invested in the tracks (safety concerns, unless you think a bale of hay qualifies), or the drivers... David Hobbs makes 500 times more money today on SPEED than he ever made as a driver.

 

Sure it wasn't the main topic in the movie, but I think that the glimpses about the lifestyle conveyed luxury beyond the "average" man, and for the time, was like royalty. Also, the power play that Ferrari pulls on Sarti seems similar to what Di Montezemolo is rumored to have pulled on Schumacher.

I'd say F1 started for the love of racing, but since the 60's or 70's (when a lot of those "traditions" we miss were set), it has been a lot about the money.

 

Is it just me, or did George not seem too worried about losing the US GP (MotoGP cushioning his financial interests)?

 

Many of the legendary European circuits do not have the most modern designs seen in Sepang, etc., so that is not really a fair comparison. And let's not even get started on Monaco. But it's fair to say that there are few, if any, U.S. circuits left which are equipped to host a F1 race in this era.


That is a shame. However and to be frank, if push comes to shove, F1 should have Monza, Hockenheim or Imola before Indy IMO.

Whether we should have Indy vs. a China GP, well see my last comments....

From a visitor/logistics perspective, Silverstone is almost an abomination. Took ~4 hours for people to leave if it rained. Let's add a grain of salt to the Silverstone nostalgia of some English/Anglophile drivers, team principals and journalists.

Between the two, I'd rather have Hockenheim than Silverstone. But I can understand why having a UK GP is important for the sport.

While we're on the subject, I don't know if we needed both Austria and Hungary. IMO both could go if that meant saving the traditional Italian (both), German (both), Belgian, French and Spanish circuits.

Canada GP has been around for long periods of time when there was no USGP and I bet will continue to be. The N. American market is very, very important for all the manufacturers (except a couple like Renault), so I doubt they'll be complaining too much about flying away to the sole remaining NA GP.

Sadly we're seeing that across the globe, across all sports.

Football (and I don't mean the NFL) is basically ruled by the European leagues. When was the last time one saw a full Brazil XI outside of a World Cup every four years? South America's showpiece event, the Copa America and its final, did not feature all the best Brazilian players

The same league teams, with their ever-lengthening European schedules, play a few exhibition games away each year. They play more in Asia than in NA. They go to where the fans are (or where more fans are).

The ever-increasing commercialization of sport has had many side-effects, from supposed player burnout and/or over-saturation in football and cricket, to the potential loss of some history & heritage in F1. Still, compared to the thugs (and worse) accommodated in the NFL and NBA and the 'roid ragers in the MLB, we are relatively better of.............

 

I think you've missed my point. Bernie has strong-armed many of the older European tracks into (passable) comparison with the newer track designs. Both Spa and Imola have been chopped from the calendar in recent years to make them comply with these demands. When Spa reappears this year (Imola next year) we will see if they are up to Sepang standards. I pray they will measure up.

Time was when many of the European tracks were given a pass on these issues, simply because they are part of F1 tradition, and rightly so, IMO. Silverstone, Monaco, Spa, Imola, Hockenheim, Monza, etc, remain among these... However, even tradition has not been enough to keep all of these from coming under fire lately. Suzuka, Japan is now gone, replaced with Fuji this year. Same reason. Time will tell if Suzuka ever returns.

The recent habit of thumbing noses at tradition to lop venues from the schedule until they upgrade their circuits is a drastic, new phenomenon you can expect to see more of. That is what I meant when I noted that money reigns supreme (over tradition) in F1 today.

 

I don't think any track, no matter how old or legendary, can be given an indefinite pass on modernization to team facilities, spectator amenities, etc. It's just a question of when.

Recent pressure on some European tracks has coincided with the globalization (or eastward expansion, or however one prefers to define it) of F1. Maybe that was one way to get it done. Track owners weren't going to spend the millions at the drop of a hat. Pressure was needed.

Silverstone is a great example of a dire facility that, thankfully, was pressured into modernizing itself to some extent.

That being said, I agree with you that Spa, Imola, Suzuka, Hockenheim, etc. should not be dropped (or threatened to be dropped) so callously. They deserve better than that.

Also, each instance is a little different and not the same "conform immediately or we'll replace you with a new Asian circuit on the calendar" theme. IIRC Spa's case had something to do with new Belgian or EU regulations, while Suzuka may have had something to do with Toyota pushing for Fuji (they apparently regard Suzuka as Honda's home circuit).