Why doesn't Bernie buy Silverstone?
Discussion
belleair302 said:
Bernie is actually not that wealthy, his wife owns all of the shares of the Bambino Trust along with his daughters. Turkey does not have the financial infrastructure f the UK so its easier to deal with circuit owners, and Silverstone is owned by the BRDC who don't want to lose their VIP Hospitality. Bernie also owns the circuit in Hungary and has a major stake in Spa. Brands cannot be developed due to council problems and a protected forest on the site of the track....Donnington is off the map due to pilitics between Wheatcroft and Bernie. Can you see the Labour Government ever doing business with Bernie after his '1 Million Pound Offer' back in 1997 when Tony B was new into office!!!
LOL - it's all in trust - doesn't mean that the money's not there...
The financial infrastructure has nothing to do with anything - Turkey's infrastructure is sophisticated - they're even going Basel II advanced from the off FFS (at least that's what they tell me...) The circuit/organising club were on the rails and as someone else says, BCE picks up a state of the art circuit for sod all - the issue there is whether the organising club continues to run it and pay BCE his fee - I think he offset his contracted fees against the purchase price and thus becomes promoter too.
I guess you mean the BRDC clubhouse - as we all know, Paddy McNally has tied up all hostility at every GP. But the BRDC says it is willing to sacrifice the GP in order to hold onto Silverstone.
It'd be some sliproad from the M25 to Brands - presumably they'd have to pave over Lullingtstone Villa for starters. Brands is too narrow, no room for run-off and residents object already to the noise. Palmer knows the GP is a millstone too...mind you, he'd never be able to micromanage that event like he does with everything else he does (so a bloke in the Rising Sun Faekham Green told me)
Wheatcroft has sold Donington to some guys with serious ambitions - but again, there are noise restrictions (laughable given the air traffic) and it makes good money from 'bike racing.
2priestsferrari said:
If BE offered the BRDC members a million each they'd sell...
I'm sure some of them would. Some of them were keen to sell last time for no-where near as much money. I'd sell quite a lot for a million quid!
It's a myth that all BRDC members are rolling in cash, drinking champagne every night and struggling to choose between which Aston or Rolls they drive each morning. Sure some of them are, but a lot more are not. On the whole they take the aim of the club very seriously.
I understand that there are those within the BRDC who are of the opinion that they would be better off without the GP. The debate is whether they would be able to keep the circuit up to scratch for a testing licence and how much other "trade" comes to them off the back of a GP.
Don't forget at the time of the Foulston/Octagon deal the BRDC chose not to bid against them as the sums of money and the deal involved were not viable. It only came back to Silverston as Octagon found themselves with a contract to run a GP and no circuit to run it on.
I'm not now entirely sure how much of a role the BRDC now have in the GP other than as Circuit Owner, I've lost track of what rights went where when Octagon/Interpublic disappeared over the hill into the sunset...
rubystone said:
It'd be some sliproad from the M25 to Brands - presumably they'd have to pave over Lullingtstone Villa for starters. Brands is too narrow, no room for run-off and residents object already to the noise. <etc>
Err... no it's right beside the M20 so it wpuld perfectly plausible. As we all know Brands has held grand-prix races so I don't believe it wpuld be too difficult to add in the necessary run-offs and as for the locals, well I'm sure the track was there before they were so if you buy a house by a race circuit don't complain. 
I love the place, especially if the GP circuit is in use, I wander round all day. Here's my back of a postcard answer(s)
1. It's not for sale.
2. The turkish venue ended up in the sh1t following the "joke" last year where they had the Turkish Cypriot geezer doing a podium presentation and then suffered a big FIA fine which probably cost them more than the opium production of the hillier parts of the country. Hence "quick Ahmed, sell the little motorcycle dealer from Bexleyheath the circuit and we can afford to go to Harrods at Christmas!"
3. Silverstone is definitely not for sale.
4. Those within the BRDC that DO have the hard choice of which Bentley/Aston to drive are most likely the ones who would consider a sale, where the rest are die-hard BRDC members hell bent on seeing the circuit and the BRDC prosper in is position within the sport.
5. It's still not for sale.
Bernie does put his money where his mouth is from time to time. He has bailed out various teams in the past, and he's also helped drivers too if he felt they warranted it.
Bottom line is, F1 is still Bernie's show, he's the man in the Union Jack waistcoat with the chair, whip, and sparkly top hat.
7. No, it's still not for sale.
8. I am! (then again most drivers are mercenaries!)
Rob.
Team Air Ambulance - racing to raise money for the Air Ambulance Charities
Car 59 - SCSA V8 Trophy - Rounds 1&2 this weekend at Rockingham - BE THERE!
Racing to raise money for the Air Ambulance Charities. Thunder Sunday tickets sold raise £2 for the charities when you buy tickets from 0870 735 5000 (24hrs) and quote the ref: AIR AMBULANCE
1. It's not for sale.
2. The turkish venue ended up in the sh1t following the "joke" last year where they had the Turkish Cypriot geezer doing a podium presentation and then suffered a big FIA fine which probably cost them more than the opium production of the hillier parts of the country. Hence "quick Ahmed, sell the little motorcycle dealer from Bexleyheath the circuit and we can afford to go to Harrods at Christmas!"
3. Silverstone is definitely not for sale.
4. Those within the BRDC that DO have the hard choice of which Bentley/Aston to drive are most likely the ones who would consider a sale, where the rest are die-hard BRDC members hell bent on seeing the circuit and the BRDC prosper in is position within the sport.
5. It's still not for sale.
Bernie does put his money where his mouth is from time to time. He has bailed out various teams in the past, and he's also helped drivers too if he felt they warranted it.
Bottom line is, F1 is still Bernie's show, he's the man in the Union Jack waistcoat with the chair, whip, and sparkly top hat.
7. No, it's still not for sale.
8. I am! (then again most drivers are mercenaries!)
Rob.
Team Air Ambulance - racing to raise money for the Air Ambulance Charities
Car 59 - SCSA V8 Trophy - Rounds 1&2 this weekend at Rockingham - BE THERE!
Racing to raise money for the Air Ambulance Charities. Thunder Sunday tickets sold raise £2 for the charities when you buy tickets from 0870 735 5000 (24hrs) and quote the ref: AIR AMBULANCE
On the subject of Donington, when I went to see the Alan Henry interview at the circuit, Simon Gillet (the new owner) made a surprise appearance.
He was talking very seriously about wanting to take the GP off them in 2011 (or whenever the contract at Silverstone is up). It's certainly a heck of a lot easier to get to than Silverstone - and from the point of view of holding a GP there, it's right next to the airport.
He was talking very seriously about wanting to take the GP off them in 2011 (or whenever the contract at Silverstone is up). It's certainly a heck of a lot easier to get to than Silverstone - and from the point of view of holding a GP there, it's right next to the airport.
Piglet said:
MrKipling43 said:
from the point of view of holding a GP there, it's right next to the airport.
Which is a problem given the amount of helicopter traffic that the GP creates....
How would that be a problem? They can land at the airport.
East Midlands isn't exactly Heathrow.
Have you seen the amount of helicopter traffic that goes into Silverstone on GP Sunday
As one of my friends put it "I thought I'd woken up in Vietnam!".
There will be a line of helicopters as far as you can see from 7am until midday.
I think I'm correct in saying it becomes the busiest airport in the world for that day only?
As one of my friends put it "I thought I'd woken up in Vietnam!".
There will be a line of helicopters as far as you can see from 7am until midday.
I think I'm correct in saying it becomes the busiest airport in the world for that day only?
Not only the Airport problem but the pits are on a slope and the F1 fairies cant do a thing with the car on a slope! Now IF the new owners reconfigured after spending the cash on the new garages and terracing the pits for the bikers thats a long way off yet and I think the forest round Brands is there to stay in the current climate of tree huggers!
c9/89 said:
I think the forest round Brands is there to stay in the current climate of tree huggers!
I like the forest round Brands, one of the real joys of the place is wandering through the woods with the sound of cars echoing round, then walking out of the woods at Stirlings, or Westfield. Look forward to doing that this weekend.
Thankfully the majority of Full BRDC members have, until now at least, told BE (or his latest stooge) where to stick his barely transparent take-over attempts.
It ought to be viewed as an honour to be put forward and ultimately granted membership by your peers.
Having been made a member, how any individual might seek to gain financially from what is a non-profit making organisation founded to promote British Racing Drivers' Careers, only goes to prove how unpleasant some human beings can be.
The ownership of Silverstone ought to be transferred to a separate non-profit making organisation, jointly made up by ALL motorsport bodies in the UK with the proviso that the track must survive. BE would then be welcome to "bung" in whatever small fraction of his personal wealth he sees fit as a small thank you to the country and sport that has made him the man he his today, without any complications of "history" with the current owners.
Then the BRDC could return to it's original raison d'etre, that of British Racing Drivers and nothing else.
It ought to be viewed as an honour to be put forward and ultimately granted membership by your peers.
Having been made a member, how any individual might seek to gain financially from what is a non-profit making organisation founded to promote British Racing Drivers' Careers, only goes to prove how unpleasant some human beings can be.
The ownership of Silverstone ought to be transferred to a separate non-profit making organisation, jointly made up by ALL motorsport bodies in the UK with the proviso that the track must survive. BE would then be welcome to "bung" in whatever small fraction of his personal wealth he sees fit as a small thank you to the country and sport that has made him the man he his today, without any complications of "history" with the current owners.
Then the BRDC could return to it's original raison d'etre, that of British Racing Drivers and nothing else.
kevin ritson said:
c9/89 said:
I think the forest round Brands is there to stay in the current climate of tree huggers!
I like the forest round Brands, one of the real joys of the place is wandering through the woods with the sound of cars echoing round, then walking out of the woods at Stirlings, or Westfield. Look forward to doing that this weekend. 
anyway why are the woods a problem for GP cars racing? 
richb said:
[quote=rubystone]Err... no it's right beside the M20 so it wpuld perfectly plausible. As we all know Brands has held grand-prix races so I don't believe it wpuld be too difficult to add in the necessary run-offs and as for the locals, well I'm sure the track was there before they were so if you buy a house by a race circuit don't complain. I love the place, especially if the GP circuit is in use, I wander round all day.
I love the place, especially if the GP circuit is in use, I wander round all day. It was a bit of a joke - sure the M20 runs closer than theM25, but in reality, there's no way that anyone is going to build a sliproad from a motorway just to access a race circuit - I can't remember the costs per mile of motorway, but it's well in the £milions. As to local residents....that argument doesn't work - see what happened to Castle Combe?...
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