Would a London Grand Prix kill off the Silverstone race?
Discussion
Too much disruption to ever run in the west end of london. One consequence of the so called 24hr 7 days a week city is the amount commerce that will be disrupted. A couple of hotdog stands at an f1 race wont make up for that.
Also what the hell is the fetish with cars running past some buildings or bridges? The same ones people are surrounded by as they sit in stationary traffic dreaming of the sweet escape of death.
This is the usp of electric car races. Deadly dull. 4 viewers.
The only decent race I saw is when they went to the german airfield and you could get good camera positions at last.
It would take someone in charge in the UK that only serves their own vanity to get this off the ground.
Now who could that be?
Also what the hell is the fetish with cars running past some buildings or bridges? The same ones people are surrounded by as they sit in stationary traffic dreaming of the sweet escape of death.
This is the usp of electric car races. Deadly dull. 4 viewers.
The only decent race I saw is when they went to the german airfield and you could get good camera positions at last.
It would take someone in charge in the UK that only serves their own vanity to get this off the ground.
Now who could that be?
Fundoreen said:
Too much disruption to ever run in the west end of london.
I've been thinking about this and I veering towards thinking this need not be the case.Central London is very used to closing roads for all manner of pageants and events. 2012 showed this could be done on quite a large scale for a period of time longer than needed for a GP. It doesn't have any dependency roads - there's always alternative routes. Charring Cross Road has been closed to traffic for several years while they've been doing Crossrail.
There would of course be some disruption but not necessarily to levels that would render the idea a non-starter on this basis alone.
StevieBee said:
I've been thinking about this and I veering towards thinking this need not be the case.
Central London is very used to closing roads for all manner of pageants and events. 2012 showed this could be done on quite a large scale for a period of time longer than needed for a GP. It doesn't have any dependency roads - there's always alternative routes. Charring Cross Road has been closed to traffic for several years while they've been doing Crossrail.
There would of course be some disruption but not necessarily to levels that would render the idea a non-starter on this basis alone.
I was reading about the set up for Baku the other day. Works on setting it up start 4-5 months before the race, and it takes a month to take it down. So that's 6 months of disruption unless one can ind a quicker way to do it.Central London is very used to closing roads for all manner of pageants and events. 2012 showed this could be done on quite a large scale for a period of time longer than needed for a GP. It doesn't have any dependency roads - there's always alternative routes. Charring Cross Road has been closed to traffic for several years while they've been doing Crossrail.
There would of course be some disruption but not necessarily to levels that would render the idea a non-starter on this basis alone.
Chrisgr31 said:
I was reading about the set up for Baku the other day. Works on setting it up start 4-5 months before the race, and it takes a month to take it down. So that's 6 months of disruption unless one can ind a quicker way to do it.
Have spent a lot of time in Baku and surprised they can muster the wherewithal to do it this quickly!IIRC, Melbourne has a 6 week prep time prior. Monaco similar. Last year at Le Mans, we cycled to Arnarge after the finish of the race. We got there at about 4.30pm and I reckon within an hour you would really have not known that anything had gone on there. The difference is all these races have many year of experience and also commitments for the future that make it viable to install infrastructure the speeds the set up and take-down.
StevieBee said:
Chrisgr31 said:
I was reading about the set up for Baku the other day. Works on setting it up start 4-5 months before the race, and it takes a month to take it down. So that's 6 months of disruption unless one can ind a quicker way to do it.
Have spent a lot of time in Baku and surprised they can muster the wherewithal to do it this quickly!IIRC, Melbourne has a 6 week prep time prior. Monaco similar. Last year at Le Mans, we cycled to Arnarge after the finish of the race. We got there at about 4.30pm and I reckon within an hour you would really have not known that anything had gone on there. The difference is all these races have many year of experience and also commitments for the future that make it viable to install infrastructure the speeds the set up and take-down.
It's not 6 weeks of major disruption though. The traffic can still flow through most parts at most stages of the build. Also between sessions on weekdays, the traffic is allowed through on the 'track'.
The inconvenience for London wouldn't be crippling. It's just that in Britain we have a habit of getting in a flap anytime anything worryingly ambitious is suggested
Is this The Apprentice ? I don't care about back of a fag packet economics . it's about motor racing and I find it extraordinary that ,anyone is contemplating a move from Silverstone to some poxy joke of a pop up street circuit. Have we lost the plot completely?
Monaco is great because it is Monaco but, from Baku to Singapore, the rest are not a patch on a proper race circuit - especially Baku , that bastion of democracy whose race attracts up to 35 locals...
Warts and all ,Silverstone has Grand Prix heritage going back seven decades , the drivers love it , Copse and Becketts are some of the best places in the world to watch an F1 car, gazillions have been spent on infrastructure (including public money) and it gets the best crowd of any race .
So , obviously, let's bin it and race round an underpass and a f
king car park instead . Still, a car park was good enough for the USA , who went from the glory of Watkins Glen to Caesar's Palace car park for a not- very- Grand Prix at all
Monaco is great because it is Monaco but, from Baku to Singapore, the rest are not a patch on a proper race circuit - especially Baku , that bastion of democracy whose race attracts up to 35 locals...
Warts and all ,Silverstone has Grand Prix heritage going back seven decades , the drivers love it , Copse and Becketts are some of the best places in the world to watch an F1 car, gazillions have been spent on infrastructure (including public money) and it gets the best crowd of any race .
So , obviously, let's bin it and race round an underpass and a f
king car park instead . Still, a car park was good enough for the USA , who went from the glory of Watkins Glen to Caesar's Palace car park for a not- very- Grand Prix at all Edited by coppice on Sunday 7th July 07:22
If we had a Watkins Glen or similar to race at, sure... but Silverstone is a terminally dull circuit that always produces terminally dull racing. A street circuit could liven things up a bit and at least there would be a backdrop worth looking at, plus the infrastructure (from transport to hotels and catering) to cope. Quite why a windswept old bomber airfield in the arse end of Buckinghamshire was thought suitable for Grand Prix racing is beyond me...
Bless you coppice.
Silverstone is an utter dive, is uninspiring and dull to watch it, expensive, 30 quid to park your car! In what world is that even humane let alone reasonable?
It gets a GP for one reason and one alone, because it is in Britain. Where the teams are based. Nothing to do with history as there is nothing there to link it to the past, unlike other old venues.
The venue has history, but there is no link to it anywhere, it has been utterly mismanaged by group of old racing fuddy duddies who signed a ridiculous deal years ago that basically bankrupts the place.
Sorry, but a race in London would be more exciting, interesting for the world sport media and for British fans. IN EVERY way. WOuld I go? No as I don't watch and pay extortionate money to watch a stupid sport run by billionaires who want to charge me stupid money to watch a yawnfest of sponsors and dull drivers.
We are not talking about Wimbledon here or Lords, we are talking about a dump of a place in a miserable part of the world with abject facilities (most MSV tracks have better ones) awful viewing, an utterly ridiculous layout that has been ruined progressively for the last 10 years, an utterly useless and badly placed, designed and awful looking pit building, so bad the second biggest series to go there don't use it anymore. it is mismanaged and is now more of an industrial estate than a race track.
You talk about history. OK, Monza still has it, Imola has it, Spa has it to some extent. The Nordschliefe has it in spades. Silverstone is no different to Ricard or Monaco, been butchered beyond belief. and not may people like going to those places for the racing. Ther eis NO history there, it's like driving past Mildenhall or Heathrow!
I think for the good of Silverstone quite honestly the race needs to move, if it were not for this race I am sure the place would have a much better feel, look nicer and run better events. It's our so called premier track, but I would rather go to 80% of the other tracks in the country to watch ANY racing.
Silverstone is an utter dive, is uninspiring and dull to watch it, expensive, 30 quid to park your car! In what world is that even humane let alone reasonable?
It gets a GP for one reason and one alone, because it is in Britain. Where the teams are based. Nothing to do with history as there is nothing there to link it to the past, unlike other old venues.
The venue has history, but there is no link to it anywhere, it has been utterly mismanaged by group of old racing fuddy duddies who signed a ridiculous deal years ago that basically bankrupts the place.
Sorry, but a race in London would be more exciting, interesting for the world sport media and for British fans. IN EVERY way. WOuld I go? No as I don't watch and pay extortionate money to watch a stupid sport run by billionaires who want to charge me stupid money to watch a yawnfest of sponsors and dull drivers.
We are not talking about Wimbledon here or Lords, we are talking about a dump of a place in a miserable part of the world with abject facilities (most MSV tracks have better ones) awful viewing, an utterly ridiculous layout that has been ruined progressively for the last 10 years, an utterly useless and badly placed, designed and awful looking pit building, so bad the second biggest series to go there don't use it anymore. it is mismanaged and is now more of an industrial estate than a race track.
You talk about history. OK, Monza still has it, Imola has it, Spa has it to some extent. The Nordschliefe has it in spades. Silverstone is no different to Ricard or Monaco, been butchered beyond belief. and not may people like going to those places for the racing. Ther eis NO history there, it's like driving past Mildenhall or Heathrow!
I think for the good of Silverstone quite honestly the race needs to move, if it were not for this race I am sure the place would have a much better feel, look nicer and run better events. It's our so called premier track, but I would rather go to 80% of the other tracks in the country to watch ANY racing.
coppice said:
Monaco is great because it is Monaco but, from Baku to Singapore, the rest are not a patch on a proper race circuit - especially Baku, that bastion of democracy whose race attracts up to 35 locals...
Really? 99.99999% of F1 fans would say Baku is better than Paul Ricard, despite the latter having a long racing history. Singapore is a pretty good track too. Sochi is utter ste though, as was Valencia. Monaco is tedious & should be dropped.If you're going to bring democracy into it you need to strike off 8 of the 21 races this year.
RoverP6B said:
If we had a Watkins Glen or similar to race at, sure... but Silverstone is a terminally dull circuit that always produces terminally dull racing. A street circuit could liven things up a bit and at least there would be a backdrop worth looking at, plus the infrastructure (from transport to hotels and catering) to cope. Quite why a windswept old bomber airfield in the arse end of Buckinghamshire was thought suitable for Grand Prix racing is beyond me...
The old bomber land was probably cheap as chips.The BRDC has done an honest job in keeping the GP alive but the only interesting section now is Maggots...
Bridge was mighty for the drivers and spectators.
Brands Hatch wins hands down for driver challenge and spectator viewing. It is also next to London and the Chunnel.
RoverP6B said:
If we had a Watkins Glen or similar to race at, sure... but Silverstone is a terminally dull circuit that always produces terminally dull racing. A street circuit could liven things up a bit and at least there would be a backdrop worth looking at, plus the infrastructure (from transport to hotels and catering) to cope. Quite why a windswept old bomber airfield in the arse end of Buckinghamshire was thought suitable for Grand Prix racing is beyond me...
I don't get the love of street circuits, and particularly the 'backdrop worth looking at' aspect. It's supposed to be a motor race, not a tourist information film. They rarely produce good racing, Sochi and Valencia being the worst examples, and the way they are filmed, with the high camera angles and all the concrete barriers and catch fencing means that you don't see the backdrop anyway. Singapore in particular could be a race through any concrete tunnel anywhere in the world for all you see of the backdrop. It adds nothing at all for me.chunder27 said:
Silverstone is an utter dive.
It gets a GP for one reason and one alone, because it is in Britain. Where the teams are based. Nothing to do with history as there is nothing there to link it to the past
Other than the small fact of it being the first circuit to host the first ever Formula 1 race in 1950.It gets a GP for one reason and one alone, because it is in Britain. Where the teams are based. Nothing to do with history as there is nothing there to link it to the past
chunder27 said:
Bless you coppice.
Silverstone is an utter dive, is uninspiring and dull to watch it, expensive, 30 quid to park your car! In what world is that even humane let alone reasonable?
It gets a GP for one reason and one alone, because it is in Britain. Where the teams are based. Nothing to do with history as there is nothing there to link it to the past, unlike other old venues.
The venue has history, but there is no link to it anywhere, it has been utterly mismanaged by group of old racing fuddy duddies who signed a ridiculous deal years ago that basically bankrupts the place.
Sorry, but a race in London would be more exciting, interesting for the world sport media and for British fans. IN EVERY way. WOuld I go? No as I don't watch and pay extortionate money to watch a stupid sport run by billionaires who want to charge me stupid money to watch a yawnfest of sponsors and dull drivers.
We are not talking about Wimbledon here or Lords, we are talking about a dump of a place in a miserable part of the world with abject facilities (most MSV tracks have better ones) awful viewing, an utterly ridiculous layout that has been ruined progressively for the last 10 years, an utterly useless and badly placed, designed and awful looking pit building, so bad the second biggest series to go there don't use it anymore. it is mismanaged and is now more of an industrial estate than a race track.
You talk about history. OK, Monza still has it, Imola has it, Spa has it to some extent. The Nordschliefe has it in spades. Silverstone is no different to Ricard or Monaco, been butchered beyond belief. and not may people like going to those places for the racing. Ther eis NO history there, it's like driving past Mildenhall or Heathrow!
I think for the good of Silverstone quite honestly the race needs to move, if it were not for this race I am sure the place would have a much better feel, look nicer and run better events. It's our so called premier track, but I would rather go to 80% of the other tracks in the country to watch ANY racing.
^^ As he wrote - better than I could phrase. I have never understood the rose tinted glasses love of Silverstone.Silverstone is an utter dive, is uninspiring and dull to watch it, expensive, 30 quid to park your car! In what world is that even humane let alone reasonable?
It gets a GP for one reason and one alone, because it is in Britain. Where the teams are based. Nothing to do with history as there is nothing there to link it to the past, unlike other old venues.
The venue has history, but there is no link to it anywhere, it has been utterly mismanaged by group of old racing fuddy duddies who signed a ridiculous deal years ago that basically bankrupts the place.
Sorry, but a race in London would be more exciting, interesting for the world sport media and for British fans. IN EVERY way. WOuld I go? No as I don't watch and pay extortionate money to watch a stupid sport run by billionaires who want to charge me stupid money to watch a yawnfest of sponsors and dull drivers.
We are not talking about Wimbledon here or Lords, we are talking about a dump of a place in a miserable part of the world with abject facilities (most MSV tracks have better ones) awful viewing, an utterly ridiculous layout that has been ruined progressively for the last 10 years, an utterly useless and badly placed, designed and awful looking pit building, so bad the second biggest series to go there don't use it anymore. it is mismanaged and is now more of an industrial estate than a race track.
You talk about history. OK, Monza still has it, Imola has it, Spa has it to some extent. The Nordschliefe has it in spades. Silverstone is no different to Ricard or Monaco, been butchered beyond belief. and not may people like going to those places for the racing. Ther eis NO history there, it's like driving past Mildenhall or Heathrow!
I think for the good of Silverstone quite honestly the race needs to move, if it were not for this race I am sure the place would have a much better feel, look nicer and run better events. It's our so called premier track, but I would rather go to 80% of the other tracks in the country to watch ANY racing.
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