Hence why (and I've already posted this) that part of the £100m investment will include extending the current track layout.
British Grand-Prix, back to Donington!
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Hence why (and I've already posted this) that part of the £100m investment will include extending the current track layout.
Having been to Silverstone and Donington, including in the last few weeks, my initial reaction is that this is a mistake. Donington is a long way of other European F1 standards let alone all these new tracks from Asia. Think £100m wont be enough to keep Bernie happy for long. I mean they need more than that to either build a good enough pit lane or tarmac over all the fields for proper car parks. We can all remember how bad Silverstone was a few years ago before they bothered.
On the racing side i don't think Donington is a very good track for F1 cars either. They wont be able to follow each other from Redgate to Coppice (most of the track) at all because in an F1 car it will be such a fast section. I know they want to change the aero rules, but still!
Don't think money would have been spent wisely at Brands either, best bet would have been to try and save Silverstone and give them the money.
On the racing side i don't think Donington is a very good track for F1 cars either. They wont be able to follow each other from Redgate to Coppice (most of the track) at all because in an F1 car it will be such a fast section. I know they want to change the aero rules, but still!
Don't think money would have been spent wisely at Brands either, best bet would have been to try and save Silverstone and give them the money.
Oh noes!! You should write to the council and complain about the noise that the race track you decided to live near is making, just like the Brands Hatch locals do.
back to Donington?
Donington has never held the british grand prix
Fail you are so wrong. Hasn't it hosted the European GP?
Soldato
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I second that.
I don't even like Silverstone. But Donnington...
What I think will happen is that the plan to upgrade Donnington will be the usual modern British bodge job, or fail to happen entirely due to stroppy locals, whereupon Bernie "$$$" Eccelestone will simply sell our slot in the GP calender to someone willing to pay some serious cash.
Brands Hatch for the British GP. And to hell with the neighbours.
I second that.
I don't even like Silverstone. But Donnington...
What I think will happen is that the plan to upgrade Donnington will be the usual modern British bodge job, or fail to happen entirely due to stroppy locals, whereupon Bernie "$$$" Eccelestone will simply sell our slot in the GP calender to someone willing to pay some serious cash.
Brands Hatch for the British GP. And to hell with the neighbours.
Brand's Hatch? Yawn!
Huge mistake on many levels
(Of course now British GP is out of the hands of the BRDC Bernie is happy either way even if Donington doesnt come up to scratch)
Its a bit of a **** take to be honest to announce it this weekend
(and I just went to the F1 party the other night, and BE was looking smugger than usual so I now know why)
(Of course now British GP is out of the hands of the BRDC Bernie is happy either way even if Donington doesnt come up to scratch)
Its a bit of a **** take to be honest to announce it this weekend
(and I just went to the F1 party the other night, and BE was looking smugger than usual so I now know why)
Donnington could work brilliantly IMHO....IF they throw shed loads of money at it and I am sure £100m won't touch it. I am really surprised that Bernie went with this as it is just so far from the standard of circuits he is demanding from the rest of the world. Even Silverstone, as much as I dislike it from a spectators point of view, is years ahead of Donnington in infrastructure and facilities. Sure it had a fair way to go, but to bring Donnington up to his standards will take so much cash and surely he knows how these things work in the UK...we just can't deliver any sort of decent sporting venue at a reasonable cost or timeframe!
I wonder how much of this was politics and Bernie sticking his fingers up to the BRDC and the government??
I wonder how much of this was politics and Bernie sticking his fingers up to the BRDC and the government??
Arrogance and a lack of REAL action.
Lack of action compared to Monaco?
Lets face it, Silverstone was actually fine, at least nothing that a small bit of investment couldn't fix (certainly less than £100m). The real issue here is that Ecclestone is an arrogant idiot and hasn't wanted to give Silverstone a chance since the muddy grassy boggy carpark fiasco all those years back.
Its all about him at the end of the day and not about the sport. If he really cared about the sport he'd drop races like Canada (where if you spin you hit a wall, or you are told not to hit the apex of a corner because the track it turd).
I'm not saying Donington won't be good (although I think it will need more than £100m), but I don't think the change was needed.
Lets face it, Silverstone was actually fine, at least nothing that a small bit of investment couldn't fix (certainly less than £100m). The real issue here is that Ecclestone is an arrogant idiot and hasn't wanted to give Silverstone a chance since the muddy grassy boggy carpark fiasco all those years back.
Its all about him at the end of the day and not about the sport. If he really cared about the sport he'd drop races like Canada (where if you spin you hit a wall, or you are told not to hit the apex of a corner because the track it turd).
I'm not saying Donington won't be good (although I think it will need more than £100m), but I don't think the change was needed.
Britain is the home of Motorsport and the 5th richest country in the world and Bernie has always felt it should be the best but it never has been. Silverstone has given lip service but its problems have been problems for 20 plus years and they have not fixed them very well in some areas (pits, stadiums, spectator banking, toilets to name a few) while at the same time the BRDC has invested in its little area massively. I have been going to Silverstone since 1979 and was a club member there for close to 20 years and in that time I have seen it change in some areas greatly but in many areas it has stayed much the same.
Canada will be next to go as its a tip but Monaco is Monaco and is the blue ribbond. Its location limits what can be done but its value is too big. There is too much competition and we have to be top of the tree and based on where else it goes there is very little good reason why it shouldn't be. Bernie is a very clever businessman who has lined to pockets of all the people involved even if he may not be everyones cup of tea. Most poeple on the inside of the sport and the journo's hold him in the highest regard even if his TV persona can grind more often than not.
Canada will be next to go as its a tip but Monaco is Monaco and is the blue ribbond. Its location limits what can be done but its value is too big. There is too much competition and we have to be top of the tree and based on where else it goes there is very little good reason why it shouldn't be. Bernie is a very clever businessman who has lined to pockets of all the people involved even if he may not be everyones cup of tea. Most poeple on the inside of the sport and the journo's hold him in the highest regard even if his TV persona can grind more often than not.
Man of Honour
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This is a big mistake. Silverstone is an excellent track with lots of places to overtake. OK the facilities may not be quite up to scratch but it's the home of motor racing for gods sake. Going to Donington is just wrong. They are really going to have to do something special with the layout or we will end up with another boring Monaco with everyone following each other in an orderly procession. I watched the 93 European GP and it was boring as hell. If it had to go somewhere else it should have been Brands Hatch.
My conspiracy theory:
Donny's owners got Bernie to agree the deal in principle and get a load of press. This allows Donny to get investment and loans very easily. Donny will go about its redevelopment. At the 11th hour Bernie will rule that the redevelopment is not good enough and then switch back to Silverstone. Meanwhile Donny has profitted from getting loads of investment, its owners are richer, Bernie is probably richer too, and no body is none the wiser.
Donny's owners got Bernie to agree the deal in principle and get a load of press. This allows Donny to get investment and loans very easily. Donny will go about its redevelopment. At the 11th hour Bernie will rule that the redevelopment is not good enough and then switch back to Silverstone. Meanwhile Donny has profitted from getting loads of investment, its owners are richer, Bernie is probably richer too, and no body is none the wiser.
F1 are going to ruin Donington as we know it, Tarmac run off everywhere, Bigger fences, The run off areas are going to be expanded with of course more tarmac. They say Donington will be "better for the fans" which of course is going to be quashed by the improvements made to the track.
As long as they don't get Tilke to improve the track I'll be happy
He has ruined Imola he better not ruin Donington.
They are going to ruin the "feel" of the track, the club circuit "aurora" it has.
As long as they don't get Tilke to improve the track I'll be happy
He has ruined Imola he better not ruin Donington.They are going to ruin the "feel" of the track, the club circuit "aurora" it has.
This requires a british development project to basically;
extend the track
resurface the entire track
improve all track surrounding areas with saftey runoff
build completely new pit and paddock
build more spectator areas
build roads to allow any kind of access, basically comming down to a new motorway junction and dual/tripple carage way into the track
build carparking facilities
et etc
and all in 2 years? not a chance. We couldnt even do one of those things in that time!
In 2010 the race will either be at Silverstone or wont exist.
extend the track
resurface the entire track
improve all track surrounding areas with saftey runoff
build completely new pit and paddock
build more spectator areas
build roads to allow any kind of access, basically comming down to a new motorway junction and dual/tripple carage way into the track
build carparking facilities
et etc
and all in 2 years? not a chance. We couldnt even do one of those things in that time!
In 2010 the race will either be at Silverstone or wont exist.