[Rumours] Belgian GP to be axed

[Quintin03]

Originally Posted by ASCII Man

I really doubt that.

Marc is Belgian I believe. So it's very possible. You'd have to aske one of the two.

[marcel82]

there were 15.872 Goossens' in Belgium in 2006. they were not all related to one another.

[Quintin03]

Originally Posted by pdman

Well I thought it was rumoured that in order for all Countries, Organisers and Sponsers to save money Bernie has agreed to Bahrain Hosting all future F1 races. They will do this by creating circuits on the islands that make up "The World" off shore complex. With all races being held in such close proximity they will be held on a roling 3 day cycle thereby completing the whole season in just 2 months and saving millions in transport and salaries. The whole show will be recorded and played back to the general public over 8 months to keep the TV companies happy.

There is no " The world island complex" in Bahrain. It's In Dubai. Would be a great idea for Dubai national racing to build a circuit there and host the "The World GT Chmpionship" or something like that.

[ss_collins]

I spend a lot of my time at race tracks and a fair amount writing about them. Spa is in a class above, only Monza, Le Mans and Monaco really compare. Spa (and Monza) does not only bring excitement to the fans both at the track (possibly the best GP to attend in Europe) and on TV, it also adds to the technical challenge with such a long section at full throttle (the longest in F1 today).

these tracks must remain in F1

[Dutton]

I think it has been clear for sometime now that we are going to have to get used to Spa having an "on again; off again" relationship with F1. It is entirely regrettable, but I fear it isn't going to change in the near future.

As we all know, it just comes to down to the willingness/ability of the promoter to pay Bernie what he wants (or, if we are really lucky, a minuscule compromise by Bernie).

[Born Racer]

Sometimes, this sport is pathetic.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Born Racer

Sometimes, this sport is pathetic.

Cheer up! It's on next seasons calendar!

http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre...c_210909a.aspx

[Born Racer]

Fortunately Marbot, I love the sport and always will, despite all the poo that goes with it.

[ECW Dan Selby]

I think it's just easy to forget that politics have always existed and all this money grabbing, it's just more potent than ever, unfortunately!

Good news that it's on the calendar, though.

Selby

[Born Racer]

Yeah, but I get the impression there used to be a greater emphasis on taking F1 to a wide range of exciting circuits (some much better than others, admittedly). Now it's far more dependent on government money etc etc.

[ECW Dan Selby]

Yeh, good point. I guess where the financial situations changed, F1's "had" to... AKA Bernard wants a bit more cash in the back pocket.

I wish we could stop building all these rubbish half arsed tracks and start alternating some of the tracks you have already to keep the calendar fresh. Admittedly, some of the additions have been decent (I enjoyed Singapore, and Turkey's a good race track), but it'd surely be beneficial in this time of depression to alternate between tracks that already have a good reputation, and are well known, with a good following.

What about somewhere like Zandvoort? There's so many incredibly good tracks out there that are being ignored in favour of a country with no F1 following spending millions on something that'll flop (look at China, Turkey).

Selby

[Born Racer]

To be fair, Turkey's quite a circuit.

[jab]

It's going to go wrong soon, though. China and Turkey are on their last legs. Nobody's going to the races and the governments have said they won't go on paying. It looks like 2010 will probably be their last year. Malaysia was looking shaky too but I guess a Malaysian team will keep it going for a bit longer. The Korean circuit looks uninspiring and I can't see it generated a great deal of interest there. If Bernie persists in increasing his prices, he will not only lose the European rounds but he'll lose the Asian rounds too

And I'm not a fan of Istanbul - dull, characterless, no atmosphere and generally overrated. And Shanghai is even worse

[Born Racer]

From F1 Racing Magazine:

You ask the questions.

I've been a lifelong Formula 1 fan yet I've never been to a Grand Prix as I simply can't afford it. Why are tickets so expensive and will you do anything about the cost?

Bernie Ecclestone: Well, I think we ought to. The problem is the cost of running teams today is just crazy, but now we are getting teams the teams to come to their senses and reduce expenditure dramatically- or the necessity to spend money. When that happens we won't have to produce so much money for them and, therefore, we can ask less money for the promoter and the ticket price will come down. We want that to happen as soon as possible.



I don't think the teams' expenditure is the issue at all.

[jab]

I do

Bernie's quite right. You can't expect them to drop their prices if they have to keep paying the teams more and more, otherwise F1 will bankrupt itself. CVC have an enormous debt to pay off as it is

[Purist]

Except that it's the commercial rights that provide the real pot, NOT the money from circuits/ticket sales. So no, that line of reasoning definitely fails to pan out. It fails even more as I think the teams take a percentage of earnings from various sources, rather than an absolute amount in numerical terms. Therefore, prices could be dropped, and by their contracts, the teams would simply get commensurately less from the FIA and FOM.

[ECW Dan Selby]

Originally Posted by Born Racer

To be fair, Turkey's quite a circuit.

Yeh I said I did actually like Turkey as a circuit - It has some great turns.

But I mean as far as setting up these Tilke tracks at venues where F1 isn't a draw, it just doesn't seem like the solution.

Surely in this recession it'd be a safer bet going to countries where it has had a solid following in history, back to some of those locations where it was made famous, alternating each year between 2 (alá Hockenheim/Nurburgring) just to keep things spiced a little.

I dunno, maybe it's just me

Selby

[strider]

Spa's problems are greater than we thought.

The local green guys obtained an injunction yesterday withdrawing the circuit's licence on the grounds of pollution, presumably noise.

There is another hearing at 2pm today when the injunction will hopefully be lifted.

I know this because there was supposed to be a test there today for other cars, which has been cancelled, or at best postponed.

The situation has to be sorted because there is a 6-hour race due to be held out there this weekend. I don't know if it's generally known, but the circuit is in use most weekends, because naturally everyone wants to race there.

It could be another situation like Monza had a few years back.

[jab]

Link - apparently they've "lost" their license until 2026

I doubt they'll lose their license permanently - they'll probably work out some sort of compromise. But still, another circuit under attack from locals, like Brands Hatch, Zandvoort, Monza etc

Although it is Belgium...

[Piglet]

Hmm that's looking dreadful for Spa.

I fail to see how they could lose their "licence" for such a long period of time if it's noise related? Surely it would be a permanent ban, a ban until they had met certain criteria or a restriction on times/dates etc.? How can theysay it won't be an issue after 7 years or whatever? Either it's a nuisance (in legal terms) or it isn't and it won't cease to be a nuisance by the passing of time alone!

Strider, if you hear any more can you post or PM me?

I think I might go and lay down outside the gates of Spa if it becomes at risk

[strider]

Originally Posted by Piglet

Strider, if you hear any more can you post or PM me?

I think I might go and lay down outside the gates of Spa if it becomes at risk

Yes, of course.

I was going to say that I don't think people will take this lying down, but in view of your last comment that might be inappropriate.

[steve nielsen]

Zandvoort won't be the sollution: they have they same problems(noise restrictions)

[Born Racer]

Why don't these locals sod off and buy a house elsewhere?

I would hazard a guess not many of them have been there longer than the circuit.

[Icebaby]

Originally Posted by Born Racer

Why don't these locals sod off and buy a house elsewhere?
.

Love this comment

[Born Racer]

Fortunately, I resisted this equivalent action of the driver banging the thousand-pound steering wheel, and my computer remains intact for me to read about the next annoyance.