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1 Jul 2011, 00:05 (Ref:2908989) | #901 | |||
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1 Jul 2011, 00:18 (Ref:2908994) | #902 | ||
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Hope they don't run the ridiculous restrictor plates and rubber bumper cars. No cookie cutter racing would be a big plus and a real scare to NASCAR if the fans really actually like what they are seeing. Aussie's are pretty cool. My missus is one.
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Fast is not fast enough. |
1 Jul 2011, 01:02 (Ref:2909006) | #903 | ||||
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F1 Canadian Grand Prix Up on FOX: The June 12 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix on FOX earned a 0.8 final rating and 1.196 million viewers, up 14% in ratings and 28% in viewership from last year (0.7, 934K) It's nice that the ratings were up this year over last year, but the F1 audience is still miniscule when compared to NASCAR and the big three sports of football, baseball and basketball. The size of the U.S. fan base for F1 is comparable to that of pro cycling-- it is made up of a small number of very enthusiastic, knowledgeable fans and that's all. Most U.S. sports fans and even many U.S motor racing fans can't even accurately describe what F1 is. I don't see any hope of increasing the size of that fan base no matter how much F1 Kool-Aid is offered to American sports fans. The one thing that might give at least a temporary boost to the sport is for an American to win the world championship. Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France certainly helped boost cycling's profile, but it is still very much a minor sport. Furthermore, there is no American driver currently in the sport, let alone one who would have a chance to win the championship. Quote:
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Vive les F1 Babes de Montreal! |
1 Jul 2011, 01:23 (Ref:2909009) | #904 | |||
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1 Jul 2011, 02:17 (Ref:2909018) | #905 | ||
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I don't think he meant that Long Beach in particular would be ideal. He has to realize that it has many inadequacies as an F1 venue, starting with the fact that it's a street course. But he mentioned it because somewhere in southern California would be good and Long Beach once had a race and it was successful there. I don't think anybody would seriously propose returning to Long Beach though. It's too bad that there is no track suitable for F1 in southern California. I don't see that changing. Heck, they can't even put together a deal to build an NFL stadium in the LA area.
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Vive les F1 Babes de Montreal! |
1 Jul 2011, 02:52 (Ref:2909025) | #906 | ||
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Great suspence for a year anyway. Guess no one paid attention to the F1 fan base in Indianapolis that was completely destroyed by the F1 ownership and gross mismanagement of that event. Austin I wish you well.
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Fast is not fast enough. |
1 Jul 2011, 03:37 (Ref:2909033) | #907 | ||
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Considering everything (facilities, fan base, tradition, lack of alternatives, etc) about F1 in the U.S., Indy is still the best location for the USGP. It's a shame that Bernie destroyed what they tried to build there. Austin was smart to sign a 10-year deal with Bernie, leaving him no room to renegotiate his fee after a few years. But one is left to wonder whether the state of Texas will want out of the deal before the 10 years are up. Without the $25M/year from the state, the race is not viable.
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Vive les F1 Babes de Montreal! |
1 Jul 2011, 07:19 (Ref:2909090) | #908 | ||
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This fly in Thursday and leave Sunday provides very little local benefit. |
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1 Jul 2011, 12:28 (Ref:2909299) | #909 | ||
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I have no doubt the Austin venue will be successful in the long run, I just have my doubts F1 will be a part of that long term success. F1 was the foot-in-the-door but Austin would do well to support the other series and events that are signing up to race there and encourage more because F1 will have a tough time conquering the passions of more than a few die hard US fans and F1 will make it hard for Austin to love them back when it's time for a contract renewal.
F1 & Tavo's gang seem to be banking heavily on fan support from outside of the US. The choice of name and the location of the track are clear indications of that, not to mention the constant reminders of where the extra 100,000 fans will come from. But that makes me wonder, does F1 in the USA become a success if hardly anyone in the host country cares? It's like asking Salerno to build a baseball stadium so once a year the New York Yankees could play a three game exhibition series there. Just because you got it built and have passionate fans around the world, is baseball something that will ever gain wild popularity in Italy? Turkey, China and some newer venues are poster children for that ambivalence towards F1. Could those venues be considered a success, have those countries been conquered? Football, (soccer), cricket and rugby among others have been waiting a long time to soak in some of that American passion for sport. I have a feeling F1 is WAY back in that long lived queue. |
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1 Jul 2011, 14:49 (Ref:2909406) | #910 | ||||
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Last edited by Flyin Ryan; 1 Jul 2011 at 15:18. |
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1 Jul 2011, 14:57 (Ref:2909412) | #911 | ||
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wonderful non-answer answer to a critiqued analysis, that would make a politician proud
Last edited by Flyin Ryan; 1 Jul 2011 at 15:02. |
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1 Jul 2011, 15:11 (Ref:2909422) | #912 | |||
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I've always thought the best place for an F1 race in the U.S. just from a cultural point of view was a Miami street race. The city and F1 fit one another perfectly. Last edited by Flyin Ryan; 1 Jul 2011 at 15:17. |
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1 Jul 2011, 15:38 (Ref:2909436) | #913 | |||
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If he was Montoya from Turkey, I doubt we would have seen that many white crescent moons in the stands. I admit I don't follow NASCAR that closely but I have yet to see what I saw at Indy in Charlotte, but who's counting heads at a NASCAR event. Also Montoya was successful and far from a "foreigner" to US open wheel fans, especially those fans who regularly visited IMS. He was in fact the ONLY F1 driver many casual F1 fans I met at Indy ever heard of, (sorry Michael Schumacher). There was also the Villeneuve factor as a draw at Indy for similar reasons. I know from being there the Colombians were the most visible & vocal but I have a feeling Canada was well represented too. The Scott Speed factor was negligible I suspect for the reasons you stated, and maybe more importantly, because of the lack of a US team. I also suspect the results oriented US sports fans grew impatient with a racing series that is so predictable, especially when your driver is in a crummy car. Too bad USF1 couldn't make a go of it. In the World Baseball Classic; plenty of American citizens play for the national teams of their birth or their ancestors, but the majority of "Americans citizens" follow and cheer for the USA team. It's like the Olympics or Tour de France, put an American athlete on a foreign team and folks will watch something else. It's just a little bit different here. |
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1 Jul 2011, 15:52 (Ref:2909445) | #914 | |||
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"If you're not winning you're not trying." Colin Chapman. |
1 Jul 2011, 15:57 (Ref:2909448) | #915 | ||
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How about New York City with a view of the skyline?
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1 Jul 2011, 15:58 (Ref:2909451) | #916 | ||
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"If you're not winning you're not trying." Colin Chapman. |
1 Jul 2011, 16:34 (Ref:2909467) | #917 | ||
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He should have tried to revive the Meadowlands Grand Prix, I guess.
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The only certainty is that nothing is certain. |
1 Jul 2011, 16:41 (Ref:2909473) | #918 | |
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Watkins Glen?
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1 Jul 2011, 16:54 (Ref:2909481) | #919 | ||
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1 Jul 2011, 16:56 (Ref:2909483) | #920 | ||
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1 Jul 2011, 17:08 (Ref:2909494) | #921 | ||
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"If you're not winning you're not trying." Colin Chapman. |
1 Jul 2011, 17:15 (Ref:2909497) | #922 | ||
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1 Jul 2011, 17:22 (Ref:2909502) | #923 | |
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1 Jul 2011, 17:31 (Ref:2909507) | #924 | ||
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I go there every year for the NASCAR race (not because I'm a NASCAR fan, I just have a lot of family that goes too) and I was there a few weeks ago for the Mobil 1 Car Swap. They have made a ton of capital improvements to that facility in the last 5 years or so, particularly in the last few months. They rebuilt almost all the grandstands and made them twice a big, and rebuilt the Crown Royal Club at the top of the esses. This all comes after they brought in the massive frontstretch grandstand that used to be at Nazareth Speedway and rebuilt the media center.
Concerning the potential for an F1 race, The seating capacity is certainly there now, and all those old wooden bleachers are gone, replaced with nice aluminum seating. The other issue that has always been present is the lack of hotel space. Just last year a new 5 star hotel opened in downtown Watkins Glen overlooking Seneca Lake. On its own thats not enough, but its a start. If the track had a commitment from Ecclestone that Formula 1 would come if they fixed the issues, they could probably build a hotel on site like VIRginia International Raceway did a few years back. They have the space for it. Runoff areas would need to be addressed at the esses and at the toe of the boot, but otherwise its not that bad. The track has already paved many of the runoff areas in the last few years. The last issue I see would be the pit facilities but again, a commitment from F1 would go a long way towards making that happen. Watkins Glen has the rare advantage of being a bit isolated but still being relatively close to many major Metropolitan areas (NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Toronto), and the track, as many of you know, is awesome. If they could get 10k people to show up to a 1.5 hour demonstration, imagine what the potential would be for a full F1 weekend? Last edited by tlongman; 1 Jul 2011 at 17:42. |
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1 Jul 2011, 17:34 (Ref:2909511) | #925 | |
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So there you have it Mr Ecclestone. Watkins Glen.
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