Brit GP from Silverstone to Donington

[WhiteBlue]

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns20257.html

Grandprix.com is usually pretty well informed when it comes to the inner workings of the BRDC. If they think that Damon is in danger of putting the the ship on the rocks I would be inclined to believe them.

This time it isn't the general financial problem or the lack of planning activity and management that we have seen in the past and the lack of forward thinking but the lack of entrepreneurship that goes with the legal structure of the club. a CEO or owner in charge of his own destiny would have little problems to do what Germany did. take forward strategy and develop the place on one side, get other paying activities to absorb the investment and reduce the cost by sharing the GP on two venues. unfortunately Britain would have to share with France. this is hard to swallow for the national pride in the UK. it is probably easier for the French considering that they have Monaco around the corner.

could this thing create the next big stink? I hope not. if the Government doesn't chip in the GP will be split by the market forces unless something silly happens and Britain looses it all together.

[nae]

i personally dont think 'in trouble again' really suits the situation, i think they are still in trouble from the last time, bernie has asked them to do things many times and has been more patient than with , oh lets say america among others.
for some reason the BRDC sees itself as some form of special case and the sooner it wakes up and smells the coffee the sooner there will be a workable solution.

having said that i feel D. Hill has improved the situation since he took charge, if one can take charge of a committee run enterprise such as the brdc.

it would most certainly be a shame to loose the british gp but the BRDC would have to take a large portion of any blame if and when the race is lost.

Typical English gentleman's attitude to an international problem,
'surely they cant mean us! we are British'

those days have long since past

[zac510]

I would have a moral objection to forking over more and more cash every year just for a GP on 1 weekend of a year.

[WhiteBlue]

I would have a moral objection to forking over more and more cash every year just for a GP on 1 weekend of a year.

an interesting opinion. why would morality play into this? I thought this is a business issue where FOM has made concessions to the BRDC for a long time compared to other European races.

[millerjam]

The point is that all this money is being invested in a facility that is required for one weekend a year. To my knowledge no other series is demanding a new pits and press boxes. Now I'm not going to pretend that I wouldn't want a British GP after having gone to Silverstone for the last 15 consecutive years, I love going there. However the investment in the facilities there for fans at least has been pretty good in the last few years, it could be a lot worse, I went to Donnington a few years ago for the Motogp round and how that at the time could be considered good enough for an international motorsports event defies belief...

It all boils down to the fact that Bernie wants some nice shiny new pit boxes at Silverstone, and having used them at Formula Student last year they're definitely not state of the art but they do the job. Yes the BRDC probably do need a bit of kick up the arse every now and again, but come on a garage is a garage, they still go to Monaco for example. Unfortunately for Bernie there isn't really a track in Britain that would come anywhere near Silverstone in its current facilities and that would need a gigantic investment say to renovate Brands Hatch or Donnington to F1 standards, so he can't blackmail Silverstone with that, like you could between Hockenheim and the Nuerburgring. He also can't get any money out of the government, if he did it would set a nasty precedent for other sports...

Basically Silverstone and any other traditonal European circuits like Spa, Monza, Magny Cours and the two German circuits will always be under threat, because funilly enough they're in countries where governments can't afford (whether that be literally or politically, especially at the moment) to throw money at a F1 race...

It will be extremely sad if the British GP was to go, but I don't think it would completely be the fault of the BRDC.

[WhiteBlue]

I wonder why this is such a serious problem. when Germany had Schumacher they could run two races and Spain can profitably run two with Alonso. Now Britain got Hamilton. With all the hype why can't they invest and do business? it is creating the impression that all the opportunities are there but the committee cant make up its mind.

[zac510]

The point is that all this money is being invested in a facility that is required for one weekend a year. To my knowledge no other series is demanding a new pits and press boxes. Now I'm not going to pretend that I wouldn't want a British GP after having gone to Silverstone for the last 15 consecutive years, I love going there. However the investment in the facilities there for fans at least has been pretty good in the last few years, it could be a lot worse, I went to Donnington a few years ago for the Motogp round and how that at the time could be considered good enough for an international motorsports event defies belief...

It all boils down to the fact that Bernie wants some nice shiny new pit boxes at Silverstone, and having used them at Formula Student last year they're definitely not state of the art but they do the job. Yes the BRDC probably do need a bit of kick up the arse every now and again, but come on a garage is a garage, they still go to Monaco for example. Unfortunately for Bernie there isn't really a track in Britain that would come anywhere near Silverstone in its current facilities and that would need a gigantic investment say to renovate Brands Hatch or Donnington to F1 standards, so he can't blackmail Silverstone with that, like you could between Hockenheim and the Nuerburgring. He also can't get any money out of the government, if he did it would set a nasty precedent for other sports...

Yes it's hard not to feel that circuits like Monaco, Spa, Imola, etc etc have been bullied into new facilities, threatened with having their races withdrawn.

[WhiteBlue]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 175951.ece

the next move by Bernie. note: Gorman and the Times are now his favourite launch pad.

[alexbarwell]

Sorry guys, on a role today...
Both british and some international drivers seem to agree with this protestation, but yet it comes down to the british GP which has been on thin ice in survival terms for a number of years. Maybe such action might be more appropriate at one of the several italian or german races - much more significant and a few more dates to chose from. How come the 'european' GP seems to have stopped in one country for some time now?

[WhiteBlue]

Germany and Italy have only one race. The European GP is now in Spain (Valencia). France is likely to loose the GP but there will always be Monaco. Silverstone in terms of investment requirements is ways better than Donington park. The only advantage there is the airport, but it is even farer from the South and London where the fan base is in Britain. This is another red herring by Bernie.

[donskar]

It's not just my perception is it? - Bernie is consciously, purposely moving F1 away from Europe and toward the East. That is, he is turning his back on truckloads of money in order to take in oil tankers full of money.

We love F1 for the technology and the competition, but to Bernie it's just a spectacle and a marketing tool to be whored out to the countries or groups who will pay the most. I firmly believe he'd be perfectly happy to have an "all-OPEC" series with no events at all in Europe -- as long as he made more money.

I'll take an optimistic long-term view: Bernie, greed, money, incompetent team leaders, and general corruption will destroy F1 as we know it. And then an all-new series, possibly based on IndyCar or A1GP, will rise to replace corruption with competition.

Then the cycle will repeat, but I'll be gone by then.

[WhiteBlue]

Of course Bernie's only rule is his personal satisfaction of exercising power in F1 and making money. If any objectives beyond profit are supposed to be pursued by F1 they will have to be imposed by the FIA. I believe in the case of the British GP there has been considerable pressure from the teams and Mosley in the past. Just look at the price tag. They are talking less than 50% of what new venues pay.

[Scuderia_Russ]

The point is that all this money is being invested in a facility that is required for one weekend a year. To my knowledge no other series is demanding a new pits and press boxes.

No but it's nice when smaller teams like us have to go there. We did a Britsports four hour race there last year and the new pits and garages are very nice.

Now I'm not going to pretend that I wouldn't want a British GP after having gone to Silverstone for the last 15 consecutive years, I love going there. However the investment in the facilities there for fans at least has been pretty good in the last few years, it could be a lot worse, I went to Donnington a few years ago for the Motogp round and how that at the time could be considered good enough for an international motorsports event defies belief...

Agreed I've been to Donny as a fan and for races and it's not great. The bacon rolls are crap too!

[WhiteBlue]

Silverstone sell out story

Silverstone Circuits said in a statement that it was the first time the event had sold out in advance on all three days, with 65,000 people due to watch practice on Friday, 85,000 to attend qualifying on Saturday and 90,000 the July 6 race.

Compare that to Barcelona!
general admission capacity: 104,000
year of construction: 1991

You quickly get an idea why Silverstone is not doing well. With Hamilton pulling in the crowds they should have prepared for a capacity of 110,000. Silverstone is so much older than Barcelona and should have had plenty of opportunity to make the necessary investment. They even had a capacity over 100,000 back in Mansells time but they did not maintain it.

[Chaparral]

Silverstone sell out story

Silverstone Circuits said in a statement that it was the first time the event had sold out in advance on all three days, with 65,000 people due to watch practice on Friday, 85,000 to attend qualifying on Saturday and 90,000 the July 6 race.

Compare that to Barcelona!
general admission capacity: 104,000
year of construction: 1991

You quickly get an idea why Silverstone is not doing well. With Hamilton pulling in the crowds they should have prepared for a capacity of 110,000. Silverstone is so much older than Barcelona and should have had plenty of opportunity to make the necessary investment. They even had a capacity over 100,000 back in Mansells time but they did not maintain it.

Perhaps the diligence of the financial controllers at the BRDC have worked through the numbers as they do and said NO - it doesnt make financial sense to add further spectator facilities available for 1 week a year against our other business 51 weeks of the year - 90,000 is a huge crowd on the day and 240,000 for the weekend is just 60,000 short of Melbourne and as the old adage in 'show business' goes keep the audience wanting more - I believe theyre doing a fine job.