Bye bye USGP, hello…. Czech Republic?
November 13, 2009 by SJ Skid
Filed under People & Events, Top Story
Race organizers in the Czech Republic are working on building a street track in Prague that could host a Formula 1 race by 2012, Autosport is reporting.
Let’s do some quick math. No USGP in 2010, no real promise — despite some recent encouraging words — of a race in 2011, and now a new track in a “new” area for F1 looms on the horizon?
Well, at least it isn’t designed by Hermann Tilke.
Say what?!
OK, American F1B readers, maybe you should just adopt the Canadian GP as your official home grand prix from now on.
Here’s the skinny:
The Czech Republic wants to host a grand prix in the future on a street circuit in its capital city, Prague.
Circuit prime mover Toni Charouz is aiming to stage a round of the DTM on the 2.5-mile track as a pre-cursor to a Formula 1 event.
“F1 is the ambition,” Charouz told AUTOSPORT. “If we put on a good show with the DTM, then maybe we can have a grand prix, but we’ve got nothing on paper yet.”
A draft layout of the circuit, which will be situated three miles outside Prague city centre, has been drafted by F1 circuit guru Hermann Tilke. The track will include a 1.3-mile permanent section and a corner within a 15,000-seater sports stadium.
Charouz would not reveal how far negotiations have progressed with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, but is confident that the track can be a success.
“This track will be very central in a city of 1.5million people,” he added. “This type of track is the future of motor racing.”
Charouz, who has run teams in sportscars and A1GP, and has promoted various international events at Brno, said that the planning process for the circuit was “90 per cent complete.”
He expects work on the track to begin next year with the first races taking place in 2012.
A spokesperson for DTM organiser the ITR was optimistic that the saloon car event will become a reality.
“Hans Werner Aufrecht [ITR boss] loves street races, so of course we would be interested in a project like this, but it is just a proposal at the moment.”
Now, I’m sure there will be readers who say, “Come on, this is the longest of long shots. A race in Prague? With no track even existing beyond some pieces of draft paper? Don’t worry.”
My counter? Is there even a U.S. track sketched in crayon anywhere?
The teams and drivers, maybe even a few influential auto clubs and a couple of big sponsors or three, really need to start hammering home the importance of North America — not to mention all the other tracks we know are under threat.
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Where are we going with this ??? My favorite quote from Charouz was :“This type of track is the future of motor racing.” One more fancy street track ???Errrh. No. No thanks.
And you raised a good point SJ: where are those USGP crayon drafts ??? What are you guys waiting on ??? I’m just, very respectfully, wondering what a Czech promoter could benefit from a local GP that an American promoter could not. Of course, the US probably don’t need a F1 event to let the world know their country actually exists. Then perhaps, that different ‘racing culture in the U.S.’ argument, but, anyway, I never knew the Czech Rep had one at all (no offense; Prague is among my TOP5 cities to visit before my lungs give in).
My parents were at The Glen in ‘79. Slept in their car by the side of the road. Saw Gilles win the race. They didn’t need the race track to pass under an alien spaceship (China or Abu, pick your one :)) to have a good time.
In spite of sounding too melodramatic, where the hell does it end ??? A guy like you has to cross over a continent from LAX to YUL to attend a, STILL ASTERISKED and un-comfirmed, F1 race whereas, a bloke from Cambodia has 5 races within that same radius to choose from.
Bottom line I’ll be rooting for this cause soon enough: TAMARA TO RULE OVER F1/FOM ASAP. We might have to accept pink-and-baby-blue kerbs on all anti-clockwise circuits, but at least, I’m quite certain that she could be easily convinced that Bahrain/Abu/Singapore/Korea/China are all only fictional places from the ‘Twillight’ universe (that emo thing). I for one would trade those 5 races against more conventional ones even if it meant Tamara would probably try to get a F1 race around the Hogwarts campus.
And now returning on the serious side, following Mr. Charouz quote on top of this post, as long as the future of F1 tracks is concerned, how about a once in a year endurance race in F1. I know it sounds silly, don’t grill me for it. I know some of you are big ALMS fans (podcast#123), so the time limit shouldn’t be an issue. Engines in 2009 have proven to be highly reliable compared to recent history. Overall reliability has been quite good – in my Excel file I came up with a 79,3% finishes ratio and that included crashes (in 1992 it was 49%). So why not have them run around an oval just once a year. IRL does it. IndyF1500 ??? F1 used to have it, didn’t they ??? For the life of me, I still don’t know why Indy was ever scratched off the F1 calendar but I know you guys do.
Anyway, just silly talks, because Bernie wants to have F1 his way. Let him have it. He wont last forever. Till then, what can we do ??? We’re just the ones paying for the race feeds, tickets and merchandise. And promoting, through free access websites, the sport he seems set to sink in.
Is there a US track sketched in crayon somewhere? Yes, I just did one. Cars can drive up to the flame held by the Statue of Liberty right?
@Entropy… I would watch a roundy-roundy oval F1 race. To me that sounds just up the US’s alley. I would find that very interesting.