Mc Laren dream with a Woking GP

McLaren has today unveiled an absurdly ambitious plan to bring a round of the Formula 1 World Championship to the streets of its hometown, Woking.

The team believes that a street race around some of the Surrey town’s most famous and celebrated spots would raise Woking’s profile, enabling it to join the ranks of Monaco and Singapore as one of Formula 1’s most glamorous and iconic race locations.

The main thrust of the project is to create a world-class Formula 1 venue – the Woking International Circuit – that will link elements of the town’s commercial, industrial and residential centres.

McLaren has been a Woking resident for almost 40 years, happily sitting alongside fellow Woking-ites Paul Weller and The Jam, Status Quo’s Rick Parfitt, Harry Hill and TV chef Delia Smith.

McLaren Formula 1 - Is Woking really set to become Formula 1's next Grand Prix destination?

 

McLaren launches tongue-in-cheek Woking GP plan

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mclaren-woking-gp-plan-941482/?s=1

With the F1 season in the middle of its summer break, McLaren has joked that its “absurdly ambitious plan” would enable Woking “to join the ranks of Monaco and Singapore as one of Formula 1’s most glamorous and iconic race locations”.

The plan includes an 18-turn track of just over three miles – named the Woking International Circuit.

McLaren technology group chief operating officer Jonathan Neale said: “Why not bring Formula 1 to the streets of Woking?

“Obviously, aside from the huge social and financial commitment needed to set up the infrastructure, re-profile roads, re-lay Tarmac, fit miles of Armco, build grandstands, pay for race-hosting fees and gain approval and sign-off from the FIA, we don’t see any barriers to our vision.”

McLaren added that the projected top speed on the circuit would be 195mph, stating that this would be “for the frontrunning cars”.

McLaren executive director Zak Brown said the plan evoked memories of Mika Hakkinen’s run through the town to celebrate his first world championship in 1998.

“It was Mika who first ‘raced’ a Formula 1 McLaren around the streets of Woking, way back in 1998,” he said.

“That event lit a spark that started a fire that turned into a dream that we converted into an idea: to host a round of the Formula 1 world championship on our doorstep, in Woking.

“Our engineers, our mechanics, our strategists have all actually driven this track. In fact, they’ve lived it; which actually gives them a head-start over the rest of the field.

“They know every bump on the track, every ripple in the Tarmac, every useable rush-hour rat-run, every decent takeaway restaurant within a five-mile radius of the start-line.

“That’s the sort of advantage you can’t buy…”

The proposed circuit layout “takes full advantage of the market town’s winding streets and fast multi-carriageways” and passes two of McLaren’s former factory locations.

McLaren’s plan also includes ideas such as basing the paddock on floatable pontoons anchored along the Woking-Basingstoke canal, and having journalists work from wi-fi hotspots in local cafes, restaurants and shopping centres instead of a media centre.

 

Oh my God, the marketing department of McLaren is doing really strange things lately.

We need to a race soon.

 

A mid-summer April Fools joke?

 

If anyone has been to Woking (and I have several times) that area is just the most lovely peaceful place of small villages going back maybe 1000 years.

Putting a track there is like filling in the Grand Canyon to build another Walmart.

 

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LOL! Great analogy . . .

 

+1

 

Agree. They will 'destroy' the area and not only around the villages..

 

Well, there are people who seem to be quite willing to destroy Central London to have a GP there, so the "countryside" can have its share of vandalism too .

 

They should focus on the car more.

 

Absolutely,.

I think that crazy idea came about during an evening brainstorm session at McLaren, where some kind of substance was passed around ...

 

it's a joke..

 

Like the last 3 McLaren seasons?

 

depends on where you're sitting..

 

Yes

 

No, that's a bad dream.

I keep expecting to wake up one day to realise it really never happened...

 

Something we can agree on.