Saying No To Bernie Ecclestone Saturday 9th February 2008 Night grands prix are like buses, you wait 58 years for one to come along, then two come along together. Or at least want to come along. The Malaysian GP is so keen to attract spectators that it is trying to twist Bernie's arm into letting them have the second night race. And that's even before we've seen the results of the first. "We actually started talking about lighting up the track with Bernie Ecclestone as far back as September 2006 for night racing by installing a lighting system that would give almost daylight quality light," Dato Mokhzani Mahathir, chairman of the Sepang International Circuit, told the Bangkok Post newspaper. Ever mindful of the advertising dollars, and the fact that the first GP of the season occurs in the middle of the night for European audiences, Bernie wants the Australian GP to consider running at night too. Perhaps that's why he's been less than enthusiastic about taking up Malaysia's offer of going dark. With three night races on the calendar - and two close together - they might begin to lose their novelty. From an infrastructure point of view it makes far more sense to have Sepang as a night race as Mr. Mahathir explains:"Singapore and Melbourne are temporary street circuits whereas we are a permanent racetrack. So, putting up lighting systems would allow us to rent out the track more." It's also punishingly hot during the race in Sepang and is often the most brutal of environments to race in and spectate in. Having a grand prix in the cooler night air might well attract a big crowd - something that Sepang has lacked for many years now. Though attendances were down in 2007, generally speaking a big crowd is not something that Australia lacks. However the Aussies aren't going to be pushed into a night race as Victoria Tourism Minister Tim Holding, explained. "We don't want to lose the grand prix, but we don't want to pay any price for it either," Holding told The Age newspaper in Melbourne. "So it's a balance. We've made it clear that we wouldn't have a night race and Mr Ecclestone has made it clear that he accepts that decision and, in fact, supports it." Which is at odds to what Bernie said to the Australian Sunday Telegraph. "In Melbourne, if we were to continue to be there, we would have to have a night race. That would be the only option." So why isn't Bernie pressuring the Japanese and the Chinese into having night races that were convenient to that (seemingly) all-important European TV audience. Probably because the Chinese built the greatest monument to motorsport in the form of the Shang circuit and the Japanese are paying a lot more money. And that's what it comes down to. At the heart of Ecclestone ticks the same motorbike dealer from Southeast London who gets his kicks from the next big deal. By constantly harassing circuits and putting up obstacles real or imaginary, he gets them to pay more money for races and also gets them to improve their facilities. Without Bernie's constant battering of Silverstone to improve, very little would have been done and development would have been even more glacial. For British fans it's irritating to see the constant 'Silverstone GP Under Threat' headlines, but a new circuit layout's been under consideration since the turn of the century and nothing's happened yet. Without pressure from Mosley and Ecclestone, who knows how little might have been done... Max Mosley likes to talk about improving things for fans of F1, but ultimately it is fans of grands prix such as Britain, Australia, Canada, Brazil and Italy that have been consistently supporting races for the 58 years of F1's existence. Until Michael Schumacher there was no huge enthusiasm in Germany and the Spanish GP at Barcelona was a case of spot-the-spectator during qualifying on Saturdays until Alonso came along. Ironically it is circuits in Britain, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Italy that have fallen behind venues like Sepang and The Shang, yet have a consistent hardcore of fans who will come along and support races. Football matches in front of empty stadia lack atmosphere, and GPs run in front of empty spaces lack a sense of occasion. Though it's good to have someone pushing at the quality standards of F1 venues, Ecclestone and Mosley should always remember where their core support lies before withdrawing a grand prix. Andrew Davies END OF PLANET F1 EDITORIAL
Patience, lets see how the first race goes before we have drivers wearing night vision goggles driving around the track.
They race in the wet (remember Fuji last year?). There is less visibility there, so what's the big deal? I welcome night races, I think it is a brilliant idea. From an entertainment perspective and also for ease of viewing hours. Anybody who has seen the magic of 24 hours at Le Mans knows how special and spectacular racing at night can look and feel. PS: Years ago a friend and I were developing F1 tracks for Grand Prix3 and guess what: We came up with night racing back then and people downloaded our tracks en masse.
I think it will be cool having a night race. But like the article mentioned, they need to make sure the novelty of it doesn't wear off. That guy's article hit it on the head at the end about remembering where the core support lies.
I rarely disagree with Andreas, but imho, an F1 night race is not something I look forward to. I love watching a rain race as much as anyone, but F1 is not an endurance race and I continue to believe a lack of daylight adds a dimension not beneficial for either drivers or fans. I'm not prepared to say it won't be a success, but as an F1 enthusiast, an integral part of viewing a race is being able to enjoy seeing the surroundings and the ambiance of a track in a distant country and this is severely curtailed with the advent of night racing. Hmm, rain at night ? Fabulous. Why not get season off to an earlier start so Yecch can pocket more cash by scheduling the NA portion here in February? We might luck out and watch them race in a blizzard (dibs to double down on Kimi and Heikki in that instance).
Hi Steve. Well, as you know, I was up late for most of the races last season as much as you, and I was in attendance for the Sebring 12 hr race. Endurance racing shows the surroundings of a track during daylight hours, and therefore you get to know the lay of the land, so to speak. I'm basing my opinion solely on the night IRL races I watched last year. I don't really care about them and yet they seemed quite compromised. I'll watch F1 regardless but I'm not happy about it....
Hi Is, I have not yet been or seen a night race except Le Mans 24 hour, so I'am being open minded about it I suppose. I get your point though ,respect for staying up to watch F1 BTW I think it's Bernie's way of keeping us in Europe happy with TV viewing= Revenue.. To quote him: "European viewers will enjoy it because they'll get to watch it live at a more decent time," he said. "For example, the Melbourne race is at 2pm which is something like 6am in Europe and for the first race of the reason that doesn't go down very well with the F1 fans.
Imagine the red glowing discs in the breaking zones. Something now we only get to see when the sky is overcast. As somebody said earlier in a night race debate: What they really should do is bring back the titanium planks to replace the wooden planks for the night race. Remember those sparks? Regarding the spectators and sight seeing: I'm sure the track will be flood lit like in a soccer night game and the cities will have just as much ambiance at night. Which city doesn't look just as good at night as in daylight? Obviously night time races wouldn't really work for non city tracks, but Bernie knows that.
I said that! I remember that thread. It was originally about Las Vegas street race, no? It then, of course, went off topic into some other interesting discussion or two.
