My vote is to keep it in Indy.
Nice pix of the vegas proposed track. But ugh one question? Where are they getting all the water to grow the green stuff? That city cant support what it has built already..serious water problems.
Modernize the Glen. Put it there. Bring back the bog!!! you haven't lived until you've seen a bunch of drunk, rowdy, almost completely out of control race fans playing in the mud!! Or, tipping over a camper... (Can't find any pix of that!) Watkins Glen was an amazing place when I went there in the mid 70's for an F1 race. (bog pic is not mine, the rest are.) DM Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thats the Bali Hai Golf Course. And the runways to Las Vegas's major airport (McCarran) are to the right across the street. I like the location but wonder if the owners are willing to "widen" the golf cart paths to FIA standards. Who knows, the bunkers could make for good runoff.
I didn't vote since the best two options outside of Indy are missing: - Las Vegas - Orlando The Glen, Road America or Laguna Seca would be the perfect places, but too much to do surrounding them. It is not just about the track, it is also about lodging 100,000 spectators, airports, restaurants, etc. Las Vegas would be my choice, but Ron made some compelling arguments for Orlando and he has a point: "Close" to Europe, vaca destination, all the infra you could wish for and plenty of land. Where did that Las Vegas suggested track map come from and what's the point? They already have a roadtrack where they run F1 cars year round. Hello!
Of those choices, Laguna would be my favorite. Going back to the Long Beach street course would also be preferable to Indy. Gary
I chose Laguna Seca. Would love to see the F1 cars going through that corkscrew. Indy has so much history attached to it, but that doesn't detract from it being a terrible track, almost as bad as Monaco. It's a Mickey Mouse track. The whole track was designed to showcase the oval portion of the track, whereas the infield seems to have been very much an afterthought, designed with very little thought to the cars' capabilities, and to passing zones. Aside from Ferrari dominating the race, it was a very boring race. The track could have been, and should have been so much better.
Vegas is the only place that can pull it off on Financial basis.Indy lost money on it and all the other choices are pure fantasy.
Isn't that a funny fact? Monaco and Indy are terrible tracks yet they are put on a pedestal for their history?
I was at the USGP, stayed in the brickyard crossing with a few pretty well known guys. one of them was carol shelby's nephew and a pretty good friend of tony george. apperantly bernie is trying incredibly hard to get the GP moved to vegas. not only that, he is trying even harder for them to shut downt the strip for the race. realistically I'm pretty sure they wont be able to pull that off, considering the money those casinos make in one day, let alone a race weekend. now whether or not this is accurate information, I dont know but a race down the strip would be awesome.
I hear Steve Wynn is behind the Idea It makes sense because Vegas is slow during the summertime and a F1 GP would bring in at least an additional 50M to las vegas. That makes it more viable than any place in the US.
We don't get to see Spa this year, but we get to watch a parade around Monaco and Indy. It's a joke. Is Bernie the sole guy to decide where races are held?
I believe that is the case. The FIA sets the rules, but Bernie runs the biz. Camron: Interesting info about Vegas. However I don't see why they would have to close the casinos. I'm sure back/side entrances could be opened to give gamblers access. And a GP brings 100,000 people into town, so I'm not even sure they would loose money, after all these folks want to be entertained in the evening/night. I would imagine it would be organized a bit like Monaco: Open the track once racing stops and at least allow pedestrians to freely roam the streets/track. In the morning on practice/qual/race day, the fences get closed again. It can be done. The thing that worries me more when I hear about street circuits are all the obstacles like fire hydrants, pedestrian island, lamp posts, manholes and the like. If you take care of all that, it becomes a very narrow track. As in Monaco.
Road America is *ahem* not even close to FIA standards. Plus, where the hell are you going to stay? Milwaukee? Uh huh...
.at Miller Motorsports Park, and not just because I want to have it easily available. I lived in Detroit when it was there so that isn't my reasoning. The track is probably the best equipped with possibly the exception of Infineon, we took care of the Olympic crowd with no problem, we have two top grade Trauma Centers, there is an airstrip within 5 miles, plus a major airport, and people who want nightlife can hop to Vegas with half an hour flight time. Actually the hotels are probably better than any of the other choices for where it could be done easily ( www.Grandamerica.com ) anywhere out west. So there. Or maybe still Winchester Indiana.
