Why a race in Malaysia & NOT in the US?

While the $$$ in pocket may be a real incentive, it is definitely not the only reason.

F1 is huge in Malaysia. I'm willing to bet that on a per capita basis, F1 is MUCH more popular in Malaysia than in the US.

And in fact, I think it may even be the case that there could be more people (absolute numbers-wise) who're more interested in F1 in Malaysia than in the US (despite the fact that Malaysia has something like 8% the population of the US).

Besides, Sepang is a truly wonderful track - very well constructed, and quite safe with good run-off areas (this is a good thing because it encourages drivers to take more racing risks). I've driven on this track myself, and it's a world class experience. I'm a Singaporean (Singapore is the immediate neighbor of Malaysia), and even I enjoy the proper Sepang F1 experience far more than the trite street circuit night race run in my own country.

And, as Remy said, rain is the exception rather than the rule.

 

If that's true (and I don't doubt it is) its like running a race in Florida during the summer late afternoon. Any local (they don't have to be a meteorologist) can tell you that its going to rain like hell for at least 15 minutes almost every day. Is Bernie that stupid/arrogant? Apparently so.

 

Chicko, I have been saying this for years, but we are beating a dead horse here... not just other forms of racing, but all different levels of sport, from high school sports, to colleges, to semi-pro, to minor leagues, to Pro sports, not to mention poker, fishing, darts, bowling, etc. - 90% of 'sports' in the USA are not done in other countries. Hell, maybe 95%.

 

Spot on. F1 is "NIH" (Not Invented Here) as far as most US race fans are concerned & there is no US participation (yet). Those in the US who do follow F1 will watch it on TV wherever it is being run - and Bernie knows that.

F1 is a global sport with a global fan base & it so really makes not much difference to Bernie (or indeed most TV viewers) where its held. Its also one of those sports that people either tend to follow closely or not at all.

If the manufacturers want to sell cars in the US on the back of racing then they need to win at Daytona, Talladega & Texas MS etc (and possibly at Indy in May).

I.

 

Very true.

I figure if Penske made a run at it with Donohue, and then John Watson, and he dropped it, well, Roger is no idiot, he had the backing and he decided to pull the plug. There must be a reason..

I will say that NO form of motorsport will EVER make it 'big' here, or even as big as nascar, and it's because the media won't cover it. The media likes to 'hang' with athletes, the 'top' media has most big-time athletes on speed dial - certain writers and announcers have 'in's' with certain players, fat chance of that ever happening with an F1 'star'.

Who is the 'best' US media person for foreign racing today ? Bob Varsha ? is that about it ?

 

...have to say that we are very fortunate with the anchor team that SpeedTV has put together. Varsha/Hobbs/Matchett/Windsor are probably the best overall team covering F1 in the world. How they ever got Windsor is a mystery, as I would suspect that many European media outlets would have loved to secure the man who Bernie trusts to do the post qualifying/race interviews. I watched the Malaysian GP from my place in Hong Kong....what a joke, two minutes of introductory 'chat' in English...then 2 hours of race commentary in Cantonese (the language of love...). If we could put on a USGP that was as good as our commentary team we would be well ahead. Even if we never have another race in the US...I sincerely hope that we keep the Speed team together.

 

Well, I think that F-1 was finished when it left Detroit, and before it Watkins Glenn... its always been about money with the FOM, and Ecclestone. I always thought that F-1 was a sport and the teams were ... just that teams, then they became businesses... and that is the main problem... not that they should not make money, but its about sport and winning... not about max ROI, or IRR...

The USA had a very deep F-1 culture since 1959 to 1991, so pretty long compared to anywhere in the far east. However now its about money. Since F-1 was sold as a business to a hedge fund, there is no way its ever coming back to the USA. To hoast a F-1 race the main fee is $24Million +... and then you have to hand over all the TV rights, you have to split all the concession profits to FOM, and that basically leaves you with the gate... which F-1 could care less about. I dont care how good a business person you are there is no way to make a profit with a model like that. When you have national governments paying the price, how can any private company compete?

I hope the F-1 teams association start their own series, and cut the FIA and Bernie out. that is the only way F-1 may come back to the USA. Likelyhood? 0.00%!

 

It's better we don't have a GP. The Indy circuit sucks. Sadly, this is a Nascar country.

 

Speak for yourself, I'd love to have the USGP back. The Indy road course has been re-configured and it's much better now than it was before. Bernie wants an NYC street race but I doubt that will ever happen. With him and the troll we have in charge in NYC here butting heads, nothing would ever get done.

 

I don't think the Indy Road course sucks, but its not great, one of the poorer circuits that's been on the F1 calender in recent years. The use of the banked turn was a nice idea, and the 1st turn allows good over-taking opportunities, but the infield is very uninspiring..

I would love to the see the US gp held at Laguna Seca. If the track and facilities are good enough for Moto Gp, there good enough for F1...

 

for an f1 race to be successful in the USA it needs to be held either in Miami or in NY. Reason why ... is because those are cities that have the public for a race and are already destinations for europeans and people from latin america which apart from brasil (that sucs... ugly venue.. been there done that) dont have any other venue to attend.
Making a multipurpose facility in either city is not crazy ... the place needs to be good enough to hold american series and I am sure it will work just fine.
Indy is nice but it is hard to get to and as a tourist is hard to justify a trip there. If you are from Europe or latin america you could justify a vacation / shopping in miami or ny .... but going to Indy .... ???
We should all get together and ask the DONALD to build us a track ... name it the TRUMP GRAND PRIX ... who cares ... as long as we get our race ,
but in the end we will always have Montreal ... it will be back next year ... i have gone there for 15 years straight ... and will keep going there ... i just love it
probably one of the nicest venues i have ever been. and I already have been in MONZA, SPA, SAN MARINO, FUJI, BUENOS AIRES, SAO PAULO, BUDAPEST.. this year we are going to SILVERSTONE !!!!!!!

 

Actually, the first two locations best suited in the USA from a study are Miami and Orlando. Orlando winning as it has cheaper and more abundant land. Not to mention hotel rooms, international airport, and Disneyland for the families of the teams. New York was not even in the top 10.

Seriously.

And building a circuit is such a losing proposition that it is unlikely to ever happen, anywhere in the USA. Indy is still motor sports magic, even for the F1 group, so it remains the only viable choice at this time.

 

No body state side think that Laguna Seca would be a good option ?

 

Was thinking the same thing....

 

You must be new here.....

We have been down this road a million times, it's too far away from a megalopolis city, doesn't have the Hotels/Motels needed, and doesn't have the infrastructure needed. Just think of the money Tony George put into Indy specifically to keep F1 happy. You would need to do that at Laguna, and you cannot justify it. Indy can because they have two big races a year outside of F1 to fund it. Laguna does not.

I question how much longer we will have Laguna..

 

actually fishing and darts are very polular here.
darts has been shown here in the UK for 30 odd years and fishing programs are also very popular in the last 10 yrs or so
and poker whilst reasonably new to european tv is regularly shown here