More bad news for Donington ??

cider_and_toast

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Seen this today and it looks like more bad news for Donington's plans to be the next venue for the British GP.

Could it really be that the thousands of fans who at the time said "this will never work" actually knew what they were talking about and that in some way Mr Ecclestone was wrong on this one??

http://formula-1.updatesport.com/news/a ... /view.html

Silverstone and Brands managed to share the Brit Gp through most of the 70's and early 80's but could that sort of set up work again in this country? It makes it more likely that we could find ourselves in the same situation as Japan and Germany with the non-host track refusing to take up the slack left by the host year track pulling out.

At least in the plus column Bernie is saying that there will be a British GP and that Silverstones case to hold it is looking stronger.
 
The whole Donington/Silverstone/British GP situation is just absurd and another example of Bernie doing his own thing without thinking of the sport or the fans.

First there was Donington, then possibly no British GP, then perhaps back to Silverstone after claiming it was Donington or nowhere and now alternating between the two.

When Donington was announced, a lot of fans and pundits predicted that it would never be ready in time and that seems to be the case.
Let's face it, we have a terrible track record when it comes to building things on budget and on time; Millennium Dome, Millennium Bridge, Wembley Stadium, etc., so it's no surprise.

Damon Hill's not too keen on the idea either: http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=38462

Another article from The Independent on the situation: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing/donington-may-have-to-share-british-gp-1752272.html
 
DH does have a bit of an axe to grind though doesn't he and he's going to take every chance to have a pop at Bernie, one would presume, in the hope of getting the fee down.

I used to love it when the race rotated between between Silvestone and Brands as every 2nd year you got a race at a decent track. Perhaps if they do this with Donny we will get back to this situation. Sorry, letting my predjudices get the better of me but Silverstone ain't 'alf boring, difficult to get to and windy as hell even on a good day.
 
Silverstone ain't 'alf boring, difficult to get to and windy as hell even on a good day.

While Donington has the potential to be the better track I think it will prove too narrow for F1 cars. I may be wrong and I know it's got the craner curves and it's way better for viewing than the flat of Silverstone but I just don't think it's going to be suitable. As for Silverstone being difficult to get to, I think Donington will be an absolute nightmare. This plan to release people in groups to busses at car parks away from the circuit sounds like a nightmare in the making and the bulk of the access to the track for those lucky enough to "win" a trackside car pass, is nothing but country lanes.

There is a lot more scope for development at Silverstone but they need to get on with it.

As for Brands, that's where I would love to see the British GP but unfortunatly Brands hasn't really changed one brick since the mid 1980s which is a great thing for motor racing fans but no good for Bernie. Any way, the other block on Brands is the fact that some of the land around the circuit was sold by the circuit owners for housing developments to raise a bit of cash. In return the occupants of these houses managed to get a court order to restrict the number of racing days at Brands due to noise issues !!!!

>:(
 
Fat Bloke - I would say Silverstone is much easier to get to, especiallyu for those of us that live south/south west of it, I would have thought the same could be said for those that live North of it.

East Midlands airport circuit is going to be a complete nightmare for those of us that live down south.

I don't mind silverstone, just Bernie wants his hospitality facilities sorted out. Who here really cares about the hospitality at a circuit?!?
 
From where I live Donington would be far easier to get to, although I would happily drive to Kent if they moved the race to Brands. I know they have improved the road systems around Silverstone massively; I was there in 1981 and it took 5 hours to get out of the car park, on my last visit in 2003 it too about an hour. The problem I had then was getting lost in the Northants country side as they tried to funnel you north and I wanted to go south (maybe it's just my awful sense of direction?)

I think the great thing about Donington is that it is so close to the M1. As long as the Police manage the traffic flow properly I can't see why it should be a problem. Anyone go to the MotoGP at Donington? Were there problems?

On Brands, I remember reading somewhere else about the limit on the number of races because of the housing around the circuit. Miserable gits, why buy a house that backs onto a motor racing circuit and then moan about the noise of racing cars. Some people... :givemestrength:
 
Fat Bloke said:
From where I live Donington would be far easier to get to, although I would happily drive to Kent if they moved the race to Brands.
It's just 20 minutes on the train to Brands from here

:D
 
Fat Bloke said:
I think the great thing about Donington is that it is so close to the M1. As long as the Police manage the traffic flow properly I can't see why it should be a problem. Anyone go to the MotoGP at Donington? Were there problems?

You are living in the same country as me aren't you?!? The police manage the traffic.. I can see it being gridlocked on the M1, its busy enough on a weekend as it is, so should be loads of fun. Silverstone is about an hour and a bit for me, Donnington is well over 2 hours. Don't think i'll bother going along, don't enjoy sitting in traffic for 5 hours, especially with a two hour drive left afterwards.. ;)

I think the only way to get there faster is to fly into east midlands.

Those who complained about Brands should be told to stick their complaints up their arses.. :thumbsup:
 
RickD said:
Fat Bloke said:
I think the great thing about Donington is that it is so close to the M1. As long as the Police manage the traffic flow properly I can't see why it should be a problem. Anyone go to the MotoGP at Donington? Were there problems?

You are living in the same country as me aren't you?!? The police manage the traffic.. I can see it being gridlocked on the M1, its busy enough on a weekend as it is, so should be loads of fun.

Fat Bloke said:
No, I live in Yorkshire!

Am I missing something here? Are the police better at handling traffic in Yorkshire or something? "Bloody southern cops can't organise traffic proper down there. Up 'ere when the sign says 30 we bloody go at 30 unlike them southern pansies!"

(I'm from the Midlands!)
 
I was at donny last year for the motogp. Getting out was a nightmare, and we watched two of the support races while waiting for the 'rush' to die down, ho hum...
 
To quote the Police from the C4 program Red Riding "To the North, where we do what we like".

I think I may have mentioned before that I am an exiled Southern who's still trying to come to terms with the lingo up here "I say what I like and I like what I say".

Bless 'em.
 
I read in the paper a while back that drug addicts in Yorkshire had taken to rubbing crushed Ecstasy tablets into their mouths to get a better hit.

According to the Yorkshire police this fad is called "E by Gum"
 
cider_and_toast said:
I read in the paper a while back that drug addicts in Yorkshire had taken to rubbing crushed Ecstasy tablets into their mouths to get a better hit.

According to the Yorkshire police this fad was beeing called "E by Gum"

Not that I (ahem) know anything about that kind of thing, but they wouldn't be much of an addict just taking Ecstasy..

Other than that, not a bad joke..

A man goes to the vet because his cat is poorly. The vet says "Is it a tom?" and the man says "Nay lad, 'ah've got it 'ere in t'basket!"
 
LOL @ c_a_t and RickD

Trying to steer the thread back on topic.....the teams have said the calendar is a priority issue they want to sort out.

Formula 1 teams believe the future shape of the calendar must be high on the list of subjects that needs sorting out with Bernie Ecclestone, amid fresh doubts about the prospects for traditional races.

With the German Grand Prix the latest event to be in danger, after the Nurburgring said it will not host next year's race unless fees are reduced, there is an increasing uncertainty about the fate for a number of historic events.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77111
 
oops - there is very helpful "search" facility on the forum pages Bro, I would have thought you would have known about that :snigger:
 
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