Valencia street circuit to host European GP from 2008

[gttouring]

yyeah lets cancel 2 italian races, and 2 german race s so no country can have more than 1 GP- oh lets and have 2 in spain
while I love this idea for F1 and Spain. WTF? Isn't this so against Bernie's policy?

[climb]

Originally Posted by henk4

which will ultimately mean that Valencia's inhabitants will be paying heavily.....as the proposed contribution of the city is about 25 mln....

Spain have a fast growing economy, in such situations such contributions are more easily seen as investements; BTW Valencia have made many in the recent years, and all have been absolutely successful. Thus it will not be a problem IMO.

[Rob29]

Originally Posted by Schummy

A circuit in a city?

Yes,that is obvious.The point was the difference between 'street' and 'urban' A street circuit must be urban but not necessarly the otherway round.Albert Park & lsle Notra Dame are in the cities but in parks not the street like Monaco or Bilbao-if they can copy Bilbao will be wonderful.

[chunder]

Against Bernies policy!

He only has one and that is to make money for himself, secondly to try and capitalise on growth areas, exactly what he is doing.

[cnsperth]

thanks for p[onting that out Adam. it's good to have access to AS again.

[Yannick]

What are the chances like that if Kimi Raikkonen wins the championship this year, that there will be an F1 race on the Helsinki Thunder street circuit next year?

Why not make it a rule that the defending champion gets an additional home race?
Say if Hamilton wins, there would be Silverstone and Donington.
With Bernie having already set up Valencia in addition to Barcelona, it's likely that Alonso wins, though.
So we don't need to worry about a 2nd Brazilian track to choose besides Interlagos in case of Massa winning. ;-)

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by Schummy

An interesting side note is Bernie is conditioning the contract to the result of the next regional elections. So, I suppose we will have to watch the news about it

just picked up on this point, here, and while F1 has always played a role in regional and national politics, i just find it hugely inappropriate that BE would make such a conditional offer at all.
last year the FIA went on the offensive against the Turkish government for using a podium celebration to forward one of its causes, and their reason for the fines, sports and politics don’t mix.
granted, introducing new deals just before an election is an old trick used by incumbents everywhere, but making it conditional on whether or not he gets re-elected is imo openly an attempt to influence the outcome of what should be a fair & democratic election.
but as i said these are just my thoughts (and admittedly my knowledge of Spanish politics is very limited) so i would be curious to know how our Spanish members feel about this. but for me sports should be above this type of political posturing!

[henk4]

Originally Posted by climb

Spain have a fast growing economy, in such situations such contributions are more easily seen as investements; BTW Valencia have made many in the recent years, and all have been absolutely successful. Thus it will not be a problem IMO.

but isn't it ominous that Bernie has made the contract conditional to the result of the elections?
And will the return on these investments also flow back to the people who made them, i.e. the tax payers?

[ensign14]

Remind me again what was said about taking motor racing to new markets cos it is a World Championship. And remind me again just how far Valencia is from, say, Barcelona.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by ensign14

Remind me again what was said about taking motor racing to new markets cos it is a World Championship. And remind me again just how far Valencia is from, say, Barcelona.

350 km, and just think of the economies of having to move the circus just over that short distance

[Rockmunky]

Logistical nightmare!!

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Rockmunky

Logistical nightmare!!

don't try to hit Spain underneath the belt

[henk4]

an update on Spanish politics.

Bernie has put the condition that the Partido Popular will win the elections and stays in power. This is the party of former MP Jose Maria Aznar, who was voted out of office three years ago mainly because of his support to the Iraq policy of GWB.

Now the business partner in Spain of Bernie is Mr. Alejandro Agag, and his name is also mentioned as the successor of Bernie, should he finally decide to retire.

So what is the link?

Mr. Agar is the son-in-law of Mr. Aznar.

This is how the pieces of the puzzle fall together....

[henk4]

sic

[Schummy]

Originally Posted by henk4

This is the party of former MP Jose Maria Aznar, who was voted out of office three years ago mainly because of his support to the Iraq policy of GWB.

This is dubious. Pre-electoral surveys suggested the infamous 11-M bombing could have a major part in the final results. Also, if I remember well Aznar did a "Blair" and decided years earlier to not present himself to reelection.

In any case, I feel this is going a bit out of F1 territory So, I'm sorry to steer out of forum limits!

[henk4]

Whatever you want, 11-M would not have taken place if Aznar had not supported the GWB policy, but apart from that it looks already enough like a scam as it is.

[Marbot]

The politics are out of the way now.

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns19211.html

[Sev]

I just thought I'd point out, having spent a while in Valencia last summer: The area the track is going through is not the close-packed inner city (sadly), but instead is around a marina. In terms of run-off spaces, I think you will be looking at Albert-park levels, not Monaco.

[duke_toaster]

Originally Posted by Sev

I just thought I'd point out, having spent a while in Valencia last summer: The area the track is going through is not the close-packed inner city (sadly), but instead is around a marina. In terms of run-off spaces, I think you will be looking at Albert-park levels, not Monaco.

F1 needs more street circuits. By street circuits I mean real ones. Manhole covers, drainage, bumps, tight corners and barriers nearby. Monaco has been partially emasculated by resurfacing over the years, it seems like the circuit is becoming a little bit manicured.

I hope that the circuit is more Monaco-style than Albert Park style, AP has seemed to me as being as characterless as a civil servant, middle-of-the-road and a circuit that is stand out dull.

And if they do both races, F1 should run them back to back. Or failing that, maybe run Valencia Thu-Sat-Sun and then Barcelona under lights on Tues-Weds-Thurs. Just a thought. It would be better if F1 condenced down to a 2 day weekend with Friday as at least 4 hours optional open track testing and support events.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by duke_toaster

F1 needs more street circuits. By street circuits I mean real ones. Manhole covers, drainage, bumps, tight corners and barriers nearby. Monaco has been partially emasculated by resurfacing over the years, it seems like the circuit is becoming a little bit manicured.

I hope that the circuit is more Monaco-style than Albert Park style, AP has seemed to me as being as characterless as a civil servant, middle-of-the-road and a circuit that is stand out dull.

And if they do both races, F1 should run them back to back. Or failing that, maybe run Valencia Thu-Sat-Sun and then Barcelona under lights on Tues-Weds-Thurs. Just a thought. It would be better if F1 condenced down to a 2 day weekend with Friday as at least 4 hours optional open track testing and support events.

Please not another Monaco, one car parade per year is more than enough...even the Hungaroring offers more options to overtake...