Borat_Drives_A_Scooby

It got me thinking after Silverstone has lost the British F1 GP to Donington, what would happen if all the racetracks in the world got together and said to Bernie Ecclestone that you have to pay us to use our tracks and not the other way round as it is now.

Ecclestone would have nothing without racetracks to race on, peresonally i can`t stand the bloke and i would love to see the sport stand up to him.

ScoobyWon't

I think Bernie's argument would be that F1 brings revenue to the circuits through advertising, renting stall spaces, tickets etc and that F1 probably provides the biggest source of income to the circuits.

Just look at the prices for tickets - F1 can be £100+ for race day at Silverstone, whereas you can get two days at Silverstone to watch the Touring cars for only £27.

The other thing is, there will always be new countries wanting to host a GP and they would likely be happy to build a new circuit and pay Bernie in order to get a place on the calender.

StickyMicky

i paid £20 for a weekend pass for croft BTCC a few weeks back

although i did buy it off somebody else on the last day

Scoob99

iTrader: (1)

I wanna punch the arrogant little git, he makes me sick, in my opinion F1 would be far better off without him and Moseley, I done it to keep the British Grand Prix going he said on T.V. earlier, P!ss off Ecclestone you done it so you can line you pockets again
Cheers
Colin

MrJim

why does,t the horrible little munchkin put some of his billions in to help these tracks and poorer teams

Alg

His missus loves him for his charm, wit, and personality!
Nothing else!

Wish

iTrader: (2)

Burnie says
Burnie is indeed a prize **** in my eyes..... It should be about the racing, but thats a long time gone now. Its all about the money, money and nothing else

vindaloo

It's going to be Silverstone's loss however you read it.

Wonder if there'll be a 2010 summer fastival @ Silverstone?

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Not if a decent program was in place as an alternative, I don't enjoy F1 enough to pay £100 to see it, however a BIG event with lots of variety would get my vote.

Strangely I'd rather see the drift and TA teams at the moment, my ex employer used to run a tarmac stage event on GP day as an alternative, 6R4's and the rest, much more entertaining.

DunxC

corradoboy

I think Silverstone/Donnington has been a long term plan by Bernie and the BRDA. Millions has been spent to get Silverstone up to spec with new pits, garages, grandstands, parking access roads and whatever else, and no sooner have they got it somewhere finished they go and pull the plug. IMHO they're simply shifting focus to give the country a second premier venue for motor racing. In another 20 years they may treat Oulton, Cadwell or somewhere else to a bite of the cherry to keep them active and up to date, and give options to promoters, teams, drivers and fans of all motorsport.

DCR59

Mixed bag this one.
The BDRC have only themselves to blame. A few years back they got millions to invest in Silverstone (Bernie put in money himself). New plans were drawn up to move the pits down to the straight leading into Abbey, new grandstands, etc.
What did they build? A new BRDC clubhouse costing £5m for their members, and made hardstanding areas for some car parks after that April race when they turned into mud baths.
Not much else.

As for Bernie, with a wealth of £2.8billion, you'd have thought for his home country he'd cut a bit of slack. He's put up hosting prices for Silverstone by more than 50% in less than 10 years. He's too greedy.

But no-one lives forever, no matter how much money they have, and he will be 78 later this year.

Alg

what would scooby do

I spoke with ole' Bernie today, wasn't all that grumpy - he actually managed a smile..

Scoob99

iTrader: (1)

So why didn't you punch the little bastid

fast bloke

Have you considered why Bernie does what he does? Is it for the good of F1, or to put money in his pocket..... Strangely, when I do some work, the number one reason for doing it is for money. Sure, If I can help someone along the way I will do so. Why don't the critics volunteer their time for free to sort Silverstone? (Don't see what the big difference is anyway... Is Donnington not as handy for the Londoners or something? )

Alg

He'll just keep rotating the tracks.
Brands for a while. How can I make more money? Silverstone for a while. How can I make more money? Donington for a while. How can I make more money?
?????? ???? for a while.
He'll die or retire before he gets chance to switch to the next cash cow track after Donington

GC8

Oulton? You must be kidding! Id be surprised to see any racing there in 20 years. Do you think that Bernie will be happy enough with a Saturday GP, because they cant race at Oulton on a Sunday any longer!

Daz1121

I thought that Sunday racing at Oulton is ok just only after midday.

500

it's after 12 on monday because of the local residents daz iirc

Does bernie charge 18m to everyone that hosts the races? or just Silverstone?

apparently it takes a year for Ss to recoup the 18m that is charged, then it starts all over again!

I can't see how Donington is going to work TBH, and if it does, how long the ques will be!

Leslie

It would not surprise me if Donington could not get the track up to requirements in time so Ecclestone would just cancel the British GP and sell it to another country for pots and pots of cash.

Silverstone is as good an F1 track as there is anyway.

Les

MooseRacer

That is exactly what will happen. British GP safe my ****.