Racing tracks: favourites

[bcsolutions]

I agree with you. It's not always the circuit alone that makes a good venue, the atmosphere and nostalgia attached to a particular circuit is half the enjoyment. The new circuits with all their technical challenges don't have the evocative atmosphere of the older circuits. I think thats why so many people mourn the loss of the Nordschleife.

[Reca]

I have a few favorite tracks, and Monza is definitely one of them

Thank you

I agree that the track was better without the last modifications, especially the first chicane, previous one was a bigger challenge for the drivers and you could really see different ways to cope with it. The only advantage of the new one is that you can take excellent pics of glowing brakes or of FWD touring cars lifting the rear inner wheel, but apart for that...
Here :
http://www.euspaceimaging.com/content/D ... -Itlay.jpg

you can see a (large) pic of the track, taken from a particular point of view. As you can see we still have almost all the old oval with banked corners and, except for the straight lines, there’s still the original pavement. Unfortunately the maintenance is totally inexistent and frequently there are people who suggest to demolish the banked corners, it’s an hard fight, I’ve signed I can’t remember how many petitions but I fear that one day we could lose that battle, we recently lost a couple of towers built in the 50s because of Bernie’s requirements for new pits. Furthermore it’s already hard enough to defend the track itself against the continuous attacks of greens... last year they made a measurement of noise for a couple of days, and measured a level of noise higher than the limit of law in the park so they rapidly blamed the track... well, these days the track was unused and the noise was from the traffic on a road passing thru the park and used by people going to work to take the faster way to Milan. That’s just an example of their continuous attempts to have the track closed.

[Steven]

(sorry for the split that happened wrong, the thread should have had a DaveKillins start post but I forgot to split it from the other thread )

Anyway, my favourites are about the same as Dave said, the old ones where the glory of history breathes. Since I'm a Belgian I really like Spa the most, it's perfectly designed into the hills.

The new tracks on the other side aren't bad, but it's like planting a circuit where they can find some flat ground. Ok you can see a lot then looking from a stand, but I really don't think it's a good idea. Tracks should be part of the environment. The new ones are created just to have those special corners, but they all seem so unnatural, I always have hard time in Bahrain or Malaysia knowing where the car is at the moment.

[dumrick]

The Nordschleife is not lost, it is still open and races are still made there (the 24h race, as an example...).

Besides the Nordschleife, all other "natural" circuits are a lot more beautiful and interesting than modern ones. By "natural" circuit, I mean those that were designed following the constraints of existing ground, where the turns were not designed scientifically or for television purposes.

Monza can be an example, as it is a circuit made in a plan ground, and so has born as a high-speed circuit.
Other examples? Spa-Francorchamps, Rouen-Les Essarts, Brands Hatch, Laguna Seca, Bathurst, Fuji, Dijon-Prenois...

[DaveKillens]

It's a horrible shame that tracks like Monza are constantly under attack by those who wish to "develop" the land.
But it appears that history isn't relevant anymore. I'm sure that given time, places like China, Malaysia, and Bahrain will develop their own history. But it just seems that, just like NASCAR, politics, and most important, money determines which tracks have races, and which ones are cut off the schedule, to wither and die.
The only exemption seems to be Monaco, and it is unique.
My personal favorite track? The Ring, aka Nordschleife. Not only is it an incredibly beautiful track, but it's history is the history of racing. Some of the greatest drivers of all time raced there, and some of the most memorable performances happened there. Jackie Stewart, and his win in the fog. Fangio..... he put on what is arguably the greatest performance in a race, of all time.
But sadly, the realism of safety has forced changes... and sadly, I do have to agree with the safety aspects.

[bcsolutions]

The Nordschleife is lost to F1 (I should have said). It is too large to marshall properly and as a result could never be part of a future F1 calender. I think it is a great loss, though i understand why it had to go.

[Reca]

It's a horrible shame that tracks like Monza are constantly under attack by those who wish to "develop" the land.

Yes, it’s a shame especially because the track isn’t really a new thing, you know, it’s there since 1922... Fortunately in the last years the “green pressure” has been vastly reduced and the track itself is pretty “safe”, in the late 90s when FIA was asking to add half meter of gravel trap each year it was really hard because, as you can see from the picture I posted before, to enlarge gravel traps in most of cases you have necessarily to remove trees. And, as you can easily imagine, each small, young, very common tree magically became, in green’s eyes, the most rare secular sequoia... no matter if for each tree removed 2 were planted in another place.
Now our biggest problem is to save the banked corners.

[West]

I like Interlagos, even if it's not the "best."

[fwa2500]

......atmosphere and nostalgia attached to a particular circuit is half the enjoyment. The new circuits with all their technical challenges don't have the evocative atmosphere of the older circuits. I think thats why so many people mourn the loss of the Nordschleife.

agreed. i love the Nordschlief...and the Sudschlief, which is now deserted....

i also like the old Monza with the banked turns (lol, just saw Steve McQueen's Grand Prix again)......the old tracks do have a different feel and atmosphere....and for most of then a legacy that cant be touched by most newer tracks...


oh, first post here btw, lol

[bcsolutions]

and for most of then a legacy that cant be touched by most newer tracks...

Like a good golf course i reckon! I think the new tracks are too contrained by safety and regulation. Can you imagine another race like Monaco ever appearing on the calender again i can't and i bet the health and safety guys would love to get rid of it!

[jaslfc]

Maybe not.. it seems that singapore is having a bid for another street circuit!! I hope they have it!! it wil be fun to see a different kind of track. The modern track is nice but its been designed by the same guys. (malaysia, bahrain and shanghai) i think its becomin abit plain!! thats why i think they should reintroduce some older tracks but just upgrade it!!

[Monstrobolaxa]

Estoril - home track....

Monaco, Hungaroring (think this one is due to it being Damon Hill's fav ), Barcelona.

Outside of F1...Laguna Seca

[RacingManiac]

(lol, just saw Steve McQueen's Grand Prix again)

You mean John Frankenheimer's Grand Prix, starring James Garner....

Le Mans is McQueen's movie....which is also awesome with golden footage of 917 blasting down Mulsannes....While is also another wonderful track, even after all its alteration over the years...

[dumrick]

is also another wonderful track, even after all its alteration over the years...

Humm... chicaneless Mulsanne / Hunaudières with the huge bump with cars at 380 Km/h and very low downforce... those were the days!!!!

[fwa2500]

(lol, just saw Steve McQueen's Grand Prix again)

You mean John Frankenheimer's Grand Prix, starring James Garner....

Le Mans is McQueen's movie....which is also awesome with golden footage of 917 blasting down Mulsannes....While is also another wonderful track, even after all its alteration over the years...

doh! my mistake, lol......never seen LeMans though have to rent it one of these days...

oh, in GT4 i unlocked both the new LeMans circuit with the chicains on the strait, and the old one with that loooooooooooooong strait.....maxed out the rev limiter on the Audi R8