british gran prix cancelled

[Becker4]

just read on f1-racing.net that bernie has axed the british gran prix. jackie stewart called it a disaster, i think hes right - the race at silverstone this year was one of the best. how do you think this will affect the fans of this sport? i think it might do bernie more harm than good, as it will surely cause a lot of animosity among the fans. its just another thing that shows the people in charge of this sport care more about themselves and thier pocketbooks than the public they depend on. im sick of this. and im not even british!

[sharkie17]

i hate to say this but everything these days are driven by the all mighty dollar... you cant get away from it and im sure thats what caused this fiasco...

but i really dont see fans getting too upset about it tho.

im not.

[West]

Bernie Ecclestone needs to be shot

If you go to F1 Racing World you'll see the moderator's avatar of Bernie looking like Hitler adn calling him teh great dictator

[sharkie17]

you cant just blame bernie...

british government had plenty of time and notice to help out with keeping the GP at silverstone.. instead, they sat on their collective asses and let this one go.

every other countries government help with subsidizing the GP... why not england?

[tempest]

Thats very average. I am not impressed at all
How will the teams react do you think, with the BGP being the home race for almost all of them?
I really hope that this is not the beginning of the demise of the traditional circuits in favour of the boring new ones like maylasia and china. Could it have something to do with the restriction on tobacco sponsorship in EU countries?

[tempest]

Thats very average. I am not impressed at all
How will the teams react do you think, with the BGP being the home race for almost all of them?
I really hope that this is not the beginning of the demise of the traditional circuits in favour of the boring new ones like maylasia and china. Could it have something to do with the restriction on tobacco sponsorship in EU countries?

[tempest]

(sorry about the double post, it was an accident)

[sharkie17]

Thats very average. I am not impressed at all
How will the teams react do you think, with the BGP being the home race for almost all of them?
I really hope that this is not the beginning of the demise of the traditional circuits in favour of the boring new ones like maylasia and china. Could it have something to do with the restriction on tobacco sponsorship in EU countries?

the teams will go on.. just because its a home race for lots of teams doesnt mean anything.

there was an article long time ago stating that waning EU economy and restriction on tobacco advertising had something to do with circuits moving away from europe... (im not sure which media tho).

as far as boring tracks go... hehe.. i can name a few european ones.

[bernard]

Well, my hopes are on London GP now...
It's a shame to see the Silvertone GP go, it's always provided among best races of the year. And the reason it got cancelled was because the facilities weren't as good as in the newer tracks. Meaning mainly the roads, which bernie has been complaining a lot about. Don't see that really harming the show for the people behind televisions, just a mild inconvenience for the spectators who are there.
I wonder if there were some behind the scenes (read: money) reasons involved? Because when it comes to bad facilities, nothing beats monaco, and that is bound to stay because it is a central part of F1 and offers good races. But then so is England.

[Monstrobolaxa]

Well, my hopes are on London GP now...

Everyone was interested in it but didn't Bernie a few weeks later say it wouldn't be "do-able"? Also a few teams showed interest but (also) a few weeks later mentioned it wouldn't the best thing to do and safety wise it's still a little "uncertain"?

[tetopelis]

one thing i seriously don't get is why is bernie so anti silverstone....wats wrong with the cuircuit anyway...personally i feel everytime we see the F1 race in that curcuit its a blast....and there is no other curcuit which showcases so many overtakin and drivers batelling each other at the front, at the back or in the middle of the pack. its always and exciting race. and the facileties has been improved over years...and it has been around for 50 years....was it such a torn in the a** for Mr. Bernie?...is money all he can think off?

[Monstrobolaxa]

Yes money is all he can think of....actually I think he's been relatively nice to Silverstone! Silverstone for the last couple of years has been paying far more less then other circuits have been paying. I've heard that for 2005 Silverstone only offered 15% of what it should pay....and besides that Silverstone managment made a big mistake, they went to Bernie and said: "take the 15% or leave it". And Bernie left it, cause he know there are other circuits willing to pay more! Bernie is the "boss" and he is the one that gives them a "take or leave it" contract! Silverstone management shoulf have waited for Bernies proposal....but they blew it all away with their proposal of 15%. If they had waited probably Bernie would have given them a discount....but now probably it might not happen!

[GuestAgain]

It not really about the money (at least not directly). Whats at stake, is the control of the circuit/race itself. Monstro is right, Silverstone probably does pays less. But that is due to their setup (it is run by the BRDC) and Bernie wants it, and has for a long time. My understanding is that BRDC pays to host the race (and mostly barely break even if at all). For next year, Bernie says get a promoter (AKA Bernie). BRDC says we cant afford this. Bernie says take a hike. The sticking point is not the price to host the organise/host the race but the promoter's fees.
For the past few years Bernie has had in for Silverstone (BRDC) and will stop at nothing till he gets his hands on it. If they find the £3m for next year, you can bet your bottom dollar there will be something else the year after. So the Govt gives them 3mil....what next and where will it stop? Its more or less blackmail on Bernies part.

[bernard]

Bernie has agreed to cut the price by 1,5 million pounds.
BRDC offered first to pay 6 million pounds (8,9m euro's) for the race, but Bernie wanted 8,9 million pounds (12,78m euro's) so they were three million pounds short. Bernie agreed to cut the price by 1,5 million pounds after Britain's sports minister asked him to help things along. So now they are missing only 1,5 million pounds, which they hope to rise from Northampton's businesse's, which make about 30 million pounds a year from the race. So there is a vague light at the end of the tunnel of the British GP!

[Spencifer_Murphy]

I have a strange suspision that the British GP will sumhow find its way onto the calender for 2005. Bernie has been on and on at the BRDC to make the Silverstone circuit better for a very long time know...but why? Lord knows there are tracks with wrse facilities (Take Imola for example or Interlargos for tht matter). The thing is I rekon Bernie has a very soft spot for the British GP and deep inside he fears tht it will go forever without a trace. Hence why he critisises it constantly...constant threatenin of it being axed should in theory make the organisers bring it up to scratch before its too late. But so far nothing really substancial has been done about it so Bernie figures that axing it finally will really shock them into realising that his threat is real. If he does it now at may be out for 2005....but changes will then be made for 2006.

Good timing by bernie then who knows that by 2006 Turkey, India, S.Korea and maybe Russia will be hoping to join the GP Circus.

I really do believe this....then again it could be me being over-optimistic. Lets face it Spa got axed for one season...hopefully tht will be the worst that happens to Silverstone.