Filed under: Motorsports
Good Ol' Boys Grand Prix? Alabama site interested in F1
Alabama's deep-south image may to some seem better suited to NASCAR moonshine-runnin' than the globe-trotting, jet-setting world of Formula 1, but a new motorsport complex in the southern state is keen to change that.
Alabama Motorsports Park is a $350 million project to be built in Mobile on the Gulf coast and will feature four tracks: a road course, a drag strip, a high-speed oval and a dirt track, giving it the ability to host numerous races for a variety of series around the year.
The project's investors expressed initial interest in hosting a second US Grand Prix, alongside the race currently held in Indianapolis. Given the elimination of Italy's and Germany's second races, this seems like an unlikely scheduling move for F1. The Alabama site is not set to be completed before 2009, though, and if the race continues to fail as it has at Indy, it may be up for grabs.
The last time the United States hosted two grands prix in one season was in 1984 in Detroit and Dallas.
[Source: F1i and the Mobile Press-Register]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Donna DeRosa 6:39PM (9/14/2006)
Bernie Ecclestone will take F1 anywhere if the Alabama track pays him enough.
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tbyron 10:09PM (9/14/2006)
You have GOT to be kidding. Bernie has a dim enough view of Americans' interest in F1. No matter the money, there is no way that he would take seriously a proposal from the deep South.
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Torz 11:42PM (9/14/2006)
Please let this be so. Anything is better than that mickey mouse track at indy.
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HR 1:39AM (9/15/2006)
Actually the Barber track near Birmingham has a better shot at F1, since it was built to F1 standards only a couple of years ago. It already hosts an AMA Superbike race and a Grand Am Series stop. And Porsche moved the "Porsche Driving Experience" there from Road Atlanta. It is truly a world class facility. Even the parking areas are sodded and irrigated bermuda grass. Oh yeah, it is also home to one of the best motorcycle museums in the world.
http://www.barbermotorsports.com/
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crossphaded 3:22AM (9/15/2006)
If the F1 sanctining committee had any sense, they'd bring F1 to Laguna Seca and be doen with it. Forget Indy, forget Alabama. Bring F1 to a REAL American roadcourse.
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MikeInNC 8:22AM (9/15/2006)
I'd personally welcome another F1 race in the US. I don't care where it is.
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Galley 8:49AM (9/15/2006)
I agree, the Indy course is a joke, and the U.S. Grand Prix belongs at Laguna Seca.
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Chris 9:09AM (9/15/2006)
We already have one US F1 race in the middle of no where, lets not have two. Having an F1 track is just the beginning of sponsoring an F1 race. Having airports that can handle and provide the massive influx of visitors and hotels that are up to snuff for the F1 followers or even just having hotel rooms, regardless of the quality. I think the location of the US Grand Prix is what makes it relatively unsuccessful. If it was within an hour or so of NY, Boston, Miami, LA, San Fran, it would be a whole different event, with massive corporate sponsorship, local interest and far more support. You might not think that's a good thing, but if we want to keep a race in the USA, we need it. Also, Indianapolis might be the most non-culturally diverse city in the USA. F1 needs to be in a place where people know F1, not just as the "other race". The international/foreign populations of Americas largest cities would also provide support for a race.
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JH 10:03AM (9/15/2006)
As a resident of Mobile, this proposal is laughable. Our airport is a failure and the city itself is an embarrasing example of how backwards the south can be. Just about any resource you can think of in this area is hopelessly inadequate for the kind of facility they are talking about.
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John 12:19PM (9/15/2006)
Drop Indy and bring the USGP to Laguna Seca. A true road course that can make races fun to watch. If not Laguna Seca, how about Road America, Watkins Glen, Infinion, heck...even Champ Cars' course in Long Beach is better than Indy.
Puting a road course inside an oval is the worst idea for a race track. No elevation change, stale environment, and that having half the course on the oval is just plain BORING.
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