Au revoir, Magny-Cours: 2009 French Grand Prix cancelled
The French are getting screwed out of their Formula One fix. A little over a week after French Canadians began mourning the Canadian Grand Prix's cancellation from the 2009 F1 calendar, word comes that the French Grand Prix has also been nixed. The GP's promoter, the Federation du Sport Automobile (FFSA), announced the race's cancellation yesterday and blamed it on finances, though we find it hard to believe that even an F1 race in Europe can't make money in these tough economic times. With the race at Circut de Nevers Magny-Cours scrapped, the 2009 F1 calendar has now been whittled down to just 17 races.
The French GP began in 1906, and has run continuously since 1950 except for 1955 when it was cancelled after a horrible accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This year's cancellation is not expected to be permanent, however, as the FFSA loses its promotion rights in 2010, and F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has expressed his wish to see it moved from the Magny-Cours track, where it's been held since 1991, to somewhere closer to Paris.
[Source: Telegraph.co.uk, Photo by JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nick 2:10PM (10/16/2008)
Passing in the pits is not fun to watch, they can blame it all they want on the economy and costs, but the product on the track is not compelling.
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rsfourever 2:38PM (10/16/2008)
french and french canadian are not the same thing!
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rsfourever 2:39PM (10/16/2008)
sorry, i thought i read "the french are getting screwed out of their GP again"...
Pat 8:50PM (10/16/2008)
And the French-Canadian in reference to Quebeckers is somewhat outdated and offensive.
Rocketboy 9:19AM (10/17/2008)
Well, Quebecisns like to think of themselves as French.
Leviathan18 2:48PM (10/16/2008)
they seriously have to rethink the whole F1 thing
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usaf1907 2:51PM (10/16/2008)
Ecclestone wants another street race, he's no fool, those are the ones that bring the most money. despicable.
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John P. 3:23PM (10/16/2008)
Forget Bernie, where are those pics of his daughter again?
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Franz 3:30PM (10/16/2008)
Bernie is all about the money now. Sadly, more money for him means new circuits on the calendar. F1 is really in a sad state... I miss the days when it used to be more about the racing than about money and politics.
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usaf1907 3:32PM (10/16/2008)
Yes it is sad, even though this has been a good season, and we see that the potential is there for F1 to be as great as it once was again.
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parkergc8 4:20PM (10/16/2008)
to the OP who doesn't have a hard time understanding how an F1 race can't make money:
How much would you have to charge for tickets if a race cost you $30 million plus?
That's Bernie's entry rate these days.
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John P. 4:20PM (10/16/2008)
The ONLY reason motorsports at the level of F1 and Nascar exist today is for money. They are one giant marketing operation. If you love cars and racing you'd be much better off going to watch or even better, participating, at your local hill-climb, drag strip, or SCCA event.
I for one used to be a huge racing fan, but lost interest over the years. I suspect people losing interest is what's forcing Bernie to look elsewhere to chase the money.
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tankd0g 4:30PM (10/16/2008)
Bernie must have been slighted by a french waiter...
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ledhed 4:33PM (10/16/2008)
Sounds about right...
tom 4:34PM (10/16/2008)
They still have Monte Carlo - the best of them all.
I went to GP du Montreal last year and thought it was way better than Indy. Too bad they won't have it now.
How about a French GP at Paul Ricard, or even the short Le Mans course that MotoGP runs? Either would be great.
I know they want to do a Paris city race.
There are too many city races. I do not want to have a Paris city race, no matter how cool it would be to see them go around the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs-Elysées. After the initial glamour, it seems that it would be dangerous and perhaps a boring race (not much overtaking).
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Brad 5:00PM (10/16/2008)
Between Bernie and Max Mosley, it appears they are in a race to see which one can kill F1 the fastest.
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Luis 6:38PM (10/16/2008)
First Indy, then Canada, now France...Is he (Bernie) going to wipe out all of Europe too?! I know the money in the Arab countries is good but sheesh!
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ken_aisin 7:51PM (10/16/2008)
Bernie wants a Paris city street race to make more $$$. It's also no secret that he wants to scrap the race at Silverstone and replace it with a London city street race.
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Hugh G 11:14PM (10/16/2008)
Street circuits blow.
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