Autoblog

Euro Disney Grand Prix plans shelved

Noah Joseph — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:59:00 EST

We're not sure what has more clout: Mickey Mouse, Alain Prost or 60 million euros, but the combination of the three was still not enough to get the French Grand Prix back on track. The race, previously held at the Magny Cours circuit in rural France, was removed from the 2009 calendar after organizers couldn't cough up the cash, and almost immediately other parties began filing queue to acquire the rights. The leading tender was spearheaded by Prost, the French former world champion, and backed by promoters Lagadere Sports and Euro Disney. Lagadere would provide the 60 million needed to finance the project, while Disneyland Paris would provide the land for the new circuit to be constructed. The theme park is just a 30-minute drive from metropolitan Paris, and already has plenty of hotel accommodations on site. However, the plan has now fallen apart due to lack of funding and following protests over the prospect of noise and environmental pollution by local residents who intend instead to go back to force-feeding geese and chain-smoking Gauloises.

The Euro Disney proposal was seen as the only viable option for getting the French GP back on for 2010, and its collapse means that Formula One will in all likelihood will not return to France until 2011 at the earliest. Still, the idea has merit, and makes us wonder if the US Grand Prix couldn't do well in Orlando or Anaheim.

[Source: F1-Live]

Euro Disney Grand Prix plans shelved originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Au revoir, Magny-Cours: 2009 French Grand Prix cancelled

John Neff — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:32:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

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]

Au revoir, Magny-Cours: 2009 French Grand Prix cancelled originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2008 French Grand Prix: Domination from Start to Finish

Noah Joseph — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:31:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Click above for a high-res gallery from the 2008 French Grand Prix.

The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship had its standings mixed up yet again as the world's best duked it out for victory at the French Grand Prix at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.

This year's race could, however, prove the last to be held at the historic track which has hosted the event for the past 17 years. With the facilities falling below the standard demanded of F1 circuits, discussions will now begin on whether the race will continue there next year, move to an alternative location (possibly at EuroDisney near Paris or Bernie Ecclestone's Paul Ricard circuit in the south), or ultimately be removed from the calendar entirely to make room for another race in Asia.

Follow the jump to read how the swan song played out.

Gallery: 2008 French Grand Prix

Continue reading 2008 French Grand Prix: Domination from Start to Finish

2008 French Grand Prix: Domination from Start to Finish originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FIA bans BMW's vertical nose fins

John Neff — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 16:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW

The FIA has gone ahead and banned BMW-Sauber's controversial vertical nose fins that first appeared on the team's F1 car two weekends ago at Magny-Cours for the French Grand Prix. The team claims that the vertical wings, nicknamed the "Twin Towers" after the Petronas Towers - the world's tallest buildings - in Malaysia, aid downforce at the front of the car, but the FIA cited safety concerns for their decision to toss them from the track. The governing body claimed the wings could impair drivers' visibility, though both of BMW's drivers who raced in the French GP say they don't. Regardless, BMW has decided to accept the FIA's decision, though it's understandably irked since there's nothing in the rulebooks preventing the fins and the cars passed a pre-race inspection before the French GP.

Both Ferrari and Williams were suspected of studying the new design with plans to copy it on their own cars, so perhaps we should praise the FIA for its preemptive move to uphold the aesthetic of F1 racing.

[Source: SPEEDTV]

FIA bans BMW's vertical nose fins originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 Jul 2006 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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