Historic racing plans upset French countrymen, illustrates uphill battle new facilities face

Vintage Bugattis and Alfas reinacting the Targa Florio at one’s doorstep in all their skinny-tired glory might strike Autoblog readers (and this writer) as something approaching nirvana, but the same opinion isn’t held by some residents of Dordogne, France. 

News that one of its wealthier inhabitants, a British businessman by the name of Mr. David Brooker-Carey, is planning to create a vintage racing circuit has some in a froth. A group of protestors who’ve dubbed themselves as ‘Court Circuit’ argue that the proposed track and its expected 20,000 spectators per year would bring a plague of unwelcome noises, stifling traffic, and ‘environmental ruin’—including damaging the tapping grounds of the endangered black woodpecker’s.

Brooker-Carey and his proponents maintain that by using land previously damaged by a huge storm and with careful tree replanting, that such ecological concerns would be addressed. Further, the area has economic issues, and the track would likely greatly increase tourism dollars.

The Telegraph’s work here is instructive for motorsports fans worldwide, as its piece neatly encapsulates the battle fought virtually everywhere a new racing facility is planned.