Austin, the pick n’ mix Grand Prix?

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Written by Kate Walker

Wednesday, 01 September 2010 16:12

Building a new circuit from scratch is every F1 fan’s dream.

The blank sheet affords the opportunity to create the ultimate in fantasy circuits – a little bit of 130R, a sprinkling of Eau Rouge, a dash of Stowe, and a soupcon of the Parabolica – full of overtaking zones and challenges designed to test the best drivers in the world.

But as nice as it is to dream up a circuit comprised of Formula 1’s greatest hits – and anyone with a Scalextric set has probably had a go in their living room – the best way to approach new circuit design is to better the corners that have come before, to set new standards in racing excellence.

After all, we already have a perfectly good 130R at Suzuka, so there’s no need to repeat it elsewhere.

A great corner is not great simply because of its camber, its apex, its elevation. A great corner is great because of the sense of history that comes with it. Seeing a picture of Eau Rouge is like inviting a mental slideshow of legendary moments at Spa, of cars of all eras gunning up the hill as flat out as they dare, battles fought in the 1920s and battles fought last weekend.

Eau Rouge is great because of its context as a corner. It comes after the La Source hairpin, as cars charge up the hill, and before the drivers slam on the brakes for the approach to Radillon. Cars whip past the luscious greenery of the rain-drenched Ardennes forest, shooting up plumes of water as they push the limits of what is possible.

Now imagine Eau Rouge in Texas. Sure, Austin has more elevation changes and woodland than the stereotype of the state suggests. But would Eau Rouge Mk II have the same effect, the same impact? Would the hairs stand up on the back of your neck if you knew that the next corner would be a replica of Monaco’s Piscine, before the cars speed up again for an attempt at Texas’ answer to Istanbul’s Turn 8?

I can’t help but be reminded of an awful ‘90s film called Multiplicity, which involved human cloning and Michael Keaton. Not only were there thousands of copies of Keaton on screen, but each clone was slightly worse than the one before, much as a photocopy of a photocopy is blurrier than a copy of the original.

The organisers of the United States Grand Prix at Austin today announced that a draft track layout was ready for FIA approval. The proposed track will be 5.472km in length with 20 corners, elevation changes of 34.44m, a 1.2km back straight, and corners that will be more than a little familiar to hardened Formula 1 fans.

Race promoter Tavo Hellmund showed the draft design to local newspaper the Austin Statesman. According to the paper’s report of the meeting, half of the track’s 20 corners have been designed to make you think you’re elsewhere. Turns 3-6 are there for British nostalgia purposes, and echo Silverstone’s Maggots-Becketts complex. Turns 12- 15 have something of the Hockenheimring about them, while Turns 16-18 are an homage to Istanbul’s Turn 8, track designer Hermann Tilke’s most popular corner.

While Hellmund’s enthusiasm for F1’s legendary corners should be applauded – it has been some time since a new circuit was designed with the express intention of giving fans top-drawer racing – I can’t help but feel it is more missed opportunity than outright success.

First, as a new purpose-built circuit, Austin needs to develop its own character, its own identity. Aping existing tracks will make the Texas Grand Prix less distinctive, not more.

But more importantly, F1 fans already have one opportunity a year to see Maggotts and Becketts. If Hellmund and friends want to build a circuit in homage to F1’s greatest corners, why not take inspiration from those circuits no longer on the calendar, or tracks now altered beyond recognition?

Brands Hatch was last seen on the calendar in 1986, and millions of fans would like to see modern cars fighting it out round an updated Druids. Zandvoort’s Tarzan-Gerlach-Hugenholtz stretch would be another, lost to Formula 1 in 1985. Spa’s Mastra Straight and Kink, or any of the old Nurburgring. F1’s history books are ripe with inspiration.

Sure, these tracks were modified or left behind for safety reasons, but an updated nod to some F1 history would be more exciting than a repeat of tracks we see every year. If you’re going to play Formula 1 pick n’ mix, it’s best to use the whole candy shop. Kate Walker Girlracer magazine

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Comments (2)

|2010-09-02 14:16:36 Gareth

I think you've inadvertedly come up with a much better idea with your Scaletrix comment.

They should make it a giant sized one, complete with press/VIP boxes that looked like controllers, stands that look like the box, and banked corners held up with giant mugs, Lego bricks and Mechano. Now that would be a track you’d remember!
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|2010-09-03 09:48:19 Daniel

I agree with you Kate. I looked at the planned track and thought it looked good - better than any other Tilke track - but something felt wrong. You've nailed what that something is.

I like the idea of picking corners from tracks lost too.
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