msater Wrote:
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> But it would be fantastic to run a GP at the Glen
> or Long Beach, yes?
In an ideal world where F1 won't turn up and rape the circuits? Yes, of course. But then we'd also be running almost exlusively in America, because other than a handful of circuits (Spa, Suzuka and Bathurst off the top of my head), America has the monopoly on awesome circuits, despite everyone thinking they just run round ovals all day. Watkins Glen, Sears Point, Road America, Sebring, Road Atlanta, Long Beach, Cleveland, Detroit Belle Isle, Barber, St Petersberg, Mid Ohio, Laguna Seca, and if you want to include Canada with the US then add Montreal, Mosport, Toronto, Edmonton and Mont-Tremblant. So really, if F1 were to only run the best circuits in the world then it'd spend most of it's time in North America and every so often make trips out to Spa, Suzuka, Bathurst, Interlagos etc.
But in a realistic world, if Watkins Glen or Long Beach applied for a F1 event the circuits would be completely destroyed to accommodate F1 anyway, so why bother?
An F1 race on an oval? Well you'd have to kit the cars out in completely different aero packages, so it'd be pointless really. Even the Monza spec cars would be far too draggy on an oval. They'd probably corner faster than IndyCars on ovals too so it'd just be flat out on almost every high banked oval in America. I do agree with that article that oval racing, especially in stock cars, is poorly understood outside of the US. Too many people are completely ignorant on the subject and just seem to think that it really is easy because it is only 2 corners. I guess if ignorance really was bliss there would be a lot more happy people.
At the end of the day you'd need new chassis, new aero packages, new rules, new tyres. You'd have to build so much expensive stuff for just 1 race. Is it really worth it? Especially when F1 fans don't tend to like oval racing? I'm actually thinking the other way. Not only would I prefer it if F1 stayed away from ovals, but I'd like NASCAR to cut back on a few to get 3 or 4 more road races in a year. IndyCar has a great balance.
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