F1 back in the USA

[wwgkd]

Here you couldn't have a track that wasn't in the middle of nowhere because the noise would bring in so many lawsuits they'd have to close it.

A number of airports have gone that way recently. People move in next to something noisy because it's cheaper, then sue until it's not noisy anymore. Drives me crazy.

[Wouter Melissen]

It's definitely best that a new track is designed so the existing tracks are not molested out of recognition. If Tilke can design something like the Istanbul track at Austin, everybody should be happy.

[Kitdy]

It's definitely best that a new track is designed so the existing tracks are not molested out of recognition. If Tilke can design something like the Istanbul track at Austin, everybody should be happy.

People give Tilke a lot of flack sometimes, but not every track he has made has been horrible. Your example of Istanbul stands out as a shining counterexample to those that claim all the "Tilkedromes" are boring. That being said, it is possible that Istanbul is his only good circuit.

Looking at his F1 permanent circuit resume, he's done

1998 Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia
2004 Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain
2004 Shanghai International Circuit, China
2005 Istanbul Park Racing Circuit, Turkey
2009 Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi-United Arab Emirates

I can't think off hand exactly, as I have a horrible memory for these sorts of things, but how many of these are decent? Offhand Istanbul seems good - the races at Sepang are often interesting - I'd chalk them up to rain though - but I seem to recall there being only 1 decent overtaking place. I missed the race in the UAE, the rest I can't really remember.

Just exactly why is Tilke Bernie's go to man for circuit design? How did that come about?

[Matra et Alpine]

KNowing Bernie ... back-handers

[Wouter Melissen]

Just exactly why is Tilke Bernie's go to man for circuit design? How did that come about?

Because he does what Bernie tells him to do. Istanbul shows that Tilke knows what it takes to design a proper circuit but there are many more factors in play than just the designer. In fact, the reason why his tracks are not liked as much is because they have been built to the latest safety standards with insane run-off areas. This may be safe for the drivers and all but also makes for a very boring look surrounding. It is virtually impossible on most of these tracks to see where a driver is just because everything looks so much alike. The locations selected for these tracks are usually also very uninspiring. From personal experience, I can tell that the drive to the Istanbul track is very surreal. It's located on the Asian side of the city and provides a very stark contrast with the surroundings.

I firmly believe that if a proper location has been selected with some hills, the new Austin track could be very good.

[Matra et Alpine]

I tihnk to be fair to Tilke ( how COULD I ) then his worst reputation was built at the time when F1 decided that constant radius curves were necessary to make racing safer.

So basically MANDATING boring-ness and no overtaking places and the neutering of the greatest tracks on the planet

[fpv_gtho]

People give Tilke a lot of flack sometimes, but not every track he has made has been horrible. Your example of Istanbul stands out as a shining counterexample to those that claim all the "Tilkedromes" are boring. That being said, it is possible that Istanbul is his only good circuit.

Looking at his F1 permanent circuit resume, he's done

1998 Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia
2004 Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain
2004 Shanghai International Circuit, China
2005 Istanbul Park Racing Circuit, Turkey
2009 Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi-United Arab Emirates

I can't think off hand exactly, as I have a horrible memory for these sorts of things, but how many of these are decent? Offhand Istanbul seems good - the races at Sepang are often interesting - I'd chalk them up to rain though - but I seem to recall there being only 1 decent overtaking place. I missed the race in the UAE, the rest I can't really remember.

Just exactly why is Tilke Bernie's go to man for circuit design? How did that come about?

IMO Sepang and Istanbul are the better ones. Bahrain is boring and has no atmosphere or scenery. Abu Dhabi might grow on me but right now its just glitzy, same with Singapore. Valencia is just a boring power circuit. Shanghai sometimes has good races but the turn one complex is a mess and the back straight is probably too long.