30 replies to this topic

[AustinF1]

So, in a post-qualifying interview of Tavo Hellmund by Will Buxton, Hellmund stated he's working on a new project in North America that's still a couple of weeks or so away from going public. Interesting. Wonder what it is...He also said there's still a possibility of investment in an F1 team.

 

Hellmund working on new GP project in North America

http://motorsports.n...-north-america/

Edited by AustinF1, 31 October 2015 - 22:17.

[Marklar]

So something in California and in the North? Well....

Edited by Marklar, 31 October 2015 - 22:21.

[charly0418]

San Diego

[AustinF1]

Yep. Cali sounds like a good bet I'd say. San Diego sure has the weather. NorCal has the tracks.Who knows...

[InSearchOfThe]

Wasn't Tavo linked to Manor?

[August]

I can only hope it's not Laguna Seca, Sonoma, or Long Beach (assuming it's in California). Those tracks don't deserve to get butchered for F1.

[KingTiger]

San Diego can't even fill a football stadium. No way F1 is going there.

[noikeee]

Hey, hey, why does it have to be in the US? Why not a second CANADIAN GP? 

[cheesy poofs]

I don't expect a new track to be built but rather a temporary street circuit.

[AustinF1]

Wasn't Tavo linked to Manor?

Yep. Maybe still is.

[whitewaterMkII]

Fat chance, no money in San Diego for that, and no 'downtown' that could handle a street race.

These guys really need to go find someone/somewhere else to scam.

Chris Pook and his cohorts tried to put together a street type race at Del Mar racetrack, a beautiful setting, back in the 80's and it went nowhere, even after approvals.

Edited by whitewaterMkII, 01 November 2015 - 01:46.

[ThadGreen]

Fat chance, no money in San Diego for that, and no 'downtown' that could handle a street race.
These guys really need to go find someone/somewhere else to scam.
Chris Pook and his cohorts tried to put together a street type race at Del Mar racetrack, a beautiful setting, back in the 80's and it went nowhere, even after approvals.

I agree Del Mar is a beautiful setting - where the turf meets the surf. For those who are unaware Del Mar is a horse racing track.

I briefly meet Chis Pook at a Long Beach GP, he was riding a small motor bike around the inside/outside of the track and keeping an eye on things. I have a lot of respect for what he accomplished at Long Beach and yes I believe he is too smart to get mixed up with Bernie and his 'crew'.

[loki]

I can only hope it's not Laguna Seca, Sonoma, or Long Beach (assuming it's in California). Those tracks don't deserve to get butchered for F1.

I don't see it being either of those.  I'd say street race, most likely to be in the Bay Area if California.  I'd say south peninsula (San Jose or there abouts) or East Bay, maybe Oakland.  There are some places in SF proper where they could have one but I don't know if the city would be on board and with land values in SF proper I doubt someone would want to build even a garage facility.

 

Others that have more direct knowledge than I say that New Jersey is still a possibility but I've listed in other posts why that still may be a longshot.

[AustinF1]

Kelly is saying that he's only talking about it now because it's dead.Today:

 

Sean Kelly @virtualstatman 7h7 hours ago

How intriguing that Tavo Hellmund says he's ready to announce another North American F1 venue..... an area of passing interest of mine....

 

Sean Kelly @virtualstatman 7h7 hours ago

When he was bumped from the Austin project we discussed approaching Tavo about San Diego. Hopefully somebody else did! smile emoticon

 

10/27: We proposed this F1 layout to San Diego officials in 2011. Convention Center is a full-size pit/paddock with pitlane 

 

 

 

 

Edited by AustinF1, 01 November 2015 - 02:24.

[loki]

That's interesting.  I normally wouldn't think SD though I wouldn't have thought Austin, Baku, Sochi, Abu Dabi or Bahrain either.  With the right backing I could see one going in there.

[charly0418]

San Diego can't even fill a football stadium. No way F1 is going there.

 

San Diego is like way bigger than Austin isnt it?

[AustinF1]

The metro area there is about 50% or so bigger than Austin's, but what's really important is that it's just a couple-hour drive from LA.

 

I'm still not sold that it's SD, but I'm not ready to rule it out. It's all very intriguing.

Edited by AustinF1, 01 November 2015 - 05:48.

[Volcano70]

Hey, hey, why does it have to be in the US? Why not a second CANADIAN GP? 

Because we'd not want to see Mosport or Mont-Tremblant Tilkeifized.

[wj_gibson]

I seem to recall a vague effort to organise a race (or at least organise a race-related project) in the Presidio part of SF several years ago. Didn't go anywhere, though, and I don't really know exactly how serious it was beyond someone's pipe dream.

[BRG]

I seem to recall a vague effort to organise a race (or at least organise a race-related project) in the Presidio part of SF several years ago. Didn't go anywhere, though, and I don't really know exactly how serious it was beyond someone's pipe dream.

Several years ago?  100 more like!  

 

Seriously, it was 1988 that the idea came up again.

[wj_gibson]

I'm sure it was floated again more recently than that. Certainly after Imdianapolis had started hosting the GP again and there was some talk about a second US GP being added. This was around 2001 or 2002.

Edited by wj_gibson, 01 November 2015 - 21:43.

[ANF]

Several years ago?  100 more like!  
 
Seriously, it was 1988 that the idea came up again.

1998.

[AustinF1]

Seems almost like the Judge is hinting at something even bigger for Hellmund...

 

http://thejudge13.co...#comment-163707

 

 

F1 even to the casual observer must appear to be in chaos. There’s an impending EU investigation into the legitimacy of the sport’s governance amongst other things, teams quitting or close to bankruptcy, engine arguments and viewer numbers in rapid decline.

Yet behind the scenes there is one individual who appears to have everything he turns his hand to under control. This man works away from the madding crowd of the paddock and is involved with the serious business of Formula One’s future.

He is responsible for F1 returning to the USA and for contributing toward a Tilke high watermark in circuit design, at the Circuit of the America’s. He also saw the years of planning come to fruition last weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodruigez, with record daily crowds in attendance across the three day F1 event.

This man is Tavo Helmund

...

Despite being conned and excluded by his fellow investors in the COTA project, Tavo refuses to be cowed by the difficulty of working with big money players to get F1 into new places. It was he who persuaded Ecclestone to sign the deal for the US GP and Helmund Jnr who made Bernie believe in the reality of a race back at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodruigez...

[AustinF1]

According to Hellmund in this new article, it's not SoCal. It's NorCal, and it's potentially a new track. He says Bernie is looking at a race in SoCal. He also talks quite a bit about the prospect of a Manor buyout.

 

After F1 success in Austin and Mexico, what’s next for Tavo Hellmund?

http://www.mystatesm...s-next-f/npKsz/

Edited by AustinF1, 11 November 2015 - 03:55.

[KingTiger]

Didn't we already establish "the judge" as a complete fraud? You might as well quote my blog for F1 rumors, it's unlikely they'll be more inaccurate...

[AustinF1]

Didn't we already establish "the judge" as a complete fraud? You might as well quote my blog for F1 rumors, it's unlikely they'll be more inaccurate...

Well, for me he's pretty hit & miss, but everything he says about Hellmund there is dead-on.

[loki]

Hellmund is delusional if he thinks a 41 year old Dale Jr to give up a 25 mil/yr gig to run for a back marker F1 team. He'll mind is smarter than that. Any Nor Cal track that doesn't have the land and permits right now is at least 5 years out.

[DinocoBlue]

Although this is still very much a rumour at the moment, I wonder where it would go on the (crowded) calendar?

 

Wasn't Port Imperial supposed to be a back-to-back with Montreal? Surely that'd still be viable if it was in NorCal?

[Nathan]

I wish they would announce these projects once they have been financed and approved.

[Dan333SP]

It seems there's a consensus that this won't be San Diego, which is too bad. That's a gorgeous city and 3 out of 4 of my brothers live there, so it'd be a great "visit family with an F1 race as a perk" trip.

 

Does anyone else remember when the American Le Mans Series was trying to launch a street race in SD? I think it must have been in 1999 during the first season. IIRC, they included it on the schedule along with a street race in Puerto Rico, but both fell off the calendar early on when the funding or approvals didn't come through.

 

Anyone know what that proposed track would have looked like? Similar to the hypothetical F1 layout depicted above?

[Nathan]

 

Hey, hey, why does it have to be in the US? Why not a second CANADIAN GP?

 

I don't expect a new track to be built but rather a temporary street circuit.

5.1 kms. The only problem is the pitlane entrance would have to be after turn 1....Guess that kills that...

 

Pitlane/Paddock