48 replies to this topic

[molive]

News from Folha de São Paulo .

According to the paper, Bernie and São Paulo's municipality reached an agreement, last Wednesday, to extend the current contract (which expired in 2009) to 2014. The new agreement will be signed during the Brazilian GP weekend.

Even though I'm happy for São Paulo, and because I really like the track (due to all the special memories there and because it always brings good races), I'm also disappointed because I think there are other venues in Brazil which could also host F1 races, particularly in my hometown (Autodromo Nelson Piquet, in Brasilia).

[Atreiu]

Yes, it's the right thing to do because there is no other track in Brazil which can hold an F1 race. The Autódromo Nelson Piquet is half decent and would need huge sums of investment to be rebuilt and have a race. Not to mention that, considering how F1 nowadays needs huge straights to have overtaking, the race itself would probably not be that interesting or exciting.



Eu acho que seria MUITO melhor reformar o nosso autódromo para receber a Moto GP. Os custos envolvidos provavelmente seriam consideravelmente menores e a corrida em si seria bem mais emocionante.

[molive]

Originally posted by Atreiu
The Autódromo Nelson Piquet is half decent and would need huge sums of investment to be rebuilt and have a race. Not to mention that, considering how F1 nowadays needs huge straights to have overtaking, the race itself would probably not be that interesting or exciting.

I agree the track needs lots of investment in infrastructure, but the layout isnt bad at all, and I believe even F1 could show some good racing there (here).

[saudoso]

Originally posted by molive


Even though I'm happy for São Paulo, and because I really like the track (due to all the special memories there and because it always brings good races), I'm also disappointed because I think there are other venues in Brazil which could also host F1 races, particularly in my hometown (Autodromo Nelson Piquet, in Brasilia).

Voted keep it there and the reasons are the same as yours... But the views from the paddock club suck after the offices/kitchens where built.

[president evil]

I think Interlagos has a great atmosphere ..especially now its end of term. I do believe though the other Brazil venue in the mid eighties was great too ..what was it called ? Jacarapagua ?

[jokuvaan]

They should fix track surface, especially going into first corner.

[Risil]

Originally posted by president evil
I think Interlagos has a great atmosphere ..especially now its end of term. I do believe though the other Brazil venue in the mid eighties was great too ..what was it called ? Jacarapagua ?

The Jacarepaguá circuit has been mostly torn up now, I think... Interlagos is the only credible F1 venue in the whole of South America, and as long as that part of the world maintains a significant interest in it, the racing will stay there. It's a nice track, although I'd like to see them reinstate the 5 mile original version.

[silverado07]

I like Interlagos.


The one that should be dropped from the calendar is the Hungaroboring!

[BorderReiver]

Interlagos is a superb circuit, one of the few "classic" venues left.

[kar]

I love Interlagos, it's one of the best circuits left on the calendar, glad it's set to remain on the calendar.

[matt_rhtb]

Originally posted by BorderReiver
Interlagos is a superb circuit, one of the few "classic" venues left.

I agree, it's a track that you can look at and say, 'that's Interlagos'. It's unique, it's a classic. Unfortunately with these new 'Tilkedromes' they're not so easy to distinguish as they're all corporately uniform and bland. Let's not lose anymore traditional circuits! Apart from Hungary and and Magny-cours if you can call them traditional.

[Atreiu]

Originally posted by molive


I agree the track needs lots of investment in infrastructure, but the layout isnt bad at all, and I believe even F1 could show some good racing there (here).

No chance. The longest straight is barely 800m, IIRC. That's not enough for F1 nowadays. They's have to tear things down and build it all over.

[Buttoneer]

Not just that but look at the run-offs. Nowhere near big enough for F1 and by the looks of things nowhere to buld them in either. Shames because the layout does look good.

[djellison]

I love the track and the atmosphere- but as long as Interlagos and Monaco are on the calender Bernie can not pretend that other venues need to bring their facilities up to scratch.

[Mauseri]

Interlagos is fine. I'm happy with this, but wouldnt mind if the race was in another good track.

[molive]

Originally posted by jokuvaan
They should fix track surface, especially going into first corner.

They are re-doing the whole track again this year, lets see.

[BorderReiver]

Originally posted by molive


They are re-doing the whole track again this year, lets see.

The odd thing is they're forever resurfacing Interlagos and it never seems to take for some reason, it'll always be as bumpy and patchy as hell.

Who cares though? It's part of the challenge. I love the place, it always produces an entertaining race and it's a proper autodrome, the sort of place where motor-racing should be. Great atmosphere, a great layout, great history and some proper, gradiented, corners, none of this flat, anodyne, tilke rubbish.

[Mauseri]

Originally posted by molive
They are re-doing the whole track again this year, lets see.

lol

[wingwalker]

that's great, it's one of my favorite tracks. run offs are big enough imo, and judging from f1 challenge, spectators there can see a whole lot of track from every or almost every seat- that's cool. tons of interesting corners, too.

[Witt]

Originally posted by BorderReiver
Interlagos is a superb circuit, one of the few "classic" venues left.

Ditto these words.

One of the few circuits remaining that really shows the cars operating, with all it's bumps and camber changes. Great track for racing too.

[roadie]

I like the track but by all accounts the facilities are rubbish. Why does Brazil keep getting pardoned for this whereas places like Silverstone are forever being attacked by BE? Is it because he thinks he can extort more money from the British?

[MortenF1]

Originally posted by jokuvaan
They should fix track surface, especially going into first corner.

Precisely. Fix the bumps once and for all and I wouldn't mind Interlagos for several more years.
Brazil must have the worst geotechnicians on planet earth, either that or very inept ground workers.
(Said with a touch of tongue in cheek.)

[Orin]

I like bumps. Interlagos is one of the best circuits on the calendar, glad to see it's not gone the way of Suzuka.

[Sith]

Bring back Jacarepaguá!!!!!

[SeanValen]

Originally posted by jokuvaan
They should fix track surface, especially going into first corner.

No, that's one of the tracks highlights, the surface, they've tried to fix over the years, but the place was built on a swamp, the more they tried to engineer the bumps out, the more they remain, they are a great addition the bumps for the technical set up, it's a extra challenge.


FIX the BUMPS, I get angry when people say that, the bumps add character, don't fix what is not broken to the technical challenge of this high downforce high electronics f1 era, yeah let's MAKE IT EASIER FOR THEM, THE TWITS!!!THE DRIVERS NEED SMOOTH SURFACE TO WIN and have tea after, all the more gentler for them, yeah let them have a more trouble free day, let's be kinder sweeter f1 fans to them.






Keep the bumps



Interlagos is a track that likes to keep it's stubble, it's never clean shaven, it's real hard grit, from the spiritual home of Senna, to the legacy of Schumacher's last galliant drive, let us respect the foundations of the track, the grit.



Interlagos is like a f1 track that's been thrown in a mudbath, and hasn't had a shower for a week with a crazed f1 fan following it in the woods, that's the grit of Interalgos, long may it live in Brazil.

[MortenF1]

Some bumps are OK, but the main straight on the Interlagos track is just ridiculous. It's too bumpy.

[Clatter]

Originally posted by race addicted


Precisely. Fix the bumps once and for all and I wouldn't mind Interlagos for several more years.
Brazil must have the worst geotechnicians on planet earth, either that or very inept ground workers.
(Said with a touch of tongue in cheek.)

Why fix the bumps? Why should the drivers expect things to be made easier, and to have billard table smooth tarmac? In fact it would be better to put artificial bumps in some places, especially into the braking zones to make things harder. Maybe thats a way to aid overtaking, make the racing line into a corner bumpy, but the normally slower line smooth.

The one thing that continues to annoy me is the way BE continually puts Silverstone down, and threatens its place on the calender, and yet grants long licenses to circuits, that from what I've read (Never been there so no first hand experience) are far worse in facilities.

[MortenF1]

Originally posted by Clatter


Why fix the bumps? Why should the drivers expect things to be made easier, and to have billard table smooth tarmac? In fact it would be better to put artificial bumps in some places, especially into the braking zones to make things harder. Maybe thats a way to aid overtaking, make the racing line into a corner bumpy, but the normally slower line smooth.

The one thing that continues to annoy me is the way BE continually puts Silverstone down, and threatens its place on the calender, and yet grants long licenses to circuits, that from what I've read (Never been there so no first hand experience) are far worse in facilities.

Your second point I agree with totally. It's something "no-one" understands; why Silverstone gets so much ****, while some other poorly staged G's P gets the thumbs up.

The first point - I don't mind some bumps, but as I've said that straight is just ridiculous! It's shaken cars to pieces more than once, and some drivers complain of back pains.
Some bumps are good, it makes for spectacular viewing when the cars skid nervously under braking, but on that straight it seems like sitting on a washing machine.
OK it's swamp land, but I think (and I should now 'cause I'm in the construction branch) it's just a case of excavating those particular masses away to the right level.
I've seen huge, tall houses being built on what was previously a dumpster/swamp land, and that's been problem-free.

[wj_gibson]

The bumps will always be a feature of Interlagos simply because it's built on swampy land that is always slowly shifting around under the surface. To make it completely smooth would require what Tilke did at the similarly marshy ground where the Shanghai track was built, in which a layer of industrial polysterene was laid on top of the ground beneath the track to prevent bumps from popping up.

I don't think the 5-mile track can be revived though, part of it is now a car park IIRC.

[karlth]

Originally posted by Clatter
Why fix the bumps?

I think it was Eddie Irvine who lost either a tooth or his fillings when crashing over one of Interlagos' famous bumps mid-race.

[molive]

Originally posted by wj_gibson
I don't think the 5-mile track can be revived though, part of it is now a car park IIRC.

As we can see in the aerial view, the outer ring is still there, but I think it would be impossible to bring it to modern safety standards, specially because of run-off areas.

[Risil]

Originally posted by molive


As we can see in the aerial view, the outer ring is still there, but I think it would be impossible to bring it to modern safety standards, specially because of run-off areas.

Well, the cars managed at Indy okay. It's probably as much a case of unwillingness to invest and FIA bureaucracy as much as anything. Oh, and F1's terror of anything approaching a fast corner. One suspects Max knows far better than we do how close the sport came to extinction in May 1994.

***Edit: Just looked at a few of the old proposals from when the idea to shorten the circuit to F1 standards was first mooted, in the late 1980s... The fabulous opening section is invariably intact, although when the final design was unveiled, they made most use of the infield. Interesting, and one can only assume that the decision was a very deliberate one.

[speedmaster]

Originally posted by karlth


I think it was Eddie Irvine who lost either a tooth or his fillings when crashing over one of Interlagos' famous bumps mid-race.

Change the dentist.... no bump, even in a F1 circuit should be able to dettach a filling or a crown... Keep the bumps !
;)

[wingwalker]

i think the oval ring will never come back because it's.. an oval. safety reasons a side, interlagos has already a long full throttle section, and this is only useful for F1 when it ends with a long breaking zone.

[karlth]

Originally posted by speedmaster


Change the dentist.... no bump, even in a F1 circuit should be able to dettach a filling or a crown... Keep the bumps !
;)

I'm not complaining.

Eddie deserved it and Interlagos is my favourite circuit.

[santori]

Good news. As a combination of impressive corners and excellent racing, Interlagos is probably the best track on the calendar.

[karlth]

Originally posted by santori
Good news. As a combination of impressive corners and excellent racing, Interlagos is probably the best track on the calendar.

Hakkinen talked about Interlagos several years ago. He said that it was for him the most impressive circuit in F1. If a driver went well there then he was very good.

[tomspar]

The spirit and passion of the Brazilian crowd makes this place special. I am sure the facilities are nowhere near those at new tracks, and the FOM fee can't possibly be the highest either. Maybe Bernie has some sentiment after all.

I would highly recommend attending this race.

BTW the location was to be a housing development, but the swampy land "between the lakes" was uneconomical to build on. So they built a racetrack. I suspect smoothing it out is achievable but only with a Bahrain sized civil engineering budget.

[Risil]

Originally posted by wingwalker
i think the oval ring will never come back because it's.. an oval. safety reasons a side, interlagos has already a long full throttle section, and this is only useful for F1 when it ends with a long breaking zone.

The cars were spectacular through there, and they'd only be moreso now. And have faith in the OWG...

On another note, are the plans for MotoGP to race there in the future still on track, so to speak?

[ehagar]

Originally posted by Risil


The cars were spectacular through there, and they'd only be moreso now. And have faith in the OWG...

On another note, are the plans for MotoGP to race there in the future still on track, so to speak?

Good god I hope not. They went there *once* in 1992 and it nearly caused a rider revolt. How the heck it got on the schedule to begin with god only nows. Apparently all they did was went around in a rental car and it got certified! Two years it was cancelled and taken off the schedule, and when it finally took place there were very public threats of boycotting it. Kenny Roberts & Marlboro agreed to boycott the race if they so chose... Solid walls to fast corners made it life threatening on the 500s... on a faster 4 stroke? Egads.

Niall Mackenzie:

I never raced on a more dangerous circuit

Doug Chandler:

There's already no room for error. You are not seeing any runoff. You look at corners and you look at the wall. In the rain its dangerous, really dangerous. On the front straight I'm clicking into fifth in the last bend before the pit with both wheels drifting up to the wall at quarter-throttle. In the dry you are pegged in 6th and using a quarter of the track.

Schwantz

A mistake means injury for sure. I don't think there is anything to learn out there except how to bust your ass (on riding in the rain).

It is a good F1 track, but it is not suitable for bikes. I am much afraid there is little that could be done to make it suitable either. The bumps make it interesting for F1, but for the bikes it makes it a motorcross track (Wayne Gardner described it as such).

Brazil had Rio, which was decent for bikes and had a pretty good oval for Indycars too. But stupid politicans must have had a hate on for motorsports and made it the site of the Pan-Am games... I mean really, the Pan-Am games? Talk about bloody irrelavent! You destroy a circuit for that drivel?

[Risil]

Aha. Here's the bugger.

The last two corners could be a problem.

Quite the understatement, but they do seem quite confident. If they could make Indianapolis into a MotoGP circuit...

[ehagar]

Originally posted by Risil
Aha. Here's the bugger.



Quite the understatement, but they do seem quite confident. If they could make Indianapolis into a MotoGP circuit...

I think the problem is that at least with Indy they have the money and they have a track record of trying to get things done right. I mean no disrespect, but I Brazil doesn't have a very good history with the FIM so I would be inclined to have them prove it before putting it on the schedule.

I also wonder if we will see Suzuka on the circuit anytime soon...

[molive]

Its a big discussion.


There are plans to build a new track in Guarulhos (where São Paulo's international airport is located) and a lot of people think its a go (including Massa), but other think its better to invest money on Interlagos (which, btw, uses about $12 million every single year, in order to get F1 ready).

As for MotoGP, I also think Rio was the better choice, as the track was quite good, but now it ruined.

Maybe, in the new facility planned for a town near São Paulo? Its supposed to be complete entertainment, with Theme Park, Shopping, etc.



The project is called SP Races , and its currently waiting licensing from environmental agencies.

[Risil]

That looks a lot like the old old Rio circuit, before the F1s used it... If it's all the same to them I'd rather they just kept Interlagos, although the first viable alternative to it in South America that Bernie finds will be taken up.

[WACKO]

Where else would you host the Brazilian GP? Jacarepagua is no more.

[WACKO]

Originally posted by molive

The project is called SP Races , and its currently waiting licensing from environmental agencies.

It looks like Barcelona from above. :

[Risil]

Originally posted by WACKO


It looks like Barcelona from above. :

That's what you get when Tilke isn't designing!

[molive]

Update:

Agreement signed: Interlagos to continue to 2015 (portuguese).


:up:

[Sébastien]

Now there´s a government concerned with keeping F1 in town by investing in the track, them Melbourne chaps could take a leaf out of their book (just put the lights up will you)

but seriously, good to see Interlagos securing a long term deal, F1 wouldn´t be the same without it dear Amigos da Velocidade.