The end of the British Grand Prix???

F1 watchers will be aware of the long standing wrangling over the possible demise of the British GP on the calendar.

Currently it is not on the 17 GPs list for 2005 and this will be confirmed on OCt 13th if nothing else happens.

Up to now my mind has sided with Jackie Stewart and the BRDC and I have viewed Ecclestone's manouvering as plain greed but hearing him speak to a relatively small radio station I began to think maybe he was just being commercially honest. Today, as more facts emerge it seems that the BRDC has its head rather in the sand.

If you've been to Silverstone recently it is in a sad state and needs a complete rebuild not a makeover. It's better than in 1971 when I 'saw' Jackie Stewart win. Since there was no banking and as a student I couldn't think of stand tickets all I saw was occasionally flashes of his car.

I also read for the first time the list of 'old men in cloth caps' (to quote someone) who make up the BRDC board. Namely, JAckie Stewart (president), Ray Bellm (chair), Jackie Oliver, Mark Blundell, Tony Jardine (F1 commentator) plus a few others.
Check out this link itf it still works

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jh...03/smprix03.xml

What do you think - should they do a deal or is Bernie shafting them?

The historcal significance of Silverstone and British racing heritage is far too great to allow the BGP to go away without a fight. It doesn't appear that the two sides are working well together(if at all) in trying to resolve this and other issues(see Jaguar, Cosworth). If Bernie doesn't work to keep the older, classic venues running, instead of trying to line his pockets with gold, in 10 years F1 may be right up there with "professional" wrestling! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Business is business and all that, but this behavior seems to be self destructive. Which venue will be given the axe next? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Bill

Politics - plain and simple. Ecclestone is losing the grip (and the plot), the GPWC is becoming more attractive, the 17 races that are being submitted allow the midget to try and rattle the Teams into submission and taking no more cash out of his till,(which they insist on if he went ahead with a 19 race program) UNLESS the teams unanimously want to do Silverstone. If the government step in I, for one, would be very disappointed. Ecclestone is a "multi billionaire", the BRDC are extremely wealthy and the team owners are not short of a bob either.(who made them all rich in the first place ? YOU AND ME DID !!) The Silverstone ticket prices for F1 are probably the highest in the F1 world and for what?
On a bandwagon note, there are handicapped kids in the uk who rely on charity to buy them the everyday things we take for granted but the govenment have decided to vote in another £48 million to help crack cocaine addicts (how much are they getting already ?) So stranger things can happen and if there is enough, IMHO misguided , lobbying or the teams really want it, the UK race will go ahead in 2005.
But A1GP (http://www.a1gp.com/home.html) are starting as well this winter, the GPWC is becoming strong, and Ecclestone and his mate Mosley are becoming old men. Time will tell and maybe just maybe tall young wives will take their toll.
Dave M

Well said David. It will be interesting to see how this works out with less than 20 cars given the Concord Agreement - who then is in breach, the teams or Bernie? Tall young wifes - very good, I like that.

Oh. Is that what these tall young wives are for. Climb up on their shoulders for a better view of the track!!! Regards

The newspapers here have been carrying a report over the weekend about Ecclestone. This time its about his dog, a red Chow, and how its been ripping the throats out of other dogs and mauling people in the private garden complex where he and his tall young wife live. Ecclestone described the dogs actions as similar to his own when he is attacked.
Sounds like it needs a muzzle. And the dog as well.....
When he and his wife were releived of their Rolex watches or some such trinkets by a vagrant a few years back he didn't do a great deal then. Maybe he should have had the dog with him.
Now, the papers report, the dog is being banned from the private 1 acre gardens and is being taken for exercise for 2 hours everyday in a Mercedes. Probably up on Hampstead Heath where the dog can savage the members of the public the same as it's master does at the races, and get used to Ecclestones work ethics. Could be that Ron Dennis and Norbert Haug have found new jobs as dog minders? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif