Why Tilke ?

[AndyL]

Tilke is one of only two people that has the required licence to design F1 level race tracks, and unlike the British guy (who did Dubai and re designed Silverstone) he is a good mate of Bernies, which means that every time a new government goes to Bernie and says "we want a race in our country", he'll point them in the direction of Tilke.

The mind boggles. Who issues these licences, the FIA? I wonder if they would have issued licences to the creators of Spa, Monza, Suzuka and all the other traditional tracks that produce good racing and fill their stands every year.

[Roamy]

I'd have to disagree with that to an extent. I want to see cars in the race, not sitting in a gravel trap or on a hook, but in many instances of his design, the track itself doesn't lend itself to passing. If they aren't going to take chances, they aren't going to pass. It's not because they aren't wide enough, it's not because there is no penalty for going off. The performance of the cars are out of sync with the tracks. The cars accelerate too damn hard, the semi auto transmissions eliminate missed shifts, they brake way too hard. IMHO, it's also the breed of drivers we have. Agressive drivers are penalized far too often and the rest drive around like panty waists 90% of the time.

This post is correct:


You can't make the curbs to high or they will launch themselves. you probably could however make curbs that will degrade your tires very quickly if you are using them a lot.. Therefor the penalty would be an additional pit stop. Probably need to go back to the old points system and widen the gap between 1st and 2nd. The new points system has created too much "coast and collect" Make them fight for points. I wouldn't even mind seeing points for the first 3 places only. The next item is the automatic trans - go back to manual and don't even allow a sequential shifter. Make the drivers use the clutch. Then you will see some racing and passing. I also want to keep as many cars in the race as possible. If they go into the trap push them out and restart them.

[Mark]

You'll be asking for "medals" next!

[steveaki13]

I also want to keep as many cars in the race as possible. If they go into the trap push them out and restart them.

See your point, but then your getting into the situation where marshalls are at risk pushing a car towards the race track, or obviously the drivers at risk if you have to bring a crane onto the track.

I suppose you could saftey car while the cars are pushed back on but then if it rains and cars are going off every couple of laps it would be too difficult.

Tricky one.

[AndyRAC]

The new Silverstone was actually designed primarily for MotoGP, wasn't it? After Donington 'gained the rights' to the British GP from Silverstone.

[nigelred5]

See your point, but then your getting into the situation where marshalls are at risk pushing a car towards the race track, or obviously the drivers at risk if you have to bring a crane onto the track.

I suppose you could saftey car while the cars are pushed back on but then if it rains and cars are going off every couple of laps it would be too difficult.

Tricky one.

It's not the least bit tricky. It's worked exactly like that just fine in North America for over 50 years. local yellows for course workers and off course cars, full course caution if ther are safety vehicles on track, but in reality, what tracks still have gravel traps in F1 any longer?

[wedge]

I'm curious to see how Austin turns out. Tilke's designing the track, but not the facilities. IMHO, ther's far better TRACK designers in the world.

A photo of a scale model of the track features in F1 Racing magazine and its whetted my appetite. The first half reminds of Nurburgring/Suzuka, the ebb and flow of a twisting country road.

[Malbec]

Tilke is one of only two people that has the required licence to design F1 level race tracks, and unlike the British guy (who did Dubai and re designed Silverstone) he is a good mate of Bernies, which means that every time a new government goes to Bernie and says "we want a race in our country", he'll point them in the direction of Tilke.

On top of that Tilke is genuinely very good at the petty stuff that people watching on TV don't see/don't care about but gives the hosts who pay the bills a warm feeling. We're talking about architecture using local influences and tracks supposedly reflecting something local (like the Chinese track resembling the Chinese symbol for the Shang in Shanghai).

Also once a company is a leader in a particular contracting field its hard to dislodge them, after all Tilke already has a competent team working for him that can deliver a new racetrack for anyone anywhere within budget. It would take a rival a huge investment to get a similar structure going, something that would be reflected in the price they'd have to charge to do a similar job which would be higher than Tilke.

[Bagwan]

Whitmarsh adds his voice to the Tilke question :
"Think of the airport tracks like Cleveland, with the wide corners and more than one possible line, and you can see how easy it can be,".
"On the other hand, you could call it an opportunity missed if [circuits like Abu Dhabi] have one of the longest straights in F1 and a chicane at the end of it with only one possible line."

"Brazil is a good example . The facilities are not good, but the races are fantastic. So, when you start something new in the desert and with no apparent structural or financial limitations, it is a pity that we don't go the easy route and copy some of the greatest corners in the world."

The new track in Croatia is to be a Tilke design , it is being reported .

Anyone know if a tendering process is ever used here ?

[SGWilko]

Anyone know if a tendering process is ever used here ?

Yes, they only ever 'tend' to use Tilke.........