Preservation in Formula 1 (need some help here)

Eunos_Cosmo

Forum Addict
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
6,968
Location
Oakland
Car(s)
'84 Mazda RX7, '12 Mazda 2, '99 Porsche Boxster
I'm taking an historical preservation class for my architecture major and I have to write a report over some issue in preservation. I've decided to write mine on preservation of historic racing circuits. I've decided to highlight Brooklands, Hockenheimring, and the Nurburgring as my main examples. I'm also including historical precedent of Roman chariot racing venues such as Circus Maximus, what is now Piazza Novona, and the Colosseum as well as the Pallio in Siena, Italy. If anyone has good sources of information/history on Brooklands, Hockenheimring, and the Nurburgring I would be much appreciative and willing to handout major +reps :)
 
If you're talking about the Nordschleife as an example of good preservation you can talk about the Sudschleife as an example of bad preservation...
 
http://www.trackpedia.com/wiki/Main_Page

Hockenheim is probably one of the worst examples of preservation.
The old high speed track has been destroyed when the track was modernized.

In general racing circuits are not really preserved. They are modernized periodically to improve safety, racing etc.
One good example of preservation is maybe the old Oval section at Monza.
 
Hockenheim is probably one of the worst examples of preservation.
The old high speed track has been destroyed when the track was modernized.

brooklands would like a word :lol:
 
Last edited:
Other thoughts off the top of my head:

- Silverstone: The original layout is still pretty much in tact even if it's not used
- Donnington: During redevelopment "When the deal to take the British Grand Prix from Silverstone to Donington Park was announced early in July one of the circuit owners remarked: ?If I touch anything from Redgate to MacLeans I?ll be lynched.?"
 
Hockenheim is probably one of the worst examples of preservation.
The old high speed track has been destroyed when the track was modernized.
On the other hand, they did have a thorough plan of renaturating the old track passages instead of just letting the road decay, so that may be worth investigating.

Not that I approve of the change of layout in the first place, of course.
 
On the other hand, they did have a thorough plan of renaturating the old track passages instead of just letting the road decay, so that may be worth investigating.

Not that I approve of the change of layout in the first place, of course.

It is completely logical to tear the asphalt away and plant trees if you are not going to use the part of the track anymore of course. It is a conscious decision but a bad example of preservation. :p And yeah if you want to write a good paper on it then definetly you can give reasons why tracks are not preserved.
Isn't that what preservation means? Keeping old stuff around? In reasonably good condition or at least in its original form?
 
Yeah, it might be worth exploring the issue from the other angle, that is the general lack of historical preservation for racing circuits, and discuss the outcomes.
 
- Silverstone: The original layout is still pretty much in tact even if it's not used

Well, no actually. The original original Silverstone was one big airfield with enormous straights and seriously crazy corners. What we have in "modern" F1 is Silverstone 2.0.

Pre-1991 Silverstone.

Silverstone_1987.jpg
 
I'm mostly going to present an argument that race tracks, on the whole, are not preserved and that they should be to preserve our culture, our 'need for speed' as it were. The Nordschliefe is preserved really in the best way possible, by continued use. Old buildings that are unused immediately begin to decay, and the same is true with racing circuits. While updates for safety are necessary and excusable, complete reconfigurations I think are shameful. What was done with the Hockenheimring is absolutely terrible.

Maintenance > Repair > Renovation > Restoration >>>> Demolition
 
Last edited:
Few of the better track databases, from which you can find the older track layouts
Racing Circuits Database (note, this is a mirror of a site which was originally closed in 2005 so it's not up-to-date, but it's a great resource for the historic stuff)
E-Tracks Online

Also, if you can get your hands on Autodrome - Lost Race Circuits of Europe that should provide some good information on european circuits that have been abandoned.

Two more examples of tracks you could include are Reims-Gueaux and Rouen-les-Essarts, the circuits that hosted the French Grand Prix during fifties and sixties.
 
Circuits of The Past has pretty good information and pictures of the race tracks you mentioned and many more.

Reims circuit is another cool one, not a prime example of preservation as it was neglected for decades, but a group of volunteers have been restoring the remaining pit facilities and such to their former glory. The mayor of Reims has ordered all of the remaining buildings forbidden to be taken down and no new houses shall be built on the site. Of course it's not exactly a preserved race track as it's all been public roads for a long time but a cool memorial nonetheless.

11712074.jpg
 
Top