30/05/2006
NEWS STORY
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The German city of Hamburg is looking at becoming a major European sports venue, and part of this programme is to fund the groundwork and construction of a street circuit, with the eventual aim of hosting a Grand Prix, writes Christian Sylt.
A key meeting took place last Thursday between the local government, the German automobile club (the ADAC) and former F1 driver Christian Danner.
"I was invited by the Buergerschaft, the Hamburg House of Parliament, to investigate the possibility of a street circuit in Hamburg," revealed Danner, following the meeting. "The question was not whether one should hold a Formula 1 race or some other Championship race, in Hamburg, the question was, is it at all possible to create a street circuit in a city and receive the blessing of the government.
"As I have raced on street circuits all over the world I could answer all the MPs questions concerning this issue," he continued. "The situation in Hamburg to me looks as if the CDU (a German political party which has a formed a coalition government with other parties) really wants a race, and they are sure they will get approval from all authorities. There are two different locations which were discussed, both of them seem achievable.
"Obviously the hurdles to be overcome are the usual ones," admitted Danner, "to get permission to create such a thing within the legal limits of the City State of Hamburg. The timeframe is 2008 and the funding sources is the City State of Hamburg, which is attempting to become a major sports city in Europe.
"The opposition to the project obviously comes from the Green Party, which is worried that trees might be cut down, and from the Social Democrats, who really see how the city benefits from an event like that.
"However, the ruling party is the CDU, so at the end of the day there is quite a realistic chance that this project will get further."
The news that Hamburg is considering a street race comes at a time when German Formula One tracks, Hockenheim and the Nurburgring, are losing money, leading to suggestions of race sharing. On the other hand, street races are enormously popular, and tend to create more financial benefits for the hosts than circuits in the middle of nowhere.