25/03/2010
NEWS STORY
 |
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is hoping to take F1 back to America, revealing that he is looking to hold a race on the streets of Manhattan in 2012.
While it is synonymous with the motor car, the United States hasn't hosted a round of the Formula One World Championship since 2007, while the debacle that was USF1 has left American race fans feeling even more disillusioned and disenfranchised.
However, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Ecclestone admits that he is looking to host a race on the streets of New York, possibly by 2012.
"I'm trying for 2012, opposite Manhattan in New Jersey with skyscrapers in the background," he said. "Fifteen minutes from the centre of New York to the circuit. It would be a wonder."
Regular readers of Pitpass will be aware that we first reported serious talk of a New York event back in August 2008, going so far as to identify a suitable location... "a tract of land featuring old rail-yards to the west of Manhattan".
One only has to observe the opening sequence of the BBC's F1 coverage to appreciate Ecclestone's ultimate F1 dream, cars racing through the streets of a major city, the sun setting on a Manhattan-type skyline.
While he might realise this facet of his dream it is unlikely that fans will ever get to see cars actually racing three abreast as also witnessed in the sequence.
With F1 now on the streets of Valencia, Singapore and Abu Dhabi, not to mention Monaco, together with plans for Rome and now New York, Ecclestone is slowly, but surely, getting his way. Sadly, while this will delight the corporate crowd and celebrity audience he is so desperately aiming for it is unlikely to produce the sort of on-track spectacle the fans are looking for.