Another 2 circuits under threat.....

Not Eastbourne, please. Theres too much love for that place.

Motorsport is all in a bit of limbo as it is anyway. With the ending of petrol car production/sales in 2024 or thereabouts everything is going to be up in the air. Do people watch motorsport live for the racing itself or is it the 4 dimensional aspect of sight, smell, noise and taste (mmmm burnt rubber). The major downside of electric motorsport as i see it is that it loses the aspects that make a complete package, hence it's trying to attract a different crowd to the normal motorsport crowd.
For me part of the appeal of watching it live is the noise of the engines, the feel in your chest as a V8 DTM car punches past you, the smell of the brakes/tyres/exhaust/fuel, this makes it a visceral experience. I just don't see that can happen with a glorified scalextric car......

Is Historic motor sport going to be the way forward ? It's growing in every form not just cars. There are lot's of race series for Historic karts now and that is just one example.

I rhink its because motorsport was also more affordable 20 years ago . You could buy fun exciting cars for a fee grand and compete in them . Everythng is more expensive and with younger people not necessary being able to afford a 3 bed house with garage/garden to work on or rent workshops etc .

I can't remember the last time i watched any motorsport that was not historic . I have tried watching touring cars but its just boring . Boring arrogant drivers , boring generic cars , boring noise even ! Formula 1 is the same but worse with the whole celebrity hanger on thing and people being obssessed with it .

The cars have no soul and neither do the drivers .

Yeah the whole housing industry is as bent as a £13 note . I live in Oxfordshire and apparently we need to basically build on about 50% of all the land within 6- 10 miles around Oxford and around the surrounding towns as well . We have been told we need 10,000 homes here , then 8000 4 miles down the road etc with already crumbling infastructure and traffic jams .

Funnily enough all theses houses are 4-5 bed or more so no-one can afford them unless they are from london . Or the only way is to part rent part buy where they can milk you further and charge you for other stuff as well ! They also get out of the affordable housing they promise to provide by just not building it and paying a paltry fine .


I do wonder what will happen in 10- 15 years where all the wartime baby boomers die and leave all these old fashioned big houses that no one will have the money or desire to do up . Thats if they have not sold them off to equtity cashback companies that you see advertising constantly on tv -sod the kids , get cash from your home for another month on the costa del sol .

Developers are in my need to be reigned in category along with supermarkets .

Not even mud tracks in a field available in Northumberland. Be a 200mile round trip for me to compete at a circuit now. A lot further for the nomadic off road events.

My neighbour races Lightning Rods at Arena Essex, he tells me it's day's are numbered too. I'm assuming it's proximity to Lakeside and the train line connections means it will become houses and flats.

It sounds like you've never been in a hybrid or full on electric car TBH.

I've been lucky enough to be a passenger in a Tesla Model S for a couple of hundred miles as well as driving a BMW i3S over various terrain in addition to a Mercedes S205 C350h. With a V6 or something like that, the C350h is the car that stood out as the sweet spot. Electric power when you need it (pulling away in a hurry, gear changes, lack of engine revs etc.) but with the petrol motor to do the fun stuff (i.e what, the noise etc.). It's probably one of the few moderns that had me hunting around the classifieds for a while.

If you have, I apologise . The technology isn't that hard to put into a 'normal car'. The Integrated Starter Generator Motors (ISGs) take the place of an alternator.



If you go to Spain it's like what the UK was in the 80s. Last year as a few know here I went to Circuito de Navarra to watch the Superbikes.

It was a full on day of racing from various classes. It was awesome!




What else did I notice?

The event was free. Nada. We just drove up, had a look, had a couple of beers (for the non-drivers obvs.), a nice sandwich and generally had a great day. Almost everyone bought something from the bar; a sandwich, coffee, beer, nuts etc. and it was a great day out

Short of a trackday here, I don't remember even practices being free for quite some time now. I know these places need to run, but I'm also sure that some people don't see paying £20 for a non-driver to go on an RWYB day as good value either. The main thing here is the costs are so prohibitive, and thanks to alot of scaremongering about 'safety' and 'people are out there to get you' from the powers that be, it only increases pressure on not holding the events!

From I'd say 10 years ago, the game has changed alot in Motorsport.



Without going too far off track, I've said before that if another recession comes, this will play a massive part. People are having less kids, houses are far more expensive now when compared to average wages (From 1 year salary = a house price to an annual salary = around 10 times that for the same kind of deal) and shopping etc. and the dissappearance of the baby-boomers may well instigate that.

But back on positivity, that will make cars and possibly retros cheaper again, right .

Can mourn either of those two really. Rockingham was a dud from day 1. Built for racing no one wanted.