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Is a race in Africa really possible? (24 posts)

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TheJudge said 10 months, 2 weeks ago:

I think as long as we have excavators, tractors ,cargo airplains and a few billion dollars it’s possible. For example ,we already have the Indian and Abu dhabi GP’s,don’t we?

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necrodethmortem said 10 months, 2 weeks ago:

Aren’t all street circuits adjacent to residential areas? I agree with your other arguments though.

I had a go at Tanger as well: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5556337 Too fast still, but epic.

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Prisoner Monkeys said 10 months, 2 weeks ago:

Alexandria:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5556356

For example ,we already have the Indian and Abu dhabi GP’s,don’t we?

But they are much more powerful economically. For instance, the GDP per capita – the average income of a household – in the United Arab Emirates is $67,008. In South Africa, it’s $8,066; in Morocco, it’s $3,083; and in Egypt, it’s $2,970. True, India has a GDP per capita of $1,388, but India also has over a billion people; combined, South Africa, Egypt and Morocco have just 165 million.

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necrodethmortem said 10 months, 2 weeks ago:

Per capita =/= per household.

That Alexandria track is actually doable and not too bad.

BTW what idiot made the shade of the clouds red? I hope (s)he never comes near a computer again.

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Prisoner Monkeys said 10 months, 2 weeks ago:

Red clouds are usually caused by dust storms.

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DavidS said 10 months, 2 weeks ago:

It’s possible, but not for many years.
Whether or not a country has the resources to finance a race (there are a few countries at the moment primed for massive economic development) is one thing, but the other is a market for the sport to target. The countries which F1 is in right now, or will be soon have a large and quickly expanding middle class. There needs to be a significant population of people with enough disposable income to attend races for it to be viable.
Even that is not enough, it seems. China has billions of people, a large portion of the population would fall into the “middle class,” and the country’s appetite for cars is incredible…yet, we see grandstands filled with tarpaulins and advertising, rather than fans. If China can’t fill the grandstands, what hope does an African race have.

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Prisoner Monkeys said 10 months, 2 weeks ago:

Funny, I seem to recall packed grandstands at the last two races in China.

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necrodethmortem said 10 months, 2 weeks ago:

Red clouds are usually caused by dust storms.

I was talking about the shade from the clouds on the surface. From that Alexandria link, zoom out a bit and move northeast and you’ll see what I mean. Just a poor post-processing job. I’m sure you’re aware that satellite images are not in real color, but are made to look like they are.

And to come back on topic: indeed, the last few Chinese GPs drew a large crowd. And you can’t compare to a “new” country like China anyway, because Morocco and South Africa have had Grand Prix in the past before.

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DavidS said 10 months, 2 weeks ago:

@PM
The main grandstands in China were full, but a lot of the other grandstands around the track were covered up, so obviously the circuit isn’t running anywhere near capacity attendance.

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