Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone says this year’s French Grand Prix will be the last held at Magny-Cours. Ecclestone has long argued that the Circuit de Nevers, 155 miles (250km) south of Paris, is inaccessible and not up to modern F1 standards. He said in an interview with French sports daily L’Equipe: “The concern is the location - 2008 will be the last time we continue like this. I would really love a French Grand Prix in the streets of Paris.”
Ecclestone added: “Prime Minister Francois Fillon told me we would see if we could have a Grand Prix in Paris or just outside but that would not necessarily be for 2009, rather for 2010.” After the pair met last year, Fillon’s office said three locations - the towns of Versailles and Evry and a site near Disneyland Paris east of the capital - were being considered as replacement venues. Any delay in finding a new site could see the race dropped from the Formula One calendar. Magny-Cours has been the permanent home of the French Grand Prix since 1991. The year’s race takes place on Sunday, 22 June.
(via BBC Sport)
June 25th, 2008 at 11:31 am
French Grand Prix track Magny-Cours has been given a stay of execution and will stay on the calendar next season, says Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone. It had previously been expected that the track was hosting its last event this season, before a move to a venue closer to Paris, probably for 2010. But Ecclestone said before Sunday’s race: “We’ve got a contract here for another couple of years.”
He added that he was still hoping for an eventual move to the capital. Disneyland Paris is the favoured location as F1 searches for a venue with plenty of hotel rooms and easy rail access from Paris and the rest of Europe