Banks Of Hudson Venue For Formula One Race In 2013

 

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204777904576653552767815670.html

Formula One Roars to Banks of Hudson

A.J. BAIME

Tilke

Above, a rendering of the starting line and stands for the 2013 Formula One race that is slated take place in Weehawken and West New York, N.J. Below, a course map for the race.

Formula One, the most popular, technologically advanced and glamorous form of international motorsport, will hold a Grand Prix race on the banks of the Hudson River against the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline in June 2013.

If the current lineup of teams remains the same, that means 24 cars racing at 200-plus mph will let loose some 17,000 horsepower on closed-off public roads in Weehawken and West New York, N.J., in front of a crowd that, if expectations are fulfilled, would double the capacity of Yankee Stadium.

Officials made the announcement Tuesday at a news conference at Port Imperial in Weehawken, where the Formula One Grand Prix of America will be held. Among others on hand were New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, West New York Mayor Felix Rocque and Leo Hindery Jr., founder of the investment group that will promote the event.

"It's the new Monte Carlo Grand Prix on the Hudson," Rocque said.

The announcement marks a major triumph for Bernie Ecclestone, the 80-year-old London-based head of F1, who for years has voiced a desire to hold a race in the New York area.

The deal is in essence an agreement between Ecclestone and Hindery, the founder and former chief executive of the YES Network, the broadcast partner of the New York Yankees. Hindery is also a retired racing driver who won his class in 2005 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Hindery's hunt for a location suitable for F1 in the New York area took years. "We looked at Staten Island, Floyd Bennett Field, the Meadowlands," he said in a phone interview. "Nothing worked."

Two years ago, Hindery got word through a friend about a potential site along the Hudson on the New Jersey side called Port Imperial. It had been an industrial mess for decades until, in recent years, a developer cleaned up the property, building a residential neighborhood surrounding a park.

Hindery's hunt for a location suitable for F1 in the New York area took years. "We looked at Staten Island, Floyd Bennett Field, the Meadowlands," he said in a phone interview. "Nothing worked."

Two years ago, Hindery got word through a friend about a potential site along the Hudson on the New Jersey side called Port Imperial. It had been an industrial mess for decades until, in recent years, a developer cleaned up the property, building a residential neighborhood surrounding a park.

Hindery's hunt for a location suitable for F1 in the New York area took years. "We looked at Staten Island, Floyd Bennett Field, the Meadowlands," he said in a phone interview. "Nothing worked."

Two years ago, Hindery got word through a friend about a potential site along the Hudson on the New Jersey side called Port Imperial. It had been an industrial mess for decades until, in recent years, a developer cleaned up the property, building a residential neighborhood surrounding a park.

"Using Google Earth," Hindery said, "you could see how it would work. You could see the track. The course jumps right out at you."

Port Imperial is a transportation hub, which brings its own appeal. Though Christie expects "over 100,000 people" to attend, there will be no parking lot on site. Port Imperial can be accessed by ferry, Path trains or light rail.

"It will be the only true green race in Formula One," Hindery said. "Nobody gets there by car."

F1 has a major presence all over the world, but not in the U.S. As opposed to Nascar and IndyCar, it is the standard bearer for driving skill and technology. While it has staged races in various American cities over the past 50 years, it has failed to find an anchor due mainly to financial issues. The last F1 race in the U.S. was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2007.

"Staging Formula One is incredibly expensive," said Mario Andretti, one of two American drivers ever to win the F1 world championship. "If you know that going in, then you've got a chance. If you go in with eyes closed, you're doomed to failure. That's what we've seen in the past."

In May 2010, F1 announced a plan to return to the U.S. The United States Grand Prix is scheduled to be held at a new purpose-built facility in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 18, 2012. The race in New Jersey will mark a second grand prix in the U.S. for 2013.

Unlike Austin's Circuit of the Americas, which is still being built and is reported to cost $250-$300 million, the New Jersey event will use existing roads rather than a purpose-built facility. F1 already holds races on public roads in downtown areas of Singapore, Monte Carlo and Valencia, Spain, proving it can be done.

"We don't put in a single foot of asphalt," said Hindery. "We build our stands, our pits and paddock club. We put up barriers and catch fences. We put it up and take it down. There's not one residence in the middle of the course. Everyone can access their home without being impeded by the track."

Hindery said that, according to the contract with F1, Port Imperial will host the Grand Prix of America for the next 10 years. And the event will be staged with private money. "There will be no taxpayer dollars, no subsidies, no compensation of any sort from local governments," he said.

The announcement comes at a tricky time, nine days after Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon was killed at the Las Vegas Indy 300 and two days after Italian motorcycle racer Marco Simoncelli died at the Malaysian MotoGP. Hindery hired the German firm Tilke Engineers & Architects, which has built numerous F1 tracks around the globe, to design the course and safety features. No driver has died in F1 since Brazilian Ayrton Senna in 1994.

The logistics of holding an F1 race in the heart of New York's "bridge and tunnel" intersection are mind-boggling. The Renault F1 team, for example, travels to races with two cars, a spare chassis, eight engines, 25 metric tons of airfreight (not including 18 sets of tires for each of the team's two drivers), and a staff of about 70 people. There are 12 teams currently.

But the 3.2 mile track itself—with sweeping flat-out bends, sharp right and left hand corners, and 150 feet of elevation change—has racers excited.

"It's the cat's meow," said Andretti.

"The Manhattan skyline is recognized the world over and to marry that with Formula One will be incredible," Christian Horner, the team principal of the Red Bull F1 team, which won the constructors' and drivers' titles this season, said in an email.

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