It seems that French motorsport is continuing on its downward spiral. The country may boast the World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, but the motorsport industry in France is gradually eroding away. The latest blow is an announcement from Alain Schmitz, the President of the Conseil General des Yvelines, that the plan to build a Formula 1 circuit at Flins-Mureaux is now officially dead.
The plan was to use the facility to assist in the creation of a Automobile and Sustainable Mobility Valley but the idea was not sustainable and one wonders if the same will not ultimately happen to the French automobile industry, which is suffering. The country still has two manufacturers: Renault and Peugeot-Citroen but in the long-term there is little chance that both can survive as the industry continues to have too much production and not a sufficient number of customers.
Magny Cours remains the only serious candidate for a French Grand Prix, despite its problems of being too remote from a big population centre and there being insufficient infrastructure in the region. This means it is less likely that there will be a Grand Prix de France – and one could argue that the French have basically given up trying to preserve their heritage in automobile racing. The country has lost not only its Grand Prix – the first race to bear the name – but also the long-established Grand Prix de Pau. There is no national single-seater championship left. There is no Formula 1 team beyond Renault F1, which is really British. The Automobile Club de l’Ouest at Le Mans, which counts among its membership the Prime Minister Francois Fillon, seems to be interested only in running the 24 Hours. It is a sad state of affairs. The same situation occurred in the last 1950s when Amedee Gordini’s attempts to compete in F1 came to an end but even then the Grand Prix continued. What France needs now is some enlightened leadership to revive the industry.
Back in the 1960s this was largely done by one man: Francois Guiter, who used the sport to tell the world about the Elf petrol company. What France needs now is another Guiter.
Didn’t you say you live in France Joe? Sounds like a good opening for a man with extensive knowledge of the sport… oh but wait, they had Flavio running Renault for the last ten years.
Actually though, have you ever been tempted to cross the lines? Do a Matt Bishop?
Lynn,
No-one has ever made me an offer I could not refuse. There have been one or two over the years but they did not work out. I guess I am open to offers…
Is there any chance that Total would reinvent the Elf Volant scheme (I hope I have the title right) that Francois Guiter ran?
We are apparently going to a remote nowhere location in Korea. At least Rural France is pretty.
And Magny Cours is a proper sort the men from the boys racing circuit too.
I always feel Magny Cours gets a hard rap because it’s not convenient for the paddock rather than for the event in and of itself.
Also the very fact there is little going on around it kind of heightens attention on the very reason people are there in the first place. To see a motor race.
Why is Magny Cours such a non starter? Was it *that far from civilization? Does it really matter? If that’s so bad, why is the new track in Korea so far from everything as well? IF French industry and government could care less why should we? Their loss, someone elses gain.
Anyway, it may be a ton cheaper to simply expand Paul Ricard to hold a race, instead of starting from scratch.
The problem with Europe is that is run by minority interest groups, and politicians who can’t see further than the end of the gravy train.
This is why F1 is moving to more progressive countries, countries that want to grow, Europe is stagnating under red-tape and political ineptitude.
I live in France but I am not french. As much as I witnessed the lack of interest in France in the motorsport industry generally. For example, Sebastien Loeb isn’t a star in France, he is a known figure of course but he is far from being a star. We speak here of the best rallyman of all times. If he was british, he would have been a mega star but that’s the way it is here.
As far as the circuit is concerned, nowadays ecology has become a very popular topic worldwide and in France a known ecologic figure (Nicolas Hulot) succeeded to make all candidates to the presidency to sign a document were they agree to take measures against pollution. Building a circuit near PARIS would have led to big troulbes for little rewards if any (for the politics I mean)…
The problem is not only linked to motorsport. Football the most popular sport in France has seen teams struggling to build their own stadiums with their own money and without financial help from goverment for years, only because lobbying of ecologists and people leaving next to the stadium. So it’s a commun issue. No french premier league club has its own stadium.
What I mean here is that you don’t have to mix motorsport or sport with automobile industry. I am 100% sure that both PEUGEOT and RENAULT will survive the current crisis not only for now but for the long term and linking the situation of motosport with car industry has nothing to do. After all, TOYOTA motorsport activity is based in germany withtout the slightiest link with their core activity in JAPAN. MERCEDES motorsport activity has nothing to do with their automotive one. They bought illmor to produce engines, bought a share in McLaren and now they’re buying brawn alltogether. If they find that either their motorsport activity is less relevant or that it’s too costly they could sell it or shut it up alltogether. That wouldn’t mean they are in trouble as a car manufacturer.
What France really needs right now is a stronger economy. Outside of the metropolitan areas, things are really economically depressed. I hear that the roads in the west of France are actually being stalked by bandits and highwaymen. Seems like F1 is taking a back seat to putting food on the table.
Why not hold the French GP at Le Mans?
By the way Montlhéry, a track near Paris, died of neglect.
Joe and joT great posts. The same issues that France seems to have in paying attention to motorsports and recognizing success also seems to have aflicted cycling. There hasn’t been a french winner of the tour de France for nearly 25 years.
What about the great Paul Richard circuit ? It is even owned by Bernie…
[...] of the British Grand Prix and bloody well go. We’re fortunate that it hasn’t gone the way of the French Grand Prix, and the threat of that – however small – has made me [...]