Coventry, traditionally the home of the British motor industry, is planning to one of the first cities in Britain to host street events, once the British Government passes new legislation allowing the local authorities to close roads for competition, without the need of an act of parliament. The city council has given the go ahead or the project which aims to turn the streets into a track for exhibition runs for the British Touring Car Championship. The idea is to turn the city’s ring road into a race track for what will be called Motofest 2015. If these time trials are successful, the city hopes to stage a round of the BTCC in the future. The event is due to take ace on the Spring Bank Holiday weekend of May 29-31, which will give the city extra time to get things set up and dismantled.
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joeblogsf1 
Any cities in the UK (other than London) interested in hosting a Formula E race?
They are talking with Wandsworth Borough Council about a race in Battersea Park, but it will only happen if the borough does not have to spend ANY money.
My money is on Excel being the Formula E venue in the emd. Excel are keen and are masters of their own destiny not at the mercy of bureaucrats, residents groups and planners. They can run in the car park, dockside, and even indoors, with plenty of good photo opportunities (cable car, dome, docks, olympic park. Why not battersea? Well, we once held a summer picnic for 20 staff in battersea park and the form filling for that was immense!! Needed to hire a portaloo too! If they made life that difficult for 20 office workers I dread to think how hard it would be to get a race up and running! 🙂
I’ll say it again. Wandsworth Borough Council are discussing using Battersea Park as the venue and big blond Boris is very keen.
My money is still on Excel! http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/115813
Well, if you don’t believe what I tell you it’s your choice… They have actually announced Battersea Park and I know the whole thing is moving slowly forward. Maybe it won’t happen but as of last week that was still the plan.
Ha! As a Yank, I thought this was going to be a story about social exclusion and the silent treatment.
Southsea seafront around the common is crying out to be used as a racetrack – Grandstands could be erected on the beach and on the common. Nice flat and wide, plus an MOD owned playing field where some temporary pits could be built.
Yes, Portsmouth could give Monaco and Singapore a run for their money.
Portsmouth? Twin town: Mos Eisley?
Are you SURE about this?😀
Don’t worry, some people still understand sarcasm… 😉
Street racing in UK cities is not a new thing, Birmingham & North Belfast have had then in the past.
North Belfast? You mean Northern Ireland. Ards. And the Isle of Man and Jersey come to that.
Up to now, the only place on the mainland that didn’t require an act of parliament to run motor sports was Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough, which holds about 5 bike weekends every year and occcasional hill climbs and rally stages (it’s too narrow to race cars on it!)
Oliver’s Mount does not require an Act of Parliament as the land is owned by the Local Authority and is therefore ‘private land’ as far as the Highways Act is concerned. The same reason means that that an Act of Parliament has never been required for the Brighton Speed Trials on Maderia Drive and one won’t be needed for Formula E in Battersea Park (assuming it happens).
The only two mainland events that have an Act of Parliament to allow competition on closed roads are the Jim Clark Memorial Rally and the Tour of Mull Rally.
I wish them good luck. I really enjoyed the brief years of F3000 blasts around Birmingham’s street awhile back.
Given I now work in Brum and live about 15 miles down the road a street race there would be interesting (proper series, though; please not Formula E).
Btw, the video of Nico you’ve put on Facebook has given the kids and me a right laugh this morning, Joe. Ta! 🙂
As an ex-Coventry-kid I have first-hand experience ‘racing’ around Coventry ring road during the seventies against Minis and MkI/II Escorts in my Andy Chessman-tuned 998 Sunbeam Stiletto – I bet it still goes on – it’s a natural race track! There are one or two points where, if you went through the barrier, you’d be properly flying mind you! And plenty of elevated spots for spectators to look down the cuttings. 🙂