More Baku On-Board Footage!

"sonicgabe" (gabeloewenberg) 06/03/2016 at 12:23 • Filed to: F1, Baku

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You might not know this, but the fair city of Baku has hosted a race before. It was on June 24, 1997. It wasn’t F1, but some small, single seater series. The race never took off as it was disliked by drivers and fans alike.

One major point of contention between the drivers and the race promoters were the streets; the racing surface. The good people Baku did not want their cobblestone roads to be torn up or paved over. After much debate, no cost effective method could be devised, so it was agreed upon that the cars would race on the cobblestones!

The grip levels just look horrible, cars sliding all over the place like they’ve run over a banana peel. But even back then, the track workers did an amazing job. There were many incidents and offs, but the track workers quickly got everyone back on the cobblestone and pointed the right way.

Now, some 19 years later, F1 is poised to take racing back to the streets of Baku. This time, they’ve convinced the Bakuians that it’s in their best interest to pave over those historic cobblestones. Let’s take another look at the just released footage of the first laps of the new Baku circuit and then compare it to the race from 19 years ago.

And after spending hours searching for it, here is the Baku Grand Prix from June 24, 1997.

Even though the layout is almost the same, what are the best bits of the old and new track. What should they have keep in place and what should they have just changed?

Let’s discuss in the comments!

Sir Halffast > sonicgabe 06/05/2016 at 14:13

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Let’s be clear. The government did not bother to “convince” anyone of anything. They just did it. As this government always does. If anyone bothered to protest, they were thrown in jail for hooliganism, beaten, and tortured. The Aliyev family and its associated clans are nothing but thieves and thugs who happen to control a lot of oil money, and so are in a position to deliver Emperor Ecclestone whatever he wants, without regard to the well being of their people or their city. Just like Bahrain, just like China, just like Russia, just like the rest of the kleptarchies that F1 favors these days.

sonicgabe > Sir Halffast 06/05/2016 at 15:18

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Let’s be clear, my post was complete fiction, or did you not see the second video?

Sir Halffast > sonicgabe 06/06/2016 at 09:11

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I did. I just make a point of calling out the Azeri government whenever there’s an opportunity. And yes, they’ve actually hurt people that I know.