1971: A GRAND PRIX in BIRMINGHAM? | News | Classic Motorsport | BBC Archive
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- Опубликовано: 8 окт 2024
- "Do you think an industrial city like Birmingham can become another Monaco?"
BBC News reported from Birmingham where there were big plans for motor racing in the city.
Birmingham was set to become one of the most exciting places for motor racing in Europe. While Birmingham's Lord Mayor and former Formula 1 world champion Graham Hill felt excited about plans, others were concerned about noise in the city centre. All they needed was an act of parliament to change the 30 miles-an-hour speed restrictions. How hard could that be?
Clip taken from BBC News, originally broadcast on BBC One, Sunday 18 July, 1971.
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I remember the Birmingham Superprix which I believe was Formula 3000. The circuit was very bumpy and I think Jean Alesi won.
I remember it was so wet that from the overhead camera the cars looked like motorboats. And the co-commentator was Nigel Mansell in his comedy Brummie accent.
1971: A GRAND PRIX in BIRMINGHAM? | News | Classic Motorsport | BBC Archive 1541PM 18.7.24 probably a few years before my time... only having just been born.... that dual carriageway still looks the same as far as i can tell - having been on the coach passing thru it on many occasion.... i can't imagine birmingham as a gaiety town, can you? "look at the weather, there"...
Brilliant nostalgic footage. I grew up in the Birmingham area (70s & 80s) and I loved it there, not been back for a while. Great to see all the Brum buses (cream & dark blue) and the Midland-Red one too…great days 🤩
0:10 They don’t call them roundabouts in Brum, they call them ‘islands’.
Birmingham looks better 52 years ago compared to now,wonder what happened
Tell me.
😅 londistan
They eventually had the likes of the BTCC, F3000 and MG Metro 6R4's racing around Birmingham.
Great to see this. Opportunity lost. The commentary on the test run at the end didn't match the pictures though - he was driving down to Digbeth in the commentary, but the visuals were still on Smallbrook Queensway and Holloway Circus.
tutornick
Thats right. I think he must have been pissed, he was going round in circles !
Crazy that it took 15 years to actually bring to fruition, even if it only lasted 4 years and didn't ever get to host actual F1
1:05 "I think Birmingham is a very attractive city". LOL
iaina3251
Well I suppose you have to give it a spin, dont you ? Lol
Did it not look better then than today?
@@rztrzt it certainly looked cleaner
As a Brummie myself I laughed at the remark lol, although Brum does have appealing monuments scattered around ...just that it was very grey looking still in 1971, up until 2000 id say
Birmingham did eventually get its motor racing. I remember going to the Superprix on 2 August Bank Holidays in the late 80s and had a great time. Formula 3000 always produced great racing and I saw Jean Alesi winning the 1989 race from a grandstand overlooking the roundabout at Belgrave Middleway. Happy Days. Graham Hill's son Damon retired from the 1990 race.
1971 was also the year seat belts became compulsory in Formula 1. Seems unbelievably late.
The guy in the Stag wouldn’t get away with ripping around the roads like that these days! 🤣
Love all the ol rockets driving around many familiar to me as a young lad
There are still remnants of the Superprix circuit, the half roundabout at Haden Circus / Halfords Corner, Bristol Street Motors was the pit lane, and there are loads of little 'trapdoors' along the edges of the roads where the armco barriers were fitted. The circuit ran in the opposite direction of normal roads to discourage people from trying to drive it.
Can't do anything like this now. Close a road for a few hours for an event and everyone is suddenly "trapped in their own home".
The roads pretty much stayed the same for 30 years after that was filmed!
Birmingham, Monaco… I can’t tell the difference these days.
Martin Whone actually managed to get a Grand Prix in the late seventies albeit speed restrictions applied. Anyone remember that Sunday event?
The sheer noise is what put an end to the F3000 Superprix. Times/trends were changing fast in the 80s. Look at the crap hole it is now, sad.
More like lack of 💷
Although it would have been lovely seeing F1 cars racing both in Birmingham and London just as Graham Hill said,
It all looks a bit to dangerous to me to modern standards but back in the day F1 was that more dangerous anyway..😯
Is that Graham Hill or Dick Dastardly?
Very similar aren't they😂
I was fortunate to see him and Rindt racing in the Tasman Series in the 60s
Hill could have been a a influence for dick dastardly
Terry-Thomas is Dick Dastardly
@@sprint955st "Splendid!"
At the end of the video the man drives on the ‘would be’ Birmingham F1 track. Does anyone know which part he drives through?
Not a pothole to be seen on the roads.
Good point mate and our residential SE London road kerbside is full of weeds like I've never seen before.
Less traffic on roads to churn it up back then. And cars were much lighter and had skinnier tyres.
That onboard footage from the Triumph is surely speeded up. If not, fair play to him
Yeah - the speedo is showing just over 40mph
My pops had exactly same colour stag then a brown one.. big end went in both of them
The hair in that man’s ears! 😮
Scotland used to look so clean!
0:30-1:02 which street is that?
Peter Colbourne the reporter?
“Brum, Brum, Brum”…
Tragic how the newly built brutalist architecture in Birmingham already looks grotty and rundown even in the early 70s
The guy in the Stag wouldn’t get away with ripping around the roads like that these days! 🤣