We can finally have a fantasy 1920s European Oval series! 1 - Brooklands (Great Britain) 2 - Sitges Terramar (Spain) 3 - Linas Montlhery (France) 4 - Opel Rennbahn (Germany) 5 - Monza (Italy) Perhaps Richie Axlesons long lost grandfather Richard should have a series. Who's in?!?! 😁
@@malthuswasright I was thinking that for a 30s oval series. Especially with the late 30s proposed double banked layout that started construction in 1939 and didn't happen for obvious reasons
While we couldn't really see how bad the first fiat flew off, if it were real, the drivers would have likely been seriously injured or dead, especially since it was around the highest banking.
@@AmokCanuck Probably. Though sturdy metal, the force of the fall, combined with their weight, combined with momentum, and combined with some gasoline, would create an intense fireball.
Honestly, the most incredible thing is that they raced Motorcycles here, and I'm genuinely struggling to process that information. This track is terrifying in a car, let alone with half the wheels and even less safety.
I imagine that it felt about the same as velodrome cycling, but a lot more terrifying. Taking part in velodrome races feels insane enough, so I can't imagine how scary it would be either
The realism of this simulation is incredible. Even down to the colour of the trousers of the marshalls in their hut on the second banked corner that turned progressively browner as the race went on.
13:27, it is very hard to even analyze how you're able to save that. The last place where you'd want to tangle wheels with a fellow competitor is when you're more or less flat-out in a banked turn, driving cars like those... Makes you think of the sheer amount of bravery and luck involved here. The drivers back then would race for hours, and on tracks like this, the faster ones would've used the higher lines 'round the banking to maximize their speed through it. Imagine that, literally near the edge, lap after lap, for hours on end...
You really do have a fantastic way with the history parts of your videos. Honestly the reason I watch your videos $4 million in the 20’s for a track that only saw one full weekend of racing and then mostly abounded, and yet it’s still there. Damn.
It wasn't 4 mil dollars but peseta. I tried to convert but I would take it with a grain of salt. 4 mio peseta in 1923 converts to $577,786 in 1923. When put into inflation caltulator it comes to about $9,531,827 today. However it's hard to compare what you could actually buy for that kind of money as Spain and the US were quite different back then and Spain's economy went downhill right after building the circuit. $9,5 million seems kind of low but then again it was very short and there was basically no safety to worry about, just concrete.
It's in a place that is extremely arid and dry and experiences no winter. That's why they mothball aircraft in the desert. They can sit there forever and come out like they went in.
That looks so much fun! At the limit of adhesion at the top of the banking, one bump at the wrong time and you’re airborne, heading for an airplane style crash! Imagine if the cars actually caught fire and burned for the rest of the race when they crashed. When someone else flew off the banking, every following lap you’d see a plume of black smoke to remind you not to push the limit too far!
Bro, your history bits are the best part of the videos. I'll watch some of the racing just to see the track you just peaked my interest about. Awesome narration and info. Thanks!
It's so nice having simracing today, being able to discover closed and deceased paths of the past. On a business trip in Barcelona in late 90ies and with 2 days off in the weekend to spend time I had no idea of Sitges-Terramar. But when I in 2008 was on vacation in Valencia (in the days just before the 1st edition of Valencia Street Circuit GP) and already by then having tried a 1st rFactor mod edition of this track. I convinced my girlfriend a trip to Sitges with excuse of 'excellent beach' (though the beach just up to the Americas Cup Harbour/Valencia Street Circuit area was already perfect), and took the advance to visit the remains of this imperfect oval. Unfortunately my digital camera was low of batteries (before my first smartphone), so no pictures - but good memories. Another excuse was 4 years later on birthday vacation to Sicily, lurking with 'a trip to the country side in our neighbourhood'. That turned out 'coindicidentally'' to be a full lap of "Piccolo Circuito", the slopes of the 72km classic Targa Florio version. My detailed knowledge of the exact slopes to drive again thanks to the fantastic sim modders out there. BTW: I hope Kunos have courage and make AC2 just as moddable as AC, rF1, GTR2, etc.
Have you ever tried to convince your gilrfriend on a "trip across Italy" starting and ending in Brescia, which would coincidentally turn out to be a Mille Miglia lap?
Y'all won't believe this. No idea why, but yesterday night this track's name popped out of my head, for no reason whatsoever. I don't even know how does the track look and which cars raced there; it just happened. Then I find this video. Speechless
I really appreciate the attention you put into these. The staging the scene, the voice over scripting, the aesthetics and cuts. It all blends so well together.
I'm enjoying the motor racing history lessons. These early banked tracks are absolutely terrifying! I've often visited the Brooklands track and even seen demonstration runs on the remaining sections of the banking - 50mph max. It's scarily steep - you can only walk about half way up the banking comfortably.
I remember when you used to do full seasons of GP Legends, it'd be awesome if you did a full season of 1920s/30s GP racing with period tracks, even if it's not exactly correct using tracks from the era to create an ideal season with 10+ races would be amazing. Maybe do it online, I know lots of youtubers would be willing to do it.
I've always had the thought of a sort of NASCAR/FIA World Stock Car Championship and the tracks that I'd seen are tracks like Monza and Montihery. The circuits would need a lot of rebuilding done but I think that it would be awesome to see an oval racing world championship. it's just something we've never really gotten a taste of in all honesty.
I think because of tracks like Monaco and Nords, the appeal of motor racing started to shift away from the sheer speed of the cars and towards the skill of the drivers, and people started seeing oval racing as too simplistic for that; which combined with the safety concerns of such steep bankings on Sitges, Brooklands, Monza, Monithery and AVUS, were along the contributing factors to the decline of oval racing in Continental Europe. Currently the most up-to-date oval circuit in Europe; EuroSpeedway Lausitz, doesn't even use its oval layout for racing anymore; only letting the infield layout be used by DTM, while the current owners use it for testing road cars the rest of the time.
@@legoferrari14 Raceway Venray ran NASCAR Euro for a few years iir. even so, a lot of the ovals I have on this list would be current NASCAR tracks, Motegi, Thunderdrome, Phakisa, if the 3 mile paperclip in Argentina is still good then theres that. I know Bahrain has an "Oval" layout and in many cases the tracks that would be used are tracks that have mainly road layouts but have the capacity to run ovals. Honestly theres such a different skillset that oval racing takes that you dont get with open wheel road formula cars like in F1 and Sports cars with the WEC and I'm partially surprised that it hasnt started to get more popular with racing fans across the world just because it's not the same kind of thing you see constantly over and over again. tbh I'd love to see F1 in person but holy balls that's a nasty receipt. And when Indycar's closest road race is in another state, you start to understand why Americans like ovals as much as we do.
It is the first time I watch a video of something happening in Catalonia that doesn't use some Flamenco music as a background but truly Catalan music with actual Catalan musical instruments. As you well say, the track mostly exists today and every now and then I sit on the edge of the almost vertical wall that make up the curves. It is even more amazing when seeing it up close, scary!. The race track was part of what we would now call a vacation resort. There were two hotels, one by the beach and another in the more peaceful settings of the gardens. The beach hotel is now in its third incarnation, once demolished and a few years ago completely stripped bare and refurbished. It still occupies the very same spot, and the enclosed beach still has the same sea walls as originally to provide a sheltered beach for the timid. The hotel in the gardens was demolished but the gardens themselves are now a nice public park, and the gold club still exists. The racetrack is in an amazing good condition and there are often events there, though it would be insane to hold a race there. Thanks.
As always, your presentation is outstanding, the history, the racing, the commentary it's all just wonderful and with so much heart put into them, I love watching your videos 😍🏁🍾👏
Mate, i love your videos. The music, the narration, the shots, the knowledge, everything man. Your work is always top notch. You deserve a million subscribers and more.
Sitges-Terramar is one of several banked ovals built in Europe at the time. Thinking about it, for some reason, they weren't as popular as their contemporary or even later American counterparts. Only a few became known, and even some of those tracks were connected to, and were normally used in conjunction with, a road circuit. The oldest one, Brooklands, is probably the only one that maintained its popularity, it took until 1937 before they built a road circuit that went with it, the Campbell layout. Linas-Montlhery and Monza did get their complementary road layouts very early on, and were normally used utilizing the road circuit and/or parts of the oval. There's actually yet another oval, Miramas near Marseille, active in the mid 1920s to early 1930s. The track still exist, but as a test track by BMW.
I love how you do it. Very well done video, compilated information and the simulation of the race, also, well done. I went by the abandoned circuit back in the day and its awesome that we get to picture how it was to drive it, i really appreciate it. Love and regards from Spain!
Excellent video - I love these documentary style videos, and with a race added in as well, just perfect. Really high production values and great content.
Man thank you very much for this exquisite video!!! Your emotive narration, the race, put my nerves to the edge. This is an awesome an inhuman racetrack!!! 2:57 8:00 Why, why the marshall post is there?
As a fledgling Sim racer, I stumbled across your channel by accident. (Or was it). Anyway, I have been drawn in by your tremendous knowledge, history and narration of motor racing. And over a vast array of disciplines to boot.I just seem to want to learn more. FYI, My first video is your 24 hr of Lemans in 66. Still into it. Just a thanks for a superb effort and channel.👍🏁
A great premise and a good fun race. Had it been financially successful could you imagine the rear engined auto unikns around there, with their oversteer! Could have been pretty scary and plenty funny.
So many fascinating what-ifs from racing history. What if Brooklands re-opened after the war? What if Twin City Motor Speedway was as successful as Indianapolis? What if Fuji Speedway was built as an oval and hosted NASCAR like originally planned? What if Ontario Motor Speedway got an F1 date and survived into the '80s and beyond? Thanks to sim racing, getting answers to at least some of those questions is at least in the realm of possibility (though modders still have some work to do for many of the examples I gave).
Great run! Just gotta wonder how hard it must have been to hold a car of this technical stage of development on a track like this...they really were daredevils back then!
Great vid ... I tried explaining a bit about 1920's/30's GP to a friend the other day and this is another video that sums it up well. No safety at all ... crazy
Never mind the drivers of the 1920's having balls of steel - whoever would be doing the marshalling at those huts at the top of the banking must have had cast-iron cojones themselves!! RIP to the poor guys in the Fiats that did a Jean-Paul Sarti at 13:48 and 13:58 If racing did continue beyond the 1930's this circuit would have been nicknamed the "TERROR-Mar".
In that case, you probably haven't seen photographs of photographers of that era, they're also either standing, or even lying prone on the top of the banking, taking pictures of the cars as they went past, full throttle, full speed, bouncing and bucking along the bumps and imperfections of the surface.
