Details of a new racing circuit in Iran have been confirmed.
But, contrary to earlier reports published elsewhere, the track is not being designed to be suitable for F1 cars.
The iLand Race Resort is being built in Parand outside Tehran and will include an FIA Grade 2-licensed circuit, making it suitable for lower categories of racing up to GP2.
The 5km circuit, created by Apex Circuit Design, will be built over a natural topography range of 22m. TSI Group, the company behind the project, say it will be built in the style of celebrated circuits such as Spa-Francorchamps, the Nurburgring Nordschleife and Donington Park.
Apex’s managing director Clive Bown told F1 Fanatic: “Like many of our other projects our principle focus is on coming up with something that’s commercially sustainable.
“We have developed their master plan, that was originally undertaken by Tilke Gmbh, to integrate it more completely into the much bigger plan for iLand, which is absolutely vast.
“It will be exciting and feel like a classic race circuit, and all of that is very much in keeping with the philosophy we promote in our circuit design.”
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TJX
7th September 2011, 17:52
Can’t help thinking of sebring and some swedish track (the name currently eludes me) when I look at this. But nice to see Iran giving a **** about motorsports, it’s not really a country I would normaly associate with it.
Journeyer (@journeyer)
7th September 2011, 18:00
Anderstorp?
George (@george)
7th September 2011, 20:22
It does look a bit like Anderstorp with all those 180° and 90° corners, although if they have the same crazy banking on some of them that wouldn’t be such a bad thing :D.
Grade 2 circuits do seem to have fairly light limitations on them, so even though it looks boring they might be able to do something interesting with it.
joey-poey
7th September 2011, 21:09
I really hope they do because it doesn’t look all that inspiring from the above layout…
ajokay (@)
8th September 2011, 9:27
Yeah, when I see that track layout, the Nordschlife and Spa are the last tracks that spring to mind.
What does sprint to mind is every other race track built on a square of land, full of corners for corners’ sake, and plenty of ’em too.
matt90 (@matt90)
7th September 2011, 18:14
Gotland Ring?
Icthyes (@icthyes)
7th September 2011, 19:10
Reminds me more of Motorland Aragon.
Ben Needham (@ben-n)
7th September 2011, 18:00
I think everywhere should have a racetrack – whether for F1 or not.
However, I can’t deny i’m fed up with the adding of venues in the Middle East despite the obvious lack of interest.
joey-poey
7th September 2011, 18:02
Well, there’s interest, just that it seems to be more from those with deep pockets and not the average Joe in those areas.
Mads (@mads)
7th September 2011, 18:07
As long as they wont send the F1 circus there i will be fine. If they can afford it i don’t care. As long as i don’t have to see more great tracks being ditched for the sake of some generic track in a boring dessert.
Renner (@renner)
7th September 2011, 18:38
Work for the Apple lawyers
BasCB (@bascb)
7th September 2011, 20:40
LOL, I thought the same!
GeeMac
8th September 2011, 6:59
If you are a lawyer for Apple does that make youan iLawyer?
BasCB (@bascb)
8th September 2011, 9:13
:-D
bosyber
8th September 2011, 12:45
I suppose Iran of all countries would not be the first to worry about that though :-p
Dan Thorn
7th September 2011, 18:45
It’s great to see different countries taking an interest in motorsport, but I have to say that looks like the most uninspiring stretch of tarmac since the M25 was built…
james_mc
7th September 2011, 19:00
Funnily enough, I would find the prospect of an Iranian GP vastly more interesting than any of the current or proposed “new” asian races. Except perhaps a Kabul or Karachi street circuit…
Although Flanders’ Bhutan bid sounds good too :) The Mogadishu GP anyone?
NAZ3012
7th September 2011, 19:04
looks like they have (stolen’s a bad word)…,. “borrowed” bits of circuit from other circuits around the world.
assuming anti-clockwise and the full outer perimeter circuit, the first sector looks like the wellington straight followed by brooklands/luffield/woodcote complex; only in reverse or mirrored if you like.
then there’s a section which looks like the hairpin section (last sector) at donnington.
it’s then followed by turns 3 and 4 from malaysia, also mirrored or reversed.
then finally the last two corners look like turns 2 and 3 from abu dhabi
may be a bit far-fetched but this is what i first thought when i saw it
Ads21 (@ads21)
7th September 2011, 19:08
Judging by the track layout the only thing that it will have in common with those tracks is that cars will race round it.
Steph (@)
7th September 2011, 20:12
Lol! Very true.
BasCB (@bascb)
7th September 2011, 20:43
To be honest, I doubt that even that will happen there!
You do have to wonder, if Iran will now want to get a driver into a car as well, sponsored by oil money :-)
Alex W
8th September 2011, 8:09
Iran doesn’t have any oil, that’s why they need their nuclear program silly!
BasCB (@bascb)
8th September 2011, 9:14
Ah, they do, just they want to sell the oil, transport it for others AND have something to last themselves after the oil runs out.
In fact, this track looks like they are now trying to get in some automotive skills to further develop the country.
Adrian J (@adrian-j)
8th September 2011, 10:58
Oh right, I thought the nuclear program was for some other reason….
Bendanarama
7th September 2011, 19:15
A track in the middle of the desert in a middle-eastern country run by a dictator with dubious political machinations.
F1-licensed or not, Bernie’s reaching for the Chequebook.
McLaren fan
7th September 2011, 23:45
Iran is not run by a dictator ! The Ayatollah (supreme Leader) is not a dictator nor is president Ahmadinejad a dictator! At least people can vote in Iran ! Have you though about China or Bahrain ?
McLaren fan
7th September 2011, 23:47
Typo !I meant ” Have you thought about China ? “
Alky
8th September 2011, 6:33
Dictatorship or not, it is a very oppressive regime with little more than an illusion of democracy.
beneboy (@beneboy)
8th September 2011, 16:40
Their democracy is no more or less valid than British democracy.
Last time I checked we had:
An unelected, hereditary Head of State.
An unelected House of Lords.
An indirectly appointed Head of Government.
A government elected by a minority of the electorate.
A Prime Minister that can appoint anyone he wants to the Cabinet.
An unaccountable civil service.
People who carp on about Iran’s democracy always seem to forget that we in the UK live in one of the least democratic of the democratic nations on Earth that could only be described as a quasi-representative constitutional Monarchy; which by any stretch of the imagination is nowhere near being a real democracy.
Iran is far from perfect but we in the UK are in no position to lecture them or anyone else about it and we never will be until we rid ourselves of the illegitimate scum bags that have stolen our land and installed themselves as God’s appointed representatives and the thieving parasites currently residing in Whitehall and Westminster who support the system that keeps them all in power.
BasCB (@bascb)
15th September 2011, 21:57
Don’t forget to mention the timing of the actual elections are not regularly but chosen by the PM to make it better fit his plans
Lee
8th September 2011, 8:58
Although technically not a dictatorship, behind the scenes it is very close. The country is effectively run by the revolutionary guard who report directly to the supreme leader who is not elected by the public.
Duchess
7th September 2011, 23:53
To be fair, only a very small proportion of Iran is desert, and that’s only in the far south of the country.
sumedh
7th September 2011, 19:26
Steve Jobs retires and two weeks later we have iLand Race Resort.
Coincidence, I think not ;)
xivizmath (@xivizmath)
7th September 2011, 20:24
Uhhh, seriously, Iran?
And we still don’t have a considerably good circuit in Poland. What the hell?
PieLighter
7th September 2011, 20:51
yes, because Iran has a few F1 drivers and Poland has none.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
7th September 2011, 22:37
I’m sure a driver from Iran was a test driver at some point, need clarification though. Poland doesn’t have any atm, but they have got a fast-recovering Kubica.
beneboy (@beneboy)
8th September 2011, 16:49
Iran actually has quite a few racing drivers, not least Kourosh Khani who became the first Iranian to win a Formula Renault race at Oulton Park in May.
Check out his website: http://www.kourosh-f1.com/
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
7th September 2011, 22:36
This has nothing to do with F1.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
7th September 2011, 22:37
Certainly looks like a circuit with many configurations possible. I guess there is nothing to stop them upgrading to a Grade 1 track in the future.
BasCB (@bascb)
8th September 2011, 9:16
If they ever feel the need. The fact its not meant to be an F1 track, actually makes me feel its more realistic to see it built, because they want to do bussiness development instead of getting an expensive marketing tool in.
topdowntoedown (@topdowntoedown)
7th September 2011, 22:40
Iran?
Seriously, Iran?
I know I’ve accused Bernie of losing the plot before, but he looks positively sagacious compared to whoever started this project…
Presumably the grid girls would be stoned after the race?
Rob
7th September 2011, 23:18
By the same logic the motor homes will be looted after the British GP as well.
Dont be so quick to fall for the western propaganda against Iran. They have done nothing but mind their own business and speak out to defend their oil and independence.
I’m not a fan of their culture, but Christians have done worse in the past (waged entire wars to wipe out other religions).
beneboy (@beneboy)
8th September 2011, 16:50
That would make a change, they’re all normally stoned before the race in Europe and America…
IceBlue
9th September 2011, 2:56
Wouldn’t you have to be stoned to wear a phony, pasted-on, smile all day to suit the sponsors?
Robert McKay
7th September 2011, 22:52
It’s 73 tracks in one, by the looks of it. Perhaps Bernie might be interested in the shortcut idea using this venue.
Having said that, it still looks better than most of the new F1 venues.
Hamish
7th September 2011, 23:14
I wouldn’t be to sure about it not being up to F1 standard. After all, Iran has built a nuclear power plant – but not to build nuclear weapons…..
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
7th September 2011, 23:28
That’s a shame. When it comes to despots, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is right up there. How on earth can we play F1 bingo now?
BasCB (@bascb)
8th September 2011, 9:58
But he is not really a despot, is he. After all he has the Ayatolla’s that can object to what he wants and I would be supprised if they looked favourable on F1.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
8th September 2011, 10:07
But you need a deal with a despot when you play Bernie Bingo. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is one of the few who are acceptable – unless Bernie does one with Kim Jong-Il, Robert Mugabe or Alexander Lukashenko.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
8th September 2011, 0:59
I wonder how Apple feel about the name “iLand” …
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
8th September 2011, 2:48
Be that a Grade 2 circuit it’s nice to see that someone other then Tilke is coming with idea’s from old track.
MSCfan
8th September 2011, 7:55
Good idea for a race track, I must say as an Iranian. As for Formula1, I don’t think it’s ever gonna happen in Iran. Grid girls are gonna be replaced by soldiers. Just plain water for the podium celebrations! At most it’s gonna be Coca or Pepsi. Alcoholic drinks as team sponsors would be banned here, etc. It’s a pity to have a race track, but not having F1. I have no idea what they are going to do in it. Are they going to use it for Kart racing? Maybe they are going to race those old Ford Festiva and Peugeot 405s against each other.
bosyber
8th September 2011, 12:51
If they start doing any racing, kart, street car, you name it, it can help to get a bigger interest in motor sport, probably a lot better than going for F1 right away, with ticket prices only a few can afford.
I think them not aiming for F1 sounds like this has a much better chance of having a robust business plan and probability of getting somewhere.
MSCfan
8th September 2011, 8:02
The most popular sport in Iran is football. Its football teams are terribly managed. Our national team which was Asian champion is no longer a top team in Asia. Our football is a joke. The organizers have banned teams to recruit coaches who are older than 65 years old(this decisions come out of nowhere!) I hope you get the picture of the situation here.
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
8th September 2011, 8:16
It’s a pity that this didn’t happen before Iran changed their name from Persia.
Persian Grand Prix would’ve had a nice ring to it, I think!
MSCfan
8th September 2011, 8:20
That is our country’s ancient name. I would love it if our country’s name were Persia once again. The name still exists in “Persian Gulf”.
John H
8th September 2011, 8:56
Looks suitable for the proposed ‘electric F1’ I’m sure I’ve built this circuit in my loft before :)
Seriously though, way too early to judge, but anyone building any circuit is surely good news for motorsport.
HounslowBusGarage
8th September 2011, 8:56
Well, Iran is a member of the FIA, so I wonder why they haven’t gone for the full Grade 1 facility.
I just had a look at the Touring & Automobile Club Of the Islamic Republic Of IRAN web site for further details, but the last news update was 27 June so nothing doing.
Fixy (@)
8th September 2011, 10:42
GP2 won’t race here in the near future. Having lost the Asia series, they’re looking to develop a longer season to support the F1 GPs, so a standalone race here would be unlikely. The circuit is suitable for categories up to GP2, but the series that will race there will be even lower.
Fiona
8th September 2011, 16:26
Ahmadinejad is a murderous ****** who wants to kill Jews and destroy Israel & the Western way of life. His regime stones homosexuals. I wouldn’t spit on this terrorist if he was on fire.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
9th September 2011, 1:35
Wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong. He’s a nutter, but his bark is worse than his bite.
He may want to kill Jews and destroy Israel, but he won’t. He knows there are consequences to that, the kind of consequences that end up with Iran being obliterated, and he’s intelligent enough to recognise that this ends very badly for him. So that seats him in the crazy-but-not-stupid section of the gallery.
He does not want to destroy “the Western way of life”, either. He just wants to prove that his way of life is better.
And while homosexuality is a crime in Iran, the only recorded instances of the death penalty being carried out are in the cases of rape, paedophilia and child sex abuse. Ahmadinejad might be mad as a bus, but under Iranian law, it falls to the judge presiding over a case to issue the penalty, and none of them have ever done it before.
Don’t get me wrong – Ahmadinejad deserves all the criticism he takes. But if you are going to criticise him, at least take the time to do a little research first.
BasCB (@bascb)
11th September 2011, 20:35
As real dangers to homosexuals go, there are quite a few countries doing as bad or worse right now.
SumoF1
8th September 2011, 17:55
Hi All,
What’s wrong with those circuits? What’s wrong with people who seems shocked with Iran? Maybe some of you guys have cars which run with Iran oil !!! I am not from iran and not pretend to be an iranian, and more likely, the sport and racing in particular can be developed there! Why not? Maybe you’ve got a belly dance show instead of Grid girls , maybe you’ll be interested?! This Forum is for Motor racing I think, anything but not for politics. Politics are over I hope.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
9th September 2011, 1:22
Okay, as insane as the idea of a race in Iran sounds, there may actually be some potential hidden in this circuit:
http://i56.tinypic.com/1zmf3w1.png
Drew MacDonald
10th September 2011, 22:01
Hi Keith, this is a funny project. We were asked to look at it, however, our communications and legal team advised us that trade with Iran is against the law under a UN Trade Embargo not only would it be illegal for a UK company to design a track but any UN nation racing there. In my head it’s irresponsible to charge someone to design a track there!
Steve
10th April 2012, 0:35
Desert? Wow some of you are really misinformed… If it weren’t for the regime in power, I would pick a home in Iran over the UK any day… It’s a shame so many are historically and geographically challenged.