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Guest editor Allan McNish on loud F1 cars and changing attitudes among younger generations
Allan McNish: I remember Senna testing at Silverstone in the McLaren in 1989. Hearing that V10 screaming down the back straight gave you a tingle down your spine. It sounded so beautiful.
I went with my son to Paul Ricard for the ELMS race. The first thing he did was put on his ear defenders saying ‘this is really noisy, Dad’.
I recall the sound of that V10 with passion; he just thinks it’s bloody noisy. What’s he going to do in five, eight years? He’s the future in terms of buying tickets, getting grandstand seats and taking his family. We have to prepare for their generation because we’re getting old! We’re not the future; we’re the now and will be the past.
Nigel Roebuck: I think there will be a crossover. I won’t want to go to races and hear silent cars. You’ll pull in new fans but lose traditionalists.
Damien Smith: The strength of Le Mans is the diversity. I remember watching in 2009 – the Audis and the Peugeots came through with eerily no noise and then suddenly the V12 Astons would arrive. It was interesting to have the two together.
NR: In 1971 Emerson Fittipaldi ran a Lotus turbine at Monza. That was so silent you could actually hear the brakes come on. That was great because it was a one-off; it was a novelty, but I wouldn’t want to listen to 25 of them…
AM: Mallory Park has gone into administration because of arguments over noise. The crux is, we’ve had problems with Croft and Mallory Park, Brands Hatch has had problems on [race] school days. That’s only going to get worse. There’s not much point in having racing if you don’t have any tracks. It’s something that’s coming; we can’t control it, we have to adapt.
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@Andrew_Frankel David Leslie would be 60 today. Still think of him and Richard Lloyd lots. Two of the best blokes I have ever come to know in this business.
@matoxley Marc Marquez funny in press conference: said he won crashing championship too. Obviously plans to have a drink tonight, joked he wants Monday test cancelled.
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