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handfulz28
05-21-2009, 07:32 PM
So I was poking around google earth and look what I found just a little west of the city: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=monaco&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=52.637906,78.75&ie=UTF8&ll=43.726904,7.391591&spn=0.001481,0.002403&t=h&z=19

I think I've decided that for my 40th bday (June 2011) I'm going to take the time off between Memorial Day and early part of June and hit Europe. i want to take a lap (or five) around Nurburgring and go to the Monaco Grand Prix. I figure I've got a couple years to decide what else to do while I'm there...

Last Tango
05-22-2009, 02:05 PM
The Monaco Grand Prix is always the same Sunday as the Indy 500 and the (whatever they call it now) Coca-Cola World 600, on Memorial Day weekend (it is not celebrated as Memorial Day weekend in Europe). So you would need to leave for Monaco a couple days before Memorial Day weekend in the year you go. There will be no accomodations within 300km as the entire world decends on the tiny principality for this weekend. The best way to get in is to become extraordinarily wealthy, or sign up for the the Grand Prix Tours trip. http://www.gptours.com/Monaco-Grand-Prix This is NOT a walk-up event for tickets when you get there. Every seat in every grand stand is sold out years in advance, as are the hotel rooms.
However, having been there twice for the race, I can assure you that you will find it worth every thousand you will spend. Learn some French, learn some Italian, and learn some European customs and manners. This event is populated almost exclusively by the upper crust of the world.
I got in both times because I was on a Med deployment while in the Navy at the time, and the USO made all the plans, charged us diddly for the tickets and the rooms, provided the bus, provided everything. Our ship anchored in Cannes, France and then we took the USO tour bus for 3 days of amazing experiences, which included practice and qualifying the day before, as well as the race.

Great photo you posted, but those women are way overdressed compared to most on the beaches in that area of France, Monaco, Italy.

Note: The locals pronouce it Mo-NAH-ko, not MON-a-ko like we ignorant Americans.

Your Google Earth link is exremely interesting. It is not the F1 Circuit, of course, as that is actually run on the main streets of downtown Monte Carlo. It is, however a very nice go-kart track. You can see that it is run counter-clockwise by the way the rubber builds and deminishes in the corners. The F1 runs clockwise. Pretty cool find! I looked to see if this go-kart track was designed to somehow mimmick the F1 circuit, but it doesn't.

Last Tango
05-24-2009, 05:03 PM
SPEED carried the race live this morning. Absolute BEST TV coverage of any F1 race I have ever seen. Incredible.

handfulz28
05-24-2009, 07:38 PM
Yeah, I'm with you on all fronts there as far as getting to Monaco. Grand Prix Tours comes to mind first but I'll have to see what connections I can dredge up over the next year. I just remembered the 24 Hours of LeMans also which is 3 weeks after Monaco. I just might have to make two trips over there that year...

Funny thing about the Speed coverage, is all the production is done by FIA/local people. The Speed commentators just sit and watch from a studio in Connecticut or something. SpeedTV has what, one or two people that run around for the pre-race? Of course it's better than nothing!

The INDY TV coverage was lacking quite a bit in my opinion. Poor coverage on the accident replays and one guy commentating seemed like he wasn't even watching the race.

Too bad the roundy-round is getting rained out.