Most of motorsport is within the offseason now, ceding the highlight to stick-and-ball sports activities. And with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar shifted to the winter, that is most likely a very good factor, racing now not having to share the stage with considered one of sport’s largest occasions — a minimum of this 12 months.
With so few vehicles and bikes turning laps in anger for the time being, and pleasure for the World Cup nearing a crescendo, we had a thought: What if motorsport had its personal World Cup? Sure, the Race of Champions exists, however with so many drivers and riders competing in so many alternative disciplines, it is hardly a degree taking part in subject for every participant. So what if as a substitute of every nation’s finest drivers going face to face, we took every nation’s finest circuits?
Austin Lindberg and Hazel Southwell appeared by racing’s historical past books to seek out race tracks in all 32 nations competing at Qatar 2022, decided group winners and runners-up, and performed out the event’s bracket till we landed on the perfect course in motorsport. That is the World Cup of Circuits.
Group stage
Group A
Winner: Netherlands | TT Circuit Assen
⏱ @marcmarquez93 could have stormed to his seventy fifth profession pole place and his first on the #DutchGP, however may he have lapped Assen any faster?
Discover out within the @Michelin_Sport Superb Lap! pic.twitter.com/mTBHYz0E1q
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 30, 2018
This choice could seem blasphemous, not choosing Zandvoort, the house of two-time F1 champion Max Verstappen and his large Oranje Military, however Assen is really one of many sleeper circuits in all of racing. It has been in service since 1926, and has hosted extra MotoGP races than any monitor in historical past, dwelling to the Dutch GP yearly (save for COVID-interrupted 2020) since 1949.
Whenever you speak to riders, that is the form of course they dream of. Assen is quick and flowing, with fast adjustments in route, rewarding these with dedication when penalties are at their highest. Followers of bike racing have taken to calling this place the cathedral of the game, and after viewing an on-board lap, it is easy to grasp why.
Runner-up: Qatar | Losail Worldwide Circuit
Onboard with @Max33Verstappen for the lap that earned him a vital bonus level – and the DHL Quickest Lap Award in Qatar 🚀🏆
DHL stats and leaderboard 👉 https://t.co/sOAsD9HZK8#QatarGP 🇶🇦 #MomentsThatDeliver @DHL_Motorsports pic.twitter.com/eBAwDRGpsP
— Components 1 (@F1) November 23, 2021
F1 obtained its first style of Losail final season, and Qatar took the 2022 season off to as a substitute give attention to the World Cup, however the sequence will return subsequent season. In MotoGP, Losail has develop into one thing of a staple, on the calendar since 2004 and the season opener yearly since 2007.
Qatar is dwelling to MotoGP’s solely race underneath the lights, and F1’s first race on the venue additionally got here after darkish, permitting for crew liveries to actually pop and driver and rider helmets to glitter beneath the three,600 beaming floodlights.
Knocked out: Ecuador, Senegal
Group B
Winner: United States | Circuit of the Americas
The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is much from the primary US Grand Prix circuit, predated by 9 different venues, however in only a decade since its opening it has been cemented because the American F1 monitor and one of many largest events on the calendar.
Opened in 2012, with simply days to spare earlier than F1 vehicles have been due out on monitor, it is an undulating, bumpy monitor that challenges drivers whether or not they’re on two or 4 wheels. Stars-and-stripes paint outlining the monitor means you possibly can’t overlook the place you might be, even when a packed crowd was by no means prone to allow you to.
Prior to now two years, F1’s rising star within the States has seen report numbers on the circuit, and its concert events are so iconic that Taylor Swift put a reference to her 2016 efficiency on “Midnights”.
Runner-up: England | Silverstone
Leap onboard with @Alex_Albon for a 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗻𝘆 tour round Silverstone 😍☀️ pic.twitter.com/LKYbOH69AM
— Oracle Pink Bull Racing (@redbullracing) July 22, 2021
The unique grand prix circuit, Silverstone is the place Components One formally started. Its high-speed, corner-heavy monitor most likely wants little or no introduction, after greater than 70 years of racing there throughout each class possible — even for sequence like rallycross, a less-seen, internal monitor can accommodate filth jumps.
Silverstone’s enduring recognition would not come all the way down to any significantly iconic corners or spectacular surroundings. A former airfield, it is flat as a pancake and windswept even throughout what the UK passes off as summer time, however the racing is all the time good and a fast lap wants as a lot bravery now because it did within the Forties.
It is also the one present grand prix circuit to straddle two counties, drivers working half a lap in Buckinghamshire and the opposite half in Northamptonshire.
Knocked out: Iran, Wales
Group C
Winner: Mexico | Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Onboard with @Charles_Leclerc for the lap that places him on pole in Mexico ⏱👀
He is promoted from P2 to P1, following Max Verstappen’s grid penalty #MexicoGP 🇲🇽 #Pirelli @pirellisport pic.twitter.com/gdu3S7qnvH
— Components 1 (@F1) October 26, 2019
The elevation of Mexico Metropolis, at 7,350 ft, makes for thinner air and, as such, decrease drag and better speeds. F1 groups usually deploy Monaco-level aero kits, providing the best ranges of downforce obtainable, however return Monza (the place low-drag wings are fitted) ranges of downforce. As such, Hermanos Rodriguez sees among the quickest speeds of the season, the best recorded being 231.96 mph by Valtteri Bottas in 2016.
Did we point out a part of the circuit runs by an outdated baseball stadium? The 25,000-strong crowd of the stadium part makes for one of many uncommon factors of the season the place drivers can hear the followers over their vehicles.
Runner-up: Argentina | Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo
🔥 @marcmarquez93 took the final pole at Termas De Río Hondo in 2019!
Sadly he will not take part on this 12 months’s #ArgentinaGP 🇦🇷… so, who’ll be quickest in Qualifying this Sunday? Guess the pole lap time right here 👉 https://t.co/PD5D5ptoEO and win prizes with @Tissot! pic.twitter.com/XNJhpWAAd5
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 29, 2022
This is without doubt one of the extra obscure entries on our checklist. MotoGP is the one world championship to go to the Argentine circuit at present, and the World Touring Automotive Championship — which folded in 2017 — is the one different world championship to have ever competed there.
Termas de Rio Hondo is one other monitor stuffed with flowing corners, however considered one of its most notable components is the lengthy straight between Turns 4 and 5. That horsepower-hungry part not solely runs two thirds of a mile, nevertheless it additionally features a climb of almost 150 ft.
Knocked out: Poland, Saudi Arabia
Group D
Winner: France | Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans
It is bizarre to assume that Le Mans is definitely, a minimum of partially, a road circuit. One of many longest nonetheless in common use, solely outdone by gigantic tracks just like the Nordschleife or Isle of Man, Le Mans is to motorsport what the Vatican is to Catholicism.
Folks speak about Le Mans with breathy awe they usually’re proper to. A semi-mythical place, it is a testing floor for endurance of equipment, drivers, groups and hope. To win there, you first have to beat your self after which tackle the competitors, and it provides nothing away simply.
Le Mans’ legendary standing makes it hallowed floor however yearly, for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, that historical past would possibly as properly be erased and rewritten. There isn’t any such factor as a legacy win and the problem of Le Mans can be simply as large in 2023 as in 1923, the primary 12 months it ran.
Runner-up: Australia | Mount Panorama Circuit
Formally known as Mount Panorama, everybody who loves motorsport is aware of about Bathurst. And that is a reasonably large achievement for a monitor simply exterior a small city in New South Wales that in any other case boasts sights just like the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum.
Most well-known for the Bathurst 1000, Mount Panorama was additionally a four-time host of the Australian Grand Prix from the Nineteen Thirties to the Nineteen Fifties and extra just lately, endurance occasions together with a 24-hour race. Having a twist known as Hell Nook is a heck of a press release and much more when it is flip considered one of Bathurst’s uncommon mixture of wiggly wobbly fast turns and angular straights, in addition to a 571-foot elevation change round its 3.8 miles.
Knocked out: Denmark, Tunisia
Group E
Winner: Japan | Suzuka Circuit
WHAT. A LAP.
Go onboard with @ScuderiaFerrari’s Sebastian Vettel as he secures pole place at Suzuka with a monitor report time of 1:27.064! #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 #F1 @pirellisport #PirelliPolePositionAward pic.twitter.com/Or5fSqDSap
— Components 1 (@F1) October 13, 2019
Suzuka needs to be one of many event favorites. This monitor has seen all of it, with F1 and the 8 Hours of Suzuka motorbike race nonetheless occurring yearly, and the World Endurance Championship and MotoGP beforehand visiting the Honda-owned monitor.
The number of this circuit is maybe unmatched by any rivals on this competitors. The esses check drivers’ precision, Spoon Curve checks their bravery, with runoff room at a premium, and 130R being one of many largest checks of dedication in racing at almost 90 levels taken at 190 mph in an F1 automotive.
Runner-up: Germany | Nurburgring
It is virtually unimaginable that the Nuburgring may end runner-up to anybody. It is dwelling to the GP circuit, which has welcomed F1 on quite a few events all through the years, however the actual star right here is the Nordschleife: the almost 13-mile course carved out of the forests of the Eifel mountains, recognized colloquially as “the Inexperienced Hell.”
The Nordschleife is host to one of the crucial prestigious endurance races on this planet, the Nurburgring 24 Hours, the place groups of drivers navigate the greater than 170 corners and 1,000 ft of elevation change for a complete day. So synonymous with automotive efficiency has the Nordschleife develop into that numerous automakers deliver the most recent prototypes of race vehicles and street vehicles alike to the Nurburgring to place them by their paces.
Knocked out: Costa Rica, Spain
Group F
Winner: Belgium | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Experience onboard with @Max33Verstappen on his RB16B as he takes a spectacular pole at Spa 🔥#BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/60vOjUSxcr
— Components 1 (@F1) August 28, 2021
Some tracks make motorsport followers go a bit misty eyed, and Spa is certainly considered one of them. The sweeping great thing about the hill up Eau Rouge and into Raidillon is unquestionably one of many best-known corners on this planet and undoubtedly one of the crucial romanticized.
Spa is a difficult, difficult circuit that is stored its identification by repeated revisions. Most just lately, a reprofiling of the obstacles across the prime of Raidillon has made holding racing there potential and eradicated the chance of crashed vehicles ricocheting again into different rivals. Like a whole lot of the older tracks which have stayed related, Spa’s energy is in with the ability to evolve in the identical approach that motorsport develops new expertise, holding itself on the forefront with out promoting its soul.
Runner-up: Canada | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Carlos Sainz picked up the DHL Quickest Lap in Montreal as he hunted down Max for P1 😅
The Spaniard takes his first award of the 12 months 👉 https://t.co/sOAsD9HZK8#CanadianGP #MomentsThatDeliver @DHL_Motorsports @CarlosSainz55 pic.twitter.com/xobssCgdJe
— Components 1 (@F1) June 20, 2022
There will not be many F1 tracks on islands. Gilles Villeneuve stands out each for its location, in the course of the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, and for its high-speed, twisting monitor. Inbuilt a park, it is lushly wooded and unusually wealthy with wildlife for a motorsport monitor, which are usually in-built pretty sparse areas.
Setting apart, the Canadian Grand Prix circuit is an actual problem. As a way to defend each the park and vehicles, obstacles loom extremely near the tarmac, and one incorrect transfer can show disastrous. Loads of legendary moments have occurred at Gilles Villeneuve however possibly the latest, in 2019, was an enraged Sebastian Vettel, foiled by monitor limits, swapping the first- and second-place marker boards after being penalized out of a win.
Knocked out: Croatia, Morocco
Group G
Winner: Brazil | Autodromo Jose Carlos Tempo
Go onboard with @LewisHamilton for the lap that put him on pole in Brazil in 2018 👀⏱🔥
Subsequent Saturday, we’re again in Sao Paulo for an additional Qualifying Saturday 🙌#BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/i7m3JS0Q0g
— Components 1 (@F1) November 9, 2019
Autodromo Jose Carlos Tempo is Components One royalty. A house race to among the biggest of all time — from Emerson Fittipaldi to Ayrton Senna and, since an honorary citizenship granted this 12 months, Lewis Hamilton — it is an emotional venue and a testomony to Brazil’s love of motor racing.
Even within the worst years of F1, the circuit often known as Interlagos produced good weekends. Whether or not unpredictable rain stored situations attention-grabbing or drivers took inspiration from the gang to placed on a very good present, Sao Paulo’s circuit has hosted numerous title deciders and iconic moments. Components One is not the one sequence to race there, however the monitor is certainly considered one of F1’s best, properly well worth the wait to the top of the season.
Runner-up: Switzerland | Zurich Road Circuit
Go for a full onboard lap with @sambirdracing by the streets of Zurich! #ZurichEPrix pic.twitter.com/9i6bFYkzuu
— ABB FIA Components E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) June 10, 2018
Circuit motorsport was banned in Switzerland after the 1955 Le Mans catastrophe, an accident within the 24 Hours that killed 83 spectators and one driver — which makes it fairly shocking that in 2018 a monitor was constructed in the course of Zurich.
Components E was given particular permission, electrical motorsport managing to avoid the ban and a unusual monitor, snaking across the aspect of Lake Zurich, was put collectively. Not initially supposed to be a one-off, it noticed vehicles working throughout tram tracks and alongside cobbles, to get to the pit lane.
Though it by no means held a race once more, it was a correct, middle-of-town road circuit with spectacular views throughout the lake and the unusual honour of overhauling a decades-long ban.
Knocked out: Cameroon, Serbia
Group H
Winner: Portugal | Algarve Worldwide Circuit
Final 12 months @FabioQ20 broke the lap report and obtained pole place in Portimao! 👊
Who will take pole this Saturday? 🤔
You possibly can guess the precise #PortugueseGP 🇵🇹 lap time with #MotoGP Predictor to win wonderful prizes like an unique @TISSOT watch! 🤩 👉 https://t.co/E5Ub83irsJ pic.twitter.com/zeORHkW7LI
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 19, 2022
The place extra generally often known as Portimao — or, in some instances, the rollercoaster — welcomed F1 within the COVID-affected 2020 and 2021 seasons, and has a protracted historical past with World Superbikes, with MotoGP having visited the south coast of Portugal yearly since 2020. The World Endurance Championship contested the 8 Hours of Portimao in 2021, and can return to the circuit in 2023 with a six-hour race.
The elevation change within the Algarve is its largest attraction. With a top-to-bottom distinction of simply shy of 100 ft, there are a number of circuits on this event that boast better rises and falls than Portimao, however what separates this monitor from the remaining is how steadily and dramatically — the steepest rise is a 16% grade — these peaks and valleys happen over the course of a lap.
Runner-up: South Korea | Korea Worldwide Circuit
F1 visited Yeongam 4 instances, between 2010 and 2013, and hasn’t been again since. In actual fact, the one sequence that also visits the Korea Worldwide Circuit is a home touring automotive championship.
Korea was the seventh Herman Tilke-designed circuit to make the F1 calendar — 5 extra have been added since, with a sixth on the best way in Las Vegas — and was applauded for its character, located on the town’s harborfront whereas additionally providing mountain views.
Knocked out: Ghana, Uruguay
Spherical of 16
Assen vs. Silverstone
Assen is the cathedral of motorcycling, Silverstone is the house of British motorsport — and to a reasonably main diploma, Components One. It virtually feels unfair to match the 2, each legends in their very own proper. However it is a competitors, and regardless of Assen being the connoisseur’s alternative, Silverstone’s heavyweight standing overpowers the TT monitor to undergo.
Winner: Silverstone
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez vs. Mount Panorama Circuit
Mexico Metropolis is dwelling to among the highest speeds and finest atmospheres on the Components One calendar, and whereas it must be a bucket-list vacation spot for any F1 fan, it simply cannot stand as much as Bathurst. Mount Panorama boasts among the most breathtaking vistas in motorsport, a very distinctive mountain part, and loads of prolonged straightaway.
Winner: Mount Panorama Circuit
Circuit of the Americas vs. Losail Worldwide Circuit
This one is not significantly shut. Losail is frequently dwelling to shut racing in MotoGP’s traditional season openers, nevertheless it falls properly in need of COTA when it comes to topography and ambiance. Attendance of Qatar occasions have not been significantly spectacular, whereas increasingly more folks come to the Texas capital yearly, the place the climb to Flip 1 is turning into an iconic picture in motorsport, and the fall-away Flip 10 is a deceptively tough (and visually intriguing) nook.
Winner: Circuit of the Americas
Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans vs. Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo
Argentina loves motorsport, and Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo has proved successful within the MotoGP group, nevertheless it pales compared to the titanic Le Mans. Ninety-nine years of being the house of endurance slides Circuit de la Sarthe by simply.
Winner: Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans
Suzuka Circuit vs. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Two virtually evenly matched tracks, Suzuka and Gilles Villeneuve each deliver with them the burden of grand prix historical past and severe strengths in racing. It is virtually a disgrace to knock one out however when it comes all the way down to it, Suzuka is a greater all-rounder. Gilles Villeneuve’s reliance on the grand prix for its foremost attraction is eclipsed by Suzuka’s versatility, internet hosting endurance, GT and motorcycle racing in addition to Japanese single-seater titles. It is goodbye to the Canadian entry, after this match.
Winner: Suzuka Circuit
Autodromo Jose Carlos Tempo vs. Korea Worldwide Circuit
There have been solely 4 F1 races in South Korea, and people have been the one world-championship occasions held on the circuit, so Yeongam can most likely take into account itself fortunate to make the knockout rounds. Interlagos has always-entertaining racing, unpredictable climate, and its Flip 1/Flip 2 complicated invitations drivers to make formidable strikes for positions whereas navigating adjustments in each route and elevation.
Winner: Autodromo Jose Carlos Tempo
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps vs. Nurburgring
There are two tracks that, in case you go to their 24-hour race, you possibly can assure you’ll meet a crowd of topless German males, lined in mud, carrying a keg of Warsteiner lager. Don’t be afraid, they’re the spirit of racing at Spa and the Nordschleife — and likewise most likely too drunk to see you.
The Nordschleife is tough to beat, simply when it comes to getting round it in a automotive. However it’s additionally more and more marginal in racing, unable to protect its problem and transfer on with security, so Spa’s continued relevance takes the win right here.
Winner: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Algarve Worldwide Circuit vs. Zurich Road Circuit
Any circuit that includes working over tram tracks goes to have a tough time when the competitors ramps up, and so it is proved for Zurich. Watching MotoGP bikes rise and fall at virtually each nook of Portimao’s topographic marvel is a sight to see, whereas the seemingly unending remaining right-hander within the Algarve falling away underneath riders’ knees at instances requires the suspension of perception.
Winner: Algarve Worldwide Circuit
Quarterfinals
Silverstone vs. Mount Panorama Circuit
Two tracks which might be probably the most well-known of their respective nations and with a long time of steady racing historical past, Bathurst provides Silverstone a run for the British Racing Driver Membership’s cash. Finally, although, a rattle by the calendars would present Silverstone holds extra weight by the worldwide motorsport 12 months. It is unhappy to see Bathurst go, nevertheless it actually gave a very good combat earlier than its exit.
Winner: Silverstone
Circuit of the Americas vs. Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans
One of many latest tracks vs. one of many oldest, both COTA or Le Mans leaving the event is a huge killer. Somebody’s obtained to, although, and regardless of all that romanticism, Le Mans’ historical past will not reserve it in 2022. Circuit of the Americas is every thing thrilling about motorsport proper now: new crowds, new vitality and a shiny future. Le Mans should lick its wounds and give you one thing for the subsequent event.
Winner: Circuit of the Americas
Suzuka Circuit vs. Autodromo Jose Carlos Tempo
The 2 jewels of the closing phases of the F1 calendar, Suzuka and Interlagos can take into account themselves unfortunate to satisfy so early within the knockout rounds. Whereas each boast the sorts of flowing corners that hyperlink collectively so satisfyingly for drivers, the Japanese circuit has a greater mixture of low-, medium- and high-speed corners, in addition to extra selection in technical challenges for drivers to grasp.
Winner: Suzuka Circuit
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps vs. Algarve Worldwide Circuit
Two of racing’s elevation kings, it is a disgrace that both has to exit the event. Possibly if Portimao had the form of historical past of Spa, or the status as a real driver’s monitor just like the Belgian course, it may transfer on — nevertheless it would not. Spa has all of the rollercoaster enjoyable of Portimao, nevertheless it additionally has numerous sixth- and seventh-gear corners that not solely checks drivers’ talents, however their bravery.
Winner: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Semifinals
Suzuka Circuit vs. Silverstone
Solely good tracks get this far, so it is inevitable that some eliminations really feel unfair. With Silverstone arising in opposition to Suzuka, although, there may solely actually be one winner.
Silverstone carries with it the British optimism for sporting success that, Hamilton apart, not often truly occurs. Optimistic England followers would possibly hope that iconic corners like Maggotts and Becketts would beat 130R and Degner, however the Japanese monitor’s distinctive, figure-of-eight design sees it fly by to the ultimate.
Winner: Suzuka Circuit
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps vs. Circuit of the Americas
The Circuit of the Americas ought to really feel immense delight in going from new child on the block of world-championship circuits to creating our remaining 4, and if this have been a contest of the perfect race weekends to attend, this may be a unique final result. However it’s not. That a big portion of the F1 paddock obtained vocal when rumors that it may fall off the 2023 calendar says every thing you might want to know in regards to the form of monitor Spa is.
Winner: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Remaining
Suzuka Circuit vs. Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
What a heavyweight bout. Each Suzuka and Spa have wildly unpredictable situations, each are dwelling to high-speed corners with excessive penalties and each host revered endurance races. These are two unimaginable circuits, each of that are deserving of this crown.
However that is not how this works. We want a winner.
And that winner is Suzuka. Whereas Spa is understood for giant pace, Suzuka has a bit little bit of every thing. F1 groups can arrive in Belgium feeling assured with their low-drag aero packages, however the setups required for achievement in Japan are a bit extra nuanced. If Spa is the place each driver desires to win, Suzuka is a circuit that requires automotive, driver and crew to all be working in good concord.
Winner: Suzuka Circuit