• US Grand Prix

Moss backs Tilke to design Austin track

Sir Stirling Moss says safety is the main restriction on circuit design © Sutton Images

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• Stirling Moss

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Sir Stirling Moss has backed the decision to appoint Hermann Tilke as the circuit designer for the next US Grand Prix in Austin.

Tilke has designed all of F1's new tracks in recent years, including Sepang, Shanghai, Sakhir, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul Park. He is now set to be given a blank canvas in Austin to create a new circuit 10 miles from the city centre in time for the inaugural race in 2012.

Plenty of ESPNF1 readers have mailed in to say they do not trust Tilke with the design of yet another track, claiming his current ones are "boring" and produce "boring racing." However, Moss, speaking to ESPNF1 before last weekend's thriller at Istanbul Park, said it was safety regulations and not the designer himself that currently restricts modern circuit design.

"It's all well and good saying Hermann Tilke hasn't designed any exciting circuits, but you have to remember that he has to create them within very strict safety regulations," he said. "It doesn't matter how talented an architect you are, if you have to have huge run off areas it makes it very difficult to convey the excitement to the spectators at the track and at home.

"So in my mind, with the brief that he must honour, the circuits he has built are probably as good as one could hope for. He puts an emphasis on heavy braking which helps overtaking and it's important to remember that braking late is just as difficult to master as high-speed cornering, especially in the current cars with all their aerodynamics. If you look at someone like Lewis Hamilton, he is a very exciting driver to watch precisely because he is a very late braker."

To read more of Moss's thoughts on F1's return to the USA click here.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.