Bal Harbour

BAL HARBOUR 51 BALHARBOURSHOPS.COM From Assouline's special edition, Formula 1: The Impossible Collection, photographer Darren Heath captures a pit stop during Lewis Hamilton's second F1 race at the 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix. Pick up your copy at Assouline, Bal Harbour Shops. The city's century-old racing history runs deep, with thousands of high-paying spectators, luxury views, and more than a hint of Miami Vice. BY LES STANDIFORD hen plans were first announced about four years ago for the 2022 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, the first F1 auto race to be held in the city, it caused a stir. "I believe Miami is the most dynamic cit y in the countr y right now," said Miami Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel, in an interview last year. The football team's Hard Rock Stadium serves as the centerpiece for the race. "We try to bring things out here that reflect that." F1 racing is, after all, considered the world's most popular form of motorspor t, with an average of 24 million viewers tuning into a race. And F1's Monaco Grand Prix is considered, along with the Indianapolis 500 and the 24-hour endurance race at Le Mans, a part of sports car racing's Triple Crown. But big-time sports car racing is hardly new to Miami. Spor ts car racing actually took place here as early as 1926, in what was then called "Fulford-by-the-Sea" (later to become North Miami Beach). Promoted by Miami Beach founder Carl Fisher, the course was constructed of wooden planks laid on an oval track, with 50-degree banked turns that required drivers to maintain speeds of 120 miles per hour, or risk sliding down into the infield. Alas, only one race was ever held on the track, which was destroyed, along with almost everything else in the area, seven months later by the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926. That one race drew 20,000 spec- tators to a venue designed to accommodate 12,000, however, and has been generally credited with laying the groundwork for the big- time racing dynasties now established in Sebring and Daytona. MOTOR CITY W

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