ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) — It's the Formula 1 race where cars are banned, at least for spectators.
Organizers of the Dutch Grand Prix pride themselves on requiring almost all of the 110,000 fans expected each day of this race weekend to arrive by public transport or bicycle.
Where other F1 races devote acres of space to spectators' cars — the Miami Grand Prix offers 29 different parking lots around the Hard Rock Stadium — in the Netherlands, they converted a parking lot to fit more bikes.
People from outside the Netherlands “look at you as if you’re crazy” when they hear the race has storage space for 45,000 bikes, Dutch Grand Prix mobility manager Roy Hirs told The Associated Press. “But here they see what we are able to do.”
When the Dutch Grand Prix returned in 2021 after a 36-year absence, it was buoyed by passionate fan support for Max Verstappen, but organizers had a challenge to fit everyone in. There are two roads into town, a nearby national park, and not enough parking lots, Hirs said, so “transporting 110,000 people by car is never going to work.”
Years of planning created a system where only a small number of vehicles can enter the seaside town of Zandvoort during the race weekend.
Thousands of fans wearing orange to support Dutch champion Verstappen cycle in and leave their bikes at sites bearing the names of race tracks like Monza and Suzuka. There are buses from nearby campsites and trains running every five minutes from Amsterdam.
The few exemptions are mostly for circuit and team vehicles, fans with disabilities and local residents, Hirs said, adding the Grand Prix means Zandvoort's 17,000 inhabitants find their roads are less crowded than on a typical summer weekend.
The Dutch Grand Prix is leaving the F1 calendar after next year but its legacy could live on.
Hirs said organizers of other F1 races and large-scale events have visited to see how its car-free approach to auto racing works.
“I think it starts with talking about it and then the adoption will come in the end," he said, "but it takes time.”
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands in action during the first practice for the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Fans arrive for the first practice for the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
NEWARK, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 15, 2026--
QPS Holdings, LLC (QPS), an award-winning contract research organization (CRO) focused on bioanalysis and clinical trials announces the successful implementation of Oracle Argus, a premier pharmacovigilance system designed to support comprehensive safety case management for clinical trials.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260115711485/en/
The adoption of the Oracle Argus drug safety platform underscores QPS’s commitment to advancing patient safety, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence across its clients’ clinical drug development programs. Integrating this industry-standard safety platform strengthens QPS’ ability to capture, manage, and report adverse events in accordance with global regulatory requirements.
“Ensuring patient safety and data integrity is at the heart of what we do when conducting clinical trials,” said Derek Grimes, Executive Vice President of QPS. “Oracle Argus provides us with a robust, scalable solution to support the growing needs of our customer’s clinical trial portfolios and the evolving expectations of regulatory authorities worldwide.”
“Oracle Argus provides QPS Holdings, LLC with a trusted, globally recognized drug safety platform that supports compliance with stringent pharmacovigilance standards and regulations, while streamlining end-to-end safety operations and insights at scale,” said Seema Verma, executive vice president and general manager, Oracle Health and Life Sciences. “With our industry-leading solutions, QPS Holdings, LLC can further transform and elevate its safety case management for customers worldwide.”
The deployment of Oracle Argus will enable QPS to:
As the demand for innovative therapies continues to rise, CROs play a critical role in managing both development speed and patient safety. By leveraging the Oracle Argus platform, QPS is well-positioned to deliver on its mission to accelerate pharmaceutical breakthroughs across the globe by delivering custom-built research services.
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ABOUT QPS HOLDINGS, LLC
QPS is a global, full-service, GLP/GCP-compliant contract research organization (CRO) delivering the highest grade of discovery, bioanalysis, preclinical and clinical drug development services. Since 1995, QPS has grown from a small bioanalysis shop into a full-service CRO with 1,200+ employees in the US, Europe, Asia and India. Today, QPS offers expanded pharmaceutical contract R&D services with special expertise in pharmacology, DMPK, toxicology, bioanalysis, translational medicine, PBMC processing, central safety labs, clinical trials, and clinical research services. An award-winning leader focused on bioanalysis and clinical trials, QPS is known for proven quality standards, technical expertise, a flexible approach to research, client satisfaction, turnkey laboratories, Phase I/II clinical units, and multi-site clinical research services. For more information, visit http://www.qps.com or email info@qps.com.
ABOUT ORACLE ARGUS
Oracle Argus is an industry-leading, trusted solution for processing, analyzing, and reporting adverse event cases originating in pre-market and post-market drugs, biologics, vaccines, devices, and combination products. Oracle has been a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Life Science R&D Pharmacovigilance Technology Solutions and Consulting Services 2025 Vendor Assessment (doc # US53669225, July 2025). To learn more about Oracle’s pharmacovigilance portfolio visit: https://www.oracle.com/life-sciences/safety-solutions/argus-safety-case-management/. Trademarks: Oracle, Java, MySQL and NetSuite are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation.
Derek Grimes, EVP, Global Head of Clinical Research at QPS Holdings, LLC.
