When Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Formula One parted ways this summer, more than one person in Indianapolis muttered, â??Good
riddance.â??
F1â??s leader, Bernie Ecclestone, was viewed as arrogant, pushy and greedy. Just the same, the city likes the prestige of hosting the raceâ??not to mention collecting the tourism dollars.
Now the parties are talking about bringing the race back in 2009 if IMS can find a way to make more money. Should these two get back together?
Read the story.
F1â??s leader, Bernie Ecclestone, was viewed as arrogant, pushy and greedy. Just the same, the city likes the prestige of hosting the raceâ??not to mention collecting the tourism dollars.
Now the parties are talking about bringing the race back in 2009 if IMS can find a way to make more money. Should these two get back together?
Read the story.
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I think since we lable ourselves the Racing Captial of the World to have a Nascar, IndyCar and F-1 validates that claim and the Motorcycle Race is just Icing on the Cake in addition to the National Drags.
I think it would be neat as well to have CART come back for a road race combined with the IRL
While there is little doubt that Bernie is not fun to work with, he does hold the keys to the claim that Indy is like no other place in the world when it comes to hosting motor sports at the highest levels.
We have gone to every FI race at the Speedway and have hosted many out of towners who are drawn to the opportunity to see the best technology and drivers in the world. They all have left saying how lucky we are to have such events right in our backyard.
The USGP carries with it a class and culture that this city cannot afford to lose if we are indeed trying to be a cultural mecca.
What would be?...Closed wheel formula racing (as the cars were when I watched at Spa-Francochamps, Belgium in 1969). The 24-Hours of Indy. Formula I today is a pompous, boring, predictable, expensive day wasted. A 60's-70's Porsche was much more suited to the streets of Monaco--or anywhere else for that matter, than the hi-tech frames/chassis' used today. Just like the people who promote and race them,...whiny and over-rated.
It was an excellent economic development marketing tool for branding the City and State.
I hope the Speedway will be able to secure a title sponsor for the event and secure a long tem contract with F1.
The heck with those guys!
However to make this truly viable for the long-term, the manufacturers need to take more of a leadership role!
Why don't Ferrari North America, BMW USA, or Mercedes-Benz USA, and to a lesser extent Honda, Toyota, Renault (Nissan in the USA) take more lead promoting this race? For those of you fortunate to drive these machines (Ferrair, Mercedes, BMW), go bug your dealerships about this and get their US divisions to take a more active role!
I also agree it would be great to have US open wheel racing reunited and have the 500 be the real crown jewel it once was, but the egos involved now, I doubt that will happen.