5 IRL Road Races

[robby29]

I realize that that it's going to be difficult for a lot of you CARTophiles to accept that if Bernie buys CART, it will become a lowly F1 feeder series, while the IRL continues to grow and prosper as the premier open wheel series in North America. However, it was inevitable that the IRL would prevail over CART. The vast majority of North American racefans are oval track fans. That's why there are more oval tracks (around 1,100) than all of the road courses and temporary street courses (82), and all the dragstrips (308) combined. Road racing is the king in Europe, but it comes in a poor third to oval track racing and drag racing in North America.

[tanalised]

Lets say Bernie buys into CART......what happens if TG loses his big investment at Indy (made for the F1 road course ) becoz Bernie shifts the US gp away from it to a CART course....like say Long Beach. Robby 29?

[racer69]

I don't think the USGP will be moving. When it moved to Indy everyone was going on about this was the only place a USGP would work and so on, why has that changed now?

This is in the wrong forum, but as i posted over there Bernie buying CART is not a good thing. No longer would a Mansell '93 thing happen again. It would be the equivalent of Schumacher leaving F1 for a go at F3000! Any chance of Villeneuve coming back for a year would be lost as well if CART becomes a feeder series rather than an alternative

While the IRL should definatly stay predominatly ovals, i think road races need to be added to continue the growth.

Any word of a 500 mile triple crown for next years IRL at IMS, Fontana and Michigan?

[rustyfan]

Even if the race would be moved, would George suffer?

Personally I doubt it, considering both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400 attracts bigger crowds than the F-1 race does.

I'd love to see the USGP at Road America tho', but then again I think Max Mosley would force them to rape the track before a F-1 race could be staged there. The same probably goes for most other great tracks in the US that aren't exactly up to par with the most recent safety standards (in the eyes of FIA anyways).

[Jordi]

First of all, CART will not become F3000. That's the point of F3000 existing. Second, can Bernie buy CART? Does he want to?

As for the ones that say that "it was inevitable for the IRL to prevail over CART", I wonder if you were saying so back in 1996...

[Sato san]

things are always swings and roundabouts....CArt will come back on top , and then so will the IRL again.

i think its great as the IRL at the moment is such good racing , but CArt will come back for sure.

[greg.n]

Bernie is not 'buying CART'. The USGP cost Tony money this year. Bernie is not happy with the way the Brickyard promotes F1. So if he leaves and goes elsewhere TG loses and investment but gains cashflow. USRRC may use it for a road race anyway. Give it two years and then come back to the thread and re read it. You'll be amazed at the way it really turns out.

[EERO]

I thought TG's whole point about setting up the IRL was Oval Racing by Americans. This rumor, should it be true will prove George was motivated only by the desire to destroy CART. Well he's accomplishing that and now he's going to rub their noses in it.

********!

[DMC]

What happened to Tony George's claims that the IRL was founded due to CART's growing trend of street and road races? I find it very hard to believe that IRL would race on any road courses, it would cost far too much for the seperate chassis and the racing would be s.hit

[DMC]

Originally posted by robby29
Instead of Watkins Glen, watch for the IRL at Rockingham in England, Lausitz in Germany, and at the Thunderdome in Melbourne, Australia!

Australians aren't interested in oval racing, an IRL even in Australia would die a painful death. The Thunderdome is in a bad state of disrepair these days too. The reason the CART race at Surfers Paradise is so successful is the whole carnival atmosphere, thats what draws the crowds to an international motor racing event in Australia.

[racer69]

I'd go watch it. If it was promoted the right way and so on people would go watch. The first NASCAR race in Australia at the thunderdome was a full house.

The IRL can't really afford not to go road racing, that is the only way really to keep alot of the new-comers in the series beyond their drivers current contracts. It will go towards where CART used to be, Oval racing with abit of road racing, something different, as opposed to where CART is heading now (all road circuits)

Totally separate chassis aren't required, the new-for-2003 IRL cars are being engineered to go left and right.