2018 IndyCar Series schedule

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

It looks like the race in Mexico is dependent on Esteban Gutierrez getting a full time drive, according to former Mexican CART driver Adrian Fernandez.

There are still a couple of vacant seats left.

http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/133304

I missed this news initially, but I assume this is the first part of August? That looks like a decent gap to make this happen.

If not Esteban, then who else is out there? I'm not up to snuff on Mexican Open Wheel up n comers...

[RWill2073]

If a race event is dependent on a driver having a drive, I'd rather move on to other possible venues. What if Gutierrez or whoever has that type of deal is a backmarker? Should the series help prop up a team employing him to keep a venue?

[bjohnsonsmith]

I really don't know how much credence to give this, because by the same token is the Mexican GP dependent on Perez racing?

[bjohnsonsmith]

No Mexican race in 2018 but IndyCar still looking at 2019.

http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/133372

[S griffin]

Hopefully it will happen one day, it would be good to see them there

[Nikki Katz]

It’s a shame but there’s still 17 races so it’s not a horrible calendar as it is. I guess this means no Gutierrez then? Not that i’d heard him mentioned much lately anyway

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Nikki Katz

It’s a shame but there’s still 17 races so it’s not a horrible calendar as it is. I guess this means no Gutierrez then? Not that i’d heard him mentioned much lately anyway

It is a shame. It would have been good to have another race outside of the US and it would have been interesting to compare F1 and IndyCar on the same track. Hopefully there will be deal in place by 2019.

[RWill2073]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

It is a shame. It would have been good to have another race outside of the US and it would have been interesting to compare F1 and IndyCar on the same track. Hopefully there will be deal in place by 2019.

Ehh.... Probably helps save face for IndyCar to not have the comparison with f1. Especially with the added pace this year for f1. I don't mean that to sound negative toward IndyCar though.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by RWill2073

Ehh.... Probably helps save face for IndyCar to not have the comparison with f1. Especially with the added pace this year for f1. I don't mean that to sound negative toward IndyCar though.

Save face for IndyCar? F1 may have added pace but it's still stuck with the perennial problem, of cars not being able to overtake. The Abu Dhabi GP was your typical F1 snoozefest.

[fieldodreams79]

Honestly, I'd prefer the series go back to Watkins Glen over Mexico. Both would be optimum, along with a 20 race season.

[NaBUru38]

Watkins Glen is a beautiful track, but who cares?

Mexico City is a big city, and IndyCar would make a big impact.

[Purist]

I'd expect the racing at Watkins Glen to be better as well.

Sorry, but Tilke's changes don't help Mexico City in that regard. Turn 1 seems like the only realy viable overtaking point; I just hope the Indy Cars have enough tpower so that they don't simply stall out on the straight, making the slipstream basically ineffective. The esses have been ruined compared to what you may remember from ChampCar back in 2007. Turns 1-3 and 4-5 are single-file now, and like the Festival Curves at Portland, I'm kind of expecting for the party to be over for someone on the opening lap.

As for aesthetics, basically every long-lasting street circuit has that to some extent. Monaco, Pau, Macau, Trois Rivieres, and Long Beach are still around. Caesar's Palace, downtown Detroit, Dallas, the Meadowlands, Phoenix, etc aren't around anymore. Also, for some reason, people are generally more excited by Potrero de los Funes than even Algarve, which is pretty darn good for a "modern", permanent road course.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Watkins Glen is a beautiful track, but who cares?

Mexico City is a big city, and IndyCar would make a big impact.

I don't care if they never race outside of the US and Canada again. There's plenty of deserving tracks in the US and Canada and I like Watkins Glen while never really being a fan of Circuit Rodriguez.


Edit:
And sounds like they don't want it down there until there's a full time Mexican contestant? I guess I get that but that seems a bit pretentious.

[Purist]

While I despise what Tilke did to the place, saying you never liked it is a bit harsh.

This is quite nice, really:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKtjsTAYrxc

A1GP ran that same layout in their 2006-07 season, also.

In human terms, Mexico is a much larger market than Canada: ~120 million compared to ~35 million.

And especially if there's going to be clamoring for Canada to maybe have a second race, I can't get behind the idea that "Mexico just shouldn't have any". But yes, I wish we had some other options down there.

[Akrapovic]

Kinda oddly, the rebuild of Mexiico City works for multi-class racing because it forces some real strategy and driver skill (and experience) on what you can do in traffic and when. For a single class series, it's a rubbish rebuild, but for WEC it was great.

Is Mexico only being considered because the circuit needs a second big event after WEC left?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Kinda oddly, the rebuild of Mexiico City works for multi-class racing because it forces some real strategy and driver skill (and experience) on what you can do in traffic and when. For a single class series, it's a rubbish rebuild, but for WEC it was great.

Is Mexico only being considered because the circuit needs a second big event after WEC left?

If the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit needed a second big event, why didn't they push for the IndyCar race, irrespective of whether Gutierrez had a full time drive or not?

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by Purist

While I despise what Tilke did to the place, saying you never liked it is a bit harsh.

This is quite nice, really:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKtjsTAYrxc

A1GP ran that same layout in their 2006-07 season, also.

In human terms, Mexico is a much larger market than Canada: ~120 million compared to ~35 million.

And especially if there's going to be clamoring for Canada to maybe have a second race, I can't get behind the idea that "Mexico just shouldn't have any". But yes, I wish we had some other options down there.

Thanks for putting this up, makes you realise what is missing from today’s racing

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

If the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit needed a second big event, why didn't they push for the IndyCar race, irrespective of whether Gutierrez had a full time drive or not?

They must assume that the race would not be profitable without the draw of a local driver.