European races facing the axe?

[rustyfan]

Haven't seen this posted elsewhere, so... Autosport reports;

European races face the axe - Brands Hatch and Lausitz may lose 2004 dates

Champ Car's European races in Britain and Germany may face the chop as CART looks at slimming down its 2004 calendar, according to this week's AUTOSPORT Magazine. The Milwaukee Mile looks set to be the only oval race to survive the schedule overhaul.

Read the full article [here] (need to be registered - it's free - to read).

It will be a sad day if the article is correct.

[rush1]

Uhm, that is the least of CART worries. If they don't find investors soon they will have to axe the whole season

[Speedworx]

The Brands race was dull anyway. So I won't miss it.

[Rob29]

They have been a financial disaster to date apparently,Brands,Rockingham & Lausitz.Only hope is if the proposed Hanover race gets of the ground.

[fiona]

suppose it will keep costs down

[corkholio]

No point in going to Europe when CART gets outdrawn by F3.

[Jay]

lol...are you considering the British GP an F3 event? I don't think attendance was really a problem (at least from my observations) at the Cart races in Europe this time round...but that doesn't mean financial success.

I imagine Cart will be back to Europe fairly soon (say 2006), especially if they have a few European engine manufacturers come in. But at the moment, it's not financial viable.

rush1, would you mind axing yourself from this board? Not appreciated...

[corkholio]

Strike 1: British F3 didn't run at the British GP.

Strike 2: The British F3 race at Rockingham had 40k spectators.

Strike 3: There weren't even 40k seats sold for the 2002 Rockingham 500.

Don't you just hate it when facts keep getting in the way of your laughs?

[Jay]

lol...ok mr. miser, F3 didn't run at Silverstone this year, but it used to run at Silverstone with F1...just like Cart used to run at Rockingham...and doesn't anymore.

There were more than 40k at brands and Lauzits though... Brands looked packed, and Lauzits is just huge.

[Tailwind]

Uhm, that is the least of CART worries. If they don't find investors soon they will have to axe the whole season

There are some very wealthy men who love racing taking care of this issue right now.

[corkholio]

Poor wittle Jay...CART said there were only 40k for Brands, and the evil oval at Lausitz was barely past half capacity, not all that impressive and certainly nowhere near the point where a trans-Atlantic trip is worth when F3 races can generate nearly the same crowd.

[Snrub]

How did they work out financially? I bet they weren't as bad as some of the US races. They atleast had a reasonable fan presence.

Both races pretty much sucked this year, but I think that things can be improved for next year. The German race just needs a better aero package bring the race upto atleast IRL standards (I know I'm the only one here who thinks it was a problem). Brands...I'm not familiar with the "F1" circuit, but would it not be possible to show a whole lotta tires infront of problem walls? I mean if you can run on a street course that has concrete walls right there, surely a whole cr@pload of tires could do the trick.

Edit: I was thinking - perhaps CART should take a queue from the IRL and mandate wing angles. By that I don't mean tell teams exactly what angle to run, but give them a maximum for both front and rear.

[corkholio]

The Euro races were self-promoted by CART, and my guess is CART most certainly lost money by going to Europe. The only way to make the Eurospeedway race less IRL like is to bring the wings they used in 01 and 02, which would not make any sense since CART brought the road course wings for both races for the sole purpose of saving money in the first place. There is almost no chance in hell of using the Brands GP circuit, as Pook would rather waste money on a poorly attended street "race" in Miami.

At this point for CART Europe pretty much just drains money more than anything else. The manufacturers can't be impressed when the much cheaper F3 races are capable of drawing the same attendance figures.

[Rob29]

Actually what drew the 44K people to Rockingham was ;1,teeny pop group 'Sugarbabes' playing after the racing.
2.free tickets offerred by promoter of SEAT Cupra series which has its own TV show.
3,other side attractions for the family
4,hot sunny day-rare in England!

What gets a crowd in is good promotion.An F3 race anywhere else is lucky to get 400 people.

[corkholio]

No talent pop groups, tons of freebies, too many side attractions, sounds more like the LBGP to me.

[Avid Merrion]

It will be such a shame if European races get dropped next year . Just when we thought we were getting somewhere as well.

[Jay]

Originally posted by Rob29
Actually what drew the 44K people to Rockingham was ;1,teeny pop group 'Sugarbabes' playing after the racing.
2.free tickets offerred by promoter of SEAT Cupra series which has its own TV show.
3,other side attractions for the family
4,hot sunny day-rare in England!

What gets a crowd in is good promotion.An F3 race anywhere else is lucky to get 400 people.

hmm...that does sound familiar... Ok, it sounds like the promotion they used to use for the Molson Indy Toronto... have a big name group perform after it was done on Saturday. You might not like the Sugarbabes, but they're a big group in the UK that would draw a crowd. You might laugh at it, but anything that gets young people into racing is a good thing IMO.

[The Snout]

How long has F3 been in Europe, how long CART ? CART hasn't even been given a chance to get hold at Brands, given 3-5 years and that event could have been a real festival. But I agree with retreating from Europe for now.

[Stephen Green]

Corkholio, as I understand it, the contract Brands Hatch have with CART is for the next four races (it's reportedly a 5 year deal) to run on the GP circuit. Many imponderables come into play now.

1. The financial state of CART
2. The impending sale of the Brands Hatch group of circuits
3. The financial viability of running CART in Europe.

As for enhancing crouds by having 'pop groups' and concerts, why not? At this years British GP Status Quo gave a concert after the race. If it attracts more spectators then I'm all in favour. We shouldn't become such purists as to exclude these things from happening.

[Liz]

I attended the Brands Hatch race and I enjoyed myself very much and the people I met there also enjoyed it. (There was some grumbling among the BTCC media and of course Bruno, but everyone else seemed happy. )

I can't understand this modern idea that if you aren't the top of the box office five seconds after you open the doors for the first time, you are a failure and should close down immediately. Everything from this new 8 second dating service to Nanosecond Ratings; what ever happened to giving people a chance to get to know you? Even NA$CAR was not instantaneously the outrageous success it is today -- it took many years to build an image and grow its audiences.

IMO too many of the "fans" want to start out where others finished up. Nobody wants to start in the Mail Room anymore. And that is where CART is starting in building European audiences.

However, also IMO, we could do without the Bernie-like manipulation of the results at Germany if we go back there. I think the Europeans can handle the idea that people sometimes win races because they are the best drivers on the track, not because their fit the right demographic.