Lack of entries for Motegi?

[philipbain]

Obviously with the Indycar series once again split for next weekend and all the former Champ car teams being in Long Beach with a bumper field of 20 entries there has been little said about the number of entries for the Motegi round. I make it to be about 18, 17 IRL regulars plus a Motegi only entry for Roger Yasukawa. 18 cars on a big wide oval isnt many to be honest, though hopefully this will be the smallest grid for an Indycar race for the foreseeable future.

It's a shame that the Motegi round couldnt have been moved to a week earlier, as moving that would have been a lot more practical than moving Long Beach, a street race which has a very specific window in which it can be run. I understand that Motegi coincides with a Japanese public holiday but I don't think it would have made a massive difference if it was at the start of the holiday rather than at the end of it. I'm sure the former Champ Car teams dont mind though as they probably wouldnt have been that competitive at Motegi anyway, it won't be until May when they get a month of running at Indy when they can truely get to grips with the Dalaras on the ovals.

[infoxicated]

It sucks that it couldn't be moved, because most of the time Motegi is neither a good race, nor impressive in viewing figures. It's usually a fuel conservation yawner, too, and that tricky turn 3/4 is the cause of the only noteworthy incidents.

I've always said it's a momentum killer - more so this season because we should have 26+ cars at Long Beach instead of weak fields at two events.

Hopefully next year it'll be at the tail end of the schedule and we can have something better slotted in between St Pete's and Kansas. :)

[millencolin]

well think of it this way...

Double the races! how often do you get 2 races from the same series in one weekend, in different venues! especially from both sides of the Pacific

Lets just say im looking forward to long beach more, doesn't mean i will miss motegi either (unless work screws me over again)

[DavePI2]

The official entry list for motegi is 18. I believe that is a healthy sign that so many entries could be found for both races. Going to be a great year.

David

[Jag_Warrior]

I believe that is a healthy sign that so many entries could be found for both races.

For the right $ub$idy, Paris Hilton and all of her BFF's will attend the next garden party that I have. Increased viewership, attendance and/or sponsorship exposure values are better true indicators of series "health", IMO. And we've yet to see evidence of that. It's too early to tell right now. By year's end, we should have an initial read.

[DavePI2]

very good points jag

David

[BenRoethig]

Obviously with the Indycar series once again split for next weekend and all the former Champ car teams being in Long Beach with a bumper field of 20 entries there has been little said about the number of entries for the Motegi round. I make it to be about 18, 17 IRL regulars plus a Motegi only entry for Roger Yasukawa. 18 cars on a big wide oval isnt many to be honest, though hopefully this will be the smallest grid for an Indycar race for the foreseeable future.

It is a little easier to expand when you don't need to worry about racing those chassis ever again and don't have to fly across the pacific to do it.