A Silverstone wish by Wheldon

[Placid]

If a wish could come true, it would be for Dan
Wheldon. Canada and Japan are on their list.
But something was missing and that is Europe.
Wheldon admitted that he wanted an IRL race
at Silverstone.

With the absence of F1, Wheldon love to see
and have the IRL fill the void. Hopefully it
can happen as well for the GV Circuit at
Montreal.

Report:
http://www.crash.net/indycar/News/145146/1/wheldon_i_wish_we_could_race_at_silverstone.html

[F1boat]

Yes... IRL on Silverstone will be AMAZING!

[Dr. Krogshöj]

If they go to the UK it should be Rockingham Motor Speedway. If IndyCar wants to be big in Europe, it has to offer something different, something that differentiates it from other European series like F1. And that thing would be oval racing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3r6-ELiSy0

[acescribe]

If they go to the UK it should be Rockingham Motor Speedway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3r6-ELiSy0

Agreed.

And the British public will have some idea of what an Indy Car is, but had no idea of what a "Champ Car" was, hence very few went to watch and the race failed.

Sadly though I cant see the IRL making a move outside of the Americas any time soon.

[F1boat]

If they go to the UK it should be Rockingham Motor Speedway. If IndyCar wants to be big in Europe, it has to offer something different, something that differentiates it from other European series like F1. And that thing would be oval racing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3r6-ELiSy0

Honestly, I disagree. Silverstone is a legendary track and I think that it can help Indycar better than Rockingham.

[MDS]

I've always thought if we're going to go back to Europe we have to do something different, but I think night racing is the answer.

Rockingham and Lautiz could both be lighted without a huge amount of work on their part, and that gets around the Time differential. Starting at 5:30 p.m. Saturday starts at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. in Rockingham and 10:30 at Lautiz. The races there were both successful and by doing a night race you would be offering something the European public hasn't really seen before at a live timeslot that would be palitable to the American public.

[elis]

Dr. Krogshöj

If they go to the UK it should be Rockingham Motor Speedway



agreed

And the British public will have some idea of what an Indy Car is, but had no idea of what a "Champ Car" was, hence very few went to watch and the race failed.



The race 'failed' as you put it because as usual for AOWR it had p!ss poor advertising so joe public didn't even know there was an event going on (yes the circuit takes some blame for sure also)... that coupled with shockingly poor & unreliable TV coverage of the series assured that the only folks who would be there were the die hards.. & they were. They showed up at Rocks & Lausitz from around Europe.

The place was no where near to capacity & attributing reasoning to lack of promo is a fair assumption.. Heck if you take away the one off 'casual spectators' at places like the Silvo F1, even the Indy 500, without doubt you'd lose a high percentage of your gate numbers. (Rockingham has a higher seating capacity than Silvo).

I went to both Rocks races (& BH), & had a fab time. Despite the initial probs with the drainage delays at the 1st Corby meet, (for which Rockingham generously reimbursed all fans who had paid for race day tickets, regardless that the race was actually run).

If Indy car comes in the future & it doesn't clash with something else, then I'll go watch, where ever they race.. but if they want to fill the grandstands, then advertise the freakin event widely & do it hard or else indycar will also fail, as you put it! *There has been past talk of Rocks being demolished & replaced with housing, not sure of the present situ on that though*

[Sonic]

From a race fan point of view IRL should go to Rocks - its such a waste that that track only really gets use as at oval/infield hybrid.

From a promotion POV Silverstone is a more recognised name and may attract more of the average Joe's.

So why not do both???

If the cars are flown all the way over here stay for a back to back weekend. Silverstone first to generate interest and then some sort of 2 for 1 offer to get Rockingham full - then the average British spectator could get a chace to see a REAL race.

Ah dreams.

[MDS]

It was a major hassle for the teams go on the road with everything needed for both an oval and road course when CART went to Brands and Lausitiz in 2003.

[Scheckterfan54]

Maybe the "powers that be" in ICS office should concentrate on making their current format perfect before expanding into an audience that is not as inclined to watch the races every week. Trying to expand before having a firm foundation is foolish for any business.

[El Sween]

Rockingham ain't going anywhere. Trust me.

Would be good to see Indycar anywhere in Europe.

[Mark in Oshawa]

God....this sounds like the Champ Car Board 4 years ago...Europe or no Europe?

the IRL isn't ready to go to Europe, so England Dan Wheldon can dream all he wants, the Dallara wont see Silverstone.

I can tell you that the IRL cars would be so far behind the F1 cars per lap that the British Public will probably be a little put off. IF they were to come to England, Rockingham or a full Brand's circuit would be my picks. I love Silverstone, but people will realize just how much slower the IRL cars are compared to an f1 car on this type of circuit. I also would love to see Lausitz back but again, I just don't see any of this happening for a while. Tony George is a really conservative guy, and those sort of fellas don't make these trans-Atlantic jumps easily.

Also, the point has to be made the summer schedule of the IRL pretty much is full and when would you race in England? September and October? If you race at the "Rock" would the weather be reliable enough to get in an oval race? Just a question.....

[Chamoo]

Sadly though I cant see the IRL making a move outside of the Americas any time soon.

You'd be surprised.

[elis]

the IRL isn't ready to go to Europe, so England Dan Wheldon can dream all he wants, the Dallara wont see Silverstone.


Your post just reminded me.

I have a voice tape interview done last year at the Download festival at Donington Park, Gene Simmons was asked about Indy Car & he said that eventually indycar would be coming to Europe.

Take it for what it's worth.. which probably isn't much, but hey just thought I'd share :)

[maxmach]

I like the idea of a night oval race, something different and looks exciting. But, and I like the idea of racing in europe, maybe we whould wait until we a little more solid in the states, like a 1.5 rating on tv, or around the water cooler you ask anyone who an indy car driver is, besides Danica, and they would know. We have to grow the product here first, hell we have to survive and then grow. But, I am liking the direction of indycar right now.

[philipbain]

I have never liked the layout of the Rockingham Oval, 1.5 miles is just too small to have a layout with 4 distinct turns, the result of all these turns is that the straights aren't long enough for any serious drafting and the turns are pretty long causing a bad case of disturbed aero. Eurospeedway on the other hand is a potential classic if it ever got used, its layout is fantastic, think Pocono with actual facilities!

[Placid]

It was a major hassle for the teams go on the road with everything needed for both an oval and road course when CART went to Brands and Lausitiz in 2003.
I love to see Lausitz in the IRL calendar. But I prefer the WSBK road course.

[nigelred5]

Your post just reminded me.

I have a voice tape interview done last year at the Download festival at Donington Park, Gene Simmons was asked about Indy Car & he said that eventually indycar would be coming to Europe.

Take it for what it's worth.. which probably isn't much, but hey just thought I'd share :)
That was pre-economic meltdown. I'll say if it happens, it'll be a while.

[nigelred5]

It was a major hassle for the teams go on the road with everything needed for both an oval and road course when CART went to Brands and Lausitiz in 2003.

IIRC, in 03, the teams had to choose what configuration they were going to run prior to departure form the US and use it at both tracks. They weren't allowed to pack unique parts for both. Some teams chose to do well at Lausitz and configured for the oval and did Ok at Brands. Teams that configured in high downforce for Brands struggled mightily with speed on the oval. I don't recall anyone hitting the sweet spot with a compromise that worked for both. It's pity the oval at Lausitz doesn't get used more. It's a beautiful facility. Indy should envy the grandstand there.

[elis]

IIRC, in 03, the teams had to choose what configuration they were going to run prior to departure form the US and use it at both tracks. They weren't allowed to pack unique parts for both. Some teams chose to do well at Lausitz and configured for the oval and did Ok at Brands. Teams that configured in high downforce for Brands struggled mightily with speed on the oval. I don't recall anyone hitting the sweet spot with a compromise that worked for both.

Besides NHR, Herdez did something right, picking up a 3rd at Brands & a 2nd at Lausitz ;)