Quebec in 2012......?

[SarahFan]

http://www.auto123.com/en/racing-news/other/irl-indycar-series-pays-a-visit-to-quebec-city?artid=118780


been scuttlebutt for years about Quebec......but if Cotman was there you gotta think there is more than just smoke......

[Marbles]

F1 in June. Trois Rivieres early August. NASCAR and Grand Am in late August. As race friendly as Quebec is they're probably pretty close to the saturation point. Quebec city would look good on TV though.

Don't know if the streets would be any wider than Trois Riviere. If they aren't I'd rather see them hitch their wagon to that event. It certainly has some history. Unfortunately, it's a pretty small track and not a major centre.

Mont Tremblant probably not up to standards.

[Easy Drifter]

The Atlantics ran in Quebec City in the late 70's but not in the old city. They used part of the fairgrounds.
Unless there has been a huge alteration to the old city, and I don't think there has, the streets are far too narrow and no spectator areas. Maybe around the port but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Scotty G.]

When I think Quebec, I think AOW.

Hopefully Panama, Guatamala and the Dominican Republic can get events too.


How stupid are the people "leading" AOW anyway?

Hey fellas, why not get your house in order IN THIS COUNTRY, before trying to become F1 Lite? If you have nothing here, you have NO SERIES. Period.

[DanicaFan]

This is getting out of hand, another city, another street course. Sounds like ChampCar revisited.

Not looking good for the series in my opinion, as I said before, champcar failed so why do they think it will go again this time ?

Hey IRL, get back Milwaukee, Richmond, Michigan, Phoenix, Las Vegas, California. We need to get back to the oval roots.

As I have said, many times street/road courses become follow the leader, a parade with numerous turns.

[Scotty G.]

Quebec is a very good place for NORTH AMERICAN open wheel to be.


Not in 2010, it isn't. Not when America (where all the teams, most of its sponsors, most of its races and most of its fans are located) continues to not support the sport.

We all know why they are trying to add places like Quebec. They are in full-fledged "money grab" mode now. They have been told, get the finances in order ASAP, or the plug will be pulled by the Hulman/George family sisters. Or they will just sell Indy Car to the highest bidder (if there is one) and be done with it. That is what is happening. So going to Baltimore or Brazil or whereever else will give them money, has nothing to do with anything but pure $$$ And when that $$$ goes away, they are hoping to have enough of a series to be able to find another city to squeeze money out of.

Its AMERICAN open wheel racing. Not North American. ;)

[harvick#1]

As I have said, many times street/road courses become follow the leader, a parade with numerous turns.


so what was Kansas then :rolleyes:

[SarahFan]

This is getting out of hand, another city, another street course. Sounds like ChampCar revisited.

Not looking good for the series in my opinion, as I said before, champcar failed so why do they think it will go again this time ?

Hey IRL, get back Milwaukee, Richmond, Michigan, Phoenix, Las Vegas, California. We need to get back to the oval roots.

As I have said, many times street/road courses become follow the leader, a parade with numerous turns.

dont sweat it....its looking more and more like you will have aplenty of ovals and a couple token twisties to follow in the future

[Easy Drifter]

4 lemons and 4 sour grapes awarded to Scotty this time.

There are more IC fans per capita in Canada than in the US.
Unfortunately IC's TV deal with TSN is doing its best to lose them.
Most races are put on TSN2 which very few, relatively, people have.

[nigelred5]

This is getting out of hand, another city, another street course. Sounds like ChampCar revisited.

Not looking good for the series in my opinion, as I said before, champcar failed so why do they think it will go again this time ?

Hey IRL, get back Milwaukee, Richmond, Michigan, Phoenix, Las Vegas, California. We need to get back to the oval roots.

As I have said, many times street/road courses become follow the leader, a parade with numerous turns.
I don't want to see any less ovals either, but they need to be the RIGHT ovals and I would agree with every one you listed above, but all of hte above have been no less parades than a street race in many instances. Have the promoters of the Ovals shown a recent( or past for that matter) willlingness to promote and support IRL races at those tracks? I haven't seen evidence of it outside of TMS and IMS. For one, fans don't show up when no one tells them there is a race. The sad fact is these days, people generally aren't willing to travel several hours out into the country to sit in grandstands to watch the current Indy Cars. Didn't Kansas previously "promote" the IRL race by forcing a season ticket package on ticket buyers? I seem to remember Chicagoland originally did that and attendance dropped like a rock when they dropped that requirement. You can continue to thank your savior TG for ruining the crowds that used to attend ALL of the oval races in the 80's and early 90's. They tried all ovals, just as CART tried NO ovals. To much of either is a bad thing.

[Scotty G.]

so what was Kansas then :rolleyes:

A prototypical Indy Car oval race since about 2006? :p

Kansas used to have damn good racing and would again. But this series isn't truly about racing anymore.

[Scotty G.]

You can continue to thank your savior TG for ruining the crowds that used to attend ALL of the oval races in the 80's and early 90's.


TG is gone. You have no more excuses for why America could care less for this sport.

TG had nothing to do with Mario, Michael, Rahal, Sullivan, Emmo, Al Jr, Foyt, Rutherford, Al Sr, Sneva and Mears all retiring at about the same time.

He also had nothing to do, with the no-names and unmarketable drivers brought in to replace them during this time.

You know who really "ruined" the crowds at most real race tracks (ovals and natural terrain road courses) in this country? THE OWNERS. You know, the same folks who ran CART into bankruptcy. The same folks who put on the debacle that was the "US 500" at Michigan. The same folks who ran off Honda. The same folks who didn't have any time to talk to Jeff Gordon. The same folks who aspired to be a F1 feeder series and could care less about American racing talent (and their own feeders). The same folks who only looked after their own self interests, and said the hell with everyone else.

TG had NOTHING to do with this. But if it makes some feel better to blame him for everything, go ahead. Its funny. :)

[ICWS]

This is getting out of hand, another city, another street course. Sounds like ChampCar revisited.

Not looking good for the series in my opinion, as I said before, champcar failed so why do they think it will go again this time ?

Hey IRL, get back Milwaukee, Richmond, Michigan, Phoenix, Las Vegas, California. We need to get back to the oval roots.

As I have said, many times street/road courses become follow the leader, a parade with numerous turns.

While I too would prefer a diverse series, it seems IndyCar is in the beginning states of becoming an American version of Formula 1. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it would prevent the series from being unique. The way things are headed, I would not be suprised if in 5 years if IndyCar leaves all the ovals (except for the Indianapolis 500, of course) and focus on being the premier road course racing series in North America (and let NASCAR be the premier oval track series, which it aleady is). They could place themselves in a position of being in between GP2 and Formula 1. The venues they seek to race at could be cities and countries who want F1 races but cannot afford one. With the Indy 500 being the only oval race, that would give that race even more prestige.

[Easy Drifter]

Wow! 5 Lemons and 6 sour cherries to Scotty this time.

[NickFalzone]

I think that what makes the IndyCar series, what defines it, is open-wheel racecars that compete on ovals, streets, and road circuits, with the biggest race of the year at Indy. I have never had a huge issue with overseas races (as long as coverage can be in a reasonable TV window), and have never had a huge issue with a mix of international drivers, as long as they were considered world class and were popular personalities for fans to follow (and spoke english). So when I hear things like IndyCar is looking for a race in Brazil, a race in Quebec, an oval in China, or whatever, that doesn't necessarily make me sit back and say wow, this series is going seriously downhill. A wide variety of courses, from ovals to streets, in America and to exotic places internationally, that all seems fine to me. I don't think it needs to be fully American across the board to be exciting and successful.

[ICWS]

I think that what makes the IndyCar series, what defines it, is open-wheel racecars that compete on ovals, streets, and road circuits, with the biggest race of the year at Indy. I have never had a huge issue with overseas races (as long as coverage can be in a reasonable TV window), and have never had a huge issue with a mix of international drivers, as long as they were considered world class and were popular personalities for fans to follow (and spoke english). So when I hear things like IndyCar is looking for a race in Brazil, a race in Quebec, an oval in China, or whatever, that doesn't necessarily make me sit back and say wow, this series is going seriously downhill. A wide variety of courses, from ovals to streets, in America and to exotic places internationally, that all seems fine to me. I don't think it needs to be fully American across the board to be exciting and successful.

If the IndyCar series does indeed race in areas like Quebec and China, they should look to sign at least one really good driver from those areas. That was a major factor in what made the Sao Paulo race successful; having 7 good Brazilian drivers compete in that race really appealed to the people that either came to that race or watched from their televisions in Brazil.

If they raced in China, for example, I hope that if they were to sign a Chinese driver that he or she is the best they could find and have them compete for the entire season rather than just for the Chinese race (like how NASCAR Busch teams signed a bunch of average Mexican drivers for the Mexico City race and then drop them afterward). That's what ticks me off about Paul Tracy's situation. If he was in a Penske, Ganassi or Andretti car he would be contending for wins at every race, but all the series cares about now is just signing him for the two Canadian races (and Indianapolis) and then leaving him to sit at home for the rest of the season.

[Easy Drifter]

Uh Folks, Quebec is still part of Canada and Tags is from the Province of Quebec.
Quebec City is much more a French speaking city than Montreal where most people can speak English, although many pretend not to until you make an effort to speak French. There is also a large English as first language population in Mtl.
The 'Old Town' Quebec City is very tourist oriented and again most can speak at least some English. A lot of the rest of the City is pretty unilingual French.
'Three Cricks', Trois Rivieres is very much French speaking and is not really a tourist area. That said most Quebecers can speak at least some English.
Far better than most of us Anglo Cdns. who can speak very little if any French!
I can usually read enough to understand it but only speak a few phrases and understand even less! Quite a bit of what I speak I learned from French Cdn. drivers and cannot be used here! Gilles Villeneuve was a master in cuss in both languages long before he could really speak English to any extent. Jo-Ann often had to translate for him. She was pretty fleunt in English.

[garyshell]

But this series isn't truly about racing anymore.


TG had NOTHING to do with this. But if it makes some feel better to blame him for everything, go ahead. Its funny. :)

What's really funny is that despite these feelings you still feel the need to stick around and criticize a series that clearly you no longer like in any way at all and how delusional you are about the role the split and/or TG had in the current state of affairs.

What DOES keep you watching and kibitzing here? The joy of pissing in other folks Wheaties? Obviously you don't like the road/street races and don't like the oval racing. So why not take up knitting or something else?

Gary

[ICWS]

[quote="Easy Drifter"]Uh Folks, Quebec is still part of Canada and Tags is from the Province of Quebec.quote]

My bad on forgetting that Tagliani was from Quebec.

Well, Quebec City has that part covered when (or if) they get a race there. I'm also happy that IndyCar has two Japanese drivers (Mutoh and Sato) even though both of them are not that competitive; but they give the audience at Motegi, Japan two countrymen to support when the series races there in September.

I wish IndyCar could also come back to Surfers Paradise (or maybe try Adelaide), especially since A1GP is on hiatus and IndyCar has three very competitive Oceanic drivers in Will Power, Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe. Now if IndyCar could add several more American drivers, they would have a more geographically appealing field (considering the U.S. makes up 13 of the 17 races on the schedule).

Hopefully if the teams improve on getting more sponsorship money they would be more willing to sign and support competitive non-ride buying drivers (guys like Graham Rahal, Paul Tracy, Bruno Junqueira, Oriol Servia, Mario Dominguez, Sebastien Bourdais, etc.) in the future.

[Mark in Oshawa]

so what was Kansas then :rolleyes:

Or Richmond? Or Chicagoland before they changed the rules?

I have watched the IRL since 95, and I can say that most of the oval races they have presented haven't been any more exciting than some of the road races. It is only small minded people with small minds who cannot grasp this series needs both types of fans and tracks.

Now...Quebec? No...cannot see it working in the old city. That said, they would be packing them in to see this race, and with Toronto's promoters bent on killing what was once the most well attended street race with Long Beach on the continent, Quebec COULD replace Toronto, and I would accept Quebec if Toronto's promoters keep their crap up. But...we don't need another road course.

I just know that in Quebec, racing is a religion. Scotty cant understand that because he figures anyone in the sport who isn't from Indiana or Texas is just an idiot, and worth discounting I guess. I don't know, but Scotty doesn't seem to grasp if 100000 people are willing to pay good money to watch the race, then maybe there is some value there.

I do know this much, if one is having a street race, a scenic venue like Quebec City would look great on TV.

AS for Trois Riveries, it is good for Atlantics and slower cars...but I don't see it working for the IRL. Just too tight. Spectator amenities wouldn't be the issue though, that city packs the people in, and holding a race there is no worse than holding a race at Mid Ohio or Road America. Only 1.5 hours from downtown Montreal or downtown Quebec City. No further away than RA is from Milwaukee...

[harvick#1]

the only way for the IRL to re improve the racing on ovals is forcing the cars to have to lift around the turns, the "put an end to foot on the floor racing" thread is what I'm going for here,

an all oval series gets boring, thats why I'm one of the fans that are pushing for more road courses in NASCAR.

the street circuits are really only a temp solution, because it sort of forces the race upon the people in the city and will hopefully have them just say "well why not go to the race since the streets are blocked for the week"

but for several forum members are so diehard to their driver that when she says she hates street/road circuits, they have to hate them as well they they are the best friend to the driver.

just be glad the IRL is still around and see that they are doing all they can to stay afloat, because right now with the chassis, oval races arent cutting it

[Mark in Oshawa]

the only way for the IRL to re improve the racing on ovals is forcing the cars to have to lift around the turns, the "put an end to foot on the floor racing" thread is what I'm going for here,

an all oval series gets boring, thats why I'm one of the fans that are pushing for more road courses in NASCAR.

the street circuits are really only a temp solution, because it sort of forces the race upon the people in the city and will hopefully have them just say "well why not go to the race since the streets are blocked for the week"

but for several forum members are so diehard to their driver that when she says she hates street/road circuits, they have to hate them as well they they are the best friend to the driver.

just be glad the IRL is still around and see that they are doing all they can to stay afloat, because right now with the chassis, oval races arent cutting it

People want to see driving skill. Even if no one passes, a road course with 22 race cars grazing the walls and flying down the straights is displaying the driving skill than last year's run at Richmond did, or some of the cookie cutter oval IRL races has...

That said, I don't want to see all the races on road/street courses, especially street races. Most street courses are too tight and narrow. Quebec City, as wonderful a place as it is, is NOT likely a good place to see a great race course, at least; not in the Old City.

[Easy Drifter]

Basically Quebec City is jealous of Mtl. with the GP and Nationwide races and Trois Rivieres with its long running street race. Trois Rivieres predates Long Beach and holds the oldest running street race in North America.
Quebec is especially jealous of Trois Rivieres, a much smaller city. It is also an industrial town, not normally a tourist area.
Quebec had a couple of Formula Atlantic races in the late 70's at the fairgrounds when Atlantic was in its first decline. That is outside the old city.
Like Trois Rivieres that track is too tight and really too short for IC.
Quebec City is a tourist town and the Provincial Capital so they want in on the racing action.

[NaBUru38]

I don't support the Québec race. It can only suck blod from Montréal and Trois-Rivières. Baltimore is all that region needs... except for New Hampshire. Btw, I love those accents :)