9 replies to this topic

[MG Brown]

​This June, Formula 1 will grace the streets of Chicago, Illinois with its loud presence, and it will do so for free.

 

 

Since F1's commercial rights fell into the hands of American media conglomerate Liberty Media, F1 has been all about recapturing the public's attention, which was lost during the gradual migration to pay TV in recent decades. Getting F1's audience back requires desperate measures, and those in charge have decided that the best way to do it is by hosting free demonstrations of F1 cars on the streets of cities across the globe. Shanghai, Hanoi, London, Miami...and soon, Chicago.

 

Unlike tickets to a Grand Prix, or an expensive TV bundle, F1's festival in Chicago won't cost an arm and a leg to attend. Entry to Soldier Field, home of the NFL's Chicago Bears, will be free on the event's date of Saturday, June 8. Activities for the day include a live show run of F1 cars (hopefully not that weird fake Mercedes F1 car), watching the qualifying broadcast for the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix, and a performance by American band Judah & the Lion.

 

"Following the huge success of the Shanghai festival, we are excited to be heading to Chicago—a city known to hold the most enthusiastic of sports fans," proclaims Sean Bratches, F1's managing director of commercial operations. "We are looking forward to taking F1 to the US and immersing fans in the race day atmosphere and showing the Windy City all that F1 has to offer."

 

F1 officials have expressed a desire to host a second Grand Prix in the United States, alongside the current race held in Austin, Texas. Top candidates include New York City, Las Vegas, and the organizers' choice of Miami, but pushback from Miami locals has made the city's government hesitant to ink a hosting deal with F1, and the sport's overseers are now believed to be looking into Vegas instead.

 

 

See the event promo video here.

[Brian Czeiner]

Can't imagine what the Miami locals are thinking. Considering all of the offshore boat racing, why not a little asphalt racing? 

[John Streisguth]

We heard the same thing for one in NJ about 7 or 8 years ago.  A "festival" is one thing, an actual race I'll believe it when I see it

[Ecurie Martini]

In the past I spent a good deal of time (and some money) traveling to various venues here and abroad - like Sebring, Bridgehampton, Riverside, Bryn Fan Tyddn, Goodwood, Spa and Le Mans.

 

I would not walk across the street to watch the typical start-to-finish parade of today's weirdly shaped garishly painted semi-automated 4 wheeled "somethings"

 

EM

[Ramcatlarry]

If F-1  (or all of the other motorsport) series want to become visible again, they need to get the show BACK ON BROADCAST TV where the majority of viewers have always been.

 

Road America only needs to put up some portable garages for the F-1 teams to come race on a real road course.

[MG Brown]

Road America only needs to put up some portable garages for the F-1 teams to come race on a real road course.

 

I am going on memory alone here so please forgive me if some minutia is recalled slightly off.

 

About the time that Indianapolis was losing money hosting the USGP, the powers that be (at that time) in the FIA took a serious look at Road America as a future venue for the USGP. It was determined (by whom I cannot say) that there were not enough luxury hotels in central Wisconsin to host a round of the World Championship.

 

When IMS was hosting the USGP, most of the FIA officials flew to hotels in Chicago at the end of the day and back to Indianapolis the next day supposedly for the same reason.

 

This was above and beyond the money that RA would need to invest to bring the facilities up to modern International motor sporting specifications, such as the trackside garages (required to be of certain fireproof specification) that now sit unused at IMS for an example.

[Jesse Gonzales]

I had grown up hoping to go see a GP race sometime in my life, well it came to Phoenix some years back. I hated the interruption to those of us that worked in the downtown area. I also hated how much money Phoenix lost on these races. Many of our employees were used as race staff and such, not proper use of city workers to make Bernie richer.
 
Jess Gonzales

[Dave Crevie]

George Bruggenthies was GM at R/A during the time there were talks about having an F-1 Grand Prix at the

track. George and I were both board members of the VSCDA at the time, and I knew him fairly well. FOCA

would not accept portable garages for their teams. Plus the cost of putting on an F-1 event was just plain

impossible to consider, even from a promotional aspect for the track. The upgrades to the facility, spectator

amenities, and team hospitality would run in the multiple millions. And, as MG said, there weren't enough 

high-end places to stay at the time. The Kohler Inn was the closest. Since then, several new uber-lux

resorts have sprung up. For anyone who has stayed at the Osthoff as I have, they will tell you it is quite

adaquate.

 

Then there was the issue of the track design itself. R/A is nearly twice the length of the other F-1 venues.

And even though there is a "short course", the layout was not spectator friendly.

[Jesse Gonzales]

Oh, don't even think that racing can be done on city streets without a lot of prep work being done first. All existing AC (asphaltic concrete) will need to be milled and overlayed with special mixes that will hold up to being stripped off and gumming up on super fast hot tires. All manhole, valve and other untility covers will have to be welded shut and ground absolutely flush with the AC. All edges of the course will require jersey barricades and energy absorbing materials, at city expense as is all the rest. Bridges will be necessary to get worker and race fans to get around the track, several will be needed. Concrete precast garages complete with high roller rooftop enclaves that no one from the city except the mayor and council may be able to see. All parking in the area will shoot up in price along with shuttles, employers will have to provide ear plugs for employees and visitors. Restaurants will jack up prices better than double, wealthy groups may take up an entire capacity for outdoor dining along the track, if you didn't bring your lunch you are going to go hungry or broke. there is more but my meds are kicking in, getting drowsy. Oh, it's Arizona! heatstroke and sunburns were all over the place, I don't care where you are from this heat will kick your hiney.

 

Jess Gonzales

[MattD]

Funding a race on public streets is almost as smart as bidding on the olympics!