Autoblog

American fans of Formula One, take heart: Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George is pushing to bring the U.S. Grand Prix back to Indy for 2009.

The race was taken off the calendar after George and F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone failed to come to a financial agreement, but while other sites have been touted as alternative venues for the American round of grand prix racing, the speedway remains the only one ready to host without the need for any further modifications. All George needs at this point is the cash, and he's enlisted the services of local marcom firm Just Marketing to find a title sponsor for the race that would help raise the funds to secure the event for next year's calendar.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

By now most have heard that F1 will not hold a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2008, meaning that the fate of F1 in the U.S. is in question. Don't shed a tear for Indy, though, as it's just been announced that MotoGP will bring the new Red Bull indianapolis GP to the Brickyard on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008. Incredibly, this will be the first time in almost 100 years that motorcycles have raced at Indy. The last time was August 14th, 1909, according to Indy.

For the event, Indy is constructing a new 16-turn, 2.601-mile motorcycle road course on which riders will travel counter-clockwise, which is rare for a road course event at Indy. The event organizers promise lots of passing and side-by-side racing, as well. Like any big motorsport event, the Red Bull Indianapolis GP will be a three-day affair with supporting races and qualifying that begin on Friday, Sept. 12, 2008.

Together with the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix that's held at Laguna Seca, MotoGP now hosts two big races in the U.S. The current defending champion, Nicky Hayden, is also from the U.S., Owensboro, KY to be specific, so MotoGP's arrival at Indy is both appropriate for the motorsport and extremely exciting. While losing F1's USGP was a hit to Indianapolis, the storied track has recovered nicely with the announcement of MotoGP's pending arrival, and we'll be eager to see how it goes.

Thanks for the tip, Thor!

[Source: IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com]

Back in April we told you about Vertu's Racetrack Legends series of mobile phones. At that time only Monza and Silverstone were available. But now filthy rich fans of LeMans and Indianapolis can chat on phones more expensive than a 10-year-old Miata. Made by Nokia, the $6,000+ phone is made of carbon-fiber-like leather, and an alloy called LiquidMetal laser-etched with a map of the namesake racetrack. Only 1,000 of each of six tracks will be produced.

But if you must talk on the phone while in the car, do the safe, courteous thing and pit.

[Source: www.sybarites.org]