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]

Formula 1 is returning to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2007. A one-year extension to the current deal with Formula One Management was signed Thursday by the Speedway's CEO, Tony George (shown at this year's GP at right).

The current contract between the Speedway and Bernie Ecclestone's FOM expired in July after this year's race, and George chose to cut a one year extension to the deal rather than negotiate a longer-term contract, saying that he wanted to wait and see how the sport developed after the expiration of the current Concorde Agreement at the end of 2007. There is no doubt that there will be big changes to the sport in 2008, and it's not surprising that George has adopted a wait-and-see attitude. George took pains to point out that he fully expects to be with Formula 1 for the long term, which makes sense given the enormous investment he made in modifying the track to accomodate the USGP.

Speedway president Joie Chitwood made clear the track's long-term interest saying, "Though this contract is for only one year, it is still our goal to make the Speedway the longtime home of the United States Grand Prix."

An interesting fact: The Indianapolis Star reports that of the three races at the Brickyard (the Indy 500, the NASCAR Allstate 400, and the USGP), the GP has the biggest impact on the local economy, because a larger percentage of F1 fans come from out of town (and spend more), and because the F1 circus itself is a high-rolling group. The total value of the GP to the economy is estimated to be more than $100 million.

The 2007 USGP is scheduled for June 17. Ticket information will be announced soon.

[Sources: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, The Indianapolis Star]