RE: US invades Europe
Wednesday 16th May 2007
Champ car racer Justin Wilson – from Sheffield – returns back to British soil this week to promote the Champ Car visits to Europe as the series tries to promote itself as a world wide championship.
US invades Europe
US Champ Car series aims for greater European audience
Justin – along with several other drivers and team bosses, including Paul Stoddart - will visit London, Belgium, Amsterdam and Paris to try and poach the traditionally European bias towards F1. With the addition of China to the 2007 calendar and rounds at Zolder, Belguim and Assen, Holland the Champ Car executives maybe pulling a shrewd move.
The last F1 race in Holland was 22 years ago and with the popularity of open wheeled racing and the success of current Dutch driver - Robert Doornbos – the race on September 2nd is set to be a sell out.
Equally the first race at Zolder on August 26th should see lots of Brits migrating to Belgium for a long bank holiday weekend. Currently over half of the Champ Car drivers are from Europe with four from Britain – including Northampton’s Katherine Legge the first female to win a major open wheeled race in the US – so maybe a British win in top flight single seater racing is not left for Hamilton to forge alone.
Discussion
MitchT said:
Let's hope Champ Car in Europe embraces the exciting circuits that F1 has long-since abandoned. That way we'll get to see truly exciting racing again! I wonder if the series could be persuaded to have a round at the Nordschleife? 
Edited by MitchT on Wednesday 16th May 14:42
????? Cloud cukoo land more like.... From what I've seen of Champ car this year, it looks like they race round derelict business parks.
I know what they're trying to do with Champ car, i.e. make the racing exciting by introducing unusual regulations, but for me it just seems false and thus loses its excitement. Definitely not must watch TV, but is OK if there is nothing else on.
I know what they're trying to do with Champ car, i.e. make the racing exciting by introducing unusual regulations, but for me it just seems false and thus loses its excitement. Definitely not must watch TV, but is OK if there is nothing else on.
vladd said:
From what I've seen of Champ car this year, it looks like they race round derelict business parks.
I know what they're trying to do with Champ car, i.e. make the racing exciting by introducing unusual regulations, but for me it just seems false and thus loses its excitement. Definitely not must watch TV, but is OK if there is nothing else on.
I know what they're trying to do with Champ car, i.e. make the racing exciting by introducing unusual regulations, but for me it just seems false and thus loses its excitement. Definitely not must watch TV, but is OK if there is nothing else on.
Did you not see them at Las Vegas on Eurosport? - Three abreast into one corner - i don't think i'd ever seen that in am major open wheel event (bar ovals). The problem with champ car lies in a lack of teams and that alomng with IRL its getting killed by NASCAR.
Don't suppose its got much better, though that young Lewis seems to be doing well.. Eric Mc said:
But very likely to fold in the near future, in my opinion.
Thus is not the first time Champ Cars have tried to cross the Atlantic but, even in its heyday (ten years ago) it found the translation difficult.
Thus is not the first time Champ Cars have tried to cross the Atlantic but, even in its heyday (ten years ago) it found the translation difficult.
I saw them when they were at Brands and Rockingham. Considering the competition from NASCAR and the oval-centric nature of US motorsport (champ cars being oval-free), a move into europe could do it a lot of good and possibly save it.
) were built. Im a Champcar fan through and through from the Nigel mansell days to Zanardi, Montoya and so on. Its a fantastic series that was let down by the greed of Tony George. He took away the Indy 500 and the rights to the "Indycar" name, as he wanted more American talent in Indy racing. Its funny how 11 years on his "Indycar" series is full of non americans and looks like the Champcar/indycar of 10 years ago. Its just a shame he killed open wheel racing in the US, his dream of a big American series has turned into a european shadow to Nascar.
The old united series, ran on ovals (large and small), street courses and perminent road courses, its was fantastic to watch and a real test of driver skill. Indycar shouldnt have mainly ovals and Champcar shouldnt have mainly road courses, only one series will survive and even though im a champcar fan, all i want to see is the best open wheel race drivers all together racing on all types of courses, then and only then will winning the Championship be as high a profile as winning the Indy 500.
Come on Tony and Co lets sort this out and go challenge Nascar..... I wait in hope..
The old united series, ran on ovals (large and small), street courses and perminent road courses, its was fantastic to watch and a real test of driver skill. Indycar shouldnt have mainly ovals and Champcar shouldnt have mainly road courses, only one series will survive and even though im a champcar fan, all i want to see is the best open wheel race drivers all together racing on all types of courses, then and only then will winning the Championship be as high a profile as winning the Indy 500.
Come on Tony and Co lets sort this out and go challenge Nascar..... I wait in hope..
Edited by lost my mojo on Wednesday 16th May 18:02
ErnestM said:
andyinpembs said:
Well, is it any more exciting than F1?
Without a doubt - more interesting than IRL as well due to not having to rely on ovals. ErnestM
Personally I find oval racing much more interesting. Where else do you get to see three cars side by side round a 200mph curve? That's why I've started paying a lot more attention to Nascar and IRL and a lot less to F1. My criteria for motor sport is very simple... Does it have me on the edge of my seat with bated breath for the duraton of the race? Nascar - Usually. IRL - Usually. F1 - Never. The only way to get the excitement back into non-oval racing is to have it on circuits like F1 used until the the safety police turned up. Maybe Champ Car will do just that... or maybe it won't! We can only wait and see. Until we have to rely on F1 races at Monaco, Monza and Spa.
said:
so maybe a British win in top flight single seater racing is not left for Hamilton to forge alone.
I wouldn't call ChampCar any more or less top flight than IRL, and Dan Wheldon has been winning everything in sight in that series. He is more than a little British, despite the terrible mid-atlantic accent.
In fact, he regularly leads the points in the BRDC stakes versus Bunsen, Ant et al.
MitchT said:
Let's hope Champ Car in Europe embraces the exciting circuits that F1 has long-since abandoned. That way we'll get to see truly exciting racing again! I wonder if the series could be persuaded to have a round at the Nordschleife?
Edited by MitchT on Wednesday 16th May 14:42
When they came to Brands five years ago they ran on the short circuit as they did in 78, a waste of time and very dull.
If they had run on the GP circuit or gone to Donnington it could be interesting otherwise its a waste
VladD said:
ErnestM said:
I agree with you Eric. It really is a shame, though, because Champ still requires a certain amount of driver skill.
ErnestM
ErnestM
More skill? In a series that doesn't let you defend a corner?
More skill in a series where you have to do more than make four left turns...
ErnestM
Open wheel racing is, let's face it, struggling severely in USA. The IRL division has been hugely damaging at just the time when the previously ridiculed Southern sport of NASCAR has become the biggest race series of all time. Open wheel perception in USA was further damaged by Bernie Ecclestone's F1 fiasco a couple of years back with a 6 car "race" at Indy.
Whilst there's hours of entertainment to be had dissing oval racing the sad fact is it's a whole lot more interesting than any open wheel racing where aerodynamics now render overtaking all but impossible. Any exciting passes at last week's Spanish GP? It was yet again all over at the first corner.
In 2001 CART (Champ cars) had a couple of oval races in Europe. Regrettably Alex Zanardi lost his legs in a horrific crash at the first race and the UK race at Rockingham was ruined by water seeping UP through the track surface. However, I was glad to be there and the few laps of racing that took place were blisteringly fast.
The best spectator motor racing by far is currently bikes not cars. Moto GP looks set for another fantastically competitive season. Make sure you don't miss it!
Whilst there's hours of entertainment to be had dissing oval racing the sad fact is it's a whole lot more interesting than any open wheel racing where aerodynamics now render overtaking all but impossible. Any exciting passes at last week's Spanish GP? It was yet again all over at the first corner.
In 2001 CART (Champ cars) had a couple of oval races in Europe. Regrettably Alex Zanardi lost his legs in a horrific crash at the first race and the UK race at Rockingham was ruined by water seeping UP through the track surface. However, I was glad to be there and the few laps of racing that took place were blisteringly fast.
The best spectator motor racing by far is currently bikes not cars. Moto GP looks set for another fantastically competitive season. Make sure you don't miss it!
vetteheadracer said:
I have been to Champ Cars (or was it IRL?) at Houston last year and also St. Pete's this year, it is about as exciting as F1.
Saw 'em at Brands. One bloke during the 'race' has a go at overtaking out of Druid's and down to Graham Hill Bend! Got almost half way up the length of the car in front and then thought better of it.
That was it.
Exciting? I'd rather have a nice cup of tea. Yes
It really was that bad. They might be OK at Rockingham. And I really would love to see Rockingham used for the purposes for which it was designed.
Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff