are we really racing Surfers Paradise?

[The instant classic]

i wasnt sure if the fans over on,, indycar.com talkback,, where pulling my leg,, or just making up stuff,, but they are saying, this oct will we see,,Surfers Paradise,, can anyone let me know how true this is? thx

[-Helix-]

Yep, 24 cars confirmed for it so far. It'll be a non-points event obviously.

Don't really see the point in going halfway around the world to be a support series myself, but whatever. They wouldn't be going if it wasn't going to be beneficial to the series.

[nigelred5]

Come on, I'd bet money they guaranteed a certain former Champcar owner they would sign a long term contract with Surfers to ensure his Aussie sponsorship deal didn't fall through and the merger with Champcar went through as planned. Look at the IRL's schedule history. They have never had any intention of racing in October past this year. They are making offers for dates they know damn well Cochrane and the Surfer's Paradise organizers will reject so they can get out of the contract and pin the blame on them.
How about we change the 500 to Labor Day. What next, Long Beach in September?

[speeddurango]

Nah, you're going a little too far, fabricating somethin there, if you're CC fan it's understandable otherwise that's a little bit uncalled for. Back on topic, Surfers's safe on schedule this year, they just have problems for next year. I'm not exactly sure what Indycar officials are thinking but apparently it's not like Indycar is trying to dump Surfers, because the obvious fact is they moved their Motegi date to September to make it a less expensive East Pacific trip but somehow the date was rather bad for the Australian partner and I'm not exactly sure what happened that caused them to neglect the issues involving setting a date which will potentially conflict with V8 supercars, and whether it's intentional or a comminication problems.

[nigelred5]

Well, I guess we'll see.....

[-Helix-]

Come on, I'd bet money they guaranteed a certain former Champcar owner they would sign a long term contract with Surfers to ensure his Aussie sponsorship deal didn't fall through and the merger with Champcar went through as planned. Look at the IRL's schedule history. They have never had any intention of racing in October past this year. They are making offers for dates they know damn well Cochrane and the Surfer's Paradise organizers will reject so they can get out of the contract and pin the blame on them.
How about we change the 500 to Labor Day. What next, Long Beach in September?

You're probably on to something about the whole sponsorship/merger thing, but it's not really relevant.

If Cochrane/Australia rejects the offered dates, that's their problem. As an American IndyCar fan, I couldn't care less if the race is the same weekend as the Australian Football finals. The IRL obviously doesn't care either. If they want us there, they'll figure out a way to make it work. But it's up to them, it's not the IRL's concern what other Australian sports events are going on or how the Australian tourism industry is doing.

There are obvious openings on next year's schedule for the possible addition of Surfer's and the IRL offered those available dates. They're on the table, and the ball is in Cochrane's court.

The IRL doesn't care about Australia's tourism industry or old CART/Champ Car dates as they shouldn't. If Australia wants IndyCars, they'll accept one of the offered dates. If they don't, no big loss. Less travel for another street race which we have way too many of anyway. IndyCar is an AMERICAN series that doesn't need Australia, so why bend to their will? IndyCar doesn't owe Cochrane anything.

I'm indifferent on whether or not we run in Australia, and I think this is a good test of faith to see if it's even worth all the travel/time. If Cochrane is willing to accept one of the offered dates, great. If not, great.

It basically comes down to who they can replace IndyCar with. A1GP would be the likely choice. But which is more appealing to Australian race fans? Dixon, Briscoe, and Power driving in the series that runs one of the most famous races in the world, or whoever they decide to stick in Team Australia's A1GP ride? I guess that's for Cochrane to decide.

And comparing the date for the Gold Coast Indy to that of Long Beach or Indy? Please. I know you're a former Champ Car fan, but c'mon...

[ShiftingGears]

And comparing the date for the Gold Coast Indy to that of Long Beach or Indy? Please. I know you're a former Champ Car fan, but c'mon...

I'd watch the Surfers Paradise long weekend, over Long Beach or Indy.

[-Helix-]

I'd watch the Surfers Paradise long weekend, over Long Beach or Indy.

I probably would too. (Well, probably not over Indy - but it is a good race and I would take it over the now pretty dull Long Beach race in a heartbeat.)

However, that doesn't make the date of said race as meaningful as the traditional dates of the series' two biggest events and the two biggest open wheel races in America.

A race on the other side of the world doesn't hold a candle to the importance of those two (domestic, in-market) races.

[ShiftingGears]

I probably would too. (Well, probably not over Indy - but it is a good race and I would take it over the now pretty dull Long Beach race in a heartbeat.)

However, that doesn't make the date of said race as meaningful as the traditional dates of the series' two biggest events and the two biggest open wheel races in America.

A race on the other side of the world doesn't hold a candle to the importance of those two (domestic, in-market) races.

True, but if they ended up with a date seperate to the V8s at Surfers then the net losers are the fans. IMO its the best combination of series at a venue over the same weekend that you can get.

[wedge]

True, but if they ended up with a date seperate to the V8s at Surfers then the net losers are the fans. IMO its the best combination of series at a venue over the same weekend that you can get.

True. I love the V8s but there's also ALMS/IRL at the beautiful Mid-Ohio Sportcar Course.

If only they could do the same at Road America, now that what would be awesome!