NickFalzone
30th June 2009, 01:47
This is from Bruce Martin at Versus. Says season opener in Brazil, and VW and Audi disagreeing with Honda on new engine formula:
INDYCAR WILL OPEN 2010 SEASON IN BRAZIL
For years, the IndyCar Series has featured some of the top race drivers from Brazil. Beginning in 2010, IndyCar will be able to showcase that talent in their homeland.
As reported in last week, IndyCar will stage a race in Brazil in 2010. That race will be the season-opener in March, Terry Angstadt, IndyCar Series president, commercial division, indicated last week.
“The venue hasn’t been determined yet and I was with Alessandro Teixeira on Friday, the president of APEX Brazil (the ethanol fuel supplier to IndyCar) and he wanted to send the message they are very interested in us racing there, they want to support it as well and wants us to keep an open mind regarding venues,” Angstadt said. I’m 90 percent there. “It’s that close, but we don’t confirm them until they’re signed. They have a sanctioning agreement in their hands, so they’ve got the documents.”
The venues under consideration are in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Campinas, Rio de Janeiro and the capital city of Brasilia.
APEX would like to have two races in Brazil on back-to-back weekends next March but Angstadt believes it is “OK to have one great event next year” but the enthusiasm level from APEX is to have two in 2010.
“I have a pretty high confidence level we’ll have one race in Brazil, but not so sure about two,” Angstadt said. “I’m not so sure we need two.”
Sources within the IndyCar Series and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway indicated the financial offer made by the Brazilians is too good to pass up and comes at time when the Indy Racing League could use some much-needed revenue to boost its budget.
But it may also send the wrong message to fans in the “heartland” of the United States who believe the sport of IndyCar has become too “foreign” for their tastes.
“Wherever I race, I’ll be excited to go to each event,” driver Danica Patrick said. “But, I think that it’s also important to think about your core audience and that’s here in America. To leave and go to another country and be in another time zone and miss the national news exposure, I think, is a risk, but I don’t really know the situation and there might be a lot of reward.”
Angstadt believes the upside to racing in Brazil outweighs the feelings of those who want to see IndyCar build its product in the United States.
“If you look at the availability of our races in the heartland we have a lot of choices for people,” Angstadt said. “We’d love for all those races to be sold out. Wouldn’t that be great? I really don’t think that is a fair objection from the heartland. If you look at a healthy economy, the number of drivers, the fact we run Brazilian ethanol in our cars and the TV ratings in Brazil, there are lots of good reasons to go to Brazil and it affords an economic model that is good for everyone.”
IndyCar is also being heavily courted by China to hold a race in its county at a proposed speedway that would feature both an oval race course and a road course that would seat 500,000 spectators. That would surpass the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the largest sports arena in the world and could dwarf the Indianapolis 500 and its 350,000 fans that has been billed as the “world’s largest single-day sporting event.”
“It will be interesting to see if those early conversations or models hold up – I wouldn’t begin to build a race track that seats that many people but it’s not our money,” Angstadt said. “If they want the most spectacular race track in the world they (China) could probably build it. Their idea is an oval with a road course.We love the balance of a 50/50 blend on our schedule.”
The city under consideration is Qingdao, which hosted the Beijing Olympics sailing competition.
An announcement could come later this year. The 2010 IndyCar Series schedule is not expected to be announced until the end of July at the earliest.
HONDA MAY BE OPEN TO A SINGLE-ENGINE SUPPLIER FORMULA
The next meeting between the IndyCar Series and engine supplier Honda Performance Development is set for July 10 in Toronto before the July 12 Honda Indy Toronto, according to Terry Angstadt, president, commercial division of the IndyCar Series.
Sources within the IndyCar Series believe HPD has moved away from its stance of wanting a rival automaker to compete against and may see value remaining as a single-engine supplier to the series.
Last June, the IndyCar Series had an Engine Manufacturers Roundtable that was attended by automakers from throughout the world. German manufacturer Volkswagen showed the most interest in joining IndyCar and has even submitted plans for approval from its board of directors.
But while VW and Audi hold firm on their desire for an inline 4-cylinder turbocharged engine, HPD won’t yield from its desire to compete with a V-6 turbocharged engine.
According to Les Mactaggart, the senior technical director of the IndyCar Series, a decision needs to be made soon so the next phase of design and rules for such items as the new chassis can be made.
“We’re getting close,” Mactaggart said. “We need to know soon who is in and who is out and what kind of engine we will be using. I don’t think anyone believes an equivalency formula between an inline 4-cylinder and a V-6 would be ideal.”
With the current world economy, HPD may believe a single-engine supplier in IndyCar makes better financial sense than going to battle against another carmaker.
“I would like to think they see with unification some metrics and measurements going up and they have made a decision since that time to depart Formula One and they have been clear with us that we are their pinnacle form of motorsports,” Angstadt said. “As their top racing series I think there is more positive dialogue along those lines.”
When Robert Clarke was the head of HPD, he advocated competition among engine manufacturers. The program is now run by Erik Berkman, who may be taking a new look at remaining as the sole engine manufacturer – a role Honda has held since Toyota and General Motors left the series in 2005.
“I do know that we are all focused on driving the costs of participation down,” Angstadt said. “This is a very expensive engine; it was built for competition. As a sole supplier, you don’t need this kind of engine and the cost that is used to rebuild and maintain. I don’t think anyone is thinking of an equivalency formula at this stage. The final call on engine size has not been made yet but I think it would be next to impossible for us to run both an inline 4-cylinder and aV-6.”
Angstadt is not concerned that VW has yet to inform if they are in or out of IndyCar consideration because of the current state of the economy.
The new engine/car combination for the IndyCar Series was originally supposed to be in competition for the 2011 season but has been moved back to 2012 at the earliest.
INDYCAR WILL OPEN 2010 SEASON IN BRAZIL
For years, the IndyCar Series has featured some of the top race drivers from Brazil. Beginning in 2010, IndyCar will be able to showcase that talent in their homeland.
As reported in last week, IndyCar will stage a race in Brazil in 2010. That race will be the season-opener in March, Terry Angstadt, IndyCar Series president, commercial division, indicated last week.
“The venue hasn’t been determined yet and I was with Alessandro Teixeira on Friday, the president of APEX Brazil (the ethanol fuel supplier to IndyCar) and he wanted to send the message they are very interested in us racing there, they want to support it as well and wants us to keep an open mind regarding venues,” Angstadt said. I’m 90 percent there. “It’s that close, but we don’t confirm them until they’re signed. They have a sanctioning agreement in their hands, so they’ve got the documents.”
The venues under consideration are in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Campinas, Rio de Janeiro and the capital city of Brasilia.
APEX would like to have two races in Brazil on back-to-back weekends next March but Angstadt believes it is “OK to have one great event next year” but the enthusiasm level from APEX is to have two in 2010.
“I have a pretty high confidence level we’ll have one race in Brazil, but not so sure about two,” Angstadt said. “I’m not so sure we need two.”
Sources within the IndyCar Series and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway indicated the financial offer made by the Brazilians is too good to pass up and comes at time when the Indy Racing League could use some much-needed revenue to boost its budget.
But it may also send the wrong message to fans in the “heartland” of the United States who believe the sport of IndyCar has become too “foreign” for their tastes.
“Wherever I race, I’ll be excited to go to each event,” driver Danica Patrick said. “But, I think that it’s also important to think about your core audience and that’s here in America. To leave and go to another country and be in another time zone and miss the national news exposure, I think, is a risk, but I don’t really know the situation and there might be a lot of reward.”
Angstadt believes the upside to racing in Brazil outweighs the feelings of those who want to see IndyCar build its product in the United States.
“If you look at the availability of our races in the heartland we have a lot of choices for people,” Angstadt said. “We’d love for all those races to be sold out. Wouldn’t that be great? I really don’t think that is a fair objection from the heartland. If you look at a healthy economy, the number of drivers, the fact we run Brazilian ethanol in our cars and the TV ratings in Brazil, there are lots of good reasons to go to Brazil and it affords an economic model that is good for everyone.”
IndyCar is also being heavily courted by China to hold a race in its county at a proposed speedway that would feature both an oval race course and a road course that would seat 500,000 spectators. That would surpass the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the largest sports arena in the world and could dwarf the Indianapolis 500 and its 350,000 fans that has been billed as the “world’s largest single-day sporting event.”
“It will be interesting to see if those early conversations or models hold up – I wouldn’t begin to build a race track that seats that many people but it’s not our money,” Angstadt said. “If they want the most spectacular race track in the world they (China) could probably build it. Their idea is an oval with a road course.We love the balance of a 50/50 blend on our schedule.”
The city under consideration is Qingdao, which hosted the Beijing Olympics sailing competition.
An announcement could come later this year. The 2010 IndyCar Series schedule is not expected to be announced until the end of July at the earliest.
HONDA MAY BE OPEN TO A SINGLE-ENGINE SUPPLIER FORMULA
The next meeting between the IndyCar Series and engine supplier Honda Performance Development is set for July 10 in Toronto before the July 12 Honda Indy Toronto, according to Terry Angstadt, president, commercial division of the IndyCar Series.
Sources within the IndyCar Series believe HPD has moved away from its stance of wanting a rival automaker to compete against and may see value remaining as a single-engine supplier to the series.
Last June, the IndyCar Series had an Engine Manufacturers Roundtable that was attended by automakers from throughout the world. German manufacturer Volkswagen showed the most interest in joining IndyCar and has even submitted plans for approval from its board of directors.
But while VW and Audi hold firm on their desire for an inline 4-cylinder turbocharged engine, HPD won’t yield from its desire to compete with a V-6 turbocharged engine.
According to Les Mactaggart, the senior technical director of the IndyCar Series, a decision needs to be made soon so the next phase of design and rules for such items as the new chassis can be made.
“We’re getting close,” Mactaggart said. “We need to know soon who is in and who is out and what kind of engine we will be using. I don’t think anyone believes an equivalency formula between an inline 4-cylinder and a V-6 would be ideal.”
With the current world economy, HPD may believe a single-engine supplier in IndyCar makes better financial sense than going to battle against another carmaker.
“I would like to think they see with unification some metrics and measurements going up and they have made a decision since that time to depart Formula One and they have been clear with us that we are their pinnacle form of motorsports,” Angstadt said. “As their top racing series I think there is more positive dialogue along those lines.”
When Robert Clarke was the head of HPD, he advocated competition among engine manufacturers. The program is now run by Erik Berkman, who may be taking a new look at remaining as the sole engine manufacturer – a role Honda has held since Toyota and General Motors left the series in 2005.
“I do know that we are all focused on driving the costs of participation down,” Angstadt said. “This is a very expensive engine; it was built for competition. As a sole supplier, you don’t need this kind of engine and the cost that is used to rebuild and maintain. I don’t think anyone is thinking of an equivalency formula at this stage. The final call on engine size has not been made yet but I think it would be next to impossible for us to run both an inline 4-cylinder and aV-6.”
Angstadt is not concerned that VW has yet to inform if they are in or out of IndyCar consideration because of the current state of the economy.
The new engine/car combination for the IndyCar Series was originally supposed to be in competition for the 2011 season but has been moved back to 2012 at the earliest.