Month of May and a loss of Momentum.

Ok, don't know what it is like where you live, but in the UK, the Month of May and Indy is a mystery to Mr & Mrs Joe Public.

There was massive momentum building with the IRL the first part of this season, for many reasons, worthy of note!!! Then May comes along. I agree tradition is worth keeping and always kinda felt nothing should break the month of may.

However this year it has killed the momentum the series was building. Ok I have only managed to catch two races so far on TV. So it is hard to keep an interest, but the net is my only link. There is nothing.

Simmonds, and Andretti get a ride. GReat, but how much clout does it bring to the series GLOBALY? Not a lot. Why can't we move on a bit and make some changes?

It seems qualifying is too drawn out and a bit daft. Yes bump day is great. Last chance to get in the big race. Like the year Penske didn't get in. Great. But the lack of real news is perhaps a drag for the series this year.....

The IRL needs good stories, big stories and possitve stories. I have heard nothing about, new sponsors for the race, etc etc. I'm not saying its not happenning, but it feels as if it has all stopped.

would help if our broadcaster (sky) showed some of the qualifying, but they don't. If they were to up their coverage of the month of may (from just the race) it would help keep the Uk's attention at least.

i don't know about lack of stories. autosport has been running at least one a day. indycar.com has had several a day. ok they are not all massive new sponsor X or look we've scoped this formula 1 driver for the race. But the stories are flowing.

that was the one propblem I had with champ car, i loved the series to death, but on their six week breaks in the schedule not only would the racing stop but all press activity would stop too and we'd hear nothing from the series. At least IndyCar is keeping stories coming on a daily basis.

It might seem like a loss of momentum over there, but here it is just the opposite. There is a lot more "local" coverage of the sport on news outlets when the month of May arrives. The past ten years or so, this local coverage has down substantially, but this year it is back in almost full swing. Our local news shows cover the goings on at Indy on the evening news. The weekend local sports commentators have interviewed several drivers, including Justin and Graham. So, while it might appear to be a slow period from there, it sure doesn't look like it from here.

Gary

You both point out issues that need to be addressed if the ICS plans to be a global product. Here in Indy, the even dominates the press but living in our own little world does not help promote the series globally.

I guess the question is, Do they want to be a global series? If so, they need to start acting like it.

I remember my first year of watching IndyCar racing in 1993, there was daily interest and updates on TV during the month of May - admittedly that was probably all down to the Mansell effect but still.

I would hate to see the Indy 500 reduced to a couple of weekends just like any other race, and I don't think that is the answer. Sky just need to pull their finger out :)

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Originally Posted by V12

I would hate to see the Indy 500 reduced to a couple of weekends just like any other race, and I don't think that is the answer. Sky just need to pull their finger out :)

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FYI, I visited with several teams last Wednesday and learned of some of the costs for a team to be there for a month. Teams from out of town have motel rooms, laundry, meals, transportation costs plus no days off work. The track may be closed but rarely is the garage. I also heard that it cost $10K to rent space to park a hospitality coach/tent and if you wanted to have food you had to use one of their approved vendors or pay another $10K for a food preparation permit. Reducing the event to 2 weeks would save a ton of cash for the teams IMO.

It might be sacrilege for some, but Indy should really be reduced to two weeks. I would do it like this: Have opening day on Sunday the 11th with lots of hoopla and all cars. (Rookie orientation would be done say on the 8th beforehand.) Then Practice all week with Pole day on the 17th and bump day on the 18th. Keep the format the same with the ability to withdraw a time and try to improve your spot. If a day is rained out, keep going until the next clear day they can run at least 3-4 hours. Carb day on Friday and then the race Sunday or even Saturday (in order to have two rain days).

Back in the day, like Waldo's 1968 thread, it made sense to have the whole month, very open specs with lots of different types of cars and different technologies, they needed that development time, but now with a de facto spec car and engine, it doesn't make much sense. Also the world is very different today with much more competition for our time and interests.

It still needs to be longer than your average race, but not as long as it is now.

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Originally Posted by dataman1

FYI, I visited with several teams last Wednesday and learned of some of the costs for a team to be there for a month. Teams from out of town have motel rooms, laundry, meals, transportation costs plus no days off work. The track may be closed but rarely is the garage. I also heard that it cost $10K to rent space to park a hospitality coach/tent and if you wanted to have food you had to use one of their approved vendors or pay another $10K for a food preparation permit. Reducing the event to 2 weeks would save a ton of cash for the teams IMO.

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So lets say we cut back to two weeks, do we halve the purse also? Would we schedule another race for the other two weeks? What are the travel costs associated with that. What race pays the winner more than last place at Indy pays, approximately $200,000? Heck, they could run it in 2 days, but I don't think they would pay the montrous purse they pay now. You can pay for a lot of hospitality coach spaces and food preparation permits with extra prize money you get at Indy.

I understand and respect your point.

Here's some thoughts. For a 2 - car team to live in Indy for 20 days including housing, meals, transportation, payroll, hospitality/food permits, per diem, etc.. (This does NOT include car parts, tires, fuel, crash damage repair, entry fees, credentials, guest passes & tickets for sponsors, etc..) I estimate the cost to be in the $280K to $300K range. That is for 35 employees staying 20 nights in a cheap hotel ($90/night) with 7 rental vehicles.

I don't know the track costs but I would bet you could increase the amount to a total cost of around half a million. The big dollar teams most likely spend a lot more.

So where do you have to finish to break even?

I understand this is the biggest pay out of purse but I also believe those outside don't know the real costs. Granted there has rarely been a problem filling the field with people willing to gamble money towards a shot at the golden ring.

It has worked this way for years and will continue.

Don't take this one year out of context.

There are plenty of stories, bumping all 4 days of qualifying, etc. As Gary said, all this stuff works to build momentum for the race. As Indy grows now, post-merger, new contracts will be made and international coverage of the Month of May will increase over the next few years. We know the potential, right? Why be defeatist and move to decrease that potential? The current coverage is a lagging indicator. Sure, most people buy high and sell low, but that doesn't make it smart.