WHY - North American races

[Oli_M]

OK there is a lot of talk about drivers like Bourdais, Wilson etc, who are doing well in the US Champ Car and IndyCar series, trying to get F1 seats. It seems to be (pretty much) a given that the "next step" down from F1 is GP2, Champ Car and IndyCar.

So in Europe, GP2 races alongside the F1 circus, it gives teams a good chance to notice drivers, and fans to pick out "up and coming" stars - such as Nico, Heikki and (dare I say it), Lewis.

Surely if IndyCar or Champ Car were really serious about being a proving ground for future F1 stars (after all, thats where almost all OW racers are trying to get to), then why don't they schedule one of their races alongside the F1 races in (particularly) North America??

Both series seem to be struggling drivers, teams, sponsors, cash, wouldn't this be a perfect opportunity to get some tie-ins with F1 - grab some of that sponsoship cash, get their series noticed more on the world-wide scale????


Or is that just far too simple a solution??????!!

[JasonD]

CCWS and Indycar see themselves as premiere series and as such wont take a back seat on a Saturday for F1.

Maybe Bernie has something to do with, maybe not. I bet right now he doesnt, maybe 15 years ago he would have cared but today he probably doesnt think much of open wheel racing in the US, can you blame him?

[-Helix-]

Surely if IndyCar or Champ Car were really serious about being a proving ground for future F1 stars

But they don't CARE about being a proving ground for F1. If their drivers want to go to F1 that's their business. But CC and the IRL are running their own series. Their mission is to entertain and make money, not send drivers to F1. If anything they would try to COMPETE with North American F1 races, not work WITH them as both want to be the premiere North American open wheel series.

[truefan72]

But they don't CARE about being a proving ground for F1. If their drivers want to go to F1 that's their business. But CC and the IRL are running their own series. Their mission is to entertain and make money, not send drivers to F1. If anything they would try to COMPETE with North American F1 races, not work WITH them as both want to be the premiere North American open wheel series.

couldn't have said it better

[kalasend]

Ask the topic question to any IRL or CC fan. I'm sure he/she will be pissed off. AFAIK, no IRL/CC fan think of their sport as a stepped-down from F1.

As a matter of fact, no US sporting league think of themselves as anything less than world premiere. Do you know what are the most common words on teh official titles of US sporting leagues? That's right, "World Champion". That pretty much sums it up.

So back to topic, no way in hell you are going to see IRL/CC being a support series for F1 events.

[trumperZ06]

Cart & Tony George managed to shoot themselves in the foot... when the open wheel racing series split !!! Before the split... the Indy 500 had the highest TV ratings of any motor sports event... here in the States.

Unless there is a merger, which doesn't appear likely, both of the U S based open wheel series may just slowly... "fade away".

Back in th early 80's... when F-1 was running at Long Beach, the F-1 boys were a poor cousin to the U S open wheel racing series.

IMO... those were F-1's best days here in the States... F-1 offered drivers like Andretti, and the beginning of the lightning fast turbo engines!!! Even so, they were well behind in TV ratings.

That "split" opened the doors for the 500 ton Gorilla (known as NA$CAR), and NA$CAR expanded well beyond their southern roots. Today, NA$CAR is currently the most popular racing series here in the States, by far.

The FIAsco put on at Indy two years ago... has turned the average TV viewer away from Formula 1. It's not an important event to the average U S sports fan.

Soccer (Y'all call it "football")... is popular with our youth over here... but is not highly watched as a spectator sport. Formula 1 fits into the same catagory... there are a limited number of fans (many with sportscar backgrounds)... but the average "man in the street" really has little interest in the F-1 Circus !!!

Bernie is right... currently Formula 1 is NOT important.... to the average fan in the USA. Some of us will be disappointed... if the midget takes his "football" and goes... to where-ever the HELL... he wants to.

But the averge guy here, could "care less"... there are ample sports clammering for his attention.

[CCFanatic]

Ask the topic question to any IRL or CC fan. I'm sure he/she will be pissed off. AFAIK, no IRL/CC fan think of their sport as a stepped-down from F1.

As a matter of fact, no US sporting league think of themselves as anything less than world premiere. Do you know what are the most common words on teh official titles of US sporting leagues? That's right, "World Champion". That pretty much sums it up.

So back to topic, no way in hell you are going to see IRL/CC being a support series for F1 events.

Correct. No way does F1 want to be blown away by CC(i.e. Zhuahi). Actually, in CC you have the World Champion, but in the IRL, you just have the IRL Champ.

[call_me_andrew]

I think Champ Car did share a weekend with F1 at Montreal a few years ago. And the Indy Pro Series does run as a support race before the USGP. They've tried, and they've failed.

As a matter of fact, no US sporting league think of themselves as anything less than world premiere. Do you know what are the most common words on teh official titles of US sporting leagues? That's right, "World Champion". That pretty much sums it up.

What hockey league is superior to the NHL? What baseball league is superior to MLB? I could raise similar questions for the NFL and NBA. They can call themselves "World Champions" because they know that they are in fact superior to all other leagues and draw all the best players.

[LeonBrooke]

What hockey league is superior to the NHL? What baseball league is superior to MLB? I could raise similar questions for the NFL and NBA. They can call themselves "World Champions" because they know that they are in fact superior to all other leagues and draw all the best players.

Did you know there's a huge baseball league in Japan? And that the one year the Japanese were allowed in the American series, they won like they were playing a bunch of newborn babies?

As for CC and IRL, it seems that they are heading towards oblivion, and that's a pity. I don't think they have much value apart from being feeder series for F1 but it would be sad to see a route for South American drivers to get the the top being cut down...

[Oli_M]

I just found it interesting, particularly with the ammount of interest Bourdais is generating at the moment, just looking at a unmber of online forums a common topic is "When will he get into F1" so clearly a lot of people do see it as a feeder series.

It does just seem to me that both CC and IRL are struggling at the moment, and it would make good marketing sense for the series bosses to really market it as a North American equivellant to GP2...... Just a thought...... paricularly if you have previous F1 drivers racing in the series at the moment (Doornbos and Jani spring to mind)