Speedzilla Forums banner

whhy do they race at indy?

2K views 35 replies 22 participants last post by  Jami6989 
#1 ·
?

seems like a big fat box of shiit. i mean who cares if the racing is solid, but it sucked. big fat prison balls in the mouth sucked, in every context.

obviously the answer is, someone thought they would make money, and maybe they have even, but it just makes gp look shitty. they should do something on the east coast.
 
#2 ·
They have the infrastructure to handle the crowds and have more experience with large crowds at racing events than anybody else in the USA. Indy might not be the greatest place on earth but at least they embrace the fans and try to treat the race fans well everywhere they go, unlike Monterey with asshole cops, greedy hotels and locals who hate motorcyclists.

The east coast sucks, there are no tracks that could handle a GP race. Sure there might be a higher percentage of population in the area, but it would end up like Laguna Seca with hotels gouging people on prices.

Hell Laguna is a dog and pony show and is run by a bunch of amateurs, the first year there they ran out of food and water, you had to have a paddock pass to even get access to food. The traffic situation was completely phucked, and has only improved marginally in my opinion since then.

Road America would be a great place for a GP but they would really need to get their shit together, make the track compliant with FIM rules and have the people in place to make it happen. The worst part would be the hotel situation, there really isn't enough within a reasonable proximity.
 
#4 ·
It's embarassin having it inside a fukn oval! Zero elevation change and the "track" is most likely vendor row at NASCRAP events the rest of the year. The track was probably that slick and greasy all weekend from sweat from NASCAR fans from the Brickyard race.:woot: Seriously though, I wish they would just shelf the race until we are smart enough to have a proper F1/MotoGP facility built, like the one in Austin. I'd never support that race at that venue. And I also think Laguna is way too short of a track. Isn't that the most laps they run all season?:confused:

Why can't we build an Assen or something epic like that for God's sake.:banghead
 
#12 ·
Get over yourself dude, it's great that "we" Americans have the opportunity to get close to the riders and bikes that we love watching. It's not the greatest track in the world, period. I live about 15 minutes away and usually skip Nascar/Indy races but it's great to see the talent and technology on display even if it is around a flat boring track. Some people are never happy.
 
#7 ·
  • seats more people than any other venue (of any type) in the world
  • has more racing history than any other venue in the world. period. no debate
  • can get a hundred thousand spectators in and out without any delay
  • has staff that are considerate, competent, and efficient
  • has local lodging that can house twice as many spectators as Moto GP can bring
  • Speed capital of the freaking world
  • revised the road course to meet FIM standards without needing a manufacturer to underwrite it
It's a spectator's dream. For practice, qualifying, and warmups, a spectator can watch from anywhere without being crowded out. Our race day seats were cheap, in the shade, gave us a view of the first 5 corners, and was opposite a giant video board so we could follow the whole race.
The sound of the bikes coming down the canyon of a front straight is unlike anything you will ever hear anywhere else in the world. You can sit opposite the pits during qualifying and watch every bike come and go, see every rider's conversation with his crew, and see video and up to the moment qualifying positions.


Did you go and hate it? Or did you form your opinion from a one hour telecast?
 
#8 ·
  • seats more people than any other venue (of any type) in the world
  • has more racing history than any other venue in the world. period. no debate
  • can get a hundred thousand spectators in and out without any delay
  • has staff that are considerate, competent, and efficient
  • has local lodging that can house twice as many spectators as Moto GP can bring
  • Speed capital of the freaking world
  • revised the road course to meet FIM standards without needing a manufacturer to underwrite it
It's a spectator's dream. For practice, qualifying, and warmups, a spectator can watch from anywhere without being crowded out. Our race day seats were cheap, in the shade, gave us a view of the first 5 corners, and was opposite a giant video board so we could follow the whole race.
The sound of the bikes coming down the canyon of a front straight is unlike anything you will ever hear anywhere else in the world. You can sit opposite the pits during qualifying and watch every bike come and go, see every rider's conversation with his crew, and see video and up to the moment qualifying positions.
Well said. Especially about the sound of those bikes coming down the front straight. I only went for the race, but I had seats in the same area as yours apparently. The sound of Dani's bike coming into turn 1 all by himself was just crazy. Sounded like a beast, even off the gas...

Not to mention the super cool fact that you are watching MotoGP bikes scream across the yard of bricks at 200mph, inside the canyon of grandstands, in front of the Pagoda and the Indy scoring tower. What a view that is -- maybe not the most beautiful in all of motorsports, but probably the most famous.
:rockon
 
#9 ·
I went for the 2008 Indy GP during the hurricane. Even with the crappy weather, it was amazing. I was up on top of the boxes by the pagoda. I could spit onto pit lane and turn one. Hearing those bikes was unreal. And Indianapolis did a great job with it. A lot of events around town promoting it. bikes in main street, the dirt track race. Parking was great, little traffic getting in and out really
 
#10 ·
As posted in another thread...

I find the track very spectator friendly. The view from the S.E. corner and the view from the grassy knoll at T9 (I think) onto the back straight is excellent. If you have a pair of auto-focussing binoculars its stupendous. The view from the penthouse boxes in Stand E take your breath away.

Laguna is dirty and dusty and the amenities simply suck. Personally, I think the management at Indy should be commended for their friendly staff and well-organized management of people/traffic/events. I told the older women at one of the food concession stands that I thought they were the friendliest staff of any track I've ever been to. After hearing that, I think they wanted to adopt me. And, having been involved with CART at the team level, I'm no great fan of Tony George.

The staff at 'Guna are frickin' Nazis by comparison.

Finally, I spent some time with Henry Spies this weekend. A real decent chap. Draw your own conclusions.
 
#15 ·
i remember walking around after the 2008 race, just going back to the exit. Walked right past the riders trailes and Spies was doing his duties, signing stuff. 5 Minutes later, i walk away with my BS11 signed on my ticket. Granted, that's the only FIM event i've been to, but it was great being able to get that close to the riders that easily
 
#16 ·
Yeah you guys, Laguna "sucks" (try asking the RIDERS which venue they prefer, or for that matter, which AREA....) so do "us" a favor and STAY HOME next year, we like Laguna for ourselves..............:clapper

Semper Fi! :rockon

-Rocky-
 
#18 ·
I feel pretty good about having a GP race 4 hours from my house. Road my cruiser down from Milwaukee, stayed at a Sheraton hotel 10 mins from the track for $65 a night, got in all 3 days at the track for $70, went to the flat track race for $25, got my pic with Rossi in the Omni hotel bar downtown at 12 at night, had a great time downtown for the night life, and have some awesome pics to remeber it all by. Will go back again as long as they keep having it.
 
#21 · (Edited)
1. Agreed Indy as a city is a SHIT HOLE.

2. Laguna Seca is the most over-hyped racetrack in the world and the facilities suck for the spectator period.

Ingress & Egress from the track is, always has been & always will be a cluster**** because the people that run that track are ****in idiots and the entire area is just not set-up to move people into or out of Monterey in any capacity. The roads are just not big enough and the officials aren't smart enough.

& don't forget how locals ruined the event that used to be Laguna Seca for the World! Crappy little hotels price gouging customers to the tune of $400 per night with a 4 or 5 night minimum stay. The track vendors charging $9 for a bottle of water when it was 115 degrees and the patrons are standing in lines for hours on end trying to get out of the track and the local cops harassing EVERYONE ALL THE TIME for bullshit. It all makes for a great weekend enjoying the races :rolleyes:

They claimed attendance was up 30% this year which is complete 100% bullshit as it was down at least 20% if not more from the year before and that was down at least that much from the year prior.

The biggest problem for Laguna though is the people here spend lots of money stay for 4 days & see ONE good race. AMA/DMG ruined the state of National Racing in the US and there are no 125 or Moto2 GP bikes just the MotoGP class and let's face it they are boring as **** to watch. They make a lot of noise & that is it. They don't slide, they don't wheelie they just make noise. It is about as exciting as watching people pick their noses at red lights.

3. I'm going to Valencia in November to watch MotoGP racing & the support classes the way racing is intended to be watched! :D
 
#25 ·
I'm curious as to how many folks here have actually attended a Moto GP event at Indy :confused:


I have. Downtown was clean, the people were cool, and they were very accomodating with bikes. The track is well laid out - depending on where you sit you can watch up to seven turns worth of action, with the rest on a big screen not too far off.

Plenty of vendors, concessions, easy access in and out...I know this board has a bunch of negative nellies on it, but I'm just not getting the anger over Indy.
 
#28 ·
I'm curious as to how many folks here have actually attended a Moto GP event at Indy :confused:
Have you been to a European round w/ 100k+ in attendance?:confused: I'll take a grass amphitheater over a NASCAR grandstand anyday.:rockon It's all a matter of what people want out of the experience. The World descends on IMS and it's unfortunate that scene is what they'll associate America with.:banghead A flat, oval-shaped racetrack in the middle of a medium-sized city.

If people like Indy, that's cool with me. Nothing wrong with that. I'm just holding out hope that we'll get a more upscale round that the riders like and the track is top notch. One that's a dedicated circuit yearround, with some grip and elevation changes would be a nice start.
 
#26 ·
I don't think anyone has a personal vendetta against Indy per se they are just thinking outloud about what a shitty venue it really is.

Many of the professional riders that have spoken about it candidly hate it.

It is a crappy, bumpy (did you see Kallio's front wheel 3" off the track while trying to brake for the turn???), boring track that offers very little grip for a lot of reason not the least of which is it is not a normal motorcycle race track with consistent racing rubber on the surface on the racing line which makes it inherently more dangerous for worlds elite professional racers trying to earn a living.
 
#27 ·
It is a crappy, bumpy .... track that offers very little grip for a lot of reason not the least of which is it is not a normal motorcycle race track with consistent racing rubber on the surface on the racing line which makes it inherently more dangerous for ... professional racers trying to earn a living.
Sounds like many of the tracks we race on in the U.S. :)


I understand where you're coming from; compared to the European/FIM tracks we're definitely lacking here, though on the basis of what they'd prefer to run on I'd think Miller would be a shoo-in. Unfortunately, the average U.S. punter isn't going to Utah to watch racing, even for racing on that scale - and in the end, that's what the promotors look at.

Indy may very well come into it's own over the coming years. I'm certain they're taking the weekend's input into account already for future improvements.
 
#30 ·
The problem Jami is that the U.S. population in general doesn't have the interest in the sport to support such extravagance and spending.

It's an old argument; the Europeans and other cultures use motorcycles on a much broader scale then we do and have a much greating interest in racing (and particularily two-wheel racing) then the average American does.

We just don't spend enough money on the sport as spectators to justify it. A 50K crowd is considered a tremendous success over here, and SPEED still pre-empts MC racing for 'Dinner with Nascar Drivers' type shows.

Under the current environment, we just aren't going to win. So I'm glad to see when a venue does reach out and try to accomodate our sport to the best of it's ability.
 
#32 ·
I've gone to both. From the perspective of the track, Laguna wins hands down and the indy track is an absolute joke of a parking lot kluge.

For the big crowds and moving people, indy is a master at moving the 100,000 plus masses in and out quickly. The freeways get you around the area very well.

Laguna seems like a regional club racing track that is used to getting a couple thousand with management being staffed by cub scouts. The roads are cow paths that clog in a nanosecond. The hotels smell a big event and gouge your eyes out. (the reason I started going to indy)

The Monterrey social life at night is great. Indy has the boredom breaker called the mile so I'll call that a wash.

My next one will be Laguna. I did indy and won't be back. I suppose it's due to my working at Road America for 30 years as I just prefer outdoor tracks as opposed to being in a concrete cage like indy.
 
#33 ·
This year was my second time to Indy for the GP. I went last year for my first GP race and it was amazing.

This year not so much...once you've seen Indy, thats enough. I think IMS does a great job putting on the venue. Just the track is lacking a lot of excitement. All in all I don't mind the 7 hr drive west to attend the race. I don't mind supporting the sport of motorcycle (road) racing and I wish that more people did in this country.

Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather go to europe to watch a race and be with 100k+ fans and great racing...but right now Indy will have to do.
 
#34 ·
one thing you guys have to remember, in order to host an event like this you need some type of major airport and hotels very close to the venue. A couple of people mentioned Road America, well Ohare airport (chicago) is like 4 hours away from there. They sure the hell are not flying out of Greenbay to get to Europe or many other parts of the world after the race. I have never been to Laguna but wanted to go but after the gouging on prices and lack of spectator ammenities I doubt I ever would spend the money. I have had a bunch of friends go to the WSBK races at Miller and they have nothing but nice things to say about it. Can Miller and that town handle all the internation traffic???


Austin's F1 track will be nice if it does get built and I will for sure make it down for a race there as the town was one of the nicest I lived in when I was there.


Indy I liked but I can see how it can be boring with it being flat and inside a speedway. Though it was nice to see alot of the track from your seat. Someone also mentioed that the GP was like a nascar race with all the vendors. You are the same type of person that would bitch about no vendors if they didn't show. People come from around the world to watch this race so it only makes sense to try to sell your product. I appreciate that because I get a hands on relationship with there products and get to see what i really want to buy.
 
#36 ·
Can Miller and that town handle all the internation traffic???
Are you implying a GP race is larger than the Olympics?:confused: If no, then the answer is YES, they can handle all the International traffic.:rockon Larry Miller's widow has more money than God and she knows how bad he like racing. She owns half of Salt Lake and the LDS (not LDH) crowd loves to show off their city to the World.
 
#35 ·
On the other hand I went to see World Superbikes at Donnington last year (had a deal with ARATA and Jamie Hacking for access) and there was only ONE vendor there! Don't get me wrong they had booth after booth lined up, but it was all the exact same stuff over & over again at the exact same prices (tons of James Toseland stuff too except he uhm... was errr... riding in MotoGP and not WSBK :rolleyes: ) and there wasn't one single booth there where you could get actual track merchandise like a Donnington sweatshirt or decals etc. Fvckin lame for a world event and the place was PACKED with attendees!!!!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top