ALMS race @ Baltimore ***Spoilers***

What I am really not understanding are the three sets of tires positioned in the middle of the track.

 

What are those ****ing tires and kerbs doing right in the middle of the ********
track?

Friends who were there report the entire race was a complete shambles.

Why do they insist on running these races at these street circuits when there are
perfectly good permanent tracks all around the country which sit dormant?

I was going to watch the Indy Car race today, screw it now. That will be an
even bigger joke.

BHW

 

Parts of the track looked incredibly bumpy during Indy quali.

 

They put a chicane there to knock speed off in the straight there so that cars wouldn't get airborne as they hit a couple sets of train tracks that cross the road.

 

Well that escalated quickly

 

yep. then the question becomes, why are they racing across train tracks

agree with the above, so many great road courses, no need for this nonsense (close to Baltimore, Summit Point and VIR come to mind).

 

I love seeing the bumpy street tracks with things like the rail crossings on Pratt Street. VIR is 6 hours from here and we like watching races there only because we've ridden the track.

 

are you at the race today?

 

we went down for the alms. Friend has an office in the Bank of America building (on the main straight).

just watching the indy cars on tv today now.

 

cool.

are you going to VIR? I might make it up for that race; already confirmed for COTA and Petit though, so I'm 50/50 on VIR.

 

We're still undecided between VIR for a few track days this fall or just go relax and go watch the race in October. We don't have time for both. Also might hinge on getting the bikes serviced before then or not.

 

I am wearing my SuperBowl Ravens shirt as I watch it. But boy that chicane looks terrible.

 

They were showing how they actually paved OVER some other train tracks in another section of the course. What a freakin' mess that must be to then have to pull all that asphalt out once the race is done - but why not pave over all of them if they're going to do that?

 

Train tracks on a racing circuit?

What year is this again?

BHW

 

This circuit is pretty ridiculous and has been.

 

Besides maybe Long Beach and St. Petersburg, have any of these street circuits
ever really worked out and turned a profit?

Indy Car likes to point to the success at Toronto but that race is traditionally a crash
fest with extended yellows and year after year they ignore the fact that in spots, the
track is far too narrow and the races predictably turn into debacles such as the ones
at Baltimore this past weekend.

Could they tell us that they would not get the same sort of spectator turn out if Indy Car
shifted it's focus to Mosport instead? My guess is that an Indy Car race at Mosport would
be massive.

From a spectator's perspective, there can be nothing worse than a street circuit. The
courses are lined with double lined catch fences, in many places further covered by
banners and actually seeing the cars is a second or two thrill instead of the wide open
vistas spectators get at permanent race courses.

If the sports car and Indy Car teams started standing up and told the sanctioning bodies
no more street circuits what would happen?

BHW

 

The wreck at the start of the race was very disappointing. The bigger disappointment was that the clock continued to tick while the race was red flagged. The cars that wrecked never even made it to the start finish line!

My spectator's perspective.. It would be nice to have the better view of the track that you get at a dedicated race track. However, there are a lot of other attractions that make this type of event just as enjoyable. With everything going on at the event, it makes it a much easier sell to your significant other to get them to attend as well.

Despite the cautions we had a great time at the event. I hope that they are able to continue the event. If it is to continue, a much better solution to the Light Rail tracks is seriously needed. That chicane is terrible.

 

Were you able to discern any reason why they were able to pave over some train tracks on another part of the course, but not the ones in the section where they put in the chicane?

 

Last year when I was there they put temporary filler over the parts of the light rail tracks where the cars still had problems even after the chicaines were installed after the first practice sessions. During teardown of the circuit the filler was removed.

Was funny watching Michael Andretti run his golf cart over the questionable areas 'testing' them last year.

 

The intersection with the Light Rail tracks is on a little bit of a downhill slope. The tracks are part of the problem, the other part is the grading of the cross street that runs right next to the track. Even if the tracks were gone, that intersection would still cause a lot of issues. I think they will need to dig up most of that intersection if they ever hope to have people running wide open right there.

 

Chicanes imposed are just another "dumb down" factor imho but I am "outside of the box" anyway.

 

My wife and I were returning home to Tennessee that Sunday, driving down US 81. We stopped for lunch and saw the accident on the race broadcast. A little later back on 81 we passed the Risi truck. It was just sad.

George