San Jose Grand Prix (SJ California that is)

A major part f the reason there is a bay area venue (san jose is probably easier due to how flat it is than SF) is because Kevin Kalkhoven (one of three owners of OWRS) lives in Woodside.

--Dan

 

Street courses are all about commerce. They are a lot of work and very expensive to put on. I used to work on the Long Beach Grand Prix. It takes lots of staff, volunteers and loads of sponsors to pull off a major race. Most important, you have to get the affected businesses and residents to buy in.

 

Cool! Can you tell us more about your experiences as such?

I would imagine that San Jose, as a city, would greatly appreciate this kind of attention. As their redevelopment plans are stalling and the city is feeling a major crunch this has to be a welcome event.

--Dan

 

I'd love to hear more aobut that too, David. The San Jose venue ought to be interesting though.

 

Out bloody standing! It will be great to have a proper Grand Prix in the US again!

 

Long Beach was originally conceived as a Formula One venue. The first race was Formula 5000, but that was a tuneup. F-1 got too expensive, so they went to CART in the early 80's. I was a member of the "redcoats" otherwise known as the Committee of 300, which was an affiliate of the Chamber of Commerce. I volunteered for access to hot pits, which I must say, is really hot. I was also on the Miss LBGP committee. That was tough duty! We spent a good part of the year promoting the race at various places, like shopping malls. There is a tremendous amount of work to pull of a week of activities culminating in three days of racing. I got to meet a number of legends over the years including Jackie Stewart, Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, all of the Unsers, Danny Sullivan, Bobby Rahal and my favorite, Emerson Fittipaldi. There were too many celebrities to name, but Paul Newman (a real tool) stands out. Long Beach placated businesses and residents with tickets to the race and various events and if they didn't want to be there, they bussed you off for a day of fun in Palm Springs, Disneyland or someplace similar. Most of the businesses like the race, but many of the residents hate it, as it's quite an inconvenience for a number of weeks as they put up the barricades and fencing. The big winners, of course, are the hotels and restaurants....and race fans.

 

Hi guys,

I'm interested in going, and wonder if anyone has figured out the best seats, viewing locations etc. Where's the norcal fchat section!?

Cheers,
JB

 

they were originally going to have the course's focal point be the san jose pavilio center, but they had to change the course because the city wouldn't approve it. but i'm totally going, it'll be awesome.

 

Its gon' be off tha hizzle fo' shizzle