Who Attended the USGP? How Far Did You Travel?

Flew from Puerto Rico to New York. Picked up some friends, and drove ten hours from New York to Indianapolis (and back).

This was my fourth time, and I am not very happy!

 

Drove from Charlotte, NC. Left at 7:30, got to Indy at 3:45 the next morning. aka, not happy.

 

well i flew from Phx, AZ but i also went to Montreal also so the total round trip FF miles is over 6500 miles for theis trip I was hoping to get the F#$@ out of this dump but unfortunatly all flights are booked solid thru tommorow.

All i know is when i lift off tommorow i will be glad that this will be my last ever trip to Indianapolis, In.

 

I live here, almost went to the race, but decided to go water skiing instead. What a wise decision it was.

 

I only came up 100 miles from Cincinnati, but I had with me friends and family who'd never before been to a Grand Prix, including:

16-year-old foreign exchange student from Thailand
18-year-old foreign exchange student from Belgium
Friend from Dalmation islands (off coast of Yugoslavia).

Yeah, they really enjoyed the "pinnacle of motor sport," the "spectacle of F1." It was a spectacle, alright. I was embarrassed for the sport.

 

First traveled to Pittsburgh from SC, 720mi. Then from Pittsburgh to Indy, another 400mi.

All for this Bull**** disappointment.

 

I drove in from St. Louis with two other buddies. It took 3 1/2 hours to get there. It was our 1st F1 race. I felt really bad for all the fans with Sweden, Brazil & ect. Flags. after 3 laps they folded them up & looked in disbelief & almost heartbroken. All the horns stopped. They watched the Ferraris for a few laps & left. We stayed the whole race watching from the hills of the golf course.

 

10 hours from Atlanta for my first USGP. Even though it was b.s. it was history. People will be talking about this forever.

 

about 20 mins. I know how disapointed I was. I can't imagine people that took off work, dumped money on airfare and hotel and traveled 100s or even 1000s of miles. On a good note...at least the guys I was rooting for where in it and won.

 

I have been to F1 races at Monza (twice), Montreal (twice), and to the first F1 at Indy with the FCA. That 1st time at Indy was enough to make me never want to go to Indy again. Like one of the other posts on this thread stated, Indy really is a dump, even forgetting about today's debacle. Mile after mile of shopping centers and strip malls on life support, with no anchor stores and CVS pharmacies on virtually every third block. Those unfortunate to have to live there must be pretty sick . . . .

I remember watching the pre-race coverage on the local TV stations and hearing the sports idiots say things like "Wow, Jerry, I don't know if I can adjust to this -- seeing cars going around the track the wrong way," and the news lead-in anchors saying things like -- "We've never seen anything quite like this -- people coming in from ALL over the world just to see a bunch of drivers we've never heard of, well, except for Montoya . . . ." Hard to imagine such statements coming from the self-proclaimed racing capital of the world.

When I end up being forced to spend thousands of dollars (flights, tickets, hotels) to attend a race, I want it to be in a venue that has another reason to exist, but Indy reminds me of what Gertrude Stein said about Oakland - "there's no 'there' there."

Can you imagine what would be happening now if there was a second U.S. Grand Prix set up for next week on the West Coast like Bernie's been talking about? They'd have to bring in the National Guard to protect the venue . . . .

Ohh, and a side note: THANKS ALOT, FOR NOTHING, MICHELIN.

Mark

 

Ive been to Montreal and the USGP 2x each when I was in the Ferrari Challenge. We also did the Paddock Club thing too for 8k or so. Had I gone this year...I'd be on a mission from God to get my money back.

But no matter how much anyone spent..let it be $100 or $10,000.- its a crime against the fans. Its like going to a Rolling Stones Concert and then having them change their minds...I think refunds for everyone...Ha..like that will happen

 

I think all who attended should at least get 70% of their ticket price refunded as 70% of the cars didn't race. I also think it should be Michelin who pay it.

 

The other thing dont forget is how much fans were getting gouged for motels, rental cars, Etc.

a refund on tickets is just the tip of the iceberg here.

 

We drove up from Kentucky, so only 200 miles. At least I managed to get through half the run-in period for the new car.

 

1600+ miles round trip in a truck, 3 nights of hotel rooms, and I didn't even get to see a race.

F the FIA
F F1
F Michelin

I'm out, F1 can wither and die as far as I'm concerned.

 

Sorry Tillman and others......that sucks

 

Got my Race tickets free. Out of pocket expense $500. We drove from Kansas, 10 hrs each way.
stayed in Anderson ($50 Vs $300 a night in Indy). Bought Friday and Sat ticket and Lot 1 A parking. The rest was souvenirs, food and GAS.
We enjoyed the weekend until after the start. From turn 4 you can't see the grid. We thought Ferrari had made a great start, then what was happening
became apparent. The crowd turned ugly, no that is too strong SOME of the
crowd started throwing things on to the track. It also seemed to be a preplanned sign 'BLACK FLAG THIS RACE' was shown on the screens around
the track.
I have seen more FANS leave San Marino or Monza when Ferrari drops
out of a GP.
First I am not a Tony George fan.
That said I thank him for bringing F1 back to the US. Spending the $'s
to build a road course and adding stands that serve no practical purpose
other than the F1 race.
I believe the Bernie is the real bad guy here. I have seen more ads in Autoweek for the F1 race than the Indy 500 or the Brickyard 400 combined.
His commits about no real effort by the track to promote the race and then
THE RACE THAT WASN'T has all the of a plot to have F1 fail at Indy and
the US as well.
stephen

 

Drove from Hickory, NC with iceburns....Certainly had a long trip up.

 

Approx 1300 miles round trip from North Carolina, with our 7 year old son to see his (and our) first F1 race.

 

Not to hijack this thread, but StephenofKansas's comment on Bernie bashing Indianapolis for not properly promoting this event is right on the mark. This was my third trip to Indianapolis for the USGP, and every year the weekend's events have been better. Car parades downtown, Concours events, jazz festival, (FerrariChat dinner, too, but that doesn't seem to have much appeal beyond our crowd) and lots of other things. And this year the FCA national meet. Speed coverage stated that attendance was in the 145,000 - 150,000 range, and added that this is among the top two or three attendance figures of the season. So Bernie blowing off is just more posturing and blame setting.

 

A drive totaling over 2400 miles, "race" tickets for 6, associated motel, food and other costs. Never again.
John

 

I flu out of Tulsa, OK at 6 in the morning just to get to Indy for the practices on Friday just to see 6 cars( even though I still got to see the Ferrari’s to run) race. I have been to all 6 Grand Prix at Indy. I don’t think I will be going back next year.

 

Boy do these stories break my heart. What a bummer.

 

I'm with you there...Really hope there's some kind of super special USGP for 2006. Because this with the exception of the actual 'race,' this is incredible event.