US Open Wheel, reports of unification (closer than ever)

[Conceptual]

I sincerely hope that they take the opportunity to build a GREAT series that is NOT spec racing.

Remember, with no USGP in F1, there are ALOT of manufacturers (BMW, Honda, Toyota, etc...) that really want the US exposure. If the rules and regulations were set with the intention of becoming what F1 is "supposed" to be (top drivers, engineers, technology, etc), the new series could attract big manufacturers as well as drivers.

It would be great! And I would have to say that if the new Indy Champ League had those things, that I would cease to be a F1 fan, and immediately become a ICL junkie.

Here's hoping!

Chris

[donskar]

Excellent post, checkered.

A unified US-based series will almost certainly have ONE very huge advantage over F1 in the battle for eyeballs: racing (racing in terms consumers, manufacturers and marketers will understand and eventually demand and PAY for).

TV viewers want to see the leaders at the front battling in close quarters (see IRL, Champ Car and NASCAR if you've focused solely on F1 and don't know what this means). These same viewers will also perceive that they are getting a lot more entertainment value out of seeing race cars PASSING EACH OTHER ON THE TRACK (YES, US racing fans OFTEN see cars pass each other WHILE ON THE RACE TRACK!)

Sarcasm aside (sorry), F1 is now a spectacle (no bad thing) of machines festooned with all manner of aero devices droning around a (usually) sterile, antiseptic track, driven by robotic, colorless, marketing tools. Barring untoward incidents, the winner is overly predictable - the first car to exit the first corner will usually win. And that car will be one of two makes (Ferrari or Renault, Ferrari or Mclaren). Yes there IS some close racing in F1, even passing - but usually far away from the front and therefore either invisible or inconsequential to the mass consumers.

The drivers do little to add to the sports attraction. They are kept far from the spectators. They are being reduced to media-trained cardboard figures who carefully mouth the party/sponsor's line. (For the flip side: Paul Tracy in US open wheelers and any number of NASCAR drivers throwing fists and beer cans at each other.) Ticket prices are kept far from reality. Technology is kept secret, invisible, and - as far as the public knows - divorced from their reality.

Lest you misunderstand me, I love F1; love puzzling over F1 suspensions (how the &%!@# do they do that?); love the sound of an F1 car (preferably Ferrari, thank you); and happily arise in the Sunday morning darkness to watch F1 races live. But I hate what Moslystone have done to the sport. My fondest hope is that SOME open-wheel series, whether ChampCar/IRL or not, will grab F1 by the scruff of the neck and WAKE IT UP.

[Jersey Tom]

The two teams I liked and followed (and knew people in).. RuSport and Forsythe.. are now gone [except Forsythe's Atlantic involvement].

No Denver GP, which I really liked.. was really looking forward to a Cleveland Grand Prix, too.

Well. Still got Mid Ohio..

[Conceptual]

Is there any more news on this front?

I am trying not to hold my breath here, but I am sincerely hoping that the pure intent of the regulations after this merger is to take it to F1.

Maybe Bernie and Max can be shook up by a US open-wheel series that is Internationally recognized as a pinnacle sport.

If Tony George has his head on straight going into this, he could literally be dictating where F1 will be in 2010 and beyond.

There is love of sport, and then there is love of being number 1. If the IRL/CCWS merger results in them owning the bragging rights of being the Pinnacle of ALL motor racing, the B&M show would have to up their game to get some credibility back.

Chris

[Project Four]

Conceptual good post and agree with you.

I real have missed the Indy car race's of old, single-seaters racing wheel to wheel and overtaking and a variety of winners. Lets, hope we can get back to this and yes lets also hope that this will put pressure on Max and Bernie to open up F1 and give us more of a show.

[Conceptual]

Does anyone have Tony Goerge's email address?

Chris

[f1italia]

It's to bad that Bernie didn't buy Champcar. I know he was looking into it a couple of years ago. I don't like IRL the cars are ugly and the oval races are so boring.

Don't get me wrong I love ovals but only for Nascar. Nascar is even branching out with there prototype series. Champcar will be missed.

[Rev Limiter]

US Open Wheel .... (closer than ever).

This caption should be changed to so near, so far.

Love the posts from Checkered and Donkster (sp?)... about the potential opportunities for US Open wheel to Hijack F1.

However, this opportunity was rife at the height of IndyCar or IndyCART (as I like to call it) back in the mid to late 90s. Had CART kept it together, it could have have had Bernie and Max on their knees at various weak moments. It could have also kept TG in his corner.

However, the lack of foresight from Penske, Ganassi and the like in making the switch to IRL led to a slippery slope for US Open wheel.

This kind of opportunity in my mind is lost forever. IRL will remain IRL, because the racing fans know it was not a merger.

[teecof1fan]

I really hope that the new indycar series evolves quickly and by 2010 is a proper, and highly successful, racing series (90% road and street tracks, 10% ovals is my wish). But, I can't see it ever challenging F1 because of, basically, the money and the reach. Like some users have pointed out, if the manufacturers got into it, it would be a different story: it would be a huge boost, but i think it would really stretch their budgets. I don't think the F1 people will do it unless the new indycar really establishes itself; it would have to turn into a huge series. In the States, BMW pulled out of sports car racing to work on their F1 program; F1 was their priority...What I mean is that until the new indycar series becomes a priority, the big manufacturers won't join it.
I also think it would be extremely hard for a manufacturer to participte in both series because they already spend massive amounts of cash to participate in F1.
I want the new indycar to be a big deal, but come on people, there's never gonna be another F1!! We don't want this site to turn into indycartechnical.net!!!


Anyway,
Cheers to everyone...have a good weekend!

[checkered]

Bobby Rahal's vision of the IndyCar of 2011 is a pretty

informative piece. His ideas seem pretty tame, but reflect many of the themes being adopted in F1 as well. However, if you take it from Bobby, they're switching to a smaller displacement turbo engine before starting to add energy recovery bits and pieces on the powertrain i.e. going about it in "reverse order". Given the financial situation, perhaps it's prudent to be cautious and stick to stuff that can be easily quantified and expand from there on. This approach, however, is quite likely to have IndyCar react to advances in technology at some point.

[WhiteBlue]

great stuff! particularly the philosophy about aero downforce. any governing body needs to keep a close look on that. teams want all the aero they can get but it tends to ruin racing or get your guys hurt.

having Indy and F1 sharing rules would make the formulae global. it would keep F1 on earth. a pitty they will never agree to that. Graham Hill was the last driver to win them all. but more important Jim Clarke was the last driver who essentially won Indy and F1 in one car of identical spec.

[Rev Limiter]

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/in ... id=3427627

I wonder what the folks at TMS think of Rahal's "vision"....

...

So road and street courses led to CART's failure?

The fans wanted to see ovals?

I think they have confused IRL for NASCAR....

IRL is a minor sideshow.

[WhiteBlue]

I have no idea of US racing but I can see through this. IRL is set to have all three styles oval, streets and road racing. Anything else would not make sense for a unified series. to cut that back purely to ovals would probably please the TMS but would annoy many other stake holders.

[checkered]

Gordon Kirby does it

again in "Bruce Ashmore's concept of the 2011 Indy car"; the conversation between concerned pros continues lively and is pretty exciting. Should anyone find Ashmore's actual "white paper" for HPC available online, that'd be great. Meanwhile, this time the axonometric illustrations (© Paul Laguette) provided are so informative that it's perhaps possible to base a rough 3D model on them.



Images linked from gordonkirby.com

[Ogami musashi]

This seems to follow the lines of the F1 2009 rules (the illustration).

He's right in the vortex thing, but i think not on the downforce one.