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It mostly runs in the US, with 3 Australian races (2 in support of V8 Supercars) and an exhibition at Goodwood.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Speed_Energy_Formula_Off-Road_season#Schedule
Ironically, Viso was leading the standings when I last checked…
These things are always more complicated than they look on the surface… Indycar took the time to talk to other parties about promoting the event, but they also have constraints to work under. They can’t schedule the event in June because of Detroit and Road America, and they can’t have it in August because the State Fair has exclusive use of the site. The only other good month is July, which has 3 races in it already.
I recall that Milwaukee’s owner, the state of Wisconsin, got rid of the previous promoter around 2010 forcing the cancellation of the event that year. Andretti Sports Marketing took over and were given a sanctioning fee discount. ABC Supply shifted their financial backing entirely to Pocono for 2016, which I’m sure had some effect.
Andretti sold his interest in ASM. The new company is named after his former co-owners Taylor and Lopes.
As for Boston, some of the roads are owned by the state and not the city. So another layer of bureaucracy to go through. This isn’t Azerbaijan where one guy can push through an F1 race. What Boston does have in its favour is corporate sponsorship (LogMeIn was announced as the presenting sponsor for example) and the support of the city’s mayor. Since there are 10-11 months for the track to be completed (which Tony Cotman’s firm is working on) I wouldn’t panic just yet.
Not sure I agree on Phoenix having poor attendance. It wasn’t packed compared to Nascar, but the removal was rather sudden in 2006. Jay Frye negotiated a much better deal for the track compared to the offer made in 2012 by Indycar under different leadership. An April night race is something fans have been interested in for a while, and it’s a major market without any existing races nearby (unlike Fontana / Long Beach).
What is also notable about the 2016 schedule is continuity for existing events and date equity. The majority of the races are on multi-year deals. St Petersburg will be on its 12th consecutive running. Phoenix has a multi-year deal in place for Saturday April 2nd with Indy Lights running in support. Long Beach will host its 42nd running and continues to have a packed support card. Barber Motorsports Park is signed through 2017, 2016 will be the 7th Indycar race there. Texas is also on the same date as before, hosting its 27th Indycar race. Toronto goes back to its traditional July date in 2016 (it had to be moved for 2015 due to the Pan-Am Games), and has 30 years of history now. Iowa remains on the same weekend in July, coming up on its 10th running. Etc.
“I wonder what Matt Brabham is up to – will be good to see Pigot in Indycar, but Brabham really dominated Pro Mazda in 2013.”
Formula E, Nascar Late Models, Stadium Super Trucks. He also tested a few times with Andretti’s Indycar team. Good chance of him being in a fourth or fifth car for the 500.
“On that note – a Venezuelan I hadn’t heard of came 2nd – ahead of Pigot. Sounds like a driver they could really back; instead, they pick others who don’t look as talented (although I think they’ve all been canned now to keep Maldonado in F1).”
Diego Ferreira? He was being funded by Viso’s money, which disappeared in 2014. Not active currently from what I can find. Pigot’s championship the following year was in a stronger field, the car counts were higher and international drivers like Jack Aitken participated as well.
“Jack Harvey’s also a good driver, but I wonder if he’ll now miss out on Indycar, like Guerrieri, without that winner’s cheque.”
He did test with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports earlier this year (at Sonoma, along with other Lights drivers) so I wouldn’t assume his chances are over just yet.
“Will Karam get the last Ganassi seat? He was the ROTY in my eyes.”
Ganassi has stated he wants to keep Karam, he could be part-time in Indycar and the Ford GT team but nothing is 100% confirmed yet.
Milwaukee wasn’t very well attended, and the promoter moved on. They couldn’t find a replacement. For whatever reason it doesn’t draw as well as it used to. Wouldn’t have been helped by Road America being nearby and the State Fair occupying the site in August, making a good date difficult to find. To be honest the racing hasn’t been that great there in recent years, the corners only have one groove that works. Phoenix should be a lot better based on Dixon’s comments after testing.
Fontana wanted a late night race, but that would mean crowning the Indycar champion at 1am EST and harming the TV numbers (IIRC there was also some disagreement on the sanctioning fee).
As for other ovals, they’ve been talking to Gateway (which is in Missouri, by the way) and 2017 seems likely. With ISC (Nascar) owning most of the ovals in the country, it’s extremely difficult to get a race at places like Michigan. I don’t think there’s a huge fan crossover either (Nascar always outdrew Indycar at Fontana).
Some strange delayed posting going on here.
“21st October 2015, 9:02 at 9:02 am”
Actually, I tried to post that the day before but it came up blank. The site wouldn’t let me log out either…
Back on topic, as far as I know the lineup here is accurate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_IndyCar_Series_season#Confirmed_teams_and_drivers
This testing lineup gives more clues – https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CRudTvXUsAA06Zl.jpg
That makes him the 5th consecutive Indy Lights champion to have an Indycar start the following season.
W/Pigot confirmed there's a very good chance we'll have each of last 5 @IndyLights champs on grid in '16. JN, TV, SK, GC, now SP.
— Tony DiZinno (@tonydizinno) October 20, 2015
On a slightly off topic note, Montoya is already setting up for the Triple Crown by testing with Porsche:
Welcome at the wheel of #Porsche919Hybrid. @jpmontoya is having his seat fit for the Bahrain test on Nov 22 @fiawec pic.twitter.com/9E9aSBYXXP
— Porsche Motorsport (@PorscheRaces) October 20, 2015
I’d say that’s pretty good actually, considering this is a team expansion and announced 1 month after Pigot defeated Jack Harvey and Ed Jones for the title. There’s a while for RLLR to lock down sponsorship for a second car full-time.
I don’t recall Stoffel Vandoorne or Oliver Rowland getting offered any kind of F1 drive (not yet anyway), and Vandoorne is a McLaren junior…
Meanwhile, Montoya is already aiming for the Triple Crown by testing with Porsche’s LMP1 team: http://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/porsche-confirms-date-for-montoya-lmp1-test/
Simona de Silvestro will be the 5th Andretti Autosport driver at Indianapolis: http://espn.go.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/12603666/simona-de-silvestro-race-indianapolis-500-andretti-autosport
Except it wasn’t an aerokit piece, it was a flat part of Chaves’ rear wheel guard that was struck on a straight and flicked high over the top of the grandstand. Short of having the guys in the midfield avoid car-to-car contact entirely, I’m not sure how else that particular incident would have been prevented. Nobody builds 100ft high debris fences. Moving the crowd away? Never been a problem there before in 11 previous races.
Justin Wilson at Andretti Autosport for 2 races: http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2015/03/27/justin-wilson-joins-andretti-autosport-for-indy-500-gp-of-indy/
15 year old Patricio O’Ward, a race winner in the French F4 championship last year, will join Team Pelfrey’s Pro Mazda lineup for 2015: http://www.paddockscout.com/urrutia-and-oward-depart-for-pro-mazda/25572
Well I’m no expert either, but the front wing elements redirecting the air around the front wheels have the potential to reduce drag as well. Same reason there are extra pieces around the rear wheels. Honda are generally considered to have the weaker engine (especially at the top end of the power band) so having a more draggy aero package is not that surprising – may as well maximize cornering speed to work to the engine’s strengths.
