Its official GP in Texas

Levi, i think the flags wer done in honor of Memorial Day.

I imagine it's because most petrolheads in the states are flag-waving, card-carrying members of the NRA. Enter Povol...

Austin said:

I imagine it's because most petrolheads in the states are flag-waving, card-carrying members of the NRA. Enter Povol...

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Im here That has been my experience with the motorsports world, especially in Nascar. Maybe thats why i feel at home at any racetrack, im with my peeps.I will say that this racing community is the most liberal i have ever been associated with, im guessing it has a lot to do with the international flavor and elitism that comes with prototype racing.It does make for interesting debate though.

povol said:

Im here

That has been my experience with the motorsports world, especially in Nascar. Maybe thats why i feel at home at any racetrack, im with my peeps.I will say that this racing community is the most liberal i have ever been associated with, im guessing it has a lot to do with the international flavor and elitism that comes with prototype racing.It does make for interesting debate though.

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And there it it.......whenever America's redneck conservatives speak of liberals they use the word "elitist" as often as possible. It fits comfortably into their class warfare mantra. Look for it, you'll see it often.

levigarrett said:

And there it it.......whenever America's redneck conservatives speak of liberals they use the word "elitist" as often as possible. It fits comfortably into their class warfare mantra. Look for it, you'll see it often.

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Kind of like when liberal elitist classify conservatives as redneck, gun totten, bible thumping tea baggers , as their class warfare mantra. Look for it, you will see it often

povol said:

Kind of like when liberal elitist classify conservatives as redneck, gun totten, bible thumping tea baggers , as their class warfare mantra. Look for it, you will see it often

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Yeah but when Liberals do it they're only speaking the truth!

levigarrett said:

Yeah but when Liberals do it they're only speaking the truth!

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" There is no truth, only the perception of truth"

levigarrett said:

Yeah but when Liberals do it they're only speaking the truth!

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PMJI, but what exactly makes someone into one of these dreaded "Liberals?"

How will I recognize one if I should have the dire misfortune to encouter one in the street?







Levi would probably answer, "Anyone with more moderate views than Pov. (About 99% of the population.)"



Pov might say, "You'll know them when you see them! Where's my shotgun?!"

To be fair, in politics, there is no truth.

The track is going to be about 10 minutes from my door. I absolutely cannot wait. With the MotoGP announcement, I'm hoping we'll get AMA and SBK as well. I've always wondered how in the world SBK landed in Salt Lake. If they don't end up with 2 US SBK events, hopefully they'll move the Salt Lake race here.

ATX Tornado said:

The track is going to be about 10 minutes from my door. I absolutely cannot wait. With the MotoGP announcement, I'm hoping we'll get AMA and SBK as well. I've always wondered how in the world SBK landed in Salt Lake. If they don't end up with 2 US SBK events, hopefully they'll move the Salt Lake race here.

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They landed in Salt Lake because Miller is a state of the art facility. The best in the country at the moment, until Americas opens up. They have a contract with InFront Motorsports until 2013, then we'll see what happens but I don't think there will be two US rounds. The only reason there are multiple US GPs is because the manufacturers want to tap in to the US market. World Supers only has factory support from Aprilia, BMW, and Kawasaki. I'm not sure they're going to bend the series over backwards to get more races in the states, even if those three want it. Ducati could care less, so there is no real pressure on InFront, they can do what they please. I don't foresee two US rounds.

povol said:

" There is no truth, only the perception of truth"

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How true, how true. And when it comes to perceiving the truth I always look to

the Southern conservatives for their finely honed abilities to sort out the details

of truth and un-truth.

Austin said:

They landed in Salt Lake because Miller is a state of the art facility. The best in the country at the moment, until Americas opens up. They have a contract with InFront Motorsports until 2013, then we'll see what happens but I don't think there will be two US rounds. The only reason there are multiple US GPs is because the manufacturers want to tap in to the US market. World Supers only has factory support from Aprilia, BMW, and Kawasaki. I'm not sure they're going to bend the series over backwards to get more races in the states, even if those three want it. Ducati could care less, so there is no real pressure on InFront, they can do what they please. I don't foresee two US rounds.

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I was about to start a reply, but you pretty much nailed it about Miller. I've been there twice, and its really is an amazing place. Completely underrated and too much of a hidden secret. Imagine one of the finest GP tracks in Europe or really anywhere in the world, and Miller holds its own against it. They could host an F1/MotoGP race tomorrow. The only problem is, its in Utah, and people simply don't associate glitz and glamour with this State. Its a real shame too. MotoGP would have been awesome there, but stupid shortsighted ideas of geography and marketing is the real obstacle. Laguna Seca, close to 1000 miles away (900ish) is simply way too close. The penalty of a large country. In Europe, you have 5+ circuits less than 1000 miles from eachother.



We certainly can host two WSBK races and two GPs, no problem.

Jumkie said:

MotoGP would have been awesome there, but stupid shortsighted ideas of geography and marketing is the real obstacle. Laguna Seca, close to 1000 miles away (900ish) is simply way too close. The penalty of a large country.

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I was sort of wondering about this for the past couple of days. I've been digging around, looking for attendance figures, and have found some for 2009 and 2010. In '05, I know they were at that magic 51,000 number Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, max weekend attendance of 150,000. I remember 2006 being close to the same despite the heat. I don't have any numbers for 2007 or 2008, but 2009's weekend attendance was 105,000 and 2010's was 115,000 and from what I've read, those numbers are on the optimistic side.



I'm just wondering out loud if there is a possibility that GPs could abandon Laguna when the contract expires after 2014. I know Miller isn't situated in a location likely to be more attractive to tourists than Laguna, but it is much more suited to grand prix in terms of circuit suitability (ie they'd get to use sixth gear), facilities, and safety.



If you're only going to get 100,000 race fans over the whole weekend, why not do it at a place where the circus can be comfortable? Any thoughts?

I'm not sure what you mean about the "comfort" level brotha. Are you referring to track facility, safety, or spectator lodging, viewing, etc? You would be hard pressed to make a case against Laguna. First of all, its near one of the most beautiful areas of Cali (and Cali has a bunch), as you correctly said, it would attract tourist. Though your attendance levels seem to indicate its still a niche market, and the truth is, its about the motorcycling popularity that everybody in the US must deal with. They also have enough high-end hotels near by to make even the finickiest of Euros happy. As far as viewing, you can sit on the hill (or as we like to call it, "Jumkie's rock") and see 75% of the track. And of course, the beer is not limited to 3% Alch by Vol. hehe



Miller, the track and garages are top notch. Making any Euro paddock fly proud. But the track is situated in a small town (Tooele), with little to no high-end lodging. The best are in Salt Lake City about 30 minutes away. The track view is great because it’s very flat, so if you get a grandstand seating, you see a good percentage of the track (not too much in elevation change). So the viewing along the fence is also very good. However, the beer is restricted by law to 3% (bad for the "comfort" index). BUT... Miller is close enough to western states for peeps to make the trek if they had too. It would attract many who would find it hard to make the trip to Cali, which stands on the edge of the country, to one more inland, perhaps making it more travel friendly from neighboring states. Here is perhaps the biggest problem for Miller: their brainchild and creator of the track, Larry H. Miller, died. He was the man with the vision that could take this facility and the events it would host to new heights.



What were some of the attendance figures for the WSBK event? I suppose if its just attendance, I think they could make it work. But I doubt for said reasons, that Miller Park could pull GP from Laguna. And, my personal opinion is, it shouldn’t, because of the history at Laguna. But its just too bad, because Miller is such a great circuit. I contend that Laguna should not be pulled and they still try and push a GP at Miller. But it would never happen. JohnnyK said of the Austin GP, that it represented a big FU to the East Coast. This would make having two GPs on the West all that more difficult (sadly for the wrong reasons). That's one of many advantages that Austin TX will have, its in the middle of the country (though that country is 3000 miles from coast to coast). I've never been to Road Atlanta or Road America (<< another marketing speak BS misnomer at the level of calling something "Circuit of the 'Americas') but until the East makes something GP ready, then they are not gonna get a GP no matter how many people live there.

When I was speaking of comfort, I was strictly speaking of facilities. Well, facilities and motorcycles having the opportunity to use sixth gear. From what I understand, Laguna is near the bottom in terms of facilities. I was just wondering if anyone thought there was a chance that when Dorna's contract with Laguna expires, Miller could replace it as the "West Coast USGP". I did have a look at three day attendance figures for Miller last year, around 55,000. Hard to tell how much of that difference is down to the disparity in fanbases of MotoGP and World Supers and how much is down to Laguna being able to draw an international crowd. You could make a strong case for both arguments, which leads me to believe that attendance figures for a GP at Miller would probably be comparable to those at Laguna. Although not the tourist destination of Monterey, nor the historical relic of Laguna Seca, Miller could probably be a very viable option for a GP after 2014.



And don't you go sullying the good name of Road America. Those are fighting words, son. And I know where you'll be sleeping come mid-June...

Austin said:

And don't you go sullying the good name of Road America. Those are fighting words, son. And I know where you'll be sleeping come mid-June...

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Jumkie said:

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It's on like Donkey Kong.

Cool, get ya .... together curvy, choppers coming to invade ya crib !!!

chopperman said:

Cool, get ya .... together curvy, choppers coming to invade ya crib !!!

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working on it as we speak...