USGP in 8 Days!!

[Jon Huddleston]

Who's going? Anybody want to meet up with some other FSAE junkies. 8-10 of us from UTA will be up there from Thursday morning through Sunday.

For those that haven't been, its definately worth making it for the Pit Walkabout on Thursday. Indy's the only place in the world where you can get that close to the cars and teams w/o a pit pass. Did I mention that it is FREE with a weekend ticket???

[John Bucknell]

Heh, I'm gonna be in the pits all weekend. We scrutineers are also karting nuts, so if you want - PM me and I'll let you know how to contact me while we're down there.

[Dan Deussen @ Weber Motor]

A bunch of guys from SVSU are going too!!! We plan to drive down Wednesday night so we'll be doing the pit walk also. I'm guessing we'll be around 8 people. We'll try to wear FSAE shirts so just holla if you see us!!!

[Jon Huddleston]

Awesome, yeah I'm sure we are interested. Money's kind of tight, but we can throw something together. I know of the karting place downtown near the dome, is there others?

Dan,
I'm sure most of us will be in UTA shirts and we'll keep an eye out for you guys on Thursday.

[JPS]

where are you going to be? i wont be there, just curious. Went to the German GP in 2002 (still cant hear right).

What ever you do, dont leave right after the race. its the best time. you can walk the track, take pics of Parc Ferme, go to the (outside) of the pits, and if you bring a bike (they allowed it in germany) ride the track.

since im jealous i have to tell you that several other GPs have the pit walk on thursday now (canada yesterday)

Have fun! post your pics from thursday!!

John, doesnt the FIA have their own inspectors or am i misunderstanding 'Scrutineer' ?

[Jon Huddleston]

We are going to be all over the track. The speedway is never at full capacity during the Formula1 weekend, even on race day. Probably the infield for most practices/qualifying and general admission grandstand seats for the race that are amazing if you know where to go. http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_eek.gif

As far as I remember the event staff forces all spectators outside of the facility as soon as the race is over. Wish we could stay to find out but a few guys need to be back early Monday in Texas.

My friend has posted some of his awesome wallpaper quality photos from the GP last year at
http://www.kineticfx.net/cgi-bin//emAlbum.cgi?cmd=show_thumbs&path=04%20usgp&img=0&page=1&tn=1

The Ferrari photo on page 6 is my favorite, look at the trialing edge of the rear wing and the airflow around it..

[jdstuff]

Hey Dan...

Myself and 2 other Akron guys will be at the GP as well....just Saturday and Sunday, though. Shoot me an email (jdstuff at uakron dot edu) so we can swap #'s if you guys are interested in getting together for some karting or a few cold ones. We'll try to wear our Zips Racing shirts around the track.

[Test Driver]

Hello,

For those of us who don't know first hand about the kart place, how about you post info on how to get there in this thread?

Better yet, does this place take reservations for groups?

Ramon

[Jon Huddleston]

I don't know if we'd have enough people to organize a group. I'm sure we can find out though.

One option which looks totally awesome is the New Castle Motorports park (http://www.newcastleraceway.com), which John mentioned to me. It's a full size karting facility and a bit pricey ($8-10min or $65-60min) but looks like its worth the extra drive and money.

It seems like Saturday would be best for a everyone to go. I will have my cell phone on me, don't hesitate to call.(817)454-0923.

[Test Driver]

Jon,

Sounds good. One correction though. The web site lists the ten minute sessions at $18.00.

I've been looking at other sites and the hourly charge at Newcastle seems the most reasonable. The web site does say to call ahead in case of other major booking parties.

I called this morning and the guy at the other end said as of this morning, Saturday rentals were available after about 11:30am. He suggested calling in on Saturday morning though to verify. His opinion is that this weekend is actually a slow weekend for them because of the F1 race.

Who else is up for this?

Ramon


Originally posted by Jon Huddleston:
I don't know if we'd have enough people to organize a group. I'm sure we can find out though.

One option which looks totally awesome is the New Castle Motorports park (http://www.newcastleraceway.com), which John mentioned to me. It's a full size karting facility and a bit pricey ($8-10min or $65-60min) but looks like its worth the extra drive and money.

It seems like Saturday would be best for a everyone to go. I will have my cell phone on me, don't hesitate to call.(817)454-0923.

[Test Driver]

Jon,

I tried your number but could not get through.

Myself and a co-worker, both UNM alumni are up for it. We're also meeting up with another UTA alumn who's also up for the kart thing. He'll probably give you a ring since he was enthused to hear other UTA guys would be there.

I'll be signing off for a while now and don't think I'll be able to check either my email or this board. Gimme a call when you can.

Ramon

[John Bucknell]

Hi guys,

One last post before I leave for Indy. The indoor track is on the north side of town:

FastTimes
3455 Harper Rd.
http://www.fastimesindoorkarting.com
317-566-0066

Good power-weight ratio, and last year the surface was pretty polished - drift kings video-like. I'll be there at least two nights.

The Newcastle track is AWESOME. Good thing to call ahead - last year there was a race that weekend and all we could do was watch.

PS - FIA does not do any of the track marshalling or scrutineering at any of the GPs. That is provided by the track (in this case Detroit Region SCCA provides scrutineers).

[Dan G]

Wow, have you guys seen this?

<A HREF="http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/formulaone/17692/" TARGET=_blank>EXCLUSIVE: Build a Chicane or We Don't Race, Say Michelin Teams!
Indianapolis, Ind., June 18, 2005 – USGP under threat as 14 cars could boycott race

http://www.speedtv.com/_assets/library/img/medium/71205_toy.jpg </A>

Might make for a disappointing race tomorrow!

[John Bucknell]

I just got back.

Worst race experience of my life. Bummer.

Sorry I didn't hook up with anyone that came out, my schedule was pretty full.

[Papa Lemming]

I watched it on TV and I'm disappointed as hell. I cannot even imagine how you guys who were there must feel.

[Jon Huddleston]

I was pretty disappointed to say the least. I'm totally disgusted with missing the opportunity to see the last V10 Formula 1 race in America.

We had scanners and picked up on the ITV coverage of the race. It was pretty amazing listening the Englishmen and knowing what was about to happen around the 150,000 people on track who did not. Waiting to see what the fans were going to do was the most exciting part of the race on Sunday.

We had an awesome time though. The karting was great out at Newcastle. Thanks for the info John, the karting sure made up for the events, or lack of, on Sunday. Also the bars at Broad Ripple provided a lot of fun for those who were of age. The rest of the F1 activities were great including the pit walkabout and the practice/qualifying sessions.

I sure hope F1 comes back to America but I'm doubting the fans will. The first set back was in '02 when Shumi let Rubens by on the last corner of the last lap and I'm not sure the race will recover.

I think I'll protest and won't go next year unless the FIA pays for everyone's ticket. Maybe the GPWC will be in place by '07 and get rid of this madness...

Oh well. I can't wait for the MotoGP in two weeks at Laguna Seca and I'm sure that race will satisfy some American's thirst for international racing. Supposedly more people will be at MotoGP this year than at Indy for F1.
Go Valentino Rossi !!!!!!!!!!!