Motorsports Calendar, 2-4 July 2010

[Matthew Little]

Ahh..............the Fourth of July. A time to celebrate American independence, enjoy summer barbeques', spend time w/friends and family...........oh, and before I forget, a time to watch some motorsports action!


---IndyCar Series: Camping World Indy Grand Prix, Watkins Glen International-Watkins Glen, N.Y.(3.4-mile natural terrain road course)
---NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Coke Zero 400, Daytona International Speedway-Daytona Beach, Fla.(2.5-mile high-banked superspeedway)
---Grand Am Rolex Series: Brumos Porsche 250, Daytona International Speedway-Daytona Beach, Fla.(3.56-mile stadium road course)
---TransAm Series: Round 5--Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Ct.(1.53-mile natural terrain road course)
---MotoGP: Catalan Grand Prix, Cataluyna Circuit--Montmelo, Spain(2.875-mile road course)
---World Touring Car Championship: Round 5[races 9 & 10], Algarve Circuit, Portimão, Portugal(2.932-mile road circuit)
---FIA GT1 World Championship: Round 4--Paul Ricard HTTT, La Castellet, France(3.610-mile road course)
---DTM/German Touring Cars: Round 4--Noisiring-Nuremburg, Germany(1.4-mile street circuit)


If you're interested in the various feeder and support series, there's a couple of those on the calendar..........
---Firestone Indy Lights: Corning 100, Watkins Glen International
---Formula 2 Series: Round 5[races 9 & 10], Algarve Circuit
---Renault World Series: Round 6--Hungaroring Circuit


As always, check your local listings for exact times/dates and feel free to add any events that may have left on the cutting room floor.........

 

[Galahad]

The reigning British Touring Car Champion, Colin Turkington, will be making his seasonal debut in the WTCC event at Portimão, in a WSR-run BMW. An opportunity to compare driver and team talent in the two series, perhaps (though I suspect WSR don't know the circuit).

DTM at the former Nazi parade ground in Nuremberg is always a highlight of the European season too. Highly recommended if you've never seen it - great racing on a circuit with only three corners.

 

[Matthew Little]

The reigning British Touring Car Champion, Colin Turkington, will be making his seasonal debut in the WTCC event at Portimão, in a WSR-run BMW. An opportunity to compare driver and team talent in the two series, perhaps (though I suspect WSR don't know the circuit).

DTM at the former Nazi parade ground in Nuremberg is always a highlight of the European season too. Highly recommended if you've never seen it - great racing on a circuit with only three corners.

I've seen DTM race at the Norisring a few times on Speed; not the best place as far as street circuits go but the racing's always been good there.

 

[Matthew Little]

Daytona Prototypes: 100 Races

In 2003, a new era of sports-car racing began with the debut of the Daytona Prototype class at the 2003 Rolex 24 at Daytona. In that debut race, 6 DPs' took the green flag; while one made it the entire 24 hours, the DP would eventually become the dominant Grand-Am series class. With close-controlled rules on both chassis' and engines, the class has become well-known for its' close-quarter racing over the years on some of North America's great racing circuits. And to think it all began at the "World Center of Racing" in 2003.............

 

[Matthew Little]

Watching the Grand-Am race on Speed Channel today, the announcers were talking about some of the dignitaries who were at Daytona for today's Brumos Porsche 250(the Rolex Series' 100th Daytona Prototype race.....), including one person who we've probably heard of from his time as Ferarri's major-domo...........FIA President Jean Todt, who decided to spend a few days in Central Florida.

They talked about his time in Daytona over the past few days...............
----he spoke to both Grand-Am drivers and officials, along with officials from Daytona International Speedway
----he did a couple of pace laps around the road course(wonder what he was thinking when they took him up on the banking..............)

There were a few other things, but that was the gist of it. One of the pit announcers did mention, though, that he(Todt), thought the racing in Grand-Am was better than in the various LeMans-style racing series................

Hmmm, wonder how Don Panoz, Scott Atherton, the ALMS, the LMS and LeMans feel about that one?

 

[Galahad]

Just that politeness that all French overseas visitors are famous for!

The DPs will appear at Le Mans over several million Frenchmens' dead bodies. And mine!

 

[Matthew Little]

Just that politeness that all French overseas visitors are famous for!

The DPs will appear at Le Mans over several million Frenchmens' dead bodies. And mine!

Au contraire', my friend. It would be nice seeing the DP's at LeMans.............if not for any other reason than to hear the sounds of tens of thousands of sports-car purists' heads exploding a/la Scanners.....................

Of course, in an ideal sports-car world, Daytona, Sebring AND LeMans would be on the same schedule..............