Merger Imminent?

[JohnSSC]

At last: a win for the fans!

[Dutton]

The "in principle" aspect shall hopefully not let things be ripped away from us at the last second, but I will be optimistic and take it as a done deal.

Life is thoroughly grand.

[Red Bulldog]

I'm more excited than I expected

[JohnSSC]

It is just cool, isn't it?

Next thing you know I will start including emoticons in my posts....

[nickyf1]

hahaaa!!! [fatherjack] yes! yes! yes! [/fatherjack] this is great high five to all. I am too young to remember the pre 1996 split, but hopefully it will return to what it was.

[Red Bulldog]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

It is just cool, isn't it?

Next thing you know I will start including emoticons in my posts....

now, now, remember your age John

[fieldodreams79]

i'm happy for a single series, but we will ALL still have to wait til 09 for a real OW series.

i am sooo glad that we can see these cars run one more time at Richmond, Kansas, Iowa, Nashville and Kentucky instead of Cleveland, Mont-Tremblant, Road America and Laguna . o well, i'll need at least 4 or 5 afternoon naps at some point this season.

[indycool]

Don't count on just one year of those.....some are pretty popular races.

[Dutton]

Get Mosport on the calender. If they could work a joint thing with the ALMS, then that would be ideal from my POV. I am not proposing this for this coming season, obviously.

There would be plenty of people there amenable to seeing the New Order from those who currently go to the ALMS event, plus, I presume, there are those who would not make the journey for ALMS but would for the New Order.

I would make two trips if required, although one would be simpler. Having said that, two seperate jaunts would be a positive thing in itself.

Hmmm. I am thinking that will do for now.

[gttouring]

wow its done?
but how ugly is it?
Long beach is weeks away
they should open the calender this year- any car any event...
so we can have mixed grids and crazy sounds...
maybe do DP01 's on ovals but have the cars changed at all from last year that the IRL need the "tests" on ovals

[Matt]

Get Mont-Tremblant on the calander, then I'll be even happier. I can't wait to see finally, ONE Open-Wheel series over here.

[andy97]

Should be a whole bunch of Panoz available now for EuroBoss oe the equivalent!

[Amar7605]

I am glad that things are working out, but nevertheless cautiously optimistic. To me, 'in principle' means 'not a done deal.'

still needs to happen!

But the fans can still !

[Amar7605]

There are a lot of egos that needs to be massaged before any deal goes through, both on Champ Car's and the IRL's sides.

[Oldtony]

Not everyone is pleased by the look of it!!!!
Headline in this mornings Gold Coast Bulletin.

SHAM INDY
Gold Coast race won't count.

Apparently the Gold Coast organisers have been told that the Surfers race will be a non championship event because Chicago has a contract with IRL to be the final event of the championship.
We now have a State Government, and the local City council wondering if they will get the TV ratings to justify chucking in A$11million (currently US$10.12million).
Add to this the push by local V8SC Chairman Tony Cochrane to take over the date for the Taxi races and the joint entity better do some pretty smart ego stroking if they want to keep the event.
With Local Government elections on in March if it isn't done pretty smartly a council that says they don't want the event may have been elected, and that will be the end of the line for Surfers racing.
You can't afford to concentrate on internal wheeling and dealing fellas if the castle is falling down round your ears.

[JohnSSC]

Its a great day to be an open wheel fan!

Ok, look: this needed to happen. The survival of open wheel in North America as anything resembling a top tier series is way more important than single venues. Heck, I love Mid Ohio and RA, to name just two, but it is more important right now to get the combined series up and running rather than have the whole issue collapse over making one or another race a "points" race or including/excluding it from the calendar.

A number of those bullring IRL races are well-attended and probably turn a profit for the promoters (before anyone falls on me like a ton of bricks I say some - not all!). Look at the recent history of Toronto, RA, Cleveland & Mont Tremblant. These are not profitable and in fact have been rumored to be shaky even before there was any talk of an amalgamation or whatever this is.

The point is, open wheel HAS to start somewhere to rebuild the fan base. Priority needs to be given to the venues that are working.

I really hope something can be worked out for Surfer's, I really do. As long as the car count is good do you really think it matters if it is or isn't a points race?

A better question might be this: "Is the race in Surfer's more important than seeing open wheel taking a positive step forward to viability?"

No offense, but I do not think it is.

[Oldtony]

John to me it doesn't mean anything if the event counts for the Championship or not. What is vital is that someone, very quickly, comes up with the sort of promotional idea for the Surfers race to satisfy the non-motor race officials that the event will get the TV time and ratings in the N.American and Asian markets that will justify them spending the bucks and disrupting the city.
Lets face it mate, all that the politicians care about is those magic pictures going out to the world. No audience for the pics, no race.
Maybe Australsia Pacific Title or something more catchy, but some egos need stroking, and soon.
With Scott Dixon involved we might even get a few extra Kiwis jumping the ditch.

[JohnSSC]

I understand - I meant that to the local officials points/no points would matter less than car counts, etc.

I would hope to keep this race on the calendar. There is so much work to be done right now: everything from assembling teams and basic car prep to making sure the politicians have the magic pictures they need!

[Down F0rce]

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. At long last we have unity in the sport of Indycar! It's been a long and bitter struggle, but it's time to put it all behind us and look to the future. The 500 this year is going to be very, very interesting.

[foreversideways]

I think the two US sections on here need merging now. Champcar is no longer.

[indycool]

Baloney on points or no points. Did they get a good race two years in a row when they ran a grand total of 22 laps under the green when the typhoons occurred and sent two guys to the hospital? Did "points" matter then? TV ratings? They better not look at 'em in the U.S. if they think they've been getting reasonable ones.

[Down F0rce]

Yeah, the points or no points issue is a bit irrelevant really. People go to races to watch some great racing with cool cars and have a good time in general, only afterwards do the hardcore fans think about the championship situation. The Gold Coast race will be the best one in years even if it is a non-championship race.

[enemy-ace]

One season of it being a non-points race wouldn't be much of a problem IMO. The promoters just have to promote the fact that "everybody" is back and they are all going for the win. No team orders to protect points, no playing it safe to protect points just flat out to win. I almost prefer non-points races in some cases.
As for Toronto, it has suffered in regards to attendance due more to the split and losing it's sponsor more than anything. For years the race was known as the "Molson Indy" and the general public still referred to it as the "Indy" after it lost that name. Losing that identity hurt the race but it still had decent attendance. Getting the "Indy" name back can only help in returning the race to it's former glory. Who knows maybe Labatt will step up and make it the "Labatt Indy", that would sure **** Molson off. IMO Toronto is a no brainer for having a race. There is just too much corporate money in Toronto that would go to waste otherwise.

[BootsOntheSide]

How good a race Surfers will be depends on how seriously the drivers and teams take it. Some drivers will see it as an inconvenience and irrelevence, which may make others fight even harder for a rare chance of a win.

[enemy-ace]

I don't think I have ever met a racer who didn't show up to win.