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Originally Posted by ace007
I like your quotes! 
Most importantly, I do believe that there is a HUGE potential fan base outside the USA for Indycar and the series DOES NOT ADDRESS IT! This is why Indycar needs more races outside the USA with the best "European talents" - talents developed in Europe but could be Bazilian or Canadian indeed too-. Because F1 is dying and Europeans are very tuned to their single-seaters racing, there is a great opportunity here but it needs a WORLD STAGE. 2 European races (DONNINGTON and JEREZ?), 2 South/central American ones (Brazil and Mexico for sure!) and 2 Asian one including one in Japan (Think what Honda would give for that...), the other one in China where it never stops expanding!! The Indycar fan base is wrongly thought to be in the USA when in fact -even if there is a faithful one - its main target is outside the USA! |
Thanks. Now I wonder whether Giorgio Pantano might have a shot at getting the ride, too, since he raced for Ganassi before as a substitute driver, even once in the current car. Too bad their former development driver Alex Lloyd has retired after 2011, now that there is an opening at the team.
Regarding European venues, sure, as a European citizen, I feel it would be awesome if the series came to these shores. Yet, if the US domestic tracks do not want to invest in the series by paying their sanctioning fee, I guess it's rather unlikely they expand. Certainly, Brands Hatch would have to be IndyCar's prime candidate for such an event. Lausitzring, the oval in Germany that was built for these cars, needs to upgrade their circuit and get a SAFER barrier first. And then there is this place in France called Dijon-Prenois which has got one of the best racetracks in the world (as far as on track action is concerned). The track made DTM look like NASCAR when they ran there once, and thus should be fine for oval specialists to go round, too. If Bourdais were to get a home race, it definitely should be held there.
But these are just fantasies, I guess.
And now let's wait and see if Chip Ganassi can get either Justin Wilson or Ryan Briscoe out of their contracts with Dale Coyne and Panther respectively.
I must say I'd much rather see Paul DiResta back in DTM where he does have a fanbase from when he first raced in the series.