Why not race at Sebring ?

[Buckshot]

I read that the CART Teams do a bit of testing at Sebring but why no race there ?

Also, why don't the CARTs race at Road Atlanta ?

Cheers Buck.

[Speedworx]

Both tracks would be good.

Also, why doesn't CART link up with the American Le Mans Series? Both are good and both could benefit from the link up.

[Jimmyz360]

Is sebring a road course? I forget..I think it is. I think they talked to road Atlanta but the facilities are too small for a CART event (pits, road width, stands.) It would be nice to have more road courses, they are very interesting than concrete jungles of streets and same thing ovals. But a nice mix will do just fine.

[ghinzani]

I woulda thought it was far too bumpy for an Indycar?

[FastJoel31]

Originally posted by Jimmyz360
Is sebring a road course? I forget..I think it is. I think they talked to road Atlanta but the facilities are too small for a CART event (pits, road width, stands.) It would be nice to have more road courses, they are very interesting than concrete jungles of streets and same thing ovals. But a nice mix will do just fine.

Yeah it's a road course with looonnnnggg straights.

[KC]

Sebring is a old road course that Don Panoz has been modifying and bring uo to FIA spec. The 3.7 mile track used to be extremely bumpy but was repaved last year and is said to be smooth by the MG team who broke the previous Audi LMP track record by 12 seconds. It has massive long straights and technical turns as well. It would be a good track for CART as it draws huge crowds for the sportscar race.

The track was built on the old Sebring Naval Air Station abandoned by the US military after WWI. The strights are the old runway and are very wide, like Cleveland.

[Liz]

I'd like to see Champ Cars race at Sebring, although hooking them up with the ALMS there would be a chore, as that's a 12 hour enduro for ALMS.

As for Road Atlanta, my understanding is that it has safety concerns not unlike Watkins Glen. And judging by last year's Road Atlanta ALMS race, there's a lack of local amenities and it's hard to find the track, even when you know where it is. (We ran into a convenience store operator in Winder, GA who gave us directions. Nobody else we talked to for miles around had even heard of Road Atlanta.)

[mac]

I believe the layout that the CART teams test on is different (and shorter) than the full layout. Does anyone know how the testing layout is changed from the full one (if it is at all)?