Look what just got more ludicrous:
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... -approach/
There promises to be some major labor pains in the shotgun wedding of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League, which should become official with a press conference at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday morning. But nothing appears to be more indicative of the madness of this 12-year split than the weekend of April 18-20.
Unless there’s a last-minute intervention by the gods of reason, the IRL race at Motegi, Japan will run April 19 as scheduled and the 33rd annual Long Beach Grand Prix will take the green flag on April 20.
And both races will count towards the 2008 IRL championship.
That’s correct. The regular IRL teams will be on the oval in Japan with their Dallara-Hondas while the Champ Car teams that are expected to compete full time in the unified series will be running their Panoz-Cosworths for the final time. Drivers will earn equal IRL points in each event.
Apparently, this bizarre doubleheader in different parts of the world was the only compromise that could be reached to accommodate both sides. Long Beach is land-locked into its date and obviously must keep its tradition going in order to secure a new, longer contract.
After a visit from IRL founder Tony George, Motegi reportedly looked at moving to October to coincide with the race in Australia but wasn’t able to switch dates because it violated an ACCUS agreement concerning the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. There cannot be another auto race within a six-week period on either side of Suzuka on Oct. 12, and Surfer’s Paradise runs Oct. 26.
So, the conflict that loomed as the final hurdle to unification earlier this month has been settled, although certainly not the way everyone had hoped.
“All I know is that we’re scheduled to have an open-wheel race and that’s our intention,” said Jim Michaelian, president and general manager at Long Beach, who was hoping to be able to promote Danica Patrick, Helio Castroneves and Graham Rahal vs. Marco Andretti, among others. “We’re in negotiations with the city to extend our contract through 2015 with a five-year option, and we’re looking forward to a good future with open-wheel racing.”
Longtime owner Derrick Walker got wind of the plan earlier this week and, understandably, isn’t real thrilled.
“We’re already going to be way behind the IRL guys, so now we’re going to run two IRL races, put away those cars, dust off our Panoz and tow them to California for a one-off race?” said Walker. “It really takes away from your IRL program – and I wonder how many guys will turn up? This is why it would be nice if the people in charge would have little discussions with the people who have to live with these decisions.
“I mean, it’s a nice way to say goodbye to the cars and to Champ Car, but I think somebody is going to have to place some big money on the table.”
The concern at both races will be car count. Champ Car gridded 17 cars most of 2007, while the IRL averaged 18-19 starters. It would appear both will be hard pressed to reach those numbers in April.
That’s why Paul Tracy, for one, remains optimistic.
“I can’t believe they won’t find a way to work this out so we can all run together,” he said. “Let’s just wait until they make the official announcement and see what happens.”
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