Why not Jacarepaguل?

[SLKRR]

I watched the Stock Car Brasil race from Jacarepaguل (Rio de Janeiro) yesterday and began wondering why CCWS doesn't come back to this track? It is a really nice 5 km road course with a 3 km flat oval. IIRC, CART used to run the oval, but there was some falling out with the city, then the bankruptcy....

The track is in a prime urban location and Rio is a party city that would fit right in with the new "festival" philosophy. Unless there is some problem with the city (red tape) or the travel expenses are just to great, I think it would be a great track for CCWS to run again. They could even forget the oval and just run the road course.

It is interesting that the Jacarepaguل website mentions that the oval's corners, "unlike most North American ovals," are designed so that drivers need to "brake and change gears."

[Kurt Cobain]

I thought they were going to tear it up in favor of a residential area? If not, they they should go back. The Brazilians loved it and I had a great time when I was there for the races.

[irloyal]

If this course is still viable, then CC should try to make a go here. It seems to me that the Brazilians are Rabid for racing and CC would make a excelent series to have here. As I have posted many times, IMHO the only way for CC to become a major league series and be financially viable is to enhance the International Flavor and abondon much of their US racing. Three South American/Mexican venue at a minimum, 3 Canadian Venues at a minimum, 3 US venues at a minimum. with 8 to 10 other venues peppered across the pac rim and europe.

[MarkDonohueFan]

Crime is epic in Brazil now, unfortunately. Especially in the urban areas. F-1 got tagged last year for $3 million in equipment during the Brazil GP event. Kidnappings for $2,000 hits happen regularly. Kanaan and Castroneves talk about it all of the time - family members pinched for an afternoon by thugs and they get $2K for their safe return. The drivers get their families out of there once they have some coin in the states or elsewhere. The disparity between rich and poor is the cause of it all.

Champ Car is talking about Brazil, but the risk and the investment would never put an event in the black. Plus, the cost of getting there is something Champ Car would need cash for and that is short nowadays in open wheel racing. The series owners have gone over their first established investment limits ($200 million for five years) before day 1 of year three. So, I wouldn't see fresh cash coming from the owners (Kalkhoven, Forsythe, and Gentilozzi) to build any more events than they have already.

If anything, I think they will definitely drop Milwaukee and Vegas in 2007 (maybe Portland and Montreal, too) so they can get rid of the events they don't control and concentrate on what they have capital invested in or events that will pay sanctioning fees. Since '95, the price for the Milwaukee date has doubled, then tripled from the state fair board because they know they can charge it. Vegas isn't worth the effort - went this year and was a bit p-o'd at the promotion of it.

Champ Car will have 12 or 13 events in 2007. That may not sound like a lot, but they will have considerable control over the events they have money in. They want the opposite of the IRL: they want events that will render control to CCWS and the IRL wants to insure some control for the track owners. To each his own, I say. But the big money risk is with CCWS. We'll see if it works.

[Cygni]

ChampCar will race in Argentina before they race in Brazil. I havent heard any serious rumors about a return to Brazil since 03 and the last days of CART.

Its a shame, i enjoyed my trips to Brazil, even though i only knew a handful of words. One of them was "Brahma".

[SLKRR]

I thought they were going to tear it up in favor of a residential area? If not, they they should go back. The Brazilians loved it and I had a great time when I was there for the races.

Well, it was still there as of yesterday when they ran the Stock Car Brasil race. I haven't heard if there are any future plans to remove it.

[SLKRR]

Crime is epic in Brazil now, unfortunately. Especially in the urban areas. F-1 got tagged last year for $3 million in equipment during the Brazil GP event. Kidnappings for $2,000 hits happen regularly. Kanaan and Castroneves talk about it all of the time - family members pinched for an afternoon by thugs and they get $2K for their safe return. The drivers get their families out of there once they have some coin in the states or elsewhere. The disparity between rich and poor is the cause of it all.

No kidding about the crime problems here. However, the Rio track is in a relatively safe area of the city. I guess "relatively" is the operative word here.

Of course, it's not like Mexico City is such a safe city, either....

[Legaleez]

Love that track, loved the races from there. Still remember the Greg Moore pass.

[SLKRR]

ChampCar will race in Argentina before they race in Brazil. I havent heard any serious rumors about a return to Brazil since 03 and the last days of CART.

Its a shame, i enjoyed my trips to Brazil, even though i only knew a handful of words. One of them was "Brahma".

Argentina :mad:

Seriously, though, what tracks are they considering running in Argentina? (Or would that be another street race?)

Let me guess the other Portuguese words you learned: Nova Schin, Skol, Antarctica, Kaiser....or maybe you also learned the word caipirinha...?

[Kurt Cobain]

There was heavy crime in Rio back when I was there too, but the whole CART community didn't encounter anything that was headline news.

Just use common sense and you'll be okay. Don't walk any dark alleyways at night in downtown Rio. Heck, I wouldn't walk any dark alleys in downtown Greenwood!

[MarkDonohueFan]

I wouldn't walk any dark alleys in downtown Greenwood!

I don't think South America is affordably in the cards for Champ Car at this time or even the next few years. The "momentum" gained this year has been in word, not where it really matters: money. I think we have to step back and take a few deep breaths.

Truth be told, we're really not much further down the road to recovery than we were after the bankruptcy and the owners of the series have dumped a ton of cash on saving what they thought was leaving: Cosworth, the Beach, Toronto, some drivers, some teams, the series itself, etc. Then we have the creation of SJ, Edmonton, and Denver with big cash going there.

Next year is year three and we don't have a paying TV deal, no title sponsor, and no corporate engineering partner. So, a couple steps back and ten deep breaths might be our friend right now. If the owners of the series didn't hate Tony George and legitimize their losses on that fact, then we'd be pretty deep in the hole as a new series.

We shall see what 2006 holds....