Detroit Indy Grand Prix
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Venue | Belle Isle |
| Corporate sponsor | TBA |
| First race | 1982 |
| First IRL race | 2007 |
| Distance | 188.64 miles |
| Number of laps | 90 |
| Previous names | Detroit Grand Prix (1982)
Detroit Grand Prix (Race edition, in Roman numerals, added to race title) (1983-87) EniChem Detroit Grand Prix (1988) Valvoline Detroit Grand Prix (1989-1991) ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit (1992-1998) Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit (1999-2001) |
The Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix is a weekend of professional racing featuring competition from both the ALMS and the IndyCar Series , as well as several support races. Held on the Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend, the races will be run at The Raceway on Belle Isle in Detroit. In 2007, a two hour and forty-five minute ALMS race will take place Saturday, September 1, while a 90-lap IndyCar Series race will be held on Sunday, September 2. The ALMS features sports cars eligible to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IndyCar Series features open wheel cars associated with the Indianapolis 500.
Open wheel racing in Detroit dates back to the 1920's-1950's, when AAA held the Detroit 100 at the Michigan State Fairgrounds. AAA also held one five-mile, non-championship race at Grosse Pointe in 1905.
The current race has its origins dating back to 1982 when it was a Formula One World Championship event held on the Detroit street circuit encompassing the Renaissance Center. The original circuit was 2.493 miles with seventeen corners, and proved to be even slower than Monaco. The rough, demanding, course even included a railroad track crossing and mimicked Monaco, with a tunnel on the main straight. While it was advertised as the Detroit Grand Prix, it also has been referred to under the monikor of United States Grand Prix East, due to the fact that there were multiple Grand Prixs in the U.S. at the time. For 1989, the race was planned to be moved to Belle Isle, a city park in the Detroit River, but an agreement could not be established. Instead, in 1989 Formula One left Detroit permanently, and the U.S. Grand Prix moved to Phoenix.
For 1989, the race in Detroit was replaced by a CART event. Instead of moving the race, CART utilized a slightly modified version of the street circuit, eliminating the chicane on the main straight. The race was held on this 2.52 mile layout for three years. Beginning in 1992, the race was moved to the previously planned temporary course on Belle Isle. The first layout measured 2.1 miles. After a subtle reconfiguration, and due to CART remeasuring all circuits in 1997, the track then measured 2.346 miles.
From 1984-2001, the SCCA Trans-Am Series held a race in support of the Detroit Grand Prix. The Motor City 100 was often regarded as the most important event of the Trans Am schedule.
Even though the track was a temporary street course, it became known as The Raceway on Belle Isle. It was widely criticized for its narrowness, poor access, and its overall uncompetitive nature. Participants also disliked the facility because of its lack of paved areas for support activities. Paddock areas were often muddy and unable to accommodate the teams. After 2001, CART chose to drop the race from the schedule.
In 2006, Roger Penske spearheaded talks to revive the race for 2007 as part of the ALMS and IndyCar Series schedules. Penske owns teams that compete in both series. Penske had recently experienced tremendous success as head of the Super Bowl XL Detroit Metro Host Committee. On September 29, 2006, it was announced that the Detroit Indy Grand Prix would return as the tenth race of the ALMS's 12-race season and penultimate race of the IndyCar Series' seventeen-race schedule.
To improve access to the track, a park-and-ride system, similar to what was used at Super Bowl XL, which Penske headed, will be implemented. Further paddock improvements and track work is slated before the race.
Contents |
[edit] Past winners
| Year | Date | Driver | Constructor | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formula One history (Renaissance Center) | ||||
| 1982 | June 6 |  John Watson |
McLaren-Ford | Report |
| 1983 | June 5 |  Michele Alboreto |
Tyrrell-Ford | Report |
| 1984 | June 24 |  Nelson Piquet |
Brabham-BMW | Report |
| 1985 | June 25 |  Keke Rosberg |
Williams-Honda | Report |
| 1986 | June 22 | Ayrton Senna |
Lotus-Renault | Report |
| 1987 | June 21 | Ayrton Senna |
Lotus-Honda | Report |
| 1988 | June 19 | Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda | Report |
| Season | Date | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CART Champ Car history (Renaissance Center) | ||||
| 1989 | June 18 | Emerson Fittipaldi |
Penske | Chevrolet |
| 1990 | June 17 |  Michael Andretti |
Lola | Chevrolet |
| 1991 | June 16 | Emerson Fittipaldi |
Penske | Chevrolet |
| CART Champ Car history (Belle Isle) | ||||
| 1992 | June 7 | Bobby Rahal |
Lola | Chevrolet |
| 1993 | June 13 | Danny Sullivan |
Lola | Chevrolet |
| 1994 | June 12 |  Paul Tracy |
Penske | Ilmor |
| 1995 | June 11 | Robby Gordon |
Reynard | Ford |
| 1996 | June 9 | Michael Andretti |
Lola | Ford |
| 1997 | June 8 | Greg Moore |
Reynard | Mercdes |
| 1998 | June 7 | Alex Zanardi |
Reynard | Honda |
| 1999 | August 8 |  Dario Franchitti |
Reynard | Honda |
| 2000 | June 18 | Hélio Castroneves |
Reynard | Honda |
| 2001 | June 7 | Hélio Castroneves |
Reynard | Honda |
| IRL IndyCar Series history (Belle Isle) | ||||
| 2007 | September 2 | |||
[edit] SCCA Motor City 100 history
| Year | Driver | Car |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Tom Gloy | Mercury Capri |
| 1985 | Elliott Forbes-Robinson[1] | Buick Regal |
| 1986 | Wally Dallenbach, Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 1987 | Scott Pruett | Merkur XR4Ti |
| 1988 | Hurley Haywood | Audi Quattro |
| 1989 | Greg Pickett | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 1990 | Scott Sharp | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 1991 | Scott Sharp | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 1992 | Tommy Archer | Dodge Daytona |
| 1993 | Dorsey Schroeder | Ford Mustang |
| 1994 | Bill Saunders | Ford Mustang |
| 1995 | Ron Fellows | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 1996 | Dorsey Schroeder | Ford Mustang |
| 1997 | Tommy Kendall | Ford Mustang |
| 1998 | Paul Gentilozzi | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 1999 | Brian Simo | Ford Mustang |
| 2000 | Paul Gentilozzi | Jaguar XKR |
| 2001 | Paul Gentilozzi | Jaguar XKR |
- ^ Winner Wally Dallenbach, Jr. disqualified due to car being underweight
[edit] Past winners of other Open Wheel Detroit events
[edit] AAA Championship car
[edit] Past winners
All winners were American
| Year | Date | Driver | Chassis | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grosse Pointe dirt oval | ||||
| 1905 | August 8 | Webb Jay | White | White steam engine |
| Michigan State Fairgrounds dirt oval | ||||
| 1928 | June 10 | Ray Keech | Miller | Miller |
| 1929 | June 9 | Cliff Woodbury | Miller | Miller |
| 1930 | June 9 | Wilbur Shaw | Smith | Miller |
| 1931 | June 14 | Louis Meyer | Stevens | Miller |
| 1932 | June 9 | Bob Carey | Stevens | Miller |
| 1932 | September 10 | Mauri Rose | Stevens | Miller |
| 1932 | June 11 | Bill Cummings | Miller | Miller |
| 1949 | September 11 | Tony Bettenhausen | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser |
| 1950 | September 10 | Henry Banks | Moore | Offenhauser |
| 1951 | September 9 | Paul Russo | Russo/Nichels | Offenhauser |
| 1952 | August 30 | Bill Vukovich | Kuzma | Offenhauser |
| 1953 | July 4 | Rodger Ward | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser |
| 1957 | June 23 | Jimmy Bryan | Kuzma | Offenhauser |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- http://www.detroitgp.com
- http://www.americanlemans.com
- http://www.indycar.com
- http://www.champcarstats.com
http://www.mercurycapri.com/grandprix - Official Pace Car of the Detroit Grand Prix IV
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