Phoenix street circuit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Location | Phoenix, Arizona, United States |
|---|---|
 1989-90 layout on gray and 1991 layout on black |
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| Time Zone | {{{Time}}} |
| Major events | Formula One |
| Circuit length | 3.72 kilometres (2.312 miles) |
| Turns | 16 |
| Lap record | 1'21.434 (Ayrton Senna, McLaren-Honda, 1991) |
The Formula One United States Grand Prix was held on the Phoenix street circuit in Phoenix, Arizona between 1989 - 1991. It was held downtown by the Phoenix Civic Plaza and the America West Arena, prior to the introduction of the state's baseball stadium, Bank One Ballpark. The United States Grand Prix lasted in Phoenix for three years, but was ultimately dropped due to poor fan turnout. Until the Indianapolis Motor Speedway first held a Grand Prix in 2000, Phoenix was the last city to host an F1 event in the United States.
The United States Grand Prix was first held in Phoenix on June 4, 1989. Ayrton Senna took pole in his McLaren-Honda but suffered an electronic failure a little over halfway through the race. The scorching heat of the Phoenix desert made it a nightmare on the teams and drivers and of the 26 cars that started the race, only six finished. Alain Prost, Senna's teammate, won over Riccardo Patrese and Phoenix native Eddie Cheever. Fourth-placed Christian Danner scored what turned out to be his only points scoring finish. His Rial team would never score points in Formula One competition outside of the Phoenix circuit.
In an attempt to beat the scorching Arizona heat, the event was moved to become the season opener the next year, held on March 11, 1990. Senna recovered from his near miss in '89 to win both the pole position and the Grand Prix. Jean Alesi finished 2nd, making his mark as a driver to watch in the future as he pressured the legendary Brazilian in a Tyrrell, a car that was average at best opposed to McLaren. Ironically Alesi's teammate, Satoru Nakajima, also scored a point in that race in one of the few times both of Ken Tyrrell's entries made the points. The event was also historic in that it marked the first and only time a Minardi made it onto the front row of the grid, as Pierluigi Martini qualified 2nd behind Senna.
In 1991 Senna took another victory. Again reliability was a factor with only nine cars running at the finish. For a second straight season both Tyrrell-Hondas had cracked the points; Stefano Modena had replaced the Ferrari-bound Alesi en route to heading Nakajima in 4th and 5th. The death blow for the organizers came when word arose a local ostrich festival had drawn more people than the Grand Prix, and the last United States Grand Prix held in Phoenix would be on March 10, 1991.
In 2007, after a sixteen-year hiatus, it is likely Champ Car will stage a street race as their season finale on a new 2-mile downtown course. This circuit will be different from the one Formula One used.
