Observations from Road America – Saturday
It looks like Road America's gamble paid off. The decision to pair two of the track's weekends, the American Le Mans Series and Champ Car World Series, into one enjoyed a rousing response. "In my 10 years here it was the biggest I've ever seen," said Road America president and general manager George Bruggenthies Sunday. Attendance figures for the Generac Power Weekend, featuring the ALMS series race Saturday and the Champ Car Grand Prix on Sunday weren't available at the end of the race weekend.
But when the numbers are added up, Bruggenthies hopes attendance figures surpass 100,000 for the four days, a figure the track routinely used to pass in the early 1990s for CART (Champ Car's former name) weekends. Bruggenthies said this past weekend drew more spectators to the track than the two series did combined when they've previously been held separate weekends. "It's scary, because if you have bad weather, you lose," he said. Sheboygan Press
In reality, it probably never went anywhere. It's always been a world-renowned racetrack that drips with history. But since the emergence of championship golf in Sheboygan County as a major tourism draw, and open-wheel racing's woes hurt the track's main event, Road America slipped into the background a bit in terms of attention. This past weekend showed RA is alive and well.
Big crowds passed through the gates, with Saturday's American Le Mans Series race and Sunday's Champ Car World Series event. The mood was festive, with hundreds of campers all over the grounds. There was paddock traffic not seen since the Indy-car heydays of the mid-1990s. When the weather's warm, there are few better places to spend an afternoon in Sheboygan County than Road America. You don't have to be a race fan to appreciate the diverse crowds from all walks of life, from all over the world.
And you don't need to know what a gearbox is to enjoy the great food and scenery at this wonderful site. Track officials were giddy about the scene. The buzz is back. Hopefully it sticks around a long time. Sheboygan Press
08/11/07 We finally had a chance to speak to track president George Bruggenthies and he told AutoRacing1.com, "This is certainly the biggest crowd we have had here in my ten year tenure. I am very happy with the turnout and our plan is to try and do the doubleheader again next year. We are close to getting it done."
08/11/07 A broken transmission was the reason Sebastien Bourdais broke down this morning in practice. They are putting the transmission from his backup car into his primary car.
08/11/07 Saturday is again warm here at Road America but that has not stopped the biggest crowd in over 10 years showing up here for the doubleheader weekend. Track president George Bruggenthies is smiling from ear-to-ear if that tells you anything. One fan said, "It feels like the early 1990's again."
08/11/07 One can't help but notice all the big manufacturer and sponsor money in the ALMS paddock. Even their pit boxes are impressive – composed of two-story high portable structures with huge video monitor displays. And of course the hospitality units for these teams and manufacturers are first class…….Sebastien Bourdais' crew worked until late last night on his car and again very early this morning. To no avail, however, as Bourdais' car just shut down early in Saturday morning's practice session and has been pushed back behind the wall. He caused a red flag and hence received an 8 second penalty. Paul Tracy also caused a red flag when he spun at Turn 5, and Ryan Dalziel when he spun in Turn 14……Speaking of Bourdais and his NHLR teammate Graham Rahal, it is quite evident that both are running a lower gear than the others as you can hear them on the rev limiter for quite some distance as they approach Turn 5. Their strategy appears to be getting off the corners quicker and perhaps also running a bit more downforce. We hear the team is notorious for running a lower gear than others.