Posted on 06/20/2005 6:38:49 AM PDT by GulliverSwift
Sunday's events at the track left race fans from around the world shocked and angry.
News 8 talked to dozens of people and the common theme was that they may have came here as die-hard F-1 fans but they left not wanting to ever watch another race again.
Thousands of other fans shared that sentiment and were not shy about expressing their anger.
Most fans blamed the fiasco on F-1 rules, others on the company responsible for the faulty tires.
One fan explained his sentiment, "I drove all the way from Nashville with my boy and this is a terrible, terrible travesty. And we won't be coming back, renewing anything, and we're done with formula One."
Swat teams, sheriff's deputies, and dozens of state police were all on hand after the race started with plans in place in the event of a riot. Fortunately, fans staged non-violent protests.
Many were chanting, "Refund! Refund! Refund! Refund!" While others lined up outside the speedway administration building demanding refunds, "Somebody has to pay for the time and the money that we have spent. Some people have flown from around the world just to see this race and Americans as well," an outraged fan told News 8.
Others returned memorabilia for a sport they say they love no longer, "I want to return this t-shirt. I want my money back for it. I don't want to support F-1 anymore. This is a joke. This is a joke," one fan said.
Another fan agreed, "If they can't do the right thing, then cancel the race. Don't bring people in for something like this. This is stupid."
As for the future of F-1 racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Fans say don't hold your breath. Some fans think that after this contract's run out, it will not be here. They say next year's the last year and they think attendance will be down because of Sunday's events.
Speedway officials say no word yet on whether fans will get ticket refunds but one fan said even if that happens he's still never coming back
Danica Patrick must be laughing her cute little backside off.
I love the event and I love going to Indy. The town really comes out for the event and the venue (especially were I sit in stand J) provides a great view of the race.
The whole thing can be laid at the feet of F1 and Formula One Management. They ruined the weekend of thousands of fans who shelled out a piles of cash to see this fiasco.
Like I said--watching cars go around a track at 50 miles an hour is not my idea of exciting racing. What, in a typical NASCAR race, you get maybe 10 laps of "racing" at a time? Maybe?
Rubbing is your pitch for NASCAR? Banging the hell out of another driver until you put him into a wall? That's not racing.
I used to be a NASCAR fan years ago when it was actually Southern good ol' boys who built cars from "stock" in their garage and took them out to the track and raced them. But I've been driven away the past ten years or so as the sport has become more commercialized. And frankly I haven't watched as much F1 as I used to--most of the good drivers that really made it exciting have either retired or moved to uncompetitive teams.
But to say that NASCAR has superior drivers than F1? Uh, no...
You are right. F1 rules have ruined the sport. Every since Senna's death the safety nazis have micromanaged F1 and the rules change every season. Boring.
That 'splains it.
Let me first say I used to own and drive a race car, so with regard to what I am about to say, I know a little of what I am talking about. Granted, it was the SCCA and then the HSR, but I ran nearly a decade and in the last four years I never finished out of the medals.
The real problem here is NOT that the Michelins were not safe, the REAL problem is that they were uncompetitive versus the Bridgestone/Firestones. All the drivers would have to do is S L O W D O W N in that one turn. At some higher speed, the Bridgestones would be unsafe as well.
On any race car there is a limit to how fast your equipment can safely go without exceeding the limits of adhesion or tearing up your equipment due to a rough surface or pavement transitions, ripple strips, etc. You deal with it. Guys with a better set up, better tires, or more money/better equipment will beat you.
**ALL** of those Michelin-equipped cars could have raced a complete race -- and been humiliated because they were lapped, perhaps repeatedly. THAT's the root cause.
Racing is about competition. Bridgestone did their homework. Michelin didn't.
I'd hate to work in MArketing for Michelin today ;-)
Tires can have flaws. Yes, Derek is correct they should have made better tires knowing the fast G forces involved, they have the history. HOWEVER, if they are deemed unsafe in my post I believe I said they should have waived the starting tire rule.
YOU SAID: why DIDN'T THE TEAMS RUN ON THE NEW TIRES AND TAKE THE PENALTY? // I don't know what penalty there would have been levied. Is it a penalty to pick the pockets of the teams, could they take a win away from the 'supposed winner' I don't know.
The teams must have thought the penalty was not worth the effort to race.
Regardless, as NASCAR says, this is a show and a competition second. I'm not equating NASCAR to F1 but this is show business and you are correct, it sucks for the fans, Indy (town) and IMS.
It is reprehensible that Michelin did not build the correct tire. It is unfair for Michelin engineers to have a second look to make a better tire compound and have an unfair advantage. BUT, for safety waive the starting rule, if there is an advantage do the math and pronounce the correct winner.
As I said, I don't know how severe the penalty would have been. The data is there; they could have done it a lot better than how it turned out.
Michelin has the contract for all tires used in F1, just like Goodyear has for NASCAR.
This is disgusting. The teams, fueled by Michelin, ripped off the fans. Some of the drivers, notably Coulthard, Sato, Reikkonen, wanted to race but were forced to follow team orders. The curious parts - Michelin refused to bring a second set of tires for their drivers, a second compound, to adjust for conditions. And this isn't their first or 2nd year at Indy. F-1 has been coming to Indy since 2000. That's right, the same track, the same banked (6%) corner 13. It's only because of Ralf's accident, with a Michelin tire failure on 13 last year that they've pooh-poohed. Michelin's tires fail on that corner for one driver last year and 2 this year, yet they refused to bring a second set of a different compound. Prior to that, no failures, same track. And they had a whole year to figure on a different tire. They went through the motions of practice and qualifying, stringing along the fans, and the drivers who really wanted to race. They, Michelin and the F-1 team managers, really screwed American fans.
Check that last; Michelin contracts with many of the leading **teams**, not the F1 circuit. Apols for typing too quickly.
It was never announced. For everyone's benefit, here is a copy of the letters exchanged between FIA and Michelin.
From FIA race director Charlie Whiting:
We are very surprised this difficulty has arisen. As you know, each team is allowed to bring two different types of tire to an event so as to ensure a backup (usually of lower performance) is available should problems occur. It is hard to understand why you have not supplied your teams with such a tire given your years of experience at Indianapolis.
"No doubt you will inform your teams what is the maximum safe speed for their cars in turn 13. We will remind them of the need to follow your advice for safety reasons. We will also ask them to ensure their cars do not obstruct other competitors.
"Some of the teams have raised with us the possibility of running a tire which was not used in qualifying. We have told them this would be a breach of the rules to be considered by the stewards. We believe the penalty would not be exclusion but would have to be heavy enough to ensure that no team was tempted to use qualifying tires in the future.
"Another possibility would be for the relevant teams repeatedly to change the affected tire during the race. If the stewards were satisfied each change was made because the tire would otherwise fail and the relevant team was not gaining an advantage, there would be no penalty.
"Finally, it has been suggested (by you) that a chicane should be laid out in turn 13. I am sure you will appreciate this is out of the question. To change the course in order to help some teams with a performance problem caused by their failure to bring suitable equipment to the race would be a breach of the rules and grossly unfair to those teams which have come to Indianapolis with the correct tires."
• • •
Sunday morning, Michelin replied with a memo restating its position that the tires on which its teams qualified could not guarantee the safety of the drivers.
"As a result, we reached the conclusion we will not compete with these tires in the current configuration of the circuit. We therefore reiterate our request to have a significant reduction of speed in turns 12-13.
"We request that the FIA consider favorably this request and remain at your disposal for further information."
• • •
The FIA's response was short and to the point:
"As explained in our earlier letter, your teams have a choice of running more slowly in turns 12-13, running a tire not used in qualifying (which would attract a penalty) or repeatedly changing a tire (subject to valid safety reasons).
"It is for them to decide. We have nothing to add."
It's like writing an article and leaving out every other word.
Again, there was a solution: the Michelin teams could have run on the new tires and taken a penalty. They chose not to do so.
You can't change the rules in the middle of the game. That's not fair to the other teams that have come prepared. If you want to blame someone, blame the teams. It was their decision not to race.
F1 is a joke anyway, and this just helps that opinion. I love racing, and watch F1, but should not be taken seriously.
Thanks for posting those letters - I hadn't seen those yet. I'm guessing the reason for the teams' pull-out was for liability issues. If Michelin didn't certify the tires and a driver was injured, they probably wouldn't be liable. You are right that it's ultimately Michelin's fault here, but it would have been nice to see everyone work out a solution to get the fans to see a race.
Oui! Oui! Wee make zee tires!
the stands will prolly be filed with lawyers today and i hope there's a class actions suit against michelin from the ticket holders for not only their tickets but travel/lodging too!!!
Trying to make the Brick Yard (Oval) into a Road Course is like trying to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. It's the worst track on the Formula 1 schedule.
The issue isn't Michelin - it's safety.
These drivers are highly professional, competitive athletes. They would never sit out unless it was a real issue.
I suspect we haven't heard the end of this and more information will come out soon.
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