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
Either way, it is a great track.(I am a little biased, though, being a Georgian.)
they had to use the tires they qualified with....or be fined severely...
I would have stuck Bridgestones on my car and raced.....but the Euro way is to puss out.
Herbie the Love Bug won...
>>They might complain about it being narrow in places (Turns 4 and 5 perhaps) but shut up and drive!
If they did, they would have to complain about Monaco too.
Road Atlanta is a great looking race track. I've only seen it on SpeedTV though, so I don't know all the particulars.
Oh and T-minus 20 days till MotoGP comes to the US at Laguna Seca ... I wanna see Valentino Rossi tear up the corkscrew.
UPDATE>..............
Six Michelin teams to appeal against FIA ruling
Wed Jun 29, 2005 05:54 PM BST
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By Alan Baldwin
PARIS, June 29 (Reuters) - Championship leaders Renault and five other Formula One teams have vowed to appeal after being found guilty on two charges resulting from the U.S. Grand Prix tyre fiasco.
A joint statement by Renault, McLaren, Williams, Toyota, Sauber and BAR, who all use Michelin tyres, expressed disappointment at the verdict of the International Automobile Federation's (FIA) world motor sport council on Wednesday.
Red Bull, the seventh Michelin team, said they were considering their options.
"Basically, we didn't want to rush into a hasty decision," team boss Christian Horner told Reuters.
The seven were charged with acts prejudicial to an event and to the sport after failing to start the June 19 race in Indianapolis when Michelin advised that they could not guarantee the safety of their tyres through the final banked corner.
The FIA cleared the teams on three specific charges on Wednesday but found them guilty of two.
It said they had failed to ensure they were in possession of suitable tyres for the event and had wrongfully refused to allow their cars to start the race bearing in mind that they could have used the pitlane on each lap.
The six teams said they had "reasonably relied" on Michelin and could not be held responsible for what occurred. They said the second charge was not one originally levelled against them.
"The teams explained to the world motor sport council that, in the light of the clear and written advice from Michelin that it was unsafe to race at Indianapolis on the tyres supplied by that company, the teams had no choice but to decline to race," they said in a statement.
"Any other decision would have been irresponsible. Nineteen of the current Formula One drivers have expressed their agreement with the decision of the teams."
No names were given and the teams did not identify the lone dissenting driver. (I BET I KNOW WHO IT IS)
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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