DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China

DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China

I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Zhuhai looks like it could
make for an excellent event. It has a good location and an excellent
layout. I'm really looking forward to the Chinese round next year.

http :// www .champcarworldseries,com /News/Article.asp?ID127

Zhuhai, China (November 30, 2006) – Roberto Moreno made history today in
China as he took the 2007 Panoz DP01 on track at Zhuhai International
Circuit, marking the first time a Champ Car has run in China.

Moreno was in Zhuhai with an envoy of Champ Car representatives as
officials from the City of Zhuhai, Zhuhai International Circuit and
Champ Car announced the 2007 Champ Car China Grand Prix to a collection
of local and national Chinese media.

“It was very important to everyone in China that we bring our 2007 Panoz
DP01 to the Zhuhai Circuit to demonstrate the excitement of Champ Car,”
said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. “It has been a very beneficial
trip for us because we were able to meet with city and track officials
as well as starting a media campaign for the Champ Car China Grand Prix.
China is a wonderful country and I’m really looking forward to returning
here for the race in May.”

More than 150 local and national media attended the press conference at
Zhuhai International Circuit, which included demonstration laps by
Moreno. The Brazilian wowed the media by setting a new track record on
his first lap and continuing to lower the mark finally setting the
record at 83.619 seconds.

“I think there is going to be a very exciting race here in May,” said
Moreno. The track has really fast straights and three very slow corners
with wide braking zones. There will be plenty of places to pass and the
facility is excellent shape. I hope I get a chance to race here.”

A full fleet of 2007 DP01’s will cross the Pacific Ocean in May for the
inaugural Champ Car China Grand Prix for Round Four of the Champ Car
World Series. The series schedule begins on the streets of Las Vegas on
April 8 for Las Vegas Grand Prix followed the next week by the Grand
Prix of Long Beach.


--
forty

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and
mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.” - Ernest Hemingway

Re: DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China

forty:

> I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Zhuhai looks like it could
> make for an excellent event. It has a good location and an excellent
> layout. I'm really looking forward to the Chinese round next year.

They should keep a close eye on it though, to avoid the bushness of A1GP
in Bejing. That one was a big joke. Or the one in Korea for that matter.

--
Duck.

Re: DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China


"Sander Verbrugge" <usenet@cart-europe,com > wrote in message
news:pan.2006.11.30.19.25.55.231637@cart-europe,com ...
> forty:
>
>> I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Zhuhai looks like it could
>> make for an excellent event. It has a good location and an excellent
>> layout. I'm really looking forward to the Chinese round next year.
>
> They should keep a close eye on it though, to avoid the bushness of A1GP
> in Bejing. That one was a big joke. Or the one in Korea for that matter.
>
> --
> Duck.

Personally I would prefer they stay out of China all together. I still
remember some students in a square that the army turned on with tanks and
machine guns. Your opinion may differ, but frankly I think there are an
awful lot of places to race that would be much better.
>

Re: DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China

Mark B wrote:
> "Sander Verbrugge" <usenet@cart-europe,com > wrote in message
> news:pan.2006.11.30.19.25.55.231637@cart-europe,com ...
>> forty:
>>
>>> I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Zhuhai looks like it could
>>> make for an excellent event. It has a good location and an excellent
>>> layout. I'm really looking forward to the Chinese round next year.
>> They should keep a close eye on it though, to avoid the bushness of A1GP
>> in Bejing. That one was a big joke. Or the one in Korea for that matter.
>>
>> --
>> Duck.
>
> Personally I would prefer they stay out of China all together. I still
> remember some students in a square that the army turned on with tanks and
> machine guns. Your opinion may differ, but frankly I think there are an
> awful lot of places to race that would be much better.
>
>

If they are so hot to race in the Asian market, why are they staying out
of Japan? There are a number of suitable circuits with healthy fanbases.


--
forty

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and
mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.” - Ernest Hemingway

Re: DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China

Thus spake forty <cforteNO@SPAMgmail,com > :

>Mark B wrote:
>> "Sander Verbrugge" <usenet@cart-europe,com > wrote in message
>> news:pan.2006.11.30.19.25.55.231637@cart-europe,com ...
>>> forty:
>>>
>>>> I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Zhuhai looks like it could
>>>> make for an excellent event. It has a good location and an excellent
>>>> layout. I'm really looking forward to the Chinese round next year.
>>> They should keep a close eye on it though, to avoid the bushness of A1GP
>>> in Bejing. That one was a big joke. Or the one in Korea for that matter.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Duck.
>>
>> Personally I would prefer they stay out of China all together. I still
>> remember some students in a square that the army turned on with tanks and
>> machine guns. Your opinion may differ, but frankly I think there are an
>> awful lot of places to race that would be much better.
>>
>>
>
>If they are so hot to race in the Asian market, why are they staying out
>of Japan? There are a number of suitable circuits with healthy fanbases.

Suzuka comes immediately to mind.
--
dillon

If you can't figure out how to unmunge my
address, email me and I'll explain it.

Re: DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China

Dillon Pyron wrote:
> Thus spake forty <cforteNO@SPAMgmail,com > :
>
>> Mark B wrote:
>>> "Sander Verbrugge" <usenet@cart-europe,com > wrote in message
>>> news:pan.2006.11.30.19.25.55.231637@cart-europe,com ...
>>>> forty:
>>>>
>>>>> I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Zhuhai looks like it could
>>>>> make for an excellent event. It has a good location and an excellent
>>>>> layout. I'm really looking forward to the Chinese round next year.
>>>> They should keep a close eye on it though, to avoid the bushness of A1GP
>>>> in Bejing. That one was a big joke. Or the one in Korea for that matter.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Duck.
>>> Personally I would prefer they stay out of China all together. I still
>>> remember some students in a square that the army turned on with tanks and
>>> machine guns. Your opinion may differ, but frankly I think there are an
>>> awful lot of places to race that would be much better.
>>>
>>>
>> If they are so hot to race in the Asian market, why are they staying out
>> of Japan? There are a number of suitable circuits with healthy fanbases.
>
> Suzuka comes immediately to mind.

But Suzuka is owned by Honda...

--
forty

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and
mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.” - Ernest Hemingway

Re: DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China


>> Suzuka comes immediately to mind.
>
> But Suzuka is owned by Honda...
>
> --
> forty
>
And the Japanese do tend to be very nationalistic. No Toyota. No Honda.
No Japanese driver might mean no crowds. No way do I think Champ Car would
run on any track that has a connection to Toyota and Honda.

Re: DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China

Thus spake forty <cforteNO@SPAMgmail,com > :

>Dillon Pyron wrote:
>> Thus spake forty <cforteNO@SPAMgmail,com > :
>>
>>> Mark B wrote:
>>>> "Sander Verbrugge" <usenet@cart-europe,com > wrote in message
>>>> news:pan.2006.11.30.19.25.55.231637@cart-europe,com ...
>>>>> forty:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Zhuhai looks like it could
>>>>>> make for an excellent event. It has a good location and an excellent
>>>>>> layout. I'm really looking forward to the Chinese round next year.
>>>>> They should keep a close eye on it though, to avoid the bushness of A1GP
>>>>> in Bejing. That one was a big joke. Or the one in Korea for that matter.
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Duck.
>>>> Personally I would prefer they stay out of China all together. I still
>>>> remember some students in a square that the army turned on with tanks and
>>>> machine guns. Your opinion may differ, but frankly I think there are an
>>>> awful lot of places to race that would be much better.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> If they are so hot to race in the Asian market, why are they staying out
>>> of Japan? There are a number of suitable circuits with healthy fanbases.
>>
>> Suzuka comes immediately to mind.
>
>But Suzuka is owned by Honda...

And Honda is currently pissed at Bernie. As long as the Idiot Racing
Leauge chooses to be an American series, I suspect Champ Car might be
tempting. It's an otherwise unused track, with the exception of a
single F3 race. Which is apperently poorly attended. Now a Japanese
driver would really pack them in. But Sato is the only "quality"
driver and Super Best Friends is pretty much committed to having a
Japanese driver.
--
dillon

If you can't figure out how to unmunge my
address, email me and I'll explain it.

Re: DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China

Sander Verbrugge wrote:
> forty:
>
>> I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Zhuhai looks like it could
>> make for an excellent event. It has a good location and an excellent
>> layout. I'm really looking forward to the Chinese round next year.
>
> They should keep a close eye on it though, to avoid the bushness of A1GP
> in Bejing. That one was a big joke. Or the one in Korea for that matter.
>

I seriously doubt they'll run into those types of problems. The Beijing
circuit had never been raced on before and they didn't know that the
hairpin was too tight until they first ran cars on it. Zhuhai was built
to F1 standards and has had F3 and FIA GT races on it, so they know the
circuit will be safe for the cars. The Korean track had people who
didn't know what they were doing and the track wasn't even built. Zhuhai
is a well-established racing venue with a fairly experienced
administration. I think this race will work out quite well.

--
forty

?There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and
mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.? - Ernest Hemingway

Re: DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China

Sander Verbrugge wrote:

> forty:
>
>
>>I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Zhuhai looks like it could
>>make for an excellent event. It has a good location and an excellent
>>layout. I'm really looking forward to the Chinese round next year.
>
>
> They should keep a close eye on it though, to avoid the bushness of A1GP
> in Bejing. That one was a big joke. Or the one in Korea for that matter.
>

Its a completely different culture. Usually takes me a couple of days
to get adjusted even though I've been there a number of times.

Don't think for a minute that we dealing with the same standard of
living we have in the west. The average monthly wage of workers in the
major industrialized cities outside Hong Kong is only a couple of
hundred dollars a month. In the outlying areas in can be a few hundred
dollars a year. This is not old news but rather was reported even this
week in relation to the ticket prices for the Beijing Olympics this summer.

So the Chinese gov't would have to heavily subsidize any race that would
be held there.

IMO, the better Chinese venue would be on the streets of Macau. Its
close to very affluent Hong Kong and they have experience in running a
race. Last time I was there, there were getting ready to run a street
race right past the Hong Kong ferry depot. They had a very nice
facility set up.

If I were a race organizer and considering an Asian venue, I'd have a
very hard look at Sepang in Malaysia. The track property is right next
to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (maybe 70km from KL) and
Malaysia has really developed economically. Plenty of money, a greatly
improved standard of living and plenty of interest in motor racing.
Singapore is not far and the crowds come up from their as well. The
gov't is friendly and there are plenty of sponsors looking to spend
their money on promotions.

I've been to a couple of races at Sepang and can tell you that its a
first rate facility as good as anything in the states (including Indy
and any of the NASCAR tracks).

Re: DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China

I think this is a great venue.

I not sure why they don't call it the Hong Kong Grand prix, but, really.,it
don't matter.

The facility has LOTS of funds and money, and seems VERY nice indeed.

I also think that with the billions of dollars floating around in china (due
to selling so many things!!), there is GREAT new opportunism being opened up
by champ car going there.

Just like champs going to Australia opened up doors for Stoddard to launch a
new team in champs, the same should happen in china.

I think once they get a taste of this, in a few years your see some
tremendous sponsorship deals arise.

Off the top, Levento (previously IBM notebooks) is a great example, and
there are others....

This looks like a wonderful event, and just like going to a icy cold
northern tiny little city called Edmonton, it is simply a issue of opening
up new markets.

After cold icy mining town called Edmonton drew 200,000 fans, within a week
there was rumours of a NASCAR race being pitched in Calgary (our sister city
in Alberta).

My point?

Well, once again, champ car is BUILDING NEW fans and NEW venues that will
allow it to expand.

Meanwhile, the IRL has announced a race in Detroit.
I always loved Roger Penske, and respect what he ahs done for racing.
Apparently he was/is instrumental in the bringing back the
Detroit race.

Roger HAS to get out of
his jet more often.

Lets see.
hum, go to Detroit, and see all the used condoms and needles
strewn around the bel island park.

The big auto industry is laying off 100,'s of thousands of workers

the city hall people are 100% dead beat people.

at 5 pm, everyone gets the hell out of the city.,it is a ghost
town with no night life

The hookers and drug dealers should welcome the race, as it will
being in money for them

great, lets bring a race with a Japanese auto maker supplying the
engine into he heart do Detroit

Great, bring in a bunch of drivers with a foreign names
into the heart of motor town.

I don't know how much of a train wreak IRL is, but when I see that they are
going back to a race that not even champs could make work...I don't know
things are getting quite sad in the IRL camp right now.......

yes, while champs builds..the IRL announces a race in the heart of Detroit
for Japanese powered cars?....

Boy, if I am going to bet on a horse here...

--
Albert D. Kallal
Edmonton, Alberta Canada

Re: DP01 Runs Demonstration Laps in China



Albert D. Kallal wrote:

> I think this is a great venue.
>
> I not sure why they don't call it the Hong Kong Grand prix, but, really.,it
> don't matter.
>
> The facility has LOTS of funds and money, and seems VERY nice indeed.
>
> I also think that with the billions of dollars floating around in china (due
> to selling so many things!!), there is GREAT new opportunism being opened up
> by champ car going there.
>
> Just like champs going to Australia opened up doors for Stoddard to launch a
> new team in champs, the same should happen in china.
>
> I think once they get a taste of this, in a few years your see some
> tremendous sponsorship deals arise.
>
> Off the top, Levento (previously IBM notebooks) is a great example, and
> there are others....
>
> This looks like a wonderful event, and just like going to a icy cold
> northern tiny little city called Edmonton, it is simply a issue of opening
> up new markets.
>
> After cold icy mining town called Edmonton drew 200,000 fans, within a week
> there was rumours of a NASCAR race being pitched in Calgary (our sister city
> in Alberta).
>
> My point?
>
> Well, once again, champ car is BUILDING NEW fans and NEW venues that will
> allow it to expand.
>
> Meanwhile, the IRL has announced a race in Detroit.
> I always loved Roger Penske, and respect what he ahs done for racing.
> Apparently he was/is instrumental in the bringing back the
> Detroit race.
>
> Roger HAS to get out of
> his jet more often.
>
> Lets see.
> hum, go to Detroit, and see all the used condoms and needles
> strewn around the bel island park.
>
> The big auto industry is laying off 100,'s of thousands of workers
>
> the city hall people are 100% dead beat people.
>
> at 5 pm, everyone gets the hell out of the city.,it is a ghost
> town with no night life
>
> The hookers and drug dealers should welcome the race, as it will
> being in money for them
>
> great, lets bring a race with a Japanese auto maker supplying the
> engine into he heart do Detroit
>
> Great, bring in a bunch of drivers with a foreign names
> into the heart of motor town.
>
> I don't know how much of a train wreak IRL is, but when I see that they are
> going back to a race that not even champs could make work...I don't know
> things are getting quite sad in the IRL camp right now.......
>
> yes, while champs builds..the IRL announces a race in the heart of Detroit
> for Japanese powered cars?....
>
> Boy, if I am going to bet on a horse here...
>


(I may be wrong in this, but my view comes from first-hand observation
and cultural familiarity.)

A couple of point to Albert's post.

While I agree that new venues will attrack new fans, racing in China is
a few years ahead of its time. The culture needs a lot of adjustment
and the money that's being made is not finding its way into the hands of
the masses. Its a cultural and economic reality that they are still far
from having the same standard of living and interests we take for
granted. Even in the accelerated growth, China is still realistically
three to five years away.

That said, there are opportunities to send "feeler" races over there to
start developing interest in motor sports. I can see a couple of
Atlantic races and ALM races.