Well, the opener is over and not surprisingly the winner was not Bourdais. Many preseason observers opined that this year might yield a more level playing field given the new car and all that entails.
And so it did with Will Power winning and outpacing the field most of the weekend. Add that with a couple of rookies in the top five, Doornbos 2nd, Gommendy 5th, and we may have set the stage for some exciting racing the likes of which we haven’t seen for a long time.
It’s only the first race of the season and I’m sure that the old guard isn’t going to let the new guys run away with the Championship.
The problem with fueling will be solved which had it not existed, the outcome of this race might have been different.
As for the attendance it would be hard to estimate, from where I sat it looked like grandstand 1 was about 60 to 70 percent full. I would expect that not to be enough to give the promoter a profit. One of the two pit suites was filled but the other was nearly empty.
There was not lack of promotion as I saw many commercials on television and much signage throughout the city. The TV stations eagerly reported on the activities but disappointingly referred to it as the Las Vegas Grand Prix leaving out any references to Champ Car for the most part.
The track seemed to draw praise form the participants but access for the fan was limited. The view from GS1 was too narrow.
The paddocks were inside some very large and unique structures used by the World Market Center as exhibition centers. Oh yes they were air conditioned. Access was great but not fan friendly. The transporters were parked such that the work areas were the length of the transporters away where we had access making picture taking difficult for the average camera owner.
The pits were not accessible except during specified times when only a walk through was allowed. If you have ever been to Road America you would say there is no comparison. Extremely disappointing to me!
There were many volunteers stationed throughout the event doing their usual wonderful jobs. Every one saw I thanked for being there and helping. BOO-YA to all the volunteers!
What’s the state of the series? Well all the cars had some sponsorship on them. There were seventeen starters. If it’s true they are not on welfare then I am encouraged for the future. What does the future hold? The picture will become clearer in 08!
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