Indy Qualifying today at Thermal!

[sirbob]

Great day at the track today - many thanks to the Prema Race Team for hosting us.

That Thermal club is something really special.

 

[Havasu blue label]

the family trust owns the land caddy corner 5 acres

 

[rrrr]

Nice. Prema is showing they're serious about competing right out of the box.

Have fun.

 

[sirbob]

Nice. Prema is showing they're serious about competing right out of the box.

Have fun.

They clearly have made a commitment to Indy Car - their European influence was clear. The hospitality was more F1 than Indy and their pit set up was right out of F1 vs the standard IndyCar trailer set up. They use a wall to separate the cars up front for work/show and a private area behind the walls just like F1.

The connection to the Ferrari driver academy is easy to see in their program.

 

[monkeyswrench]

I've only been around drag racing pits, but always admired the F1 and Indy setups. Not just for their showing, but the workings and the mechanical element. A top fuel pit is more like an emergency room trauma center, a mad thrash. Everyone knows what their job is, and what needs to happen between rounds. An Indy or F1 pit, not trackside, is more like an operating room, clean and sterile. The same knowledge of goals is shared by both, but the means are very different.

 

[RVRKID]

Great pics and that track is bad ass.

 

[rrrr]

Pretty good race. Alex Palou made a badass pass for second, then chased down Pato O'Ward with 15 to go. He eliminated O'Ward's 11 second advantage, passed him within 8 laps, and cruised to victory. Palou is incredible.

 

[HTTP404]

I guess there is controversy on whether this race should happen next year. I think this is ideal racing conditions for Indy cars.

 

[rrrr]

I guess there is controversy on whether this race should happen next year. I think this is ideal racing conditions for Indy cars.

A lot of fans on social media are whining about the track being owned by wealthy people and surrounded by million dollar homes.

Stupid. Really stupid.

 

[HTTP404]

A lot of fans on social media are whining about the track being owned by wealthy people and surrounded by million dollar homes.

Stupid. Really stupid.

Who cares about the owners, haha. I dig the facility, super cool houses. I also like the aspect that the teams show up and mostly stay in their coaches and it makes it like an old school style race. The ONLY thing Thermal has against it is the remote location.

 

[rrrr]

The ONLY thing Thermal has against it is the remote location.

The other complaints are about lack of fans. Um, it's in the desert. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing it's at least a three hour drive from LA proper because of traffic, even on the weekends.

 

[monkeyswrench]

The other complaints are about lack of fans. Um, it's in the desert. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing it's at least a three hour drive from LA proper because of traffic, even on the weekends.

Hell, it's about 5 from here, and if I had tickets I'd be there! I just think it's great that in this era, a newer facility was built.

 

[HTTP404]

The other complaints are about lack of fans. Um, it's in the desert. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing it's at least a three hour drive from LA proper because of traffic, even on the weekends.

I'd possibly drive that far for an oval. Not for a road course. I live about 2 hrs out from Thermal.

 

[rrrr]

I'd possibly drive that far for an oval. Not for a road course. I live about 2 hrs out from Thermal.

They gotta get an oval on the schedule before Indy. It's ridiculous.

 

[sirbob]

Who cares about the owners, haha. I dig the facility, super cool houses. I also like the aspect that the teams show up and mostly stay in their coaches and it makes it like an old school style race. The ONLY thing Thermal has against it is the remote location.

The remote location isn't really an issue because they aren't marketing the tickets to be sold. It's a VERY low key event that is really just made for TV. I don't know how many tickets they sold but it couldn't have been more than 1000? And the prices are at least 5 times (?) what a normal race would be. I had team tickets so I'm not sure the price for the few people there that paid to go.

Also, I didn't see that many motorhomes. I'm pretty sure the teams were staying in hotels. I'm sure that the Prema team was in a hotel at the very least.

The other very noticeable part of this race weekend is there is no undercard. No Porsches / Ferrari challenge / Indy lites / drifters etc. The only thing on the track on this weekend is IndyCars. Which as a fan sitting in the seats makes for a pretty slow viewing day. We spent our time in the pits / transporter or the aircon hospitality suite drinking Italian wine and having some lovely food!

 

[rrrr]

The remote location isn't really an issue because they aren't marketing the tickets to be sold. It's a VERY low key event that is really just made for TV. I don't know how many tickets they sold but it couldn't have been more than 1000? And the prices are at least 5 times (?) what a normal race would be. I had team tickets so I'm not sure the price for the few people there that paid to go.

Also, I didn't see that many motorhomes. I'm pretty sure the teams were staying in hotels. I'm sure that the Prema team was in a hotel at the very least.

The other very noticeable part of this race weekend is there is no undercard. No Porsches / Ferrari challenge / Indy lites / drifters etc. The only thing on the track on this weekend is IndyCars. Which as a fan sitting in the seats makes for a pretty slow viewing day. We spent our time in the pits / transporter or the aircon hospitality suite drinking Italian wine and having some lovely food!

The race provides marketing and sponsorship discussions. Fans in seats are ignored, and even if tickets were $100 instead of $500, I doubt many more would attend. The logistics of getting there and lodging aren't good for those in the LA area, and motorsports attendance in the basin has sucked for years. It's why Autoclub Speedway is now an industrial park.

Happy to hear you and your wife had a good time.