Is an All-New Professional Motorsports Series Needed?

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Dotini

Dotini

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- Fernando Alonso is talking about "doing something unprecedented in motorsport".
- F1 race promoters are complaining about Liberty Media.
- Zak Brown is talking about expanding McLaren's North American Indy Car operations.
- NASCAR is in a state of steady decline.

With these and other factors in mind, what can we say is needed for the future health and growth of motorsports worldwide and in North America?

Are there enough drivers, manufacturers, circuits and sponsors to start a new series?
 
I could see an electric touring car series becoming a thing. There are plenty of manufactures comings on board with full EV models and being able to showcase them on the track would have some advantages. Yes, Formula E does rely on EV technology, but it's not like I can go out and buy a Formula E car.

I'd also like to see something that combines sim racing and real racing. Something like unmanned cars with competitors sitting in virtual reality rigs. It'd be an interesting take too since you could have a huge range of people who could compete. It'd also be safer and chances are the cars would be crazier since they wouldn't need to take safety into account.

Finally, self-driving cars racing would be interesting to see as well. Yes, it would take away the driving aspect, but it would shift the focus to the engineering and programming of the cars. I can't see this really being a big thing but a smaller scale series could work.
 
I think Alonso’s “unprecedented in motorsport” idea has more to do with him completing or winning an unprecedented number of different type events in a 12 month period. If you mark Daytona 2019 as a start point, he could do/win Daytona (done), Indy 500, Le Mans, and then have all summer and fall to sink his teeth into something perhaps even more out there, like doing a rally (Rally Spain in a Toyota perhaps? Or maybe in a Hyundai because of his connections with Sainz?), or even doing Dakar 2020 (which has already been speculated at). If he could do all that in a 12 month period, that would be prettt unprecedented.


As far as another series...I dunno. I think there’s more than enough drivers to go around, but I don’t think there’s enough money to go around. Instead of adding more series, perhaps more of a spotlight could be shone on existing series to increase their grid size, Super Formula as an example (with a larger grid and more eyes, that’s a series that could easily expand beyond just japan to include several Asian countries, and even Aus and NZ). Similar with Indycar - although it’s experiencing a bit of a resurgence, it could always use more eyes and more teams on the grid...and then maybe look at expanding the calander outside of North America again to at least include some South American circuits.

It might be tough to tell because we’re right in the midst of it, but we are experiencing a bit of a golden age in sports car racing - the FIA LMP2, LMP3, GT3, GT4, and TCR regs all seem relatively successful, and are making motorsport more accessible to more people (the idea being that you can buy one chassis, and race it in a whole host of national series, or big name international races on any continent, at almost any time of the year).

As far as McLaren getting involved in Indy, I think that’s just part of a larger trend of established race teams broadening their scope. Carlin are doing Indycar, Penske and Joest back in IMSA, Ganassi doing WEC, Penske and Andretti in Aussie Supercars, Andretti in FE, etc. I also think that with McLaren doing Indycar, there is potential to foster a partnership with Chevy, with the end goal being to have Chevy powered McLarens in various catagories (not necessarily F1, but perhaps WEC).
 
twitcher
I think Alonso’s “unprecedented in motorsport” idea has more to do with him completing or winning an unprecedented number of different type events in a 12 month period. If you mark Daytona 2019 as a start point, he could do/win Daytona (done), Indy 500, Le Mans, and then have all summer and fall to sink his teeth into something perhaps even more out there, like doing a rally (Rally Spain in a Toyota perhaps? Or maybe in a Hyundai because of his connections with Sainz?), or even doing Dakar 2020 (which has already been speculated at). If he could do all that in a 12 month period, that would be prettt unprecedented.


As far as another series...I dunno. I think there’s more than enough drivers to go around, but I don’t think there’s enough money to go around. Instead of adding more series, perhaps more of a spotlight could be shone on existing series to increase their grid size, Super Formula as an example (with a larger grid and more eyes, that’s a series that could easily expand beyond just japan to include several Asian countries, and even Aus and NZ). Similar with Indycar - although it’s experiencing a bit of a resurgence, it could always use more eyes and more teams on the grid...and then maybe look at expanding the calander outside of North America again to at least include some South American circuits.

It might be tough to tell because we’re right in the midst of it, but we are experiencing a bit of a golden age in sports car racing - the FIA LMP2, LMP3, GT3, GT4, and TCR regs all seem relatively successful, and are making motorsport more accessible to more people (the idea being that you can buy one chassis, and race it in a whole host of national series, or big name international races on any continent, at almost any time of the year).

As far as McLaren getting involved in Indy, I think that’s just part of a larger trend of established race teams broadening their scope. Carlin are doing Indycar, Penske and Joest back in IMSA, Ganassi doing WEC, Penske and Andretti in Aussie Supercars, Andretti in FE, etc. I also think that with McLaren doing Indycar, there is potential to foster a partnership with Chevy, with the end goal being to have Chevy powered McLarens in various catagories (not necessarily F1, but perhaps WEC).
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What do you suppose Fernando meant when he said this:
“Right now my full focus is on the Indy 500, but I’m thinking. I’m trying to do something more in different disciplines that are not only circuits…
https://racer.com/2019/01/28/alonso-wants-to-do-something-unprecedented-in-motorsport/
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Exactly, what does what does he mean by the phrase "disciplines that are not only circuits"? One-off events like Pikes Peak?
 
Dotini
What do you suppose Fernando meant when he said this:

Exactly, what does what does he mean by the phrase "disciplines that are not only circuits"? One-off events like Pikes Peak?
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I mean if he says “not Circuits” my first guess is either WRC or Dakar. With his connections at Toyota, he’s got a foot in the door to a very competitive chassis in either discipline.

You could maybe put the Baja 1000 on a short list of “non-circuit” events that might interest Alonso. Apparently him and Alex Rossi are pretty chummy, and Rossi is reportedly giving the Baja a go this year.

After the seat swap event with Jimmy Johnson last year, I could see Alonso popping up in a NASCAR race or two.
 
twitcher
I mean if he says “not Circuits” my first guess is either WRC or Dakar. With his connections at Toyota, he’s got a foot in the door to a very competitive chassis in either discipline.

You could maybe put the Baja 1000 on a short list of “non-circuit” events that might interest Alonso. Apparently him and Alex Rossi are pretty chummy, and Rossi is reportedly giving the Baja a go this year.

After the seat swap event with Jimmy Johnson last year, I could see Alonso popping up in a NASCAR race or two.
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Interesting. Raikkonen did some NASCAR events and so did Villeneuve. Do you suppose he might want to run Watkins Glen, Long Beach or Laguna in a Cadillac? Maybe Stewart could get him in a sprinter at Eldora?
 
If Alonso wants something different he should go and have a go at the Scottish Mini Cooper Championship. He wouldn't know what hit him :lol: (Well, he would - a Mini)

But some kind of Touring Car event would be fun. A guest race in the BTCC or DTM would be popular.
 
Dotini
Interesting. Raikkonen did some NASCAR events and so did Villeneuve. Do you suppose he might want to run Watkins Glen, Long Beach or Laguna in a Cadillac? Maybe Stewart could get him in a sprinter at Eldora?
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Raikkonen did a oval race in the truck series iirc. I could definitely see Alonso doing something similar at a 1 mile or 1.5 mile oval...something that’s decently quick, but not a superspeedway like Daytona or ‘Dega. Obviously he’d Be a pretty natural fit to do a road course race in a cup car, but I’m just going of off “non-circuit”, so I wouldn’t necessarily count that in his plans.

As far as doing more IMSA races, in short, I don’t think we’ll see it. He’s not allowed to do Sebring this year because of his WEC commitments. Long Beach, Leguna Seca, etc, those races are only sprint races with 1 driver change between the two full time drivers, so it wouldn’t work to drop Alonso into one of those races. Watkins Glen is only a 6 hour enduro, but he could possibly do that one for fun. I’d say more likely is Petite Le Mans, the 10
Hours of Road Atlanta, in the fall, would be the most likely next appearance by Alonso in IMSA. After that, I think there’s a decent chance he’ll be back at Daytona next year, and I think he’ll want a crack at Sebring 12 hours to complete the Endurance Triple Crown. If he were to do Daytona and Sebring next year, I could see him doing the full NAEC, which also includes Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta.

More likely that that though, I think we’ll see him do something like rallying or nascar this summer, and then get ready for a full assault on a complete Indycar season in 2020 (he could always do both Indycar and IMSA NAEC in the same year).

Of course that’s all speculating that he doesn’t resign with Toyota to continue in the WEC after Le Mans this year which as far as I know, hasn’t been settled yet.


See we don’t need more series, we need more Alonso :P

Jimlaad43
If Alonso wants something different he should go and have a go at the Scottish Mini Cooper Championship. He wouldn't know what hit him :lol: (Well, he would - a Mini)

But some kind of Touring Car event would be fun. A guest race in the BTCC or DTM would be popular.
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I’d love to see him do the Pertek Enduro Cup in Australia...would be a natural fit with Wilkenshaw Andretti United (The “United” is Zak Browns United Autosport, whom Alonso raced for at Daytona last year). As early as last year, Andretti was talking about putting a wildcard entry in the Bathurst 1000, as people like his son Marco, and fellow American Scott Speed, are quite keen to do the Great Race. So a Wilknshaw Andretti United wildcard entry at Bathurst, or for the full Enduro Cup, would be a nice fit for Alonso.

I’d also love to see him have a go in either the BTCC, or WTCR. Have him do the WTCR at the Nordeschlief, or the final in Macau...that would be really cool to see. But also at a regular circuit, I think Alonso’s racecraft would excel in touring car racing, and would be a lot of fun to watch (always think of Mansel doing that BTCC race at Donnington lol).
 
Dotini
What do you suppose Fernando meant when he said this:

Exactly, what does what does he mean by the phrase "disciplines that are not only circuits"? One-off events like Pikes Peak?
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I read that to mean rallying. Maybe take titles in as many disciplines as he can - he's talented enough, if he can keep his trap shut.
 
twitcher
After the seat swap event with Jimmy Johnson last year, I could see Alonso popping up in a NASCAR race or two.
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How about an enduro drive in Supercars, maybe? A Bathurst win would look pretty good on Alonso's CV...

Hey, I can dream right? :lol:
 
I agree with the rally sentiment, that was my gut reaction too. Toyota is the reigning manufacturer's champion in WRC but once the WEC season is done after Le Mans, I could even see Hyundai approaching him with an offer to drive their i20 WRC - they got themselves one of the two Sebastiens who won the last 15 WRC driver's championships and Monte Carlo was a clear indication that Monsieur Loeb has not forgotten how to drive a rally car. They have a heavy push in WRC and TRC, Alonso might fit in just fine.
 
twitcher
I’d love to see him do the Pertek Enduro Cup in Australia...would be a natural fit with Wilkenshaw Andretti United (The “United” is Zak Browns United Autosport, whom Alonso raced for at Daytona last year). As early as last year, Andretti was talking about putting a wildcard entry in the Bathurst 1000, as people like his son Marco, and fellow American Scott Speed, are quite keen to do the Great Race. So a Wilknshaw Andretti United wildcard entry at Bathurst, or for the full Enduro Cup, would be a nice fit for Alonso.
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I think there was talk of him testing Scott Pye's car but something about fuel meant he couldn't. So there's definitely interest in that area.
 
It's extremely refreshing to see a driver still with talent who has competed at the top of his career discipline and now basically books his own calendar in as many different races as he wants.

I never got to see the likes of Andretti, Hill, Clark and McLaren do stuff like this.
 
Dotini
What do you suppose Fernando meant when he said this:

Exactly, what does what does he mean by the phrase "disciplines that are not only circuits"? One-off events like Pikes Peak?
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It means he want's to do a Loeb.

World Rally Championship x 9 champion
Le Mans - finished 2nd
FIA GT series - regular top ten finisher - 3 wins
Porsche Supercup Series - just for fun
World Touring Car Championship - 3rd in championship
Global Rallycross Campionship - 1 race which he won
FIA European Championship - 1 race
World Rallycross Championship - 5th / 4th / 4th in championshop
Dakar - 2nd and 3rd over four years.

and then back to the WRC this year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sébastien_Loeb
 
Hmmm, "circuit" could mean two different things; a roughly circular route that starts and finishes at the same line, or an established itinerary of venues or events. Perhaps he meant the latter sense. If so, he may wish to compete in an entirely new events(s), or one-off events such as Pikes Peak or the Chile Bowl. Perhaps he's interested in setting records at the Nurburgring or Bonneville? Personally, I would like to see a new invitational series for a small handful of events in North America for a limited run of very high power open-top sports cars (with halo). McLaren-Chevrolet sounds like something that might work well for that .
 
Dotini
Hmmm, "circuit" could mean ... an established itinerary of venues or events.
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That's quite an archaic use of "circuit" and one that hasn't been used (that I'm aware of) in F1 or other motorsport for a very long time. The word used is "calendar". In motorsport "circuit" always refers to a course that finishes at the same point it begins.
 
Or Formula E isn't new it already exists. The title says a new Professional Series.

When you look around the World for Professional Race series there isn't many, most racing series require you to pay money for a seat that isn't exactly professional, professional means being paid to X.

There is no doubt Racing as a whole has been in decline for awhile, it's time to start merging series and trim the fat.
 
mustafur
Or Formula E isn't new it already exists. The title says a new Professional Series.

When you look around the World for Professional Race series there isn't many, most racing series require you to pay money for a seat that isn't exactly professional, professional means being paid to X.

There is no doubt Racing as a whole has been in decline for awhile, it's time to start merging series and trim the fat.
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Which series would you eliminate?
 
twitcher
Which series would you eliminate?
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I wouldn't eliminate I would fuze.

I think long term BTCC needs to fuze with WTCR, BTCC isn't professional anymore, everyone on the grid has to bring money to race the series still has decent interest though.

Alot of the GT Series need to fuze into one world championship together they can get better media deals which gives teams more money which in turn allows drivers to be paid.

The idea being that you have all these race series but with declining TV viewership it's not sustainable leaving them in the current format this will have to happen eventually.
 
mustafur
I wouldn't eliminate I would fuze.

I think long term BTCC needs to fuze with WTCR, BTCC isn't professional anymore, everyone on the grid has to bring money to race the series still has decent interest though.
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That's the same with most racing series worldwide, you're evidently still living in the 1990s and Super Touring evidently if you think manufacturers plough loads of money into programmes - they don't even do that in WTCR - why spend tons of money in development when you can make a decent car, if it does too well it gets pegged back anyway, and drivers bring their own sponsors and publicity which is far more sustainable as even after a manufacturer leaves they still have their own way of racing?

mustafur
Alot of the GT Series need to fuze into one world championship together they can get better media deals which gives teams more money which in turn allows drivers to be paid.
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Hahahahahahahahahahaa.... we've tried this three times and it has failed miserably.

mustafur
The idea being that you have all these race series but with declining TV viewership it's not sustainable leaving them in the current format this will have to happen eventually.
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And increased viewership in new markets through online streaming...
 
Furinkazen
That's the same with most racing series worldwide, you're evidently still living in the 1990s and Super Touring evidently if you think manufacturers plough loads of money into programmes - they don't even do that in WTCR - why spend tons of money in development when you can make a decent car, if it does too well it gets pegged back anyway, and drivers bring their own sponsors and publicity which is far more sustainable as even after a manufacturer leaves they still have their own way of racing?
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BTCC is not sustainable though, most of the grid only commits to the series a year at a time and is one economic recession away from not existing as a series.



Hahahahahahahahahahaa.... we've tried this three times and it has failed miserably.
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You mean when all the other series where still there?

I'm talking a Series that would combine all the major GT endurance races around the world Into 1 Series, familiar teams and drivers helps viewership tenfold, it wouldn't be easy with GT though, viewership to cost ratio is out of this planet.

The point went well over your head on that one, the fact most racing series are not professional is the problem. Fuzing them together can help that happen with more media money drivers can be paid.

In Supercars(australia)the top half of the grid is paid from my knowledge the bottom half need money, but that series has got decent media income compared to others around the world, and that's how you do it.

This is without major Manufacturer Support, which modern racing has to move past as this is not coming back anytime soon.

Super GT and DTM have to Fuze together at some point too, that is heavily manufacturer dependent though and doesn't really look to be in any real danger long term.
 
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