F1 - USGP
 

Craven will be there on Friday and Sunday. Have been to all the previous. There's nothing like it. The most incredible technology on four wheels that you'll ever see and hear. Emphasis on hear, they scream. take ear protection or buy it at the track. I damaged my hearing the first year at Indy. I thought my ears were going to bleed as I stood at pit out. Now, I've got a 30% loss of high frequency hearing. A small sacrifice. :)

If you are going on Thursday for the pit walk about here's the schedule:
USGP added attractions

June 14, 2004

The schedule for the second annual United States Grand Prix pit walkabout is set, and IMS officials are eager to welcome fans for one of the most popular, fan-friendly events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The pit walkabout is open to all 2004 USGP Race Day ticket holders and will take place from 8 a.m.-noon (EST, local time) on Thursday, June 17. This is one of the few fan pit walkabouts available on the 18-event, global F1 schedule in 2004.

United States Grand Prix ticket holders must display their race ticket for admission to the walkabout. No separate walkabout passes will be issued.

The IMS ticket office will be open at 7 a.m. Thursday for fans interested in purchasing race tickets and gaining access to the walkabout. The ticket office's hours on track activity days are 7 a.m.-6 p.m. June 17-19 and 6 a.m.-noon on Race Day, June 20.


During the pit walkabout, fans can walk the pits and stand adjacent to the open garages, providing a clear view of the sleek cars, high-tech equipment and skilled personnel of all 10 Formula One teams, including standouts Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, Mild Seven Renault, BMW WilliamsF1 Team and Lucky Strike BAR Honda. Those top teams from the 2004 season will lead the field into the fifth annual Formula One race on the 2.605-mile road circuit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Still and video photography are allowed during the walkabout.

The inaugural walkabout last September was a resounding success, as thousands of fans packed the Formula One garage area and pit road to get an up-close look at the exotic cars and sophisticated teamwork of Formula One.

New activities have been added for the 2004 pit walkabout:

.An autograph session from 11 a.m.-noon on the Plaza Stage in the Pagoda Plaza with popular former Formula One drivers, including America's only World Champions, Phil Hill (1961) and Mario Andretti (1978), plus Danny Sullivan, Eddie Cheever Jr., Derek Daly and Stefan Johansson.

.Speed Channel Formula One broadcasters Bob Varsha, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett will play host to a show on the Plaza Stage from 10-11 a.m. featuring interviews with the former F1 drivers participating in the autograph session and current drivers yet to be announced.

.A Car Corral featuring exotic passenger automobiles from Ferrari, BMW, Jaguar and Porsche will be on display on 6th Street, just north of the Pagoda Plaza, beginning at 7 a.m.

.Formula One-themed radio control cars and a USGP-inspired track will be on display in the east lot of the Hall of Fame Museum, courtesy of RC Driver magazine. The public, along with media and F1 team personnel, are invited to try their hand at racing F1-inspired remote control cars from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. The track will be set up among the many F1 team merchandise trailers that occupy the museum's east lot. The merchandise trailers also will be open June 17.

.Live music on the Plaza Stage featuring Living Proof at 9 a.m. and noon.

.A 1976 Shadow Ford DN8-1A, raced by Tom Pryce in his final full season in Formula One, and a current Ferrari Formula One car will be on display at the entrance to the Pagoda Plaza.

While the overwhelming response of fans flocking to the pit walkabout in 2003 combined with morning rush-hour traffic to cause heavy traffic around the Speedway, track officials and local law enforcement are prepared for the 2004 event. IMS officials offer the following tips for race fans traveling to the pit walkabout:

.Gate access: The Speedway opens to the public at 7 a.m., and IMS officials encourage fans to arrive early to avoid rush-hour traffic and the thousands of Formula One fans expected for the walkabout. Two of the Speedway's gates will open to the public for the pit walkabout: Gate 2, the Speedway's main gate and tunnel located on 16th Street, and Gate 7, located on Georgetown Road several hundred yards south of the Speedway oval's Turn 4. Both gates are equipped for automobile and pedestrian traffic.

.Traffic tips and parking: Pit walkabout customers driving into the Speedway from north and west of the track are encouraged to enter the grounds via Gate 7, off Georgetown Road, because cars traveling east on 16th Street toward downtown Indianapolis will not be permitted to make a left turn into Gate 2. Gate 2 will be open only to cars traveling west on 16th Street that can make a right turn into the gate.

Free parking will be available in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield, accessible from either Gate 2 or Gate 7.

The complete USGP pit walkabout schedule (all times EST/local):

Time
Activity

7 a.m.
Public Gates open; Car corral opens along 6th Street in infield (just northeast of Pagoda Plaza)

8 a.m.
Pit lane opens, walkabout begins; Hall of Fame Museum opens

9-9:45 a.m.
Living Proof plays at the Pagoda Plaza Stage

10-10:50 a.m.
Speed Channel show, featuring Speed Channel Formula One broadcast personalities Bob Varsha, Steve Matchett, David Hobbs interviewing current and former F1 drivers

11 a.m.-noon
Autograph session at Plaza Stage with former F1 drivers Phil Hill, Mario Andretti, Danny Sullivan, Derek Daly, Eddie Cheever Jr. and Stefan Johansson

Noon
Pit walkabout concludes; pit lane restricted
Living Proof plays on Plaza Stage (noon-1 p.m.)

2 p.m.
Plaza Café, concessions in Pagoda Plaza close

30% loss? wow.

So here's the million dollar question. (As in "How much is your hearing worth to you?" lol)

Do you think some of those foamly ear plugs will be enough? Or does one go all out and get a "headset" which cancels out the noise?

I ask as I'll be there Friday-Sunday.
//begins salivating in anticipation. (!!)

Gonna be there Thursday-Sunday, I'll be sure to take plenty of pics for you guys of the cars in the pits. Anyone going to the Gathering of the Ferraris?

earplugs don't do much.. but they help, its still really loud with a full headset.

I wish, and i mean wish i could have made it to the canadian gp, or the usgp. I will try and watch it on tv.

I will use foam earplugs on Friday. They do help. On Sunday I'll have a scanner and the headset really blocks out noise. However for the start, no headset. Don't want to miss that sound, its unbelievable.

For the best/closest pictures position yourself at pit out. There are grandstands there and walkway infront of them. Its just north of the victory podium. Cars will come up to the the pit exit and stop, rev their engines and practice their launch. YOu could be as close as 10-15 feet. For F1 that is incredible. For this you will need maximum ear protection. Or you will suffer the same fate as I. Felt like stilletos were piecing my ears.

BTW - the weather looks great except for light rain on Sat. which always make it more interesting. :D

Hope its better then last years weather, i froze my ass off. I also like the infield for pictures, there are a few good spots when you walk around.

USGP Photos

If you guys wanna browse and look around there you can, I've only got the pit walkabout photos from thursday. More pics will be added later as I get them in. Enjoy!

GO SATO!

DIE SHOE-MAKER!

How many laps before his Honda becomes a mosquito fogger?

When Sato is the only thing exciting in the race, look for that fogger to blow, guaranteed. Sad.

True, maybe he'll gets Button Honda for the race. I'm sitting at turn 1. Should be interesting.

I am soooooo pumped up for this. Weather will be perfect. I love it.

Ferrari's come out on top. Satop picks up third today, so I am happy about that. I didn't even catch it on tv, but ile try and catch the hilights.

Wow, Montoya got DQ'ed, I'm surprised that announcement came out so early. Good to hear the Ralf is okay, amazing that someone can come away from such a hard lick like that. Alonso just got some bad luck there. Anyways, Schumacher won his eighth race this year, but Barrichello is lurking back in the points, this could get very interesting if Schumacher runs into some trouble somewhere.

I don't see Michael running into trouble. He's just too good and the team is nearly at his level now. And the Ferrari's look to be bullet proof. He could run the table for the rest of the schedule. Might make for a 'boring' season, but we are watching the master of our times.

Am I the only one that was really pissed off at how long it took to get any safety personnell to Ralf Schumacher's car? Turns out he was just bruised, but what if it was something more serious? If CART had taken that long to get to Alex Zanardi, he would be dead right now, without a doubt. That was a disgusting display of incompetence. Ferrari can spend 9 figures on their team, but the FIA doesnt have a decent traveling safety crew? give me a break.

And that DQ of Montoya sounds like a pretty stupid rule to me, though its very much like F1. All in all, that race was pretty unsatifying, except for Sato getting a nice finish.

True, especuially since he is Ferrari's No.1 driver and Barchello has a "cease and desist" clause in his contract.

Frankly, Schumacher is the greatest driver today, perhaps ever, but he's a poor champion. If he truly does believe he's the best, then he should be able to prove it. Back in the day, you drove against the field AND your teammate.

This is exactly why I DON'T like scumi. I'm impressed by the way he's built that team up around him, but unimpressed by the way he forces things to go his way only within the team. On the one hand I feel sorry for Barrichello, but on the other not so much, as nobody forced him to sign on the dotted line.

Oh and archer, it seems you photo page is Page Not Found....?

I wound up taking over 1GB of photos over the 3 day weekend. An awe-inspiring event.

As far as my first F1 race is concerned, I'm just simply blown away. Perhaps the most awesome spectacle of car performance I've ever seen. TV simply does not do justice to the actual speed these cars travel at. For both rounds of qualifying myself and the wife sat at the turn one area, and the braking point was just incredible. The fastest guys were braking AFTER the 100 meter mark. That's from over 200mph. Not much distance to scrub off that much speed. Plus, once they entered the corner, no speed was scrubbed off. Their overall corner speed was just simply amazing.

And don't get me started on the sounds. Again, TV does not do it justice. Just to give you an idea, one car doing a practice start is enough to vibrate the grandstands next to pit lane. I've been going to races all my life, and I've never had to wear earplugs before. Here I had to buy and wear some. The sound is just immense. Plus there are sounds that TV doesn't pick up that well, like the backfiring of the engine as the car brakes for the corner. I didn't realize that an F1 car backfires as much as they do until I heard it in person.

Overall, it was just an awesome experience. Just amazing. If you are even a little interested in F1, you must see it in person. You don't know what you're missing if you don't.

Saw last years race but missed this one. I will for sure be there next year. The comments about Ralf's accident are right on. He sat there for over 3 minutes. Good thing there was no sparks.

What you are hearing is the traction control on the cars, that's one of the reasons why these guys can brake after the 100 meter mark. The albums should be working, I don't know why they wouldn't, all of them are saved as public albums. Try it again and PM me if there are any problems.

Electronic traction control has nothing to do with braking. It controls wheel slip under acceleration. ABS (anti-lock braking systems, which is silent...) used to be used, but has been banned this year I think.

cartmen, any chance you will be posting some of the photos you took? Sounds like it was a great time.

The traction control also this year only can work at speeds above 80kph. (or something to that effect)

Also, i hope you guys stood on the pedestrian bridge in the infield as the cars went past underneath, whole thing rattles like its going to fall down.

The first USGP, they were not running traction control. the sounds were amazing. All kinds of noices that I was not especting. The whine of the dears, backfiring when they lifted. Just amazing.

ummm, perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't think so. Traction control has a distinctly different sound than backfiring. The cars were popping very loudly when braking, and a loud pop is not the sound of traction control. It's more dull sounding, a more subdued(sp?) sound.

And I think the reason they brake so late is because of the brake technology. I merely stated what I did because it's much more impressive to see it in real life than on TV.

*edit* and oh yeah, your album is working again. nice pics, thanks for sharing!

clowns got it right me thinks.

Well, I had finals on monday and tuesday, so I haven't even had time to go through all the pics I have yet. With over 700 pics, it'll take some time. I'll post the best ones once I find them! lol

Wheee, that was a good day for brain farts, I thought you were talking about the sort of crunching sound when some of the cars went by. You are correct sir, tho I don't think it's necessarily the engine backfiring as it is changing tempo due to downshifting. Anyways, glad to hear the pics are working again, if it gives you any more trouble, again, PM me, and I'll go smack around Yahoo Photos for a little bit, that is unless of course one of you guys wishes to host my photos then I can get them on the Tilted Photography board.