Will Power did the Penske company proud, and that wasn’t the only place Penske was on top. Kyle Kirkwood was on ice for most of the weekend but was still outstanding. The NASCAR Cup Series debuted at Gateway, and things boiled over. NASCAR’s second division debuted in Portland, and things were sloppy. There was heartbreak in Barcelona for a Spaniard and a Frenchman benefitted. Formula E visited a new city. A drought was ended in Italy. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.
Farewell Belle Isle
A decade ago, this trip was unimaginable.
Belle Isle for IndyCar? There were at least a dozen other desirable circuits. At a time when the series was tipping more road and street course heavy and still was not going to Road America and Watkins Glen, Belle Isle didn’t receive a warm welcome on its return. Frankly, its return was a disaster.
Chunks of pavement were flying up and hitting drivers in the head. The race was stopped and faced a lengthy red flag for track repairs. It was already a dull race and was shortened for everyone’s benefit. Of all the tracks IndyCar could have added in the debut season of the DW12 chassis, especially after a revolutionary Indianapolis 500 with two-mile Michigan International Speedway in the area, Belle Isle looked like the worst choice possible.
But Roger Penske learns from defeats. The Penske-promoted event turned into a gem, a ten-year success story. The track was re-paved and lengthened back to the 2.35-mile circuit. All the amenities around the grounds were updated. Firestone developed arguably the perfect tire compounds for degradation to allow for varied strategies, not to mention it was made into a doubleheader, giving IndyCar more track time a week after the Indianapolis 500.
Within a few seasons, the reputation flipped. Still a street course where overtaking was difficult, Belle Isle at least became a lively circuit. Passes were more than possible and happened somewhat regularly with the extended run to turn three. A car on worn tires couldn’t hold up the field. The race length encouraged teams to roll the dice and many benefitted from their gambles.
Yesterday alone saw Will Power win from 16th on the grid, in what was effectively a caution-free in dry conditions. Ten years ago, no one could have dreamt of that being an outcome at Belle Isle, but after a decade of dramatic results, Power’s drive was no longer unfathomable but rather probable with the right driver at the wheel. Power, a generational wonder, was more than up for the task.
Considering what we saw the last few years, IndyCar leaving is stunning. It has developed one of the best street circuits not only in the series but arguably the world. This isn’t the city pulling funding or sponsors withdrawing support and the race falling away. Belle Isle is disappearing because Chevrolet and IndyCar want to move the race downtown.
I get it. I spent time downtown this weekend. Detroit is an underrated city in terms of its aesthetic. Once the richest city in the world, its beauty and prestige remains on display. The concentration of restaurants and hotels has the downtown circuit in a walkable range for practical everyone who will visited the city. I will say for being downtown in the middle of the afternoon on Friday not much will be disrupted when the race comes to down.
This circuit will go pass the “Spirit of Detroit” and “The Fist” monuments. The Renaissance Center will tower over the circuit. There will be a surprising amount of elevation change from walking the circuit, but the biggest concern is it doesn’t look like a racy layout and many sections appear tighter than Belle Isle. Outside of the one hairpin, the rest of the circuit could be processional.
Leaving Belle Isle for a step back in terms of racing but hopeful for an increase of exposure to the city is a compromise the series, Chevrolet and the city hopes raises the profile of the event. It has been promoted that spectators will be able to view half the circuit free of charge. That is a questionable financial move, but running downtown will have more eyes on the race. While Belle Isle is a lovely location, it was a little removed from the heart of Detroit, and it wasn’t the easiest to attend. Most people were shuttled into the circuit, which is fine and didn’t take long at all, and while the line moved at a good pace, no one wants to wait 45 minutes to an hour in line to leave a race. That will not be a problem with a downtown race.
After all the years of watching Belle Isle, seeing the races developed into something wonderful but also noticing the beauty of the place, I had to visit it for myself and this was a now-or-never moment. I had to experience it and it lived up to the expectations. Everyone was in good mood and in Penske fashion, it was flawless. From the paddock to the spectating areas to the podium in front of the fountain, IndyCar couldn’t have had a better event.
The bar will be high for the downtown area, but worse case scenario, we can always return to the isle.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Will Power, but did you know...
The #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac of Sébastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande won the IMSA race from Belle Isle, its second victory of the season. The #17 Vasser Sullivan Lexus of Ben Barnicoat and Kyle Kirkwood won in the GTD class.
Linus Lundqvist swept the Indy Lights races from Belle Isle.
Fabio Quartararo won MotoGP's Catalunya Grand Prix, his second victory of the season. Celestino Vietti won the Moto2 race, his third victory of the season. Izan Guevara won the Moto3 race, his second victory of the season.
Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup race from Gateway, his second victory of the season. A.J. Allmendinger won the Grand National Series race from Portland, his second victory of the season. Corey Heim won the Truck race from Gateway, his second victory of the season.
Mitch Evans won the Jakarta ePrix, his third victory of the season.
The #71 Iron Lynx Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, Davide Rigon and Daniel Serra won the Circuit Paul Ricard 1000km.
Ott Tänak won the Rally d'Italia Sardegna.
Coming Up This Weekend
The 90th 24 Hours of Le Mans
IndyCar races at Road America.
Formula One is in Azerbaijan.
NASCAR has a round in Sonoma before its one off-weekend during the season.
World Superbike will be at Misano.
GT World Challenge America has a scheduled weekend at Virginia International Raceway.
World Touring Car Cup hopes the Goodyear tires hold up at the Hungaroring.
