Detroit Indy Grand Prix
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| Venue | Belle Isle |
| Corporate sponsor | TBA |
| First race | 1982 |
| First IRL race | 2007 |
| Distance | 188.64 miles |
| Number of laps | 90 |
| Previous names | United States Grand Prix East (1982, 1984)
United States Grand Prix (1983, 1985-1988) Valvoline Detroit Grand Prix (1989-1991) ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit (1992-1998) Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit (1999-2001) |
The Detroit Indy Grand Prix is an Indy Racing League Indycar Series race held at The Raceway on Belle Isle in Detroit. Open wheel racing in Detroit dates back to the 1920's-1950's, when AAA held the Detroit 100 at the Michigan State Fairgrounds.
The current race has its origins dating back to 1982 when it was a Formula One World Championship event held on the Detroit street circuit encompassing the Renaissance Center. The original circuit was 2.493 miles with seventeen corners, and proved to be even slower than Monaco. The rough, demanding, course even included a railroad track crossing. For 1989, the race was planned to be moved to Belle Isle, a city park in the Detroit River, but an agreement could not be established. Instead, in 1989 Formula One left Detroit permanently, and the U.S. Grand Prix moved to Phoenix.
For 1989, the race in Detroit was replaced by a CART event. Instead of moving the race, CART utilized a slightly modified version of the street circuit, eliminating the chicane on the main straight. The race was held on this 2.52 mile layout for three years. Beginning in 1992, the race was moved to the previously planned temporary course on Belle Isle. The first layout measured 2.1 miles. In 1998, the layout was changed to 2.346 miles.
Even though the track was a temporary street course, it became known as The Raceway on Belle Isle. It was widely criticied for its narrowness, poor access, and its overall uncompetitive nature. Participants also disliked the facility because of its lack of paved areas for support activities. Paddock areas were often muddy and unable to accommodate the teams. After 2001, CART chose to drop the race from the schedule.
In 2006, Roger Penske spearheaded talks to revive the race for 2007 as part of the Indy Racing League. Penske had recently experienced tremendous success as head of the Super Bowl XL Detroit Metro Host Committee. On September 29, 2006, it was announced that the Detroit Indy Grand Prix would return as the penultimate race of the 2007 Indy Racing League schedule. The American Le Mans Series will serve as a support race.
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[edit] Past winners
[edit] AAA Championship history (Michigan State Fairgrounds)
- 1928 Ray Keech
- 1929 Cliff Woodbury
- 1930 Wilbur Shaw
- 1931 Louis Meyer
- 1932 Bob Carey
- 1932 Mauri Rose
- 1933 Bill Cummings
- 1949 Tony Bettenhausen
- 1950 Henry Banks
- 1951 Paul Russo
- 1952 Bill Vukovich
- 1953 Rodger Ward
- 1957 Jimmy Bryan
[edit] Formula One history (Renaissance Center)
| Year | Date | Driver | Constructor | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | June 6 |  John Watson |
McLaren-Ford | Report |
| 1983 | June 5 |  Michele Alboreto |
Tyrrell-Ford | Report |
| 1984 | June 24 |  Nelson Piquet |
Brabham-BMW | Report |
| 1985 | June 25 |  Keke Rosberg |
Williams-Honda | Report |
| 1986 | June 22 | Ayrton Senna |
Lotus-Renault | Report |
| 1987 | June 21 | Ayrton Senna |
Lotus-Honda | Report |
| 1988 | June 19 | Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda | Report |
[edit] Champ Car history
[edit] IRL Indycar Series history
| Season | Date | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | September 2 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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