Grand Prix of Cleveland
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The Grand Prix of Cleveland is an event of the Champ Car World Series, held annually at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2006 race, held on June 25, marked the 25th anniversary of the event.
Normally a fully-functioning airport year-round, Burke Lakefront is shut down for the week leading up to the event each year, requiring careful maintenance of the runways in order to keep them safe for cars at high speeds. Even so, drivers regularly note the race is one of the toughest to drive in the Champ Car series as the track, designed for aircraft and not lightweight race cars, makes for a bumpy ride where grip is paramount.
No other airport in the United States hosts such an event, making the Grand Prix of Cleveland unique in all forms of American motorsport.
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[edit] History
Originally known as the Budweiser Cleveland 500, it was first held on July 4, 1982 as part of the CART series. Kevin Cogan started from pole position, however to the delight of the Cleveland crowd, local driver Bobby Rahal (from nearby Medina) won the race.
The event's name has changed several times over the years to reflect naming rights sponsors of the race, however from 1984 the event has been principally known as the Cleveland Grand Prix. The name was switched around in 1992 to Grand Prix of Cleveland and has remained the same since.
Budweiser retained naming rights through 1994. Cleveland-based pharmacy chain Medic Drug owned the rights from 1995 to 1999, Marconi (now Telent plc) from 2000 to 2002, and US Bank has owned them since 2003. The full name of the 2006 event is Grand Prix of Cleveland presented by US Bank.
On June 29, 1999, it was announced that the race would switch alliances and become an event on the Indy Racing League schedule for 2000. The original course layout would be transformed into an oval configuation approximately 1.2 miles in length. A three-year initial contract was signed. Weeks later, however, it was determined that construction necessary for the oval configuration would require FAA approval, and the improvements the city deemed excessive and not enhancing to the airport. On September 9, 1999, Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White announced he was withdrawing his support of the event. In 2000, the race returned as a Champ Car event on the original course.
2005 marked the very first year for the Face of Champ Car competition and Sarah Blanton was chosen as the very first Miss Grand Prix of Cleveland. Sarah went to Mexico city to compete against 5 other finalist for the title of Face of Champ Car for 2006.
Skylar Starks is Miss Cleveland Grand Prix 2006. She is the first African American in the world to win this title.
[edit] Past winners
[edit] 2006: 25th anniversary
The 25th running of the Grand Prix of Cleveland was held in June, 2006. As well as the Champ Car race, scheduled support events include Champ Car Atlantic, Formula Ford 2000 and Touring Challenge for Corvettes. It was commemorated by a painting of memorable grand prix events, with the background being every winning car entering the first turn.
[edit] External links
- Grand Prix of Cleveland official website
- Champ Car official website information on Grand Prix of Cleveland
| 2006 Champ Car World Series | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newman/Haas | Forsythe | CTE-HVM | Australia | PKV | Rocketsports | RuSPORT | Coyne | Conquest | |
| 1 Bourdais 2 Junqueira |
3 Tracy 7 Rice |
4 Philippe 14 Clarke |
5 Power 15 Tagliani |
6 Servia 20 Legge |
8 Dominguez 18 Pizzonia |
9 Wilson 10 Briscoe |
11 Heylen 19 Wirth |
27 Ranger 34 Zwolsman |
|
| Long Beach - Houston - Monterrey - Milwaukee - Portland - Cleveland - Toronto - Edmonton - San Jose - Denver - Montreal - Road America - Surfers Paradise - Mexico City | |||||||||
| Tracks of the Champ Car World Series |
|---|
| Current Tracks (2007)
Assen (TBC) • Cleveland • Denver • Edmonton • Houston • Las Vegas • Long Beach • Mexico City • Mont-Tremblant • Oschersleben (TBC) • Phoenix • Portland • Road America • San Jose • Surfers Paradise • Toronto • Zhuhai Former Tracks (Ovals) Former Tracks (Road Courses) Former Tracks (International) |
| Tracks of IROC |
|---|
| Current Tracks Daytona International Speedway • Texas Motor Speedway • Atlanta Motor Speedway Former Tracks |
