Portal:Indianapolis/Sports/2
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The 2005 United States Grand Prix, was a Formula One motor race held on June 19, 2005 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Out of 20 cars entered for the race, only the six cars from the Bridgestone-shod teams (Ferrari, Minardi and Jordan) competed. The remaining fourteen entrants, all using Michelin tyres, retired after the parade lap due to safety concerns.
Following several tyre failures before the race, most spectacularly on Ralf Schumacher's Toyota during Friday practice, Michelin advised its seven customer teams that they could not safely race on the tyres provided for them. The FIA, the sport's governing body, refused to allow a chicane to be installed, maintaining that such rule changes would be grossly unfair to the Bridgestone-shod teams, who had come prepared with properly working tyres. The Michelin teams, unable to come to a compromise with the FIA, decided not to participate. The situation created enormous negative publicity for the sport of Formula One, especially in the United States, a market in which Formula One had struggled to establish itself over the preceding 20 years, leading some to label the race as Indygate.
