Grand Prix of Baltimore

The Grand Prix of Baltimore presented by SRT was an IndyCar Series and American Le Mans Series race for 3 years held on a street circuit in Baltimore, Maryland. The inaugural race was held on September 4, 2011.^[1] ESPN said it was the best inaugural street race in North America in the last 30 years.^[2] The races were contested on a temporary street circuit around the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore.^[3]

Baltimore Racing Development signed a multi-year contract with IndyCar and the City of Baltimore to organize the race; the city terminated its contract with BRD at the end of 2011 due to unpaid debts.^[4] On February 15, 2012, the city of Baltimore had entered into a five-year agreement with Downforce Racing to manage the race.^[5] However, Downforce failed to fulfill their obligations to the city. On May 10, 2012, Race On LLC and Andretti Sports Marketing, led by racing legend Michael Andretti, took over the organization and promotion of the event.^[6] Gregory O'Neill and J.P. Grant III own Race On LLC. On September 13, 2013, the promoters announced that they would not hold the race in 2014 or 2015 due to scheduling conflicts.^[7]

Circuit

The circuit is a 2.040 mi (3.283 km) temporary street circuit that is run in a clockwise direction, with the start-finish line located on Pratt Street, passing by various Baltimore landmarks, including the Baltimore Convention Center, the Inner Harbor, and Camden Yards.^[8] The cars travel east along Pratt Street to Light Street, where they turn right and travel south along the northbound lanes to the intersection between Light and Lee Streets. This forms the slowest corner on the circuit, a right-hand hairpin turn that leads the cars back north along Light Street's southbound lanes to Conway Street. The cars turn left here and head west along Conway Street to the Camden Station. They then navigate a chicane designed to slow the cars down before the pit entry — the circuit is unusual in that the pits are not located on the main straight — and turn left again. The cars circle Oriole Park at Camden Yards stadium to Russell Street, where they turn north once more. This short straight feeds into a pair of sweepers, right and then left, that lead to Pratt Street and the 0.5-mile (0.80-kilometre) long main straight. Finally, the cars navigate a temporary chicane at the junction of Pratt and Howard Streets as they cross train tracks.^[9]

Following the 2011 race, several drivers expressed the opinion that the temporary chicane on the main straight was unnecessary, and it was subsequently removed ahead of the 2012 race to increase entry speeds into the first corner. However, during the first practice sessions for the 2012 race, several drivers — including Simon Pagenaud and Oriol Servià — became airborne as they crossed the train tracks. IndyCar officials abandoned the practice session and reinstalled the temporary chicane.^[10]

Other changes for the 2012 race included the re-profiling of the chicane before the pit entry. In 2011, the circuit was narrowed to a single lane with several tight corners to force cars to slow down. This was simplified for 2012 and widened, slowing the cars down, but preventing the field from being forced through a bottleneck.^{[citation needed]}

Past winners

IndyCar Series

American Le Mans Series

Support races

Lap records

The unofficial all-time outright track record set during a race weekend is 1:17.5921, set by Will Power in a Dallara DW12 during qualifying for the 2012 Grand Prix of Baltimore.^[11] The fastest official race lap records at the Grand Prix of Baltimore are listed as:

Controversy

Along with the closing of the commercial center of downtown Baltimore for track preparation, trees were removed from city streets, spawning a court case.^[16] Also, Baltimore Brew identified $42,400 in campaign contributions over the preceding four years to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and other political officials from investors and businesses that stood to gain from the race being held.^[17]

After its inaugural run, it was reported that the race failed to bring as much economic activity to Baltimore as had been promised^[18] and that Baltimore Racing Development has had difficulties paying monies owed to local businesses^[19] and the state, the latter resulting in a $567,000 tax lien being filed.^[20] With Baltimore Racing Development $3 million in debt, including nearly $1.2 million owed to Baltimore City, the city terminated their contract with BRD at the end of 2011. This meant the race would only take place again if both the city and IndyCar approved a new organizer. IndyCar officials have expressed hope that a new organizer will be found.^[4] The city of Baltimore announced on February 10, 2012, that a five-year deal with race organizer Downforce Racing, LLC was being finalized and would be presented to the city Board of Estimates February 22.^[21] The new contract includes provisions such as a $3 per ticket surcharge for city services to reduce the risk of unpaid fees to the city.^[5]

References

1. ^ Lewandowski, Dave (June 2, 2010). "Series roars into Baltimore in 2011". IndyCar.com. Indy Racing League. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
2. ^ Oreovicz, John (September 5, 2011). "Baltimore embraces inaugural grand prix". ESPN. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
3. ^ "Baltimore Grand Prix Set For August 2011". WBAL-TV. June 2, 2010. Archived from the original on September 22, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
4. ^ McCorkell, Meghan (December 30, 2011). "City Of Baltimore Terminates Contract With Grand Prix Organizers". CBS Baltimore. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
5. ^ Scharper, Julie (February 15, 2012). "Baltimore to unveil new Grand Prix contract". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 15, 2012.^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Andretti to lead new Baltimore Grand Prix team". Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
7. ^ Dance, Scott (September 13, 2013). "Grand Prix of Baltimore canceled through 2015, and likely beyond". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on August 2, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
8. ^ Scharper, Julie (June 2, 2010). "Baltimore Grand Prix hailed as 'game-changer' for city". The Baltimore Sun. Archived June 7, 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
9. ^ {Dave Lewandowski | Published: Jul 30, 2012| title=Baltimore Grand Prix surprises veterans and first-timers | url=https://www.autoweek.com/racing/indycar/a1988451/baltimore-grand-prix-surprises-veterans-and-first-timers/}
10. ^ Pruett, Marshall (31 August 2012). "INDYCAR: Airborne Cars Halt Opening Baltimore Practice". SPEED TV. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
11. ^ "Baltimore". Retrieved 21 May 2022.
12. ^ "2012 Baltimore Indy Lights". Motor Sport Magazine. 2 September 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
13. ^ "Baltimore 2 Hours 2012". 2 September 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
14. ^ "2012 Indy Pro 2000 Baltimore (Race 2)". 2 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
15. ^ "2012 USF2000 Baltimore Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products - Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda - Final Race Report - Round 12". 2 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
16. ^ Schaffer, Christian. "Tree removal plan for Baltimore Grand Prix criticized". WMAR television. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
17. ^ Shen, Fern (August 25, 2011). "Grand Prix boosters race ahead with campaign contributions". Baltimore Brew
18. ^ Brumfield, Sarah. "AP Exclusive: Grand Prix short of projections". Bloomberg Business Week. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
19. ^ Furchgott, Roy (November 15, 2011). "Amid New Lawsuits, Prospects Weaken for 2012 Baltimore Grand Prix". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
20. ^ Jackson, Alexander (November 21, 2011). "Baltimore Grand Prix organizers hit with $600,000 tax lien". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
21. ^ Rawlings-Blake To Announce New Deal On Baltimore Grand Prix CBS Baltimore