IndyCar’s 2013 Schedule Revealed

The 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule has finally been released, revealing what promises to be a thrilling 19 race season. Once again, the season will kick-off around the streets of St. Petersburg, before culminating with another 500-mile night race at the Auto Club Speedway at Fontana.

Fourteen of the fifteen venues which hosted races in 2012 will return next season, with the re-introduction of the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway and the race around the streets of Houston. With the loss of Edmonton on next year’s calendar, only two races will take place outside the United States, with the race around the streets of Sao Paulo in Brazil and Toronto in Canada. A new introduction for the 2013 season will be the full-distance doubleheaders which will take place on three street courses throughout the year, which will see races on both the Saturday and the Sunday of the relevant weekends. Rules regarding qualifying for these doubleheader weekends will be released at a later date.

The 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place on May 26th, and is once again billed as the crown-jewel of the IZOD IndyCar Series calendar. Pole Day for this legendary race is scheduled for May 18th. Once the Indy 500 has been completed, the Series will move swiftly on to Detroit for the first of the three doubleheader weekends, before IndyCar visits four ovals in succession with races at the Texas Motor Speedway, The Milwaukee Mile, the Iowa Speedway and the Pocono Raceway.

Once again the Series will visit regular street and road course venues at Barber, Long Beach, Mid-Ohio, Sonoma and Baltimore, before the penultimate race weekend in early October at the Reliant Park in Houston, Texas. From there, the season will once again come to what will undoubtedly be an enthralling conclusion around the daunting 2-mile D-shaped oval at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.

“We are proud of the on-track product we provided in 2012,” explained IndyCar’s CEO, Randy Bernard. “From the drivers to the new car, we demonstrated that the IZOD IndyCar Series is showcasing the best racing in the world. It is important to provide opportunities to generate additional exposure for our sport by expanding our racing schedule, and we feel that our 2013 schedule will certainly challenge the fastest, most versatile drivers in the world with a strong mix of ovals and road and street courses, cumulating in 19 races.”

With the Pocono Raceway joining the likes of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Auto Club Speedway for the 2013 season, IndyCar have announced they will institute a Triple Crown award for a driver lucky enough to win all three races around these fabulous venues. The winner will received a whopping $1 million, with a driver that wins two of the three races instead being awarded $250,000.

“Our new events provide the right mix of strategically-located markets and historic tradition to our schedule.” Continued Randy Bernard, “Houston gives us exposure in another top-10 U.S. market. Pocono is deep in open-wheel, oval racing tradition and has produced some of the most memorable races in IndyCar history. The addition of Pocono allows us to bring back a version of the Triple Crown, restoring a popular legacy of our sport to reward the Champion of our three longest races of the season.”

Another new factor for IndyCar in 2013 will be the introduction of standing starts at Detroit, Toronto and Houston, the three doubleheader weekends. This form of starting a race is widely used throughout the rest of the world, particularly in Europe and with the likes of Formula 1.

“We want to create more exposure and content for our sport, and we feel this strong and diverse schedule along with the addition of doubleheader races will provide an opportunity to further showcase the skills and personalities of the IZOD IndyCar Series next season,” said Randy Bernard. “We look forward to watching Ryan Hunter-Reay defend his title, the second year of engine manufacturer competition and the best-of-the-best tackle this challenging schedule in 2013.”

The 2012 season was one of the most exciting in recent years, with Ryan Hunter-Reay and Will Power fighting right to the end at the Auto Club Speedway. With such a mouthwatering schedule for 2013, it’s unquestionable that such excitement will return once the new season begins in March at St. Petersburg.

2013 IndyCar schedule:

24 March     St Petersburg (street)
7 April      Barber (road)
21 April     Long Beach (street)
5 May        Sao Paulo (street)
26 May       Indianapolis 500 (oval, triple crown)
1 June       Detroit (street)
2 June       Detroit (street)
8 June       Texas (oval, night)
15 June      Milwaukee (oval)
23 June      Iowa (oval)
7 July       Pocono (oval, triple crown)
13 July      Toronto (street)
14 July      Toronto (street)
4 August     Mid-Ohio (road)
25 August    Sonoma (road)
1 September  Baltimore (street)
5 October    Houston (street)
6 October    Houston (street)
19 October   Fontana (oval, night, triple crown)

Picture Copyright © Getty Images

Edmonton Will Not Feature On 2013 IndyCar Schedule

The IZOD IndyCar Series will unfortunately not return to Edmonton next season, after the venue’s 2013 promoters pulled out. Next season’s race was scheduled to be the last of the current deal, however Canada will now only feature one IndyCar race in 2013 around the streets of Toronto.

The Edmonton race was first held as a ChampCar event back in 2005, however when ChampCar merged with IndyCar in 2008 the race continued to feature on the IndyCar schedule alongside Toronto. This year’s winner was Helio Castroneves for Penske, in what will be remembered as the final IndyCar race at Edmonton.

However, Randy Bernard does not think the loss Edmonton will prevent IndyCar from meeting the minimum requirement of 19 races scheduled for next season. If this amount is met, next season’s IZOD IndyCar Series would be the longest in the history of the Series since its inauguration in 1996.

“When we finalized our schedule for the upcoming 2013 season, it unfortunately did not include Edmonton,” explained IndyCar’s CEO, Randy Bernard. “We thank the city of Edmonton and all the fans for their support of the event over the last eight years. More importantly this has not affected our plans for a minimum of 19 races next season, and we remain optimistic that we will return to having two races in Canada as early as 2014. We anticipate announcing our full 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule [in] the first week of October.”

Whether a second IndyCar race in Canada will be around Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, or a return of the Vancouver Indy, next season will see Toronto as the only Canadian IndyCar race. The new schedule for next season will include the return of the Grand Prix of Houston, as well as rumored races at Michigan, Pocono and Portland amongst others.

Picture Copyright © Getty Images

No Mid-Season Test For 2013

Formula 1 teams have come to the agreement that another mid-season test next year will be not be planned, after agreeing to only hold only three pre-season tests at the usual venues of Barcelona and Jerez in Spain. This comes after several technical chiefs have calculated that enough running is completed during the pre-season tests.

Earlier this season the teams had the opportunity to partake in a mid-season test around the glorious Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello circuit in Northern Italy. The test was met with mixed feelings within the paddock, with some teams questioning the amount of money spent in comparison with the amount of benefits acquired during the Mugello test.

The teams have therefore come to the conclusion that there will be no repeat of this mid-season test next year, with some teams already prepared to open their 2013 preparations on February 5th at Jerez in Spain. The teams will then move swiftly on to two further tests at the popular testing venue in Barcelona, at the Circuit de Catalunya. The test sessions are scheduled to take place between February 19th-22nd, and February 28th-March 3rd. The teams will then head to the opening round of the 2013 season at Australia’s Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, which is currently scheduled for March 17th.

The dates for the 2013 calendar not currently set in stone, and therefore the dates for the opening race weekend in Australia could be rescheduled for an earlier or later date. If this eventuality occurs, then the teams will naturally be required to reschedule their testing plans in accordance with the opening race weekend.

Picture Copyright © Williams F1 Team

Milwaukee Mile Confirmed On IndyCar Series Calendar For 2012

The Milwaukee Mile has been confirmed on the 2012 IndyCar Series calendar, this comes after Michael Andretti’s Andretti Sports Marketing company completed a deal to promote to the 2012 race.

The race didn’t take place in 2010 due to difficulties regarding the payment of sanctioning fees, however for 2011 the race returned with limited success after low tickets sales. This therefore fueled the belief that the 2011 Milwaukee Mile would be a one off, and sure enough for 2012 the provisional calendar didn’t feature a visit to Milwaukee.

Initially IndyCar looked set to visit only four ovals in 2012 with the Indianapolis 500, the Texas Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway and the Auto Club Speedway, resulting in an IndyCar schedule which featured more road and street courses than ovals.

However that number is now set to increase to five as the Milwaukee Mile joins the list of remaining ovals still in IndyCar. The 2012 Milwaukee Mile will on the weekend of June 15-16, slotting in between the Firestone 550K from Texas and the Iowa Speedway race weekend, creating three weeks of back-to-back oval racing.

“It’s a historic track in a great city, and it’s a place that has always been a favorite for my family,” said Michael Andretti, whose company will be promoting the 2012 event, “But, more importantly, it’s an ideal track for IndyCars and always produces exciting racing for the fans.”

The 2012 IndyCar Series kicks off on March 25th with the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Formula 1 veteran Rubens Barrichello could well be on the grid, potentially racing for KV Racing Technology alongside good friend Tony Kanaan.

British Peers Call For FIA To Cancel Bahrain GP

Several peers and the leader of the Green Party have called for the FIA to cancel the planned Bahrain Grand Prix in April, after more civil unrest has rocked the Kingdom. With last years race cancelled after months of uncertainty, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights has also urged the FIA to rethink revisiting Bahrain this season.

Seven members in total of the UK House of Lords including the Green Party leader have written to The Times expressing their concern of the forthcoming race, becoming the latest in a long list of people who wish the FIA to cancel the race for second consecutive season.

The letter they sent read: “We note with concern the decision by Formula One to go ahead with the race in Bahrain scheduled for April. The continued political crisis in Bahrain is a troubling source of instability in the Gulf region, and the lack of any move towards political reconciliation concerns those who wish to see Bahrain move in the direction of greater democratic accountability. It was hoped the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) would provide a starting point for political reform which both government and opposition forces could agree upon. However, two months on we see an entrenchment of the positions of both sides which risks letting more extreme voices dictate the progress of the conflict. Given the current dire situation, with daily street protests and the deaths of more civilians, we do not believe that the time is right for Formula One to return to Bahrain.”

However, only last month 1996 World Champion Damon Hill returned from the Gulf after a visit with FIA President Jean Todt. Damon Hill stated how he was now keen on seeing Formula 1 return to Bahrain, after initially fully backing the cancelation of last years Bahrain Grand Prix. 

Whether the FIA will listen to the growing call for a second consecutive cancelation or not, time will tell. Lets just hope the correct decision is made, without any of last years uncertainty.

2012 Formula 1 Broadcasting Schedule Announced

After the announcement earlier today regarding the new Sky Sports F1 HD channel being launched in March, next seasons BBC/Sky broadcasting schedule has been announced. This comes after Sky and the BBC agreed to a new broadcasting deal from 2012 – 2018 that sees Sky show all 20 races live on their new channel whereas the BBC will show the full live broadcasts of only 10 races and delayed highlights of the others.

Today the BBC, who this weekend will broadcast their final race as the sole UK broadcasters of F1, announced which races they will broadcast live and in full next year. It is yet unknown who will commentate for the BBC or Sky however there are rumors that Sky have signed current BBC commentators’ Martin Brundle and David Croft for their coverage next season. 

The BBC will begin their live broadcasting of F1 next season with Round 3 of the Championship with the Chinese Grand Prix, followed by the Spanish, Monaco, European, British, Belgian, Singapore, Korean, Abu Dhabi and Brazilian Grands Prix. The BBC will also broadcast all the Qualifying and Practice sessions live from these particular events. When the BBC are not broadcasting live races, they will instead show delayed highlights of 90 minutes duration on BBC One and BBC One HD as well as 120 minutes worth of highlights for early morning races such as Japan and Australia. They will also broadcast a 75 minutes delayed highlights show of the Qualifying sessions with Practice sessions not receiving any form of highlights.

Sky Sports F1 HD, however, will broadcast all the Races, Qualifying sessions and Practice sessions live and will become the only channel in the UK where you will be able to watch every session of an F1 weekend live and in HD all year round. 

The 2012 Broadcasting Calendar in detail

Australian GP – Sky 
Malaysian GP – Sky 
Chinese GP – BBC & Sky
Bahrain GP – Sky 
Spanish GP – BBC & Sky
Monaco GP – BBC & Sky
Canadian GP – Sky 
European GP – BBC & Sky
British GP – BBC & Sky
German GP – Sky 
Hungarian GP – Sky 
Belgian GP – BBC & Sky
Italian GP – Sky
Singapore GP – BBC & Sky
Japanese GP – Sky
Korean GP – BBC & Sky
Indian GP – Sky 
Abu Dhabi GP – BBC & Sky
United States GP – Sky 
Brazilian GP – BBC & Sky