Filed under: Motorsports, Safety
What else could Roger Penske say? As the promoter and most public face of the Detroit Grand Prix, what else could the man do besides promise that the miserable track surface will be fixed before next year's race? Oh yeah, he could have made sure that the Belle Isle circuit was properly prepared for last weekend's event, which most certainly did not happen.
What was supposed to be the triumphant return of open wheel racing to the streets of the Motor City turned into a near calamity - and a very public and high-profile reminder of the crumbling infrastructure in Detroit and the rest of cash-strapped Michigan - when synthetic rubber patching came loose from the road surface, delaying and shortening the race. Penske told Mlive.com that the race officials had anticipated the situation, but their pre-race preparation "wasn't enough," continuing to say that, "we'll address that in 2013."
According to the report, James Hinchcliffe, the driver that crashed after hitting a piece of debris from the crumbling road described the race as akin to "playing Russian Roulette." Penske was partial to another analogy, comparing the delayed race to a rain delayed baseball game.
Except that nobody needlessly risks their life when the grounds crew gets out the tarp.
Penske says racing surface "easy to fix" for 2013 Detroit Grand Prix originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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