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In 2016, some South Boston waterfront drivers will ignore any traffic signals they see and slam on their accelerators
By adamg on Thu, 05/21/2015 - 7:15pm
The speediest of them all will take home cash prizes. The Verizon IndyCar Series today announced a race along the roads of the waterfront and Fort Point over Labor Day weekend in 2016:
The Grand Prix of Boston will feature an 11-turn, 2.25-mile temporary street course winding around the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in the Seaport District. The event will mark the first time an Indy car race has been contested in the area.
The races will then become an annual event at least through 2020.
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Comments
Harumph!
Capital idea! As long as it's in that dreadful South Boston waterfront, and far away from Dover!
Odd choice of track
Seaport Blvd would seem like a better option from a spectator perspective.
I'd rather see it on Beacham Street in Everett
That would be a truly challenging course.
This is AWESOME! I've been
This is AWESOME! I've been hoping for this for AWHILE ... My boys and I travel to see Indy and NASCAR races across the country each year somewhere new. Now, we can just walk from our Dot apt to the race!
Indy cars?
I confess that I haven't been following motor sports for a long time, but when did Indy cars become capable of right turns? Last I knew, they were built to go straight and turn left at high speeds, because of the oval-track thing.
You might be thinking of NASCAR...
I've never watched either, but I bet IndyCar races are awesome in person.
http://racing.quickenloans.com/fanzone/infographics/nascar-vs-indycar/
No
I'm not thinking of NASCAR. Indianapolis Motor Speedway was an oval, for most of its existence. AFAIK, the Indy 500 is still left-turn only. I don't know about other events on the Indy car circuit.
Yes, left turn only on oval tracks
But the same cars can have the right turn unlocked for street racing, and have been doing just that for several years. But you are absolutely correct about the Indianapolis 500. There's just enough play on the right side of the wheel to enable outside passing, but aside from that, it's all focused on turning to the left.
IndyCar
There is the very interesting, and non-oval, Barber track in Alabama. It has already happened this year but it can be the best IndyCar race you'll ever see. Yes, Indy 500 is still oval but the track is very challenging with banking. Correct set-up and speed are what to look for there, along with great driving. The interior space at Indy still has a convoluted track but it is never used in the 500.
Although I'm primarily an F1 fan, I'm thrilled that IndyCar is coming to Boston. If you want to see a fabulous street track watch the Formula 1 Monoco GP this Sunday morning at 8:00AM on NBC or NBCSN or CNBC, Ch.7, Ch.62, Ch.38, respectively. It will be run live on Ch.7 but rerun later on Ch.62.
IndyCar
When Monoco is over, flip over to ABC for the Indy 500 at 11:00AM.
IndyCar
http://www.indycar.com/News/2015/05/5-21-INDYCAR-announces-Labor-Day-201...
shut down the Silver Line for the duration?
Seems like that would be necessary .. and not a good idea at a time when many college students are arriving at Logan.
We Have A Blue Line!
Can't do the Silver Line? Up Yours Caleb, Welcome to Boston. Have a great 4 years.
As an alternate route, can we have the drivers just try to navigate Broadway around 11 on a Saturday morning? That will make LeMans look like go carts.
will Government Center station be open by then?
Without the Green Line transfer at GC, the Blue LIne is not a very useful way to get to or from Logan.
Yes. GC will reopen by March
Yes. GC will reopen by March 2016.
Unless it snows
Then it will.open in time for the olympics. Maybe.
Thats part of the attraction
Silverline waits for the cars to pass, then makes a mad dash to the other side.
Seats close to the crossing cost more.
Silver Line
I would presume they'd want to keep the Silver Line open so people can get there to watch.
Why does Marty J. Walsh hate
Why does Marty J. Walsh hate us?
Interesting if that's the
Interesting if that's the actual course.
Different portions are jurisdiction of the City, the State, MassPort, and the Convention Center Authority.
Detail dough
Does the Convention Center also have its own police force that can get in on the Detail action?
Yes they do
Their public safety security staff!!!!
Verizon
We can get an Indy car race in Boston but we cant get FIOS. Why doesn't the Mayor work on this?
Honestly, I think we're at
Honestly, I think we're at the point where Verizon can see a pile of cash and won't bother hooking up Boston. Verizon just don't want to be in the FiOS game. When the old CEO push to be that company, their were rewarded with seeing their stocks plummeted - all the tax incentives and profits from it regardless (apparently shareholders view they could have larger profits spending money in other stuff). The CEO replacing have shown every sign to listen to that message.
I don't know why people here are bringing up Verizon for a car race. His ability to get a race pretty much have no bearing on Verizion as it I suspect it have nothing to do with his negotiation skills or effort to pull strings.
Read the article
It's the Verizon Indy car Race Series, not the Comcast Race.
Okay I f-ed up
Now I see why Verizon got mentioned. I didn't click and read the article because I thought it was just noting that it's coming with some additional announcement information. I didn't realize this race was sponsored by Verizon.
While I don't think, now aware, that bringing a race that happen to be sponsored by Verizon (baring they do more with Indy that just giving their name) have a truly meaningful connection to bring Fios, I should have fully read the article and see the connection why it was mentioned.
Now THIS will make you world class.
The Olympics are a disaster.
A regularly scheduled Gran Prix would put you on par with Monte Carlo sans gambling of course.
I'm dead serious. This is a fantastic idea.
This is a cool idea and the
This is a cool idea and the kind of large scale event I'm all for Boston hosting. People poo-pooing it are playing into the exact stereotype of Bostonians that Shirley Leung is putting out there today. Not everything is horrible, some things are fun and minimally disruptive to normal lives. This is not the Olympics.
Does a world class city
not deserve Formula 1?
How do they prevent a crash
How do they prevent a crash from doing serious damage to city property or a building along the course? Line the whole course with jersey barriers?
Yep
That's what they did in Baltimore (and everywhere else, as far as I know):
Baby steps
towards being able to host an Olympics some day.
No bike lanes?
I'll pass. No pun intended.
This is a joke, Right?
n/t
This sounds dreadful
I'd love to know how far away one has to be not to have to hear it.
Your idea of a pleasant labor
Your idea of a pleasant labor day isn't smelling burnt rubber, inhaling gas fumes and hearing ridiculously loud cars?
Sucks for people who live there.
No
I live there, and I think it's going to be awesome.
Me too!
I'm 100% excited. And I live, as the crow flies, 4200 feet from the finish.
Same here...
I live here and it is going to be cool!
Boston is getting better and better everyday!
World Class City status is not far away!
- The Original SoBo Yuppie
More than 5 miles, I suspect
My wife's parents lived 6-7 miles from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconisn -- and one could often hear the races, especially if the wind was blowing in the right direction.
My sister is 8 miles from the
My sister is 8 miles from the track in Loudon NH and we can hear engines loud & clear if the wind is right.
Since the course will be set
Since the course will be set up anyway, it would be great something else as well, like a hydrogen fuel cell car race.
That being the Innovation District™ & all, ya know.
How about a bike race there, too?
I'd suggest opening the
I'd suggest opening the course the day before - Segways, pedcabs, duck boats, MBTA bus roadeo winners, Uber versus medallion races...
How about a Formula E race
For electric race cars?
Prediction
I predict the 1st IndyCar race to have a wreck caused by a wild turkey.
No, this is too far away from Brookline
The area around the BCEC must
The area around the BCEC must be pretty desolate if they can stage an auto race down there. Just a fantasy, but wouldn't it be great if they could incorporate the Big Dig tunnel in into the circuit, a la Monaco?
Tunnel
Part of the planned course involve a tunnel section under the Westin Waterfront and past the lower level of the BCEC.
If the course is going counter-clockwise, then the tunnel section is where it turns left off of D Street onto Fargo Street.
Yes, granted, not as cool as the Big Dig tunnel, but still an underground section.
As for desolation, yes a lot of the area near the course is relatively empty. For many years the BCEC sat in the middle of a concrete desert. But I have to wonder what the folks who bought into all those brand new, almost complete condos springing up like weeds on D Street think of this.
Because nothing else happens on Labor Day
Hotels aren't used for parents of incoming students, roads aren't full of moving vans...
If I had to think of the one time of year that would be best (worst) for the area to be already near capacity in order to add an auto race on the streets of the city, it'd be Labor Day.
What's the matter? A July 4th race down Storrow past the Hatch Shell didn't work into the circuit's schedule instead?
Boston Calliing music festival
isn't the fall edition of that on Labor Day weekend?
Boy am I glad I don't ever
Boy am I glad I don't ever have any need to go to the Waterfront.
Holy cats! Observations about that course:
* It uses a tunnel section UNDER the convention center
* It involves two at-grade railroad crossings
* At least that section of Cypher Street behind the BECE will get the repaving it so desperately needs. Because there's no way in hell you can go above 10 miles and hour on the current pavement.