The article below is from Racefans.net. My concern is the length of time it took for him to get attention. If I’m encouraged by anything, it is that the doctor said he believes it is worth treating Zanardi. It may be at least 10 days before he comes out of the coma.
The link to the piece posted at 4 pm yesterday:
Photo from @CGRTteams Twitter account
Two time CART champion Alex Zanardi remains in “very serious” condition after an accident during a hand bike race yesterday in Italy. Zanardi collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction.
The two time CART champion underwent a nearly three hour surgery Friday night and was then moved to an ICU unit. The injuries were facial and neurological.
Zanardi lost both his legs in an accident in 2001 at Lausitzring in Germany during a CART race. His car spun on cold tires leaving the pits, and he was T-boned by a car at full speed. It was the first time a driver survived an accident involving the lower limbs being severed.
Zanardi become an Olympic champion in the paraOlympics, winning four gold medals in the hand bike events. He also did some car racing. In 2019 Zanardi drove a specially equipped BMW in the Rolex 24. He drove a brilliant stint during the early morning rainstorm.
Watch for updates this weekend.
My first trip to Lincoln Park Speedway won’t be my last. Watching Kyle Larson come from 15th to win his eighth straight dirt race was as great a drive as I’ve seen. he used the heat race and the B Main races to learn the track. Larson used the high line in turn four and drove an elliptical pattern, going low into turn one. The move allowed him to make passes easily. It was definitely the quickest way around the track.
Larson was in third by the halfway point of the 30 lap feature. A red flag for Jason McDougal’s flipped his car allowed him to get in position to take the lead soon after the restart. Larson and pole sitter Tanner Thorson had a great battle for the lead, swapping the point on lap 20. Larson took the lead for good on lap 22.
I was impressed by this track. It is a well maintained track with clean facilities. The program was very well organized. I liked the track exit and entry paths and the fact that the cars are push started off the track. It was nice not seeing trucks and cars on the racing surface as the midgets were warming up and getting pushed off.
I think turn 4 is one of the best corners I’ve seen on a dirt track.
The attendance was limited to 50% capacity, although it seemed to be a larger crowd than that. Very few people wore masks and distancing was a bit of an issue. Track officials stopped ticket sales as they approached 3,000.
Last night Iowa Speedway announced that fans would be allowed to attend the Indycar races July 17 and 18 at the Newton track.
The full announcement:
https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/90591962/posts/2764759036
Go to the track’s website and look at the FAQ for more information.
Limited ticket sales begin next Friday. I’m not sure what the limit is. Tickets already sold will be honored. There will be no paddock passes or fan walk passes.
This is a fair compromise and allows fans to see racing at one of the most fun tracks on the schedule. I’m not sure we can read anything into this regarding the Indianapolis 500 in August. The trend for the races allowing fans is no infield access. That may continue at Indianapolis.
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Road America is set to be the first NTT Indycar Series race of the season to welcome fans. The track held their June Sprints last weekend and used it as a trial run for the Indycar race. I just purchased my ticket last night. Fans are cautioned on the website:
WARNING – ENTER VENUE AT YOUR OWN RISK. FACILITY ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SPREAD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL SAFETY:
FOLLOW ALL CDC RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES.
PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING. PLEASE MAINTAIN SIX-FEET FROM ONE ANOTHER AT ALL TIMES.
AVOID TOUCHING YOUR EYES, NOSE AND MOUTH.
WEAR A CLOTH FACE COVERING OVER YOUR NOSE AND MOUTH (where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain).
UTILIZE HAND WASHING AND SANITIZING STATIONS REGULARLY.
WE ASK THAT YOU DO NOT ENTER IF YOU FEEL ILL, HAVE A FEVER OR COUGH, OR ARE SHORT OF BREATH.
WE ASK THAT YOU DO NOT ENTER IF YOU HAVE BEEN IN CLOSE PHYSICAL CONTACT WITHIN THE LAST 14 DAYS WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH COVID-19.
IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL HISTORY THAT PLACES YOU IN A HIGH-RISK CATEGORY FOR COVID-19, WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO NOT ENTER.
Even with these precautions in place, Road America cannot eliminate all risk associated with COVID-19. By choosing to make use of this facility, guests are assuming the risk that they may contract COVID-19 at the facility despite Road America’s best efforts to provide a clean and safe environment. By entering the facility, you are acknowledging that you are releasing the owner and all sanctioning/participating parties of liability.
I hope everyone complies and stays safe. Success at Road America may determine how many more races fans will be allowed to,watch in person the rest of the year.
More information on the track’s plans can be found in Marshall Pruett’s article in Racer magazine from yesterday. the link:
June Sprints success key to IndyCar fan welcome at Road America
From the piece, it sounds as if no decision has yet been made about whether the paddock will open to fans. I really don’t think it should be. Minimum contact contact needs to be the first rule of the weekend. If you’re upset about not having paddock access, remember you still get to see two races at Road America on the same weekend. I would trade paddock access for another race at any track.
Per Robin Miller from his “Mailbag” this morning, an announcement concerning the double header at Iowa will be coming Friday.
Floyd Clymer and motorsports grew up together. After a career as one of the pioneers of motorcycle racing, Clymer began publishing books and repair manuals for motorcycles and cars in his 20’s. He purchased the Indian motorcycle company in the early 1960s after an attempt to buy the company failed a few years earlier.
For me, his greatest publications were the annual Indianapolis 500 yearbooks published between 1946 and 1968. They are an in-depth analysis and record of each year’s race as well as a record of he first third of the Hulman ownership period. Sadly, the only one I have is the 1961 yearbook, pictured at the top of the article. It was a gift from Harry Hartz.
Parts of the yearbook are taken straight from the Official Speedway program. The program from the track is a nice souvenir, but the yearbooks delve deeper into the month of May. There are pages devoted to technology, a chronicle of each day during the month, extended driver profiles, and a record of each car’s pit stops during the race. The pit stop record tells the lap, time of the stop, and what work was done.
I appreciated the tribute page to Tony Bettenhausen, who was fatally injured the day before Pole Day while testing a car for Paul Russo.
It’s a shame there still isn’t a publication like this. Collecting these books will be my next project after I have obtained all the Speedway programs from 1946 until the present. The Clymer books are an invaluable archive of the months of May. It would be nice to bring a publication like this back.It is a great single source of virtually everything that occurred in each month of May.
Below are some photos from the 1961 yearbook.
As rstrictions for COVID-19 begin to lift, here is an update of where different tracks are on allowing fans. This information is current as of today. Things could change as each race approaches. If you have tickets to a certain track, keep an eye on your email from that venue.
Road America looks like it will be the first Indycar track to host fans for the REV Group Grand Prix doubleheader July 11 and 12. Their website now carries a warning that you enter the track at your own risk. Road America will not be held responsible for you contracting the virus at the track.
Iowa lists the Indycar doubleheader on July 17 and 18 but is not selling tickets.
Mid Ohio, Gateway, Portland , and Laguna Seca all have tickets for sale for their Indycar events.
The IMS website has no ticket information for the Harvest Grand Prix. Could they be waiting to see if the Indianapolis 500 runs in August?
What we know for sure is that fans can attend Road America and the Indianapolis 500 if it runs this year. I thought I thought I had heard that the state of Oregon had a ban on large gatherings through September 30, which would eliminate Portland for fans.
if you live near any of the scheduled Indycar tracks and can provide any additional information, I would love to hear from you so I can provide further updates.
Imagine the Indianapolis 500 with an Orwellian feel to it. Or looking like a scene out of A Wrinkle in Time. Nathan Brown of the Indianapolis Star published an article about those possibilities last night. It is worth a read. Find it here: https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/motor/2020/06/08/what-attending-indy-500-like-fans/5320149002/
I understand the idea, and I don’t know how realistic some of these things are. Eddie Gossage, president of Texas Motor Speedway, acknowledges that some of these ideas are far fetched. The concepts are about safe crowd movement during a pandemic, keeping groups as small as possible. It doesn’t address the part where people will be sitting close together to watch the race.
The main idea is an app that not only tells you which gate to enter, but also assigns a time to be at the gate; tells you when you may visit the concession stands or restrooms; and tells you when you may leave the stands after the race. I can buy small parts of this. On the back of each ticket, the Speedway has for years suggested that you enter the gate closest to your seat. I don’t have a problem with that. I don’t necessarily go into the track at that particular gate. Where I park has more to do with where I enter than where my seat is.
Some fans like to get to the track as early as possible while some like to get there late in an attempt to avoid the crowds. I don’t think fans will like being forced to alter their habits.
As for concessions and restrooms, an app can’t regulate your needs in these areas. An app that knows where your seat is and allows you to find the least busy food stand or restroom nearest your seat makes more sense. I’m sure the newly renovated restrooms are really nice looking, but I’ll make an appointment when I want a tour. I’ll go when I need to.
When the race is over, people flock to the exits. many don’t stay for the winner’s lap in the pace car. I can’t imagine forcing to stay up to an hour waiting for permission to leave. By the end of the race some fans have been in their seats close to five hours.
I wonder if a black market will develop where fans sell or trade their time slots. I’m not sure how that could be done. A scenario- i need to go to the restroom but my time slot is 40 minutes away. My neighbor has just entered his/her bathroom time. can we trade?
We all want to attend sporting events and concerts again. Venues have to insure the safety of their customers and take every reasonable precaution. Some of these concepts go a little beyond reasonable in my opinion.I hope some middle ground can be worked out. Who even knows if or when the race will even run this year?
The article also mentions some great new technology from NTT Data. I like the idea of the temperature scanning device. That is definitely a more efficient process than a staff member with a hand held thermometer. An alarm that sounds when a gate has too many fans there is also a good idea.
I concede this year more strict crowd control is needed. I agree that movement should be limited. I also believe that most fans understand this and will do what they need to in order to attend our beloved 500. I am always fearful of once controls are in place they tend to stay in place and get more strict. Race Day has always been one of the days of the year where I feel the freest. I could survive a year of some limits.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 