Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Barber Still Wants a GP had discussions with numerous people and came away thinking, "It was just a very impressive show," Hallman said. At the moment, Hallman said, they're "in the wait-and-see mode. We just occa- sionally have dialogue with Dorna and tell them that we're alive and well. [The year] 2008 is the earliest there could be dual GPs in this country. A lot of things will happen between then and now that will ultimately affect our decision on whether we. want to make an offer or not. Fitting into Dorna's calendar and making sure the manufacturers are okay with it, those are big questions that have to be answered. Dorna has indicated to us that they're wiliing to discuss it. They've made no guaran- tees that it could happen, but they've not ruled it out either." As for World Superbike, Hallman isn't interested. "Currently, we're not exploring World Superbike," he said. He added that no one from World Superbike had ever approached Barber "We're pleased with the AMA series that's currently coming to Barber Motorsports Park," he said. "We had our most successful one of the three that we've arber Motorsports Park has not given up on hosting a U.S. GP - and they're not talking about replacing the Red Bull U.S. GP at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. They believe that the United States is big enough for two GPs. That was the assessment from Gene Hallman, president and CEO of the Bruno Event Team, which holds the promotional rights for the Barber track. "The best way to characterize it is that vi need it's the thing for us to do yet. We're continuing a dialogue with Doma. They have a three-year exclusivity with Laguna Seca for a GP in this country. We recognize that. Beyond that, we would like to keep the lines we want to keep it as a possible option for discussion with Dorna," Hallman said in a evolve, and Barber wants to make sure it's B telephone interview on Monday, July 18. "This year was a tremendous success from a spectator and crowd standpoint for Laguna Seca, and I think possibly this country could support two GPs. We're not con- "But it's magnificent, the GP is," he con- tinued. "Dorna has done a fantastic job with it, and Laguna Seca did a fantastic job this year. The crowds were tremendous. I'm sure the manufacturers were happy. It's of communication open." something that we want to continue to con- The Barber Motorsports Park was visited repeatedly by members of both Dorna (the GP rights-holders) and the FIM throughout sider. The Barber Park, we're very proud of. We think it would set itself up well for a GP. We would have to rethink the model completely in terms of how we stage things. The folks of the FIM have been in numerous times over the past four or five years. They say that we would have to do very little from a safety standpoint to homologate the facility." Hallman said a number of Brno event team staff members attended the Red Bull U.S. GP. The group took copiOUS photos and its planning and construction. But the stan- dards for a GP track and facility continue to ready. "We'll continue to look at what they require," Hallman said. "What we would have to do with our facility to bring it up to GP standards and continue to look at the economics of the business deal itself. Road America Wanting More It's unlikely that Road America will host a World Championship event in 2006, but it hopes to in the near future, according to a track official. George Bruggenthies, Road America's president and general manager, said the timetable was too tight to design and complete track upgrades for 2006. The first step is a visit from FIM safety director Claude Danis, and that isn't possible until November, though Bruggenthies is hoping for sooner. 10 JULY 27, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS "We're still hoping to maybe get an earlier inspection than that," Bruggenthies said from Road America on Monday, July 18. "We don't know. That's all we know at this time." Danis hasn't seen "The Bend," a chicane just past the Carousel that wasn't in place the last time he visited several years ago. Bruggenthies would also like Danis' opinion on changing the area under the Billy Mitchell Bridge, the sweeping uphill left with little runoff. "We have some ideas about correcting the Mitchell Bridge, and we want to get input on those construction plans." Bruggenthies said. ':.\gain, these are design plans and concepts for creating a safer entry underneath the bridge, so we were looking for input on that. That was the purpose of the visit," The design and financing of the construction has to be approved by the racetrack's board. "We haven't made any decisions," he said. "There was a presentation. We've got another one. We have not decided anything as to which path to go. Again, we don't want to had this past year. Our crowds were the best they've ever been, despite the fact that it was rather cold. We're pleased with AMA right now until we ultimately make this decision about whether we do MotoGP or not." The Barber track aggressively pursued a MotoGP for the past few years. Hallman realizes it was premature. "In retrospect, we're satisfied with the way things worked out, and the fact that we have an opportunity to continue to finetune our facility, to continue to mature our facility before we possibly undertake something as large as MotoGp," he said, "Looking back on it now, I don't think we would have been ready for MotoGP in the first couple of years of operation for this facility. A GP is just so complex and large that we would not have been able to do it to the standard to which we aspire." Henny Ray Abrams make an incorrect decision. We're looking for more input and researching all our options. There are many things that we can do there Of remove it all together and do something else." If Danis doesn't visit before November, it would hinder construction once winter sets in. It wouldn't hinder so much the grading and detail work but more the paving. "The paving certainly would have to be done in November or in the spring," Bruggenthies said. "Even schedulewise, that timing is soon. For '06, I think that's a pretty good long shot." The changes are being made to prepare

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