Baltimore Grand Prix... Say what?

[Dattebayo]

http://www.indycar.com/schedule/show/55 ... rand-prix/

Yep. I was surprised to hear this was coming local enough to be there within 40 minutes... Maryland never gets anything cool like this.
I believe the pit or something is going to be right near where the Hooters is on Light Street... Meet-up anyone?

[bundy26]

Nice

Maryland never gets anything cool like this

You have the Orioles

[alms24sebring]

Wow I just saw this thread. Its not F1 but its something fun and close enough.

Holy crapola, Im going!

[Dattebayo]

See what I mean?

No one lives near MD and no one wats to go to cool things when they happen here. *sigh*

[hannibal]

Saw a commercial for this the other day.

Dave, I'm in!!

[Bubba1]

http://www.indycar.com/schedule/show/55 ... rand-prix/

Yep. I was surprised to hear this was coming local enough to be there within 40 minutes... Maryland never gets anything cool like this.
I believe the pit or something is going to be right near where the Hooters is on Light Street... Meet-up anyone?

I first heard about it back in April at VIR as Audi is hosting a car corral there. (ALMS is there in addition to the Indy cars league, which is dominated by Audi). It sounds like a fun weekend, but I can't make it.

[THawks]

I heard about this last year sometime. It was about the time they started closing off and repaving Pratt street with the Grand Prix being a driving factor for it. If I remember correctly they are going to be placing bleachers all along the north side of Pratt. Don't remember the route for it and if it is posted at that link, I can't see it here at work. Sadly I won't be able to make it back that way for the race...

[93coupe]

I'm most defintely going, Dave.

You have the Orioles

Don't you bad mouth my team!

[Dattebayo]

OKay now, this is more like it...

I'm going to buy tickets anyway, just to be a consumer whore. I just hope all the good seats aren't already taken. I want to see some crazy ish happen on Light st...

[alms24sebring]

Yeah.. ground tickets for me lol. Ugh and $30 for parking, whatever.

[Dattebayo]

Jordan came up0 with a genius plan...

All of us put in for a hotel room that overlooks the course, and then pool our money to see the event! Drinks and everything brought in a la carte!

[alms24sebring]

Ahhh I would so pitch in on that and kick you in the balls, but Im extra broke now. Its just ganna be me and a friend for the day. I'll still have a blast and be happy to watch some pro road racing and alms cars to get a hard on for.

[Dattebayo]

Well, it was a genius idea after about 8 beers, but now that I am sober, I realize that we couldn't hear the cars that way, really. WOuld be kinda isolated from all the awesome going on down below, too...
Also, we are some serious chain smokers. When the beers come out to be drank...

[alms24sebring]

ugh ciggs are soo bad and stink. But like I thought you meant get there early, chill have a few drinks and shoot the ish, watch race with more booze, go back to the room for the afterparty with more alcohol (not PBR) and ciggs.

[Dattebayo]

I'd have to rent a room somewhere anyway, because I would be boozed out of my mind after an event like that, but we meant a nice room and ditch the tickets.

It looks like I'm gonna do a cheap roach motel this time, tho. Some place where the cops won't get called without an ambulance, you know.

[numbnuts240]

no ambulance? so who's going to save your a** when the cops beat the s*** out of you for getting disruptive and assaulting one of them. again.

[Dattebayo]

I feel violated from that post. Angry much?

[alms24sebring]

I got my tickets a few days ago. Who else is definantly going. Hannibal, Dave, 93coupe, Krash? Guys wanna meet somewhere?

[sbird1]

Somebody give me a ride and buy me a ticket. I'll also need money for food. Ok, thanks.

[alms24sebring]

Ill do it for you if you do it for me at Road Atlanta. Umm.. you have to catch a Greyhound in the next hour.

[skydragoness]

I'm watching today's ALMS race and the start was nuts!! Huge pile up and a line of traffic just waiting for that Corvette to move.
It's exciting to see the GT cars right behind the prototypes on street courses since they can never be on normal circuits.

[Dattebayo]

Grr.

I bought tickets but I wasn't able to go today. I apparently double booked some sh*t involving my sister and her new hubby, guess what had to go?

She better remember this ish.

[alms24sebring]

haha sorry about that Dave, she owes you big. Well Im getting ready to leave, I will post some pics sometime later.

[Dattebayo]

Lucky, you had money to buy Sunday tickets.

I wanted to, but they were a full $15 more expensive, and on top of that another $30 for parking. Way to milk the experience, Baltimore...

[alms24sebring]

It was pretty fun. We could get pretty much right at the wall at the chicane right before the start/finish. Quit being cheap. $45 was worth it for just general admission, but I will have to agree that the parking was a alittle much.

I was reeeaaally hoping that the ALMS cars would still be there but they left on Saturday. But, I did drool over the C6R and a ZR1 they still had under the Corvette booth, and I got a free shirt.

So we wanted to leave on lap 65ish of 75 to beat the rush to our bus ride to the satellite parking area. But wtf, the cops blocked off every single bridge over the race tack because we were in the middle, so we had to walk aaaaaall the way around. F*** you Baltimore cops. Wtf was that

I have lots of pics to post but will only post the best ones hopefully soon. It was a fun experience.

[RCA]

Opps

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hNZmxHcCq0[/youtube]

[Hijacker]

Dammit. I totally could have gone to this AND made it a birthday present to me

[skydragoness]

Opps

DAMN
I missed that. What day was that?

What a lucky break for both of those guys!

[alms24sebring]

^ yeah it was fun. It was kind of a makeup present for me and also a Bday present for my lady friend that went with me. That accident might have been on Sunday, race day, but I totally missed it.

Ok so heres a general tour of my day..

These were the baby Indy cars that were racing when we got there. This is the straight right before the hairpin. Not quite as fast or as big but just as loud and impressive.


Another pic of them going to their garage. dam short turning radius..


Me towering over and pimpin' the flag girls. the one on my right grabbed my a$$


Orioles stadium.. empty as usual..


This is still before the main event. We walked around to see all the tents. The ALMS cars had already left because they raced the day before . I really had my heart set on that. But thats ok, I still got to see my most favorite ALMS car ever under the Corvette tent. The C6R. yummy. I pee'd a little bit


Whoring the car alittle bit while drooling over the entire carbon fiber shell


A cut-away of a ZR1 engine. Also the entire frame was cut-away behind it too showing the rear transaxle and stock 3" exhaust


Bacon on a stick.. Need i say more


Ok so here is the actaul race. This is at the chicane right before the start/finish line. As you can see, its a great viewing spot. Screw $150 bleachers


During a yellow, the crew picked up all the rubber balls and asphalt from the chicane curbs.


As a side note to this, when the race was about to be green, the crew in a Chevy Avalanche made a run thru the track behind the racers. So when they got directly in front of me at the chicane, they hugged the wall closest to me while a straggling Indycar was coming from behind catching up to the end of the pack. He happened to go thru the turn at the same time as the crew was passing and they literally almost hit, Im talking inches from each other and both of them swurved to avoid hitting in the close call. That would have been real nice to see.

There were lots more pics with this. I could only get a few good pics of the Indy cars because they were going fast. Like everyone else I was hoping to witness an accident but I only saw a few go off the track before the turn, especially the very last one before the straight. It was cool witnessing them go about 180 in city streets, something I want to do lol.

It was a fun experience but I would like to see the ALMS race next time. I got a few shirts including a free Corvette Racing shirt, and an awesome F1 poster of M. Schuemacher in the pits from above. Like I said before, the cops blocked off the ramps to cross and we ended up walking another 40 mins around the entire race track. Stupid cops. Hope to see you guys there next time.

[alms24sebring]

quick vids

http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/bb14 ... ove065.mp4

http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/bb14 ... ove067.mp4