NSX-Tuner

I did a quick search and was surprised this wasn't posted yet.

Source: News - San Jose announce program of events - 3/3/2005

"San Jose Grand Prix officials announced today the program of events for the inaugural running of northern California's historic first downtown street race, July 29-31.

The San Jose Grand Prix, which will be contested on the streets of downtown San Jose, will consist of three days of practice, qualifying and racing plus drifting exhibitions, autograph sessions, a Fanfest and Fan Forum. In addition to the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series race, set for Sunday, July 31 at 1:30 p.m., the weekend will feature Toyota Atlantic and Trans-Am Road Racing contests. Event organizers have also reached agreement with the U. S. Touring Car Championship Series and the Historic Stock Cars to hold races thus providing a full and exciting weekend for northern California race fans.

The weekend of speed kicks off on Friday, July 29 at 7:45 a.m. when the U. S. Touring Cars practice. That will be followed by practice sessions for three of the five series that will contest races during the weekend. The Champ Car drivers will make their first on- track appearance at 10:15 a.m. for a 75-minute practice session. Friday afternoon will be highlighted by four qualifying sessions beginning with Atlantic qualifying at 1:15 p.m., followed by the Champ Cars at 2:00 p.m., Trans-Am at 4:00 p.m. and U. S. Touring Cars at 5:15 p.m. The day's schedule will include the first of three drifting exhibitions from 4:45 - 5:00 p.m. and the first on-track appearance of the Historic Stock Cars at 6:00 p.m. Friday's schedule will also feature pace car activities, VIP two-seater rides, a VIP "Pit Walk Through" and a Champ Car Fan Appreciation All-Driver autograph session, which is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. and is open to the public.

The schedule for Saturday, July 30 opens with five practice sessions, one for each series, beginning with Trans-Am final practice at 8:30 a.m. The morning practices will be followed by final qualifying in the afternoon for the Atlantics (1:15 p.m.) and Champ Cars (2:00 p.m.) as well as the Trans-Am and U. S. Touring Car races at 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. respectively. Saturday's racing activities will conclude with the Historic Stock Car qualifying. Also on the schedule for Saturday is the second drifting exhibition (9:30 a.m.), pace car and two-seater rides, a VIP "Pit Walk Through" and a Fan Forum, which provides the public with the opportunity to ask questions of some of the Champ Car drivers, team owners and officials. The Champ Car Fan Forum will begin at 12:00 noon and run until 12:45 p.m.

Sunday, July 31 will be highlighted by the main event, the Champ Car World Series race, which features some of the greatest drivers in the world piloting cars that will approach speeds of 180 mph on the 1.3-mile, 10-turn San Jose Grand Prix street circuit. The day will begin with warm-up sessions for the Atlantics (8:00 a.m.), Historic Stock Cars (8:30 a.m.) and Champ Cars (9:30 a.m.). The first race of the day will be at 11:00 a.m. when the Atlantic drivers take to the track in a 50-minute contest. That will be followed by the third drifting exhibition, pace car activities and a VIP "Pit Walk Through", which will all serve as a prelude to the Champ Car main event. The day will conclude with the Historic Stock Car race at 3:30 p.m.

The inaugural San Jose Grand Prix will not be confined to activities at the track. The schedule also calls for a week of activities in downtown San Jose including music, fairs, charity events and promotional activities. The week long festival is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of fans to northern California's largest city and become a mainstay on the Champ Car World Series calendar.

Press Release, CCWS"

DigiBox

I'd like to see where these cars are going to run... The streets are crap in downtown SJ...

NSX-Tuner

Maybe this is the only way to get them improved...

SanJoseRoller

its already a big race on the Baily run for us san jose peeps to come out at night

F-C

Unfortunately, this race will replace Laguna Seca on the calander.

Red Rider

No one was going to Laguna, I'll bet San Jo is packed !!

F-C

That's true, but from a racing purist's point of view, Laguna Seca trumps a track that goes through a parking lot of a basketball arena.

NSX-Tuner

Correction... that's a hockey rink (Shark Tank) parking lot...

F-C

Hocky rink is right. What do I know? I've only driven through San Jose once in my life.

BTW, shouldn't that be FORMER hocky rink, with the death of NHL?

NSX-Tuner

Former may be correct... but I hope not... hoping for a full NHL season starting this fall.

Red Rider

I agree, and I hate to see tracks like Mid Ohio, Elkhart Lake, and Laguna going bye bye, but you can't run a series and lose $$, the fans were not attending.

There is hope for Elkhart getting back on the schedule for next year, let's hope so

F-C

Laguna Seca is hosting MotoGP this year, I hope they can draw a good crowd. In my opinion, Laguna Seca is one of the great road courses in the world, the only thing against it is its short length. If someone could improve the infrastructure of the place, it would be an ideal place for the F-1 USGP.

NSX-Tuner

I'd love to see F1 at Seca... the one and only time I saw an F1 car in person was at Seca, back in 1973 (I believe) when a Shadow Cam Am and F1 car provided a demostration race between the two cars. At the end of the race, the F1 car almost lapped the Cam Am car twice.



General specifications
Shadow DN2
Country of origin United States
Produced in 1973
Numbers built N/A
Body design N/A
Weight ~ 1800-2000 LBS

Drivetrain
Engine Chevrolet 90º V 8
Engine Location Mid , longitudinally mounted
Displacement 8.800 liter / 537 cu in
Valvetrain 2 valves / cylinder, OHV
Fuel feed Fuel injection
Aspiration Naturally Aspirated




General specifications
Shadow DN1
Produced in 1973
N/A

Drivetrain
Engine: Ford Cosworth, DFV 3.0 V8



This was the same weekend that Mark Donohue ran a Cam Am Porsche 917/30. This car also lapped the Shadow Cam Am car in the official Cam Am race.



General specifications
Porsche 917/30
Country of origin Germany
Produced in 1973
Numbers built 4
Weight 849 kilo / 1871.7 lbs

Drivetrain
Engine 912.52 180º V 12
Engine Location Mid , longitudinally mounted
Displacement 5.374 liter / 327.9 cu in
Valvetrain 2 valves / cylinder, DOHC
Fuel feed Bosch Fuel injection
Aspiration Twin Eberspacher turbos
Gearbox Type 920 4 speed Manual
Drive Rear wheel drive

Performance figures
Power 1100 bhp / 821 KW @ 7800 rpm
Torque 1112 Nm / 820 ft lbs @ 6400 rpm
BHP/Liter 205 bhp / liter
Power to weight ratio 1.3 bhp / kg
Top Speed 386 km/h / 240 mph
0-60 mph Acceleration 2.1 s

Billiam

Ahhhh yes, the 917/30. The car that killed Can-Am and also one of the greatest race cars ever.

NSX-Tuner

I loved watching it come out of the corkscrew (then turns 6/6a) doing a four-wheel drift with tires smoking all the way down to the next turn (then turn 7). It exited this turn (then turn 7) like it was shot out of a canon. Mark Donohue was probably the only person back then who could drive it like that. It was the most exciting thing I've ever seen in racing. Nothing has quite approach it yet.

F-C

From SJMN:

Organizers of this summer's San Jose Grand Prix are scrambling to get city approval for an 11th-hour course change that would send race cars streaking through the heart of downtown rather than on its fringe.

Paving work that began last week has been halted on the original route that used the parking lot at HP Pavilion as both its start and finish. A source familiar with the alternative route who did not wish to be named said it would start in front of the Hilton hotel on Almaden Boulevard and skirt Plaza de Cesar Chavez at one point.

Dale Jantzen, president of the Canary Fund, the nonprofit group that signed a five-year agreement with the city to stage the Champ Car World Series race, said a desire to contain costs and ''maximize exposure for the city of San Jose'' were behind the proposed changes.

''It's later than we'd like it to be, but there are alternatives out there that we owe it to everybody to explore,'' said Jantzen, declining to discuss specifics about the new route. Those who did were concerned about disrupting the last-minute negotiations.

While the race isn't until July 31, Jantzen said the course must be set in the next few weeks because of asphalt and concrete work that would need to be done along either route.

The Canary Fund is picking up the $2 million in repaving costs tied to the original course. Some $700,000 in city funds had been committed for work on the HP Pavilion parking lots, with the understanding that money would be repaid if the event turned a profit for Canary.

''We're still evaluating what the impacts are of any change as far as cost,'' said Paul Krutko, the city's director of economic development.

Police and fire protection costs would have to be re-determined. An earlier environmental impact report could have to be redone.

Two sources indicated paving costs for the new course would be much lower than for the first one, which needed extensive work along West St. John Street. And with HP Pavilion no longer part of the route, parking lot changes there wouldn't be necessary.

The new route for the race, which features open-wheel cars reaching speeds of more than 150 mph, under consideration shows San Jose to a greater advantage, proponents argue. It passes by the city's Tech Museum, for example, and includes parts of Market Street and Almaden Boulevard.

''The reason the city is considering this at this time is because Canary has indicated it would be a better race course over the long term, that this will show off the city much better to 150 countries worldwide'' on television, said Krutko, noting that a course change would require City Council approval.

The new course crosses light rail tracks -- something that was previously considered a barrier to holding the race in the downtown core.

A Valley Transit Authority spokesman said buses could bridge gaps in rail service caused by the race. And Champ Car officials, normally reluctant to have sensitive race cars pass over rail lines, have toured the alternative route and given their blessing, one source said.

While construction of barriers and fences along the course could create problems for people trying to reach some downtown offices and businesses, the executive director of San Jose's Downtown Business Association said he welcomed the possible change.

''For this to come into the heart of the city, I think there's going to be a lot of excitement about this,'' Scott Knies said.

At least one restaurant near HP Pavilion was less than thrilled at the possible shift of focus for the more than 100,000 people backers say will attend race events over three days.

''We've had so much to deal with this year,'' said Richard Arande, general manager at Henry's Hi-Life, which took a big hit because the NHL canceled its season. ''This would be a boost at the slowest month for us. In July, everybody barbecues.''

Workers last week already had started to repair sidewalks outside Henry's. They also had removed medians on West Santa Clara Street under the Highway 87 overpass. If the course is changed, Krutko said, Canary would have to put new medians in place.

''I've never had one pulled in the middle like this,'' said Curtis Archibald, vice president of the Redwood City paving company doing the work. ''It's been a weird ride.''

If the event moves away from HP Pavilion, Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment -- the parent company of the Sharks -- would lose out on rental fees.

But Malcolm Bordelon, the team's executive vice president for business operations, said ties would remain between the team and the race.

''They've contracted with us to manage marketing, ticket sales, publications,'' Bordelon said. ''We'd like to have it here, but they're the experts at what makes this a good event and we're supportive of it either way.''

Red Rider

Can't wait !!

If you've never been to a Champ Car race, GO !!!!!!!!!

NSX-Tuner

I've been to a few races at Seca going back to the early 90's. My brother was at one where he was in the Andretti tent and met, eat with and talked to Mario and Michael. I was invited but couldn't make it that weekend. But I don't remember what series was called back then.

It would be great to get a group together for this, you think?

Red Rider

That would have been CART, Michael and Mario were teammates at Newman/Haas.

Yes, it would be great for us all to hook up !!

NSX-Tuner

Here's the circuit, I think. They were working on revisions of it last month.

DigiBox

MUCH!!! better than the other one you posted up. Those roads don't need as much work! lol!!