Jalopnik: Detroit Grand Prix

Detroit's 2008 Belle Isle Grand Prix: ALMS Results And Mega Gallery

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:00:00 EDT

In addition to the IRL racing on Belle Isle, we also had the fun and hard-charging swagger of ALMS racing. We has the opportunity to tag along with Corvette Racing, who snagged a swank chalet location right on the corner of turn seven this year, a perfect spot to watch the Jake-emblazoned Corvette C6.R's doing their thing. The American LeMans Series runs four different classes simultaneously; GT2, GT1, LMP2 and LMP1, each with escalating levels of financial backing. With a crowded track and hugely varying performance capabilities, it can be a treat to watch.

LeMans Prototype 2 (LMP2) saw great success for Andretti Green Racing and the Acura racing program as the AGR team finished first and Acura took all three podium spots. The one, two, three finish also catapulted Acura past Porsche in the manufacturers championship as well. We're betting there was a fair bit of off-colored language amongst the Porsche teams following that result.

This year's race provided a little post-race drama to go along with the action on the track. The first car to cross the line in the LeMans Prototype 1 class (LMP1) was, no surprise, the diesel-powered Audi R10, the beastly dominator of the class since it's debut. However after the post race weigh in, the car was disqualified after it was discovered to be 2 pounds under weight.

No surprise in the results in the GT1 races; with the only four entries being two Corvette C6Rs and two Aston Martin DBR9s, the result was almost over before it began. One of the Astons nosed into the wall on the first lap and for the remainder the C6R's dominated. Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta bested teammates Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen for the first time since late March, and the DBR9 of Terry Borcheller finished third.

GT2 saw a one-two finish this year from Flying Lizard racing, the guys who ended up with a Porsche 911-flambe last year. Their win comes as the third one-two finish of the year and pushed them further ahead into the season points lead. A couple Ford GT40's are in the pack this year and while they sounded great, one nailed the wall and the other finished slow.

Belle Isle Grand Prix Results
1. (5) James Rossiter, England; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Acura ARX-01B (1, P2), 104.
2. (1) Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; David Brabham, Australia; Acura ARX-01B (2, P2), 104.
3. Simon Pagenaud, France; Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Acura ARX-01B (3, P2), 104.
4. (6) Romain Dumas, France; Timo Bernhard, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (4, P2), 104.
5. (7) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Porsche RS Spyder (5, P2), 104.
6. (3) Guy Smith, England; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Porsche RS Spyder (6, P2), 103.
7. (11) Ben Devlin, England; Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, FL; Lola B07 46 Mazda (7, P2), 103.
8. (10) Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Porsche RS Spyder (8, P2), 102.
9. (17) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Corvette C6.R (1, GT1), 100.
10. (13) Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (2, GT1), 100.
11. (14) Wolf Henzler, Germany; Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (1, GT2), 98.
12. (18) Patrick Pilet, France; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (2, GT2), 98.
13. (15) Jaime Melo, Brazil; Mika Salo, Finland; Ferrari F430 GT (3, GT2), 98.
14. (22) Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Martin Ragginger, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (4, GT2), 98.
15. (19) Robert Bell, UK; Harrison Brix, San Jose, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (5, GT2), 98.
16. (26) Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Alex Figge, Hollywood, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (6, GT2), 95.
17. (28) Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (7, GT2), 94.
18. (20) Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, FL; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Aston Martin DBR9 (3, GT1), 93.
19. (16) Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Dirk Mueller, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (8, GT2), 92.
20. (27) David Murry, Cumming, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT-R (9, GT2), 89.
21. (21) Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Panoz Esperante Ford (10, GT2), 87, Accident.
22. (12) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Lola B06/10 AER (1, P1), 83.
23. (4) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (9, P2), 83.
24. (25) Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, GA; Doran Ford GT-R (11, GT2), 49, Accident.
25. (24) Marc Basseng, Germany; Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Francisco Pastorelli, Netherlands; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (12, GT2), 38, Mechanical.
26. (8) Lucas Luhr, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi AG R10/TDI (2, P1), 21, Accident.
27. (23) Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Aston Martin Vantage (13, GT2), 1, Accident.
28. (9) Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Marcel Fässler, Switzerland; Audi AG R10/TDI (3, P1), 104, DQ.

[ALMS]
Partial photo credit to Alex Conley

Emerson Fittipaldi To Pace 2008 Detroit Grand Prix in E85 Corvette Z06

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EDT

At today's NextCruise announcement, automakers dragged out their leanest, meanest, greenest vehicles as a backdrop for the action. Of course, the fact that they were all SUVs was a bit ironic. But also on hand was a hot Corvette Z06 modified for Detroit Grand Prix pace duty and sipping E85 fuel. While no announcement was made, racing legend Emerson Fittipaldi's name is planted smack-dab on the driver's side B-pillar, making it pretty clear who's going to be at the helm during the 2008 Detroit Grand Prix.

This will be a return to a familiar place for Fittipaldi, considering he won two CART races at Belle Isle, in 1989 and 1991. The Corvette itself is pretty slick in its color-shifting paint, moving between gold and green. Way better than the '98 Corvette Indy Pace Car dressed in terrifying purple and yellow. It's kind of shocking, but even the light bar up top is kinda cool. That right there is one fine-looking pace car.

Jalopnik Does The Detroit Grand Prix At Belle Isle

Ray Wert — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 23:59:59 EDT

Racing's returned to Belle Isle in Detroit and we'll be there to cover all of the ALMS and IndyCar action live. Keep your eyes on our Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix tag throughout the weekend for all the hot racing action.

And in other non-Detroit Grand Prix racing ...

Ray Wert — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:55:00 EDT

And in other non-Detroit Grand Prix racing news — anyone watching the Nascar race in Cali tonight? [Jayski]

Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick Go First, Second In Crash-Filled Finish To Detroit Grand Prix IndyCar Race

Ray Wert — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 18:14:53 EDT

Tony Kanaan wins the IndyCar race here at the Detroit Grand Prix, and Danica Patrick took second place in her best ever finish after a shocking last lap and a half. Just before the white flag came up a number of drivers were involved in some "contact" that included "the wall" and "other drivers." Oh and Dan Wheldon came in third despite thrashing his car today earlier in practice— who woulda thunk it? We'll have more shortly — full results below the jump.

1 Tony Kanaan (11) ... 1:13.8906 100.852 47 1:55.5276 64.504 89 D/H/F Pit
2 Danica Patrick (7) 0.4865 1:14.9125 99.476 65 1:49.0264 68.350 89 D/H/F Pit
3 Dan Wheldon (10) 1.2207 1:15.5578 98.626 62 1:46.8565 69.738 89 D/H/F Pit
4 Darren Manning (14) 1.9217 1:15.7840 98.332 8 1:46.6266 69.889 89 D/H/F Pit
5 Kosuke Matsuura (55) 1 lap 1:16.8399 96.981 24 1:25.4777 87.181 88 D/H/F Pit
6 Dario Franchitti (27) 26.7568 1:13.5110 101.373 65 3:46.3920 32.916 88 D/H/F Pit
7 Buddy Rice (15) 2 laps 1:14.9325 99.450 66 1:17.2492 96.467 87 D/H/F Down
8 Scott Dixon (9) 0.3174 1:13.9671 100.747 47 1:17.0664 96.696 87 D/H/F Down
9 AJ Foyt IV (22) 5.8999 1:15.9727 98.088 84 1:15.9865 98.070 87 D/H/F Down
10 Ed Carpenter (20) 3:22.0789 1:16.5793 97.311 15 1:25.3308 87.331 87 D/H/F Pit
11 Scott Sharp (8) 7 laps 1:16.6533 97.217 45 1:29.9598 82.837 82 D/H/F Pit
12 Sam Hornish Jr (6) 14 laps 1:15.9201 98.156 20 1:46.2941 70.107 75 D/H/F Pit
13 Tomas Scheckter (2) 22 laps 1:15.0292 99.321 64 1:16.0919 97.934 67 D/H/F Accident
14 Helio Castroneves (3) 0.1228 1:14.0702 100.607 46 1:15.9849 98.072 67 D/H/F Accident
15 Vitor Meira (4) 58 laps 1:16.2266 97.761 13 1:59.8095 62.199 31 D/H/F Accident
16 Sarah Fisher (5) 60 laps 1:19.4239 93.826 21 2:02.6506 60.758 29 D/H/F Accident
17 Marco Andretti (26) 62 laps 1:15.0482 99.296 24 1:46.7042 69.838 27 D/H/F Mechanical
18 Ryan Hunter-Reay (17) 65 laps 1:15.2302 99.056 20 1:25.5628 87.094 24 D/H/F Mechanical

OMG! Is that really Danica in the lead?!? ...

Ray Wert — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 17:22:02 EDT

OMG! Is that really Danica in the lead?!? Oh wait, no — she just hasn't pitted in a while.

Sarah Fisher is down and out — and ...

Ray Wert — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 16:34:00 EDT

Sarah Fisher is down and out — and yup, it was in the first turn. Who knew? Oh wait...we did. We're totally winning fifty bucks or whatever.

Dan Wheldon Has The Best In-Car Chatter Of The Detroit Grand Prix So Far

Ray Wert — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 16:00:11 EDT

Best in-car chatter so far was Dan Wheldon and his crew chief right before the green flag came up:

Dan Wheldon:

"Do the obvious things right, do the obvious things right, that's what I forgot this morning — do the obvious things right."

Pit Chief: "

No shit, sherlock"

The Detroit Grand Prix Indy Car Race Is Go!

Ray Wert — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 15:54:37 EDT

Green flag is out here on Belle Isle as we're ready to get this IndyCar action at the Detroit Grand Prix up and running...and we're off!

Mini Scooters: The Official Paddock Transport Of Danica Patrick And All Of IndyCar

Ray Wert — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 15:41:05 EDT

First it was Marco Andretti on his li'l scooter and now we've caught Danica Patrick on one just outside of the paddock here on Belle Isle at the Detroit Grand Prix. Which got us noticing there's a lot of these things out here today. Here's our gallery of the little Paddock cruisin' moped-looking things. We're going to walk on over to the grandstand now for the start of the race — we'll bring you an update shortly.

IndyCar Fans At The Detroit Grand Prix Are Like Vultures, Clawing At The Flesh Of Marco Andretti

Ray Wert — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:03:13 EDT

I'm telling you, the IndyCar fans here at the Detroit Grand Prix — they're like vultures, hungry for the flesh of young drivers. Maybe they're not as bad as Nascar fans, but certainly worse than the countless dozens of fans in the paddock yesterday for ALMS racing. We happened to be walking through the paddock when IndyCar driver Marco Andretti, speeding through on his little scooter from one trailer to another, gets greeted with a "Marco!" Unfortunately, young Marco's not yet old enough to know he's not supposed to stop and yell "Polo!" So as he stops the scooter to turn and figure out if the name-caller is someone he should be stopping for, within less than the time necessary to yell "Fish out of water," he's been mobbed by dozens of ~~flesh-hungry~~ adoring signature-seeking fans. We give the kid credit for stopping and signing a few, although it became...

...clear after a few swipes of the pen he'd maybe found himself in a situation where he'd be too busy signing autographs to, you know, race and stuff. Plus we're fairly certain the vultures would have stripped his flesh neatly from his bones in order to sell little Andretti flesh-strips on eBay and finance new rolls of indoor-outdoor carpeting. He almost had to push people out of his way with his scooter tire to get the li'l bike through and himself out of harms way. We're telling ya, this racing stuff's more dangerous than we thought. Keep following the rest of our flesh-hungry coverage of the return of racing to Detroit at our Detroit Grand Prix tag.

How Did Dan Wheldon Already Crash His IndyCar At The Detroit Grand Prix?

Ray Wert — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 11:53:44 EDT

IndyCar warm-up just finished, and the only news of note was Dan Wheldon in the #10 Target car. Wheldon managed to get himself into a bit of a dustup with a wall (Ben thinks it was another car, but neither of us is really 100% certain — the point is he dirtied up his car) in one of the later practice laps. We're assuming it's not a race-ending automotive injury — despite the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team having to tow the Honda-powered IndyCar back through the paddock to the team trailer. Never you mind the detachment of that there rear spoiler, we're pretty sure it'll buff out. Oh yeah and Team Penske's Helio Castroneves made contact with Scott Dixon, sending the Indy Racing League points leader went tail-first into the tires in turn three, crumpling the left rear portion of the rear wing.

Five Questions For Today's Detroit Grand Prix IndyCar Race

Ray Wert — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 09:53:48 EDT

We're up and runnin' today from the Corvette chalet here in the middle of the Detroit River to finish off our Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix coverage with some hot IndyCar racing action. So whether you're coming to the race today, watching it on ABC at 3:30 or reading our live-blog here (hint-hint) here's five questions we've got for the race today that maybe you can help us to answer:

1.) Can Detroit native Roger Penske make the Detroit Grand Prix a one-two punch with a win today by Helio Castroneves after Penske Racing's Romain Dumas piloted his Porsche RS Spyder to the win in yesterday's ALMS? No pressure Helio.
2.) We've got to ask it, mostly 'cause she's sitting in seventh in overall points — can Danica Patrick win her first IndyCar race?

3.) Who'll be the first driver to take a car into a concrete barrier today?

4.) Given you've now answered the last question, here's one that's just as important — which concrete barrier will take the first hit today? Will it be in turn one? Turn two?

5.) Will Tony Kanaan take down Target Chip Ganassi racer Scott Dixon today in a fit of protective rage over Dario Franchitti?

Racing starts today at 3:45, but we'll have coverage throughout the entire day, so keep your eyes on our Detroit Grand Prix tag for the hottest in racing action.

Winners Circle... Um... For The Win!

bwojdyla — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:49:51 EDT

It's done, Porsche triumphed mightily in the last moments over Audi. The hometown boys at GM spanked the class competition. All is well. The winners circle was filled with grown men living the dreams of 26 13 year old boys. Joy and confetti littered the ground and mirth was made. Well kids, we're exhausted, running around like morons taking pictures of all kinds of stuff, getting it uploaded to your eyeballs so that you can ignore it because it's Saturday and you're watching college football (curses!) has taken its toll. Time to partake in the post race libations. Now I remember why I love this gig.

Spoiler Alert! Penske Racing's Romain Dumas Wins In Last Second Stunner!

Ray Wert — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 18:15:16 EDT

The home town boy's team made it happen when it counted here at the Detroit Grand Prix — at the very last second. On the 106th lap, Romain Dumas took his Porsche RS Spyder to the checkered flag here on Belle Isle, propelling Penske Racing to the win, and making Detroit native and Penske Racing owner, Roger Penske, a very happy man. More to come shortly. Take a look back through the ALMS fun we've been having here on Belle Isle in our Detroit Grand Prix tag — and keep checking it for more through tomorrow's IndyCar action.

#18 Porsche 911 GT2 is down, pit crew thinks ...

bwojdyla — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 17:39:43 EDT

#18 Porsche 911 GT2 is down, pit crew thinks CV is dead, but it's an awefully smokey CV. towed into pit without incident. Driver quote of the the day "That corner still has a lot of rubber and oil in it, it's kind of like playing chess going through there. I don't know how to play chess, so I don't know what that means." 20 minutes to go.

Looking for live timing and scoring of the ...

Ray Wert — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 17:35:37 EDT

Looking for live timing and scoring of the ALMS race at the Detroit Grand Prix? [IMSA]

Fire At The Half Way Point

bwojdyla — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 17:26:17 EDT

Right at the halfway mark when I was about to report that all was well, two Porsches tangled going into turn one. A clip led to a spin and eventually the two ended up mating tail to tail and blocking the whole track - that's gotta be embarassing. Everybody get's back on the track under their own power, car 71 pits, and... HOLY CRAP the other car is on FIRE. BIG FIRE. 911 Flambe. Watching it on the teevee I failed to identify that it was just over my shoulder until the fire was mostly out, thus the fuzzy aftermath shot. Mr. "I'm too tough to go in after a fender bender" now has a car that's track toast. Shot of the orangesuits tending to the leftovers and standings at the drop of the green are after the jump.

LMP1
1)Piro
2)Capello
3)Graf

LMP2
1) Dumas
2) Dyson
3) Leitzinger

GT1
1) O'Connell
2) Gavin

GT2:
1) Melo
2) Long
3) Dumbreck

Helio's Still The Man, Snags The Big Pole For Detroit Grand Prix IndyCar Race

Ray Wert — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 17:15:00 EDT

Yup, Helio's still the man — mostly because now he's sitting atop the pole for tomorrow's IndyCar race with a speed of 103.401 mph for Team Penske. That's almost as hot as the two lovely ladies he had with him last year at Indy. [Detroit News]

First report in - #22 Esperante loses brakes ...

bwojdyla — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 16:08:55 EDT

First report in - #22 Esperante loses brakes but all is well, some rubbing between an LMP and a Porsche and one showing of the pace car. Early leaders: LMP1- MkNish (Audi), LMP2 - Briscoe (Porsche), GT1 - Magnussen (Corvette), GT2 - Salo (Ferrari)

ALMS Race Is GO!

bwojdyla — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 15:30:39 EDT

Here we are folks at today's Detroit Belle Isle Gran Prix main event, the American Le Mans Series race. We'll strap in and fire up our keyboards to bring you sporadic coverage for the next three or so hours. Expect plenty of tense passing as there are only two good places to get around slow moving traffic. At turn one and two after a series of sweeping high speed curves is for those with courage, and between turn seven and eight on the long back stretch (with the pretty view of the river) is for those with big engines and bigger brakes. Stay tuned for more.

The Penske Porsches Are Coming! The Penske Porsches Are Coming!

Ray Wert — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 14:45:00 EDT

The Corvettes aren't the only ones heading out the paddock. With the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix ALMS race just 45 minutes away, the Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyders have up, revved and run their 480 horsepower engines out of the paddock just the same as their yellow brethren. These are the same Penske Porsches that seem to be running rather well this morning during the practice sessions.

The ALMS Race Is About To Start, Here Come The Corvettes

Ray Wert — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 14:15:00 EDT

The Corvettes are leaving the paddock and heading over to the track. Enjoy the bright yellow beauty, or as Nick Hogan would call it — bright yellow P***y magnetism. Watch out for the dropping panties.

ALMS Unboxing: Audi RS4 GT2

bwojdyla — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 13:42:10 EDT

After a morning of running around from one photo op to another, taillights in a trailer stopped me in my tracks. Was ist das? Das ist ein Auto - ein uber Auto! I had stumbled onto the unboxing of a GT2 class Audi RS4. That sound your hear is Johnny's high pitched squeal of envy. If only I had a video camera so as to share the concrete pounding pulse of this beast. Hopefully it qualifies because it would be a shame if this didn't get some real track time. Precision overload.

Ben's down at the autograph session for ...

Ray Wert — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 12:25:00 EDT

Ben's down at the autograph session for the ALMS drivers. He should be back shortly to show us his pics. Yup, any minute now. Where the #$%@ is he?!?!

The Corvette C6.R Comes Out To Play -- Err -- Practice

Ray Wert — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 12:00:00 EDT

With IndyCar's Saturday practice session over here at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix it's time for the ALMS cars to get a chance to burn up some rubber and turn a tire or two into little rubber pellets for collection in the corners of the Belle Isle track. Ben caught one of the Corvette C6.R's as it gets ready to rub that rubber off courtesy of the big 7.0-liter 560 HP engine. Keep your eyes on our Detroit Grand Prix tag — we'll have more of our live coverage from Belle Isle coming throughout the weekend.

The Saturday IndyCar Practice Sessions Are Now Finis In Detroit

Ray Wert — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 11:00:00 EDT

Ben's been up in the grandstands taking shots of the practice sessions, and now that they're over — here's his shots of the not-so-hot IndyCar practice run. It was fairly uneventful — other than Dario Franchitti clipping a wall and having to get towed back in. These things happen, ya know? Keep your eyes on our Detroit Grand Prix tag throughout the day for more hot Belle Isle Grand Prix racing action.

If anyone needs a map of the island, we've ...

Ray Wert — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 10:00:00 EDT

If anyone needs a map of the island, we've got one — feel free to borrow it. Need a larger version?

The Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Shows Us Its Tix, Hot Corvette Action

Ray Wert — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 09:00:00 EDT

We've got our tickets, we've taken the shuttle over to Belle Isle, and we're now coming to you live from the middle of the Detroit River as we begin our two-day coverage of the 2007 Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. The hot racing action hasn't even started yet and we've already got some fun for ya in the form of a Corvette parade across the Douglas MacArthur Bridge from the mainland to the island. While we finish getting set up, check out those pictures or what's on tap for the weekend in the full schedule of events after the jump (Sweet, Cheap Trick's playing tonight...righteous). Stay tuned to the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix tag throughout the day for more action as it happens.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

7:45 am Gates Open to the Public
8:45 am - 9:15 am IndyCar Series Practice (Group 1)
9:15 am - 9:45 am IndyCar Series Practice (Group 2)
10:10 am - 10:40 am American Le Mans Series Warm-up (all classes)
11:15 am - 12 Noon American Le Mans Series Drivers Autograph Session - Meijer Family Fun Zone
11:45 am - 1:15 pm IndyCar Series Qualifying - All Cars + Firestone Fast 6
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm IndyCar Series All Driver Autograph Session in the Meijer Family Fun Zone
2:15 pm - 3:15 pm American Le Mans Series Pre-Race Activities
3:15 pm - 6:00 pm Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch (2 hours, 45 minutes)
6:00 pm - 6:30 pm American Le Mans Series Victory Ceremonies
6:15 pm - 7:15 pm Cheap Trick presented by XM Radio (on XM Stage the Meijer Family Fun Zone)

Sunday, September 2, 2007

9:00 am Gates Open to the Public
10:30 am - 11:00 am IndyCar Series Warm-up
10:00 am - 11:00 am Gospel Concert at XM Stage (Performers -TBA)
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm DBIGP Fan Forum (featuring IndyCar Series and DBIGP personalities)
2:15 pm - 3:00 pm On-track concert or other entertainment
3:00 pm - 3:45 pm IndyCar Series Pre-race Activities
3:45 pm - 6:00 pm Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone (100 Laps)
6:15 pm - 7:15 pm Soul Asylum presented by XM Radio (on XM Stage)

Hey Corvette Z06! My Compass Will Totally School You...Or Not

Ray Wert — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:45:00 EDT

Not to be outdone by the Corvette Z06 GM sent round the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix road course by the folks from the General, some putz took his Jeep Compass out on the track — you know, to see how it's done. Unfortunately, he didn't crash into a barricade as he slowly made his way through a few of the turns. The best part's the fact he's trying to tape and drive at the same time. Can somebody say "Super Crash Potential?" We know we will all weekend as we cover the Detroit Grand Prix.

Bad Boy Vettes To Host Party After Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix ALMS Action

Ray Wert — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 08:45:00 EDT

Just got this e-mail from Dan over at Bad Boy Vettes, the boys all about embracing the skull 'vette logo. They'll be having a party after Saturday's ALMS race at the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle. And hey, the fun part is you're invited. So if you're in Metro Detroit for the return of racing action to the city the French founded, the Americans built and automobiles enriched (props to WWJ), and you won't be out covering all the hot LeMans and IndyCar action (as we will be all weekend), head on over for a good time. Full e-mail and invite link below the jump:

Hey guys, we're trying to get the word out about a party we're hosting at a bar in detroit after the ALMS race this weekend. We did something similar (but lower key) this year in Le Mans and it went very well. Of course it's a "corvette party" but all alms fans are invited to come down and hang out, vip parking for corvettes though. The entire corvette team will be there, we'll be giving stuff away, the jagermeister girls will be there with shots, some hawaiian girls will be there or something... it should be a good time.

The official start time is 6:30 — which coincides with the end of the ALMS race — it's at Emerald City Harbor on the Nautical Mile in St. Clair Shores. Check out the official invite here.

Take A Hot Lap Of The Detroit Grand Prix Course In A Corvette Z06

Ray Wert — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:00:00 EDT

Two of team Jalopnik will be headed to Belle Isle this weekend to cover the return of grand prix racing to Detroit. So if you're around on Saturday and Sunday of this Labor Day weekend, keep your eyes on our Detroit Grand Prix tag, and we'll keep you abreast of all the hot Belle Isle racing action. For the time being, sate your thirst with this video from the GM "I Got Shotgun" folks — who've taken a Corvette Z06 as it takes a ride around the ring for a hot lap on the new Belle Isle road course. Ooh, we likey!