2009 Detroit Grand Prix Cancelled Due To Poor Economic Conditions
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We've thoroughly enjoyed covering the Detroit Grand Prix in the last two years (2007 coverage, 2008 coverage), but it looks like this will be our last year at the event -- at least for a while. Roger Penske, who played a key role in returning racing to the Belle Isle Park circuit, announced that the race would not return in 2009, mainly due to the economic challenges plaguing Detroit. "There's no reason at this point to have an event that wouldn't be first-class," Penske told AutoWeek. This comes after a tough few weeks for the ALMS in which both Audi and Porsche announced they would be pulling their racing programs from the series. The ALMS schedule has now been reduced to ten races, with the IRL moving to seventeen.
When the Grand Prix first came back in 2007, it was an absolute blast. A full weekend of fun. 2008, they doubled all the pricing for shuttles, parking, and seats. So instead of going the entire weekend, we went for the American LeMans race on Saturday, and skipped out on the Sunday Indy Race.
People pay for entertainment during tough times. They would still definitely pay to enjoy some racing, and this would truely encompass the heart of the "Motor City" admist tough times. But I think a lot of it was because Porsche and Audi cancelled their racing activities for 2009. Also, Honda pulled out of Formula 1 and one of the car companies are scaling back. Fantastic.
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