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This was my fifth year, first not in the grand stands, and it never fails to be one of the best weekends ever!!!! The new track layout meant faster sections and super close seats to the action. Can't wait until next years races!!
This year was so much more professional. They had great crowd control, we never felt crowded. There was 10's of 1,000's of people present... But it didn't feel that way. The concessions were great, the staff friendly, and the event was exciting.
There was no option for single day grand stand ticket. Which limit the audience. You should have some entertainment as well, such as Indy model and fashion show etc.
I wrote a previous review that was posted and after reading several of the other reviews/comments that were posted, I am in agreement with the concensus of the return of the Gold Seating Grand Stand "B" to the Turn One viewing location. We preferred the view from the Gold Grand Stand "B" seating location behind pit lane and with an unobstructed view of Turn One. The 2010 Gold Seating area removed us completely from all the action and left us with mixed feelings about paying top dollar for action views of the races and activities. As Gold ticket holders (since the inaugural race), we hope the Octane Group will honour us with the return of our gold seating location behind Pit Lane and the unobstructed view of Turn One. Also, we hope the Octane Group will retain our private contact information from the Northlands Group and offer us the same grand stand seating location that we had prior to the 2010 Honda Indy Race.
Having been season ticket holders to all of the Edmonton Champ Car/Indy Car races, we have once again enjoyed all three days of car racing. An area that deserves mention is the series race on Sunday could be held alittle earlier (before 4:00 pm) in the afternoon to help facilitate travel of the people residing outside of Edmonton area. There appears to be a filler time slot of about 2 hours prior to the final race - could maybe be shortened? We understand that extra time is required between final races to allow for delays/caution flags etc... More variety in the food vendors would be welcomed (the variety of food vendors at the inaugural race was awesome). More healthy food choices/options would be welcomed. We much appreciated the return of the "real lemonade" vendors - best thirst quenching/replenishing drink during the heat! Overall we do enjoy the entire weekend devoted to the car racing enthusiasts and hope to be at the 2011 Edmonton Indycar race.
1) Put the turn-1 seats back in. 2) Grandfather those that renewed seats in 2010 back into the turn-1 seats. 3) Get some natioanl advertising out early in the Spring and include the northwestern US. 3) Get local sponsorship at A LOT MORE bars and eating establishments (and at select venues, don't grant entrance to patrons without a race-day ticket). 4) Have after-race-day party places at the track. 5) Provide incentives to establishments that promote attending the race. 6) Get more people to provide their ideas to make things better for 2011.
was good liked our new seats, maybe more activities for kids could be added
Following my earlier review, I concur with all the comments made about the removal of Turn One grandstands. This was the biggest mistake made not only for the spectators but for the drivers as outlined by Will Powers in his interviews. THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT AT ANY RACE TRACK IS TURN ONE, especially in any kind of motor sport. Please return the layout to the original setup.
The Indy is a great event and brings attention to Edmonton from all around the world. You are able to get up close to man, woman and machine. It is exciting to watch, many attractions and a fun environment. The City of Edmonton needs to promote the event much better within the City and surrounding areas, and make the City look more festive, especially as you enter from the outskirts. It definitely helps our economy, let us hope we can keep it here for many years to come.
The weather was terrific for the 3 day event, and the races were fantastic!
I have been a race fan long before the Indy race came to Edmonton I have attended every race and after it is over I can't help but wonder why people are not excited about this event. This year was different we had accidents on the track and we had people blocking anc we had a driver get out of his car and you could tell he was visibly upset very emotional. The fans saw that then they could relate to the driver he worked hard all through the race to make it to the front only to lose it because of someones interpertation of what he was doing very emotional very exciting.I hope it translate into more interest next year.
While the racing schedule was excellent and the races kept your attention, the decision to remove Turn One grandstands was foolish! The view from the old stands on Turn One was excellent for an overview of most of the track and particularly the start/finish line, Turn One and the chicane through Turn 5. Most of the passing and other action took place in the Turn 1 area and the replacement seats in Grandstand C were pathetic. Yes, you saw a small part of the pit lane, but all the action on the start finish line and through Turn 1 was too far away to be worthwhile. Luckily, there was a free grandstand at the end of the start/finish line and I was able to get good seats there by picking a spot in the early morning and guarding it with your life for the rest of the day. If this stand had not been there, I would not be returning even though I have been there since Year 1. Replace the Turn One stands or lose your customers - there were many fans that were disgusted with Grandstand C and most will not be returning if Turn One seats are not available.
Once again I most enjoyed the Indy weekend! My only issue was that they deleted our grandstand in turn 2/3 so not only were we not in row 1 as we have been since the first year but we missed all the acytion in truns 1, 2 & 3. PT once again showed us that he is an elite driver and I hope he is able to secure a full time ride next year, maybe Katz will see the light and provide sponsorship for a Canadian driver that can actually compete with the best in the world. No offense Tags, PT is just more skilled!
This is our second year in the rv park. I would not see the race ant other way.
Very good dollar value for race enthuists. $205.00 for 3 days of speed and action. Great weather, great people in Edmonton. Formula 1 weekend in comparison cost's upwards of $400.00. They need to bring prices down for refreshments. Not a problem if you plan ahead and pack some stuff.
Previous years when Champ car were way better. More displays. Better food. More interactive stuff. Northlands does not do a good job on food. Taste of Edmonton was on at same time. Why wasn't that incorporated some how? This is a major event and you would never had known it As a visitor to the city, there was nothing indicating so. If I didn't have tickets already, I would never have known. Whoever does the marketing should maybe attend another major race, the Calgary Stampede, or maybe even Grey Cup to see how it's done. Other city's make it race week with the race being the grand finale. Race day was great but more needs to be done if you want people to stick around for 3 days.
The three day Edmonton Indy race weekend was a great experience, especially with the weather holding throughout the event. The IRL, Indy Lights and NASCAR (Canadian Tire) practice sessions were well spaced with lots of opportunity to visit the paddock and walk the pit (see the attached photos of the Penske cars and KV Racing cars). The qualifying sessions proved very exciting, especially for the IRL group where all the Peak Pole winners were in the same 1st session vying for the top six spots. This group included Paul Tracy who was running well in all practice sessions, but unfortunately failed to make it to the final 12. The 2nd IRL group included Simona De Silvestro, a rookie in the series, who ran a fantastic session and ended up qualifying for the top 12. Simona just missed the fast 6, but otherwise proved she can run with the best, including the Penske and Gnassi drivers. Will Power was very fast all weekend taking the Peak Pole. Starting on pole, Will Power lead the majority of the race with Simona maintaining a respectable 6th position until being bumped off track and put down in the order. During this time Paul Tracy was able to complete 3 great passes on the inside of turn 1, driving in his classic fearless style and just managing to stay off the grass or in the wall. With only a few laps remaining Helio Castroneves took the lead from Will Power and it looked like we would see a different race winner. On the last lap Will Power made a move to pass and Helio blocked him on the inside of turn 1 - it looked like the Penske drivers were going to take each other. In the end Helio was penalized 20 seconds for the block and although he crossed the line first, ended up in 10th spot with Scott Dixon winning the race. As our seats were right in front of Paul Tracy's pit, we all cheered as he drove in, having finished 6th, just behind the power house Penske and Gnassi drivers. All in all, a great race weekend. My only requests to the next organizers of the race is to bring back the music entertainment and let the early attendees walk the paddock. It is a great time to see the crews in action working on suspensions and listening to them tune (and feel) the impressive Honda engines. We will be back next year!
Overall experience was amazing. All the cars, the beers, the sounds of motors reving like a banshee, and of course...mini donuts. How can you go wrong?!
We have been attending all the Champ & Indy races since it started in Edmonton. I have never been more dissapointed than this year. We originaly sat in Grandstand B at the end of pit row but this year the grandstand was moved to the opposite end of the pits so we lost our great view. We were never told that the grandstand would be moved!!! No Snowbirds, only 3 F18's, no Pipe Band, small representation from the RCMP & no parachute team. All this add's to the weekend. Thank's to all the drivers who put on great races.We will be back but there needs to be a great improvement to this year. Hopefully Octane can deliver!!
The paddock access needs to be moved to avoid the after race human grid lock. Not very professional set up considering. Making people wait to cross not a good thing especially when they are still removing gear from the pits. Move the grand stands down farther tobthe north and move the pits south and have two public entrances. It would solve this crossing issue. The racers would have uninterupted access to the paddocks.
