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30th
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The FIA WEC and Indianapolis Motor Speedway discussed the possibility of holding a round at the legendary circuit and will pursue the discussion next month.
"Sports cars are something we're taking a serious look at," Doug Boles told Racer.
"We'd love to have sports cars back at the Speedway; it would need to be a standalone race, and after having the Grand-Am series here for the first time in 2012 and 2013, and that turning into the IMSA series this year - all as part of the NASCAR weekend. But it wasn't fair for them to come in and fit their event into essentially a day and a half and race on Friday. We'd really want to see sports cars have a full weekend of their own at Indianapolis," added the IMS president.
The Brickyard is set to host the 100th running of the Indy 500 in 2016. This would be the perfect year for sports cars to return to Indiana. The repaved and reconfigured IMS road track would be used.
"We haven't focused completely on what it would be; we'd welcome the WEC or IMSA, or both, and we'd definitely want to do it in 2016, if we can make it happen, because we're celebrating the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 and with so much history and innovation surrounding the track, high-tech sports cars would fit perfectly into everything we're working towards a little over a year from now," Doug Boles added.
The FIA WEC held its first race at Circuit of The Americas in 2013, sharing the event with IMSA. Canada and Mexico have also been cited by the WEC as possible hosts for a second event in North America.
If a WEC round at Indianapolis does land on the 2016 calendar, a slight tweak to the standard six-hour race length could be on the cards to fit the 100th Indy 500 anniversary celebrations. The first Indy 500, held in 1911 and won by Ray Harroun, lasted six hours and 42 minutes.
"Sports cars are something we're taking a serious look at," Doug Boles told Racer.
"We'd love to have sports cars back at the Speedway; it would need to be a standalone race, and after having the Grand-Am series here for the first time in 2012 and 2013, and that turning into the IMSA series this year - all as part of the NASCAR weekend. But it wasn't fair for them to come in and fit their event into essentially a day and a half and race on Friday. We'd really want to see sports cars have a full weekend of their own at Indianapolis," added the IMS president.
The Brickyard is set to host the 100th running of the Indy 500 in 2016. This would be the perfect year for sports cars to return to Indiana. The repaved and reconfigured IMS road track would be used.
"We haven't focused completely on what it would be; we'd welcome the WEC or IMSA, or both, and we'd definitely want to do it in 2016, if we can make it happen, because we're celebrating the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 and with so much history and innovation surrounding the track, high-tech sports cars would fit perfectly into everything we're working towards a little over a year from now," Doug Boles added.
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| The FIA WEC at Austin, Texas. (Photo: WRi2) |
The FIA WEC held its first race at Circuit of The Americas in 2013, sharing the event with IMSA. Canada and Mexico have also been cited by the WEC as possible hosts for a second event in North America.
If a WEC round at Indianapolis does land on the 2016 calendar, a slight tweak to the standard six-hour race length could be on the cards to fit the 100th Indy 500 anniversary celebrations. The first Indy 500, held in 1911 and won by Ray Harroun, lasted six hours and 42 minutes.