Anyone been to a street race?

No, not THAT kind of street race, you delinquent...

With the IndyCar Series not going to Watkins Glen this year, and me never having seen the ALMS in person, I'm loving the idea of seeing them both at the street race in Baltimore. Since it's the first running no one really knows what the stands, viewing, etc. will be like, but what are some general differences between what to expect compared to a permanent road course? Are you usually more locked into your grandstand seat and don't really move, can sightlines be an issue? Do organizers generally roll out with enough extras/attractions to add some value to what is a pretty expensive ticket?

I'd love to hear your good and bad stories about city races in general, to see if it will be worth the $110-160 for weekend grandstand tickets (Twice what WGI cost, and I still got a grandstand for that).

I have been to the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix when Indy and ALMS ran there in 2007. It was a blast, and it was a beautiful day.

I would go again in a heartbeat.

The last few years I've been at the qualifying for the Honda Grand Prix at St. Pete....

Do the Melbourne Grand Prix, Gold Coast CART or Bathurst qualify

I went to the Trans Am races they used to hold in downtown MInneapolis. The bleacher seats cost too much money, so I would get general admission tickets and spend the day walking around the course. I figured it was more entertaining that way.

you laugh now, aussie, until the the troll decides to give your race to someone far, far away...

Jim Fitzgerald was an acquaintence of mine..I don't care for street circuits as much as I did as a kid.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-11-09/news/8702040613_1_trans-am-season-petersburg-grand-prix-trans-am-series-race
http://www.datsun.org/fairlady/Fitzy.htm

I attended multiple Champ Car races in Denver when they did a street circuit there. My bleacher seats only saw the exit to the last corner, all of turn one, and the entry to two. But, I thought they did an excellent job with the PA system and had huge LED video screens to cover the action on the rest of the track as well as track timing & scoring. They did a really good job with the support races too, they had the local vintage racers come out as well as World Challenge. They had plenty of other attractions around the track to walk around and check out, which we did between races.

I gotta say, watching all of those guys drive at those speeds through the "concrete canyons" they made with the K rails showed me how small my testicular fortitude really is.

Go see it. You can leave your grandstand seat and stand next to the fence at a corner. The speed they carry thru the turns is frightening. Bring earplugs, it's really loud.

sergio wrote: Bring earplugs, it's really loud.

I was instructing at Pocono two years ago when someone was tuning an Indy car on the front straight. They were just running down/back/down/back and then pulling in to fiddle. I was in an unmuffled car @7k rpms, at the other end of the facility, wearing a helmet and it was loud.

I can't really imagine the noise of 17 of them open wide between tall buildings.

I don't know from a spectator point, but I crewed at the Grand Prix Miami and the St. Pete Grand Prix. Hated it. Access was very difficult, you could not get around because the access area were often closed because of the races. We arrived at the Miami race and could not get in. 5 minutes late, closed. Logistics sucked. Pit areas were small and crowded. Once in, spectating, when I could do so, was pretty good, but we were not there for that.

Miami GP spectating, in the last few iterations, was a mess. They line the inside and outside of the course with armco and fencing, then hang advertising banners on the fencing. There was almost nowhere to see the course other than from a grandstand.

It wasn't that way in the 80s.

I have been to the Detroit street races, Formula 1 and Indy car. I will go again but I will not pay for the privelege. The race is hard to watch and everything is overpriced. However 30 miles away I can get into Waterford Hills and watch good racing , with many great vantage points for $5 if I remember to print the coupon from their website. An additional $10 gets you in the pits. I have taken people that have never been to a race to both places. Everyone that goes to Waterford wants to go again, not so much for Detroit or other "big time" events.

Ive been to the US GP when it was in Phoenix back in the 80's, the Camel race at Del Mar in the 80's, and Long Beach at least 3 times. Don't remember anything from the 80's races as I was only 2 or 3...

I will be in St. Pete in 2 weeks to watch the Honda Gran Prix through the streets of St. Pete. I am very excited to see this.

Watch it on TV.........

I was to one of the horrible Meadowlands Grand Prixs... brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr what crap.

If you need to smell the fumes and feel the sun, rip a hole in your roof, and park an idling car outside an open window..............

Street races can be fun - been to the Long Beach GP 10+ times - but the viewing compared to a natural terrain road course is really limited. Fences, buildings etc all conspire to block your view. Make sure you get a seat with a view of a big screen as that helps. General admission isnt much good if you really want to see the race as all the best spots are occupied with grandstands. I only to go Long Beach on Fridays now - crowds are less and half the grandstands are general admission on that day.