Indycar heads back East : leveling the field

Round 14 - The inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix. The Labor Day weekend event on September 2-4, 2011 will be a highlight and a new fixture for the city of Baltimore. The Grand Prix will be contested on a temporary street circuit around the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore. Baltimore Racing Development has announced a multi-year contract with the Indy Racing League and the City of Baltimore. Bearing this in mind, we welcome this first year in Baltimore, and look forward to next year with all the changes and additions 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series has in store.

Similar to the MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225, here again we have a race where the venue will be new to all the drivers. Loudon saw real strength and speed from James, who like all the other drivers was new to the track. Unfortunately, he was badly let down by mechanical a failure at nearly the very end. Had he been able to continue the race, there's no doubt we would have seen one of the best finishing positions from James so far. He was holding a strong mid teen position for the majority of the second half of the race. Loudon is an oval, Baltimore is a street course, where James naturally reverts back to his decade of racing experience in the UK and Europe.

This race will indeed be something to watch. Will James' natural second nature kick in with this street track? How interesting it will be to see the other drivers at the same disadvantage that James experiences at every race, having never driven - let alone raced it before. We saw a degree of that at Loudon, however a street course offers a completely different challenge. As the 2011 season presses on, James' driving consistency, progression, and strength has improved with each passing race.

The Baltimore street course is 2.4 miles. The course will start/finish near the intersection of Pratt Street, one of Baltimore's main roads, and Sharp Street. It contains 12 turns, including a hairpin turn at the intersection of Light Street and Lee Street. The main straight runs along Pratt Street from Paca Street to Calvert Street and is 0.5 miles (0.80 km) long. The course will have 13 grandstands and 5 bridges. The course will pass by various Baltimore landmarks including The Baltimore Convention Center, Inner Harbor, and Camden Yards. Of course, timing is always a factor with racing, and the scheduling of this race fell fortunate with the recent severe weather conditions. Follow the link to see the forecast for the Labor Day weekend: Weather Forcast

Ticket pricing, parking, visitor facilities, and scheduling information for the event is available on the Baltimore GP website BaltimoreGrandPrix.com

Watch the IZOD IndyCar Series at the Baltimore Grand Prix live on Versus: Qualifications at 6:00 pm Saturday 3rd: Race at 2:00 PM Sun on Versus