Making a case for IndyCar at Adelaide instead of Surfers

The 3.78 km (2.347-mile) Adelaide circuit is everything a street circuit should be. F1 used to race there.

A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, Please tell me the first time that Mr. Miles says anything like, "We are considering Adelaide," so I can start saving for the trip. I've been to Gold Coast, but not for a race. It's a terrific city, though relatively expensive. The Supercars put on a really fun event. But, for a fan primarily interested in seeing actual racing, it stinks, (unless you're a fan of crashed cars). For fans attending a street race, the rule is: very limited track views, and even more limited ability to move from one good spot to another. Really, very few good viewing spots, period. You get to watch most of the race on TV — a TV that is (probably) bigger than the one you could have used at your own home. Adelaide is the exception to that rule.

Adelaide is very open, with fast corners, hairpins, long corners, fast esses, two straights, and a couple typical street-intersection 90's. There are numerous great viewing spots. It's easy to wander from place to place. The large, mostly covered grandstands are right where you want them to be. It's half street course, and half road course, (and, it's downtown).

Mark Miles would be better off trying to get IndyCar to team up with the Supercar race in late February in Adelaide. The crowds are huge, the venue perfect.

While I love the Adelaide circuit for its racing, it definitely does not lack for festivities. C'mon, we're talking about Australia. (I'm pretty sure that every race ticket ever issued in Australia includes "guaranteed party" in the fine print on the back of the ticket.)

Can IndyCar draw a reasonable crowd at Adelaide? More likely, it will be unreasonably huge. The special ALMS race on New Years Eve 2000-2001 drew over 130,000 (three day total). The Supercar races in 2017 and 2018 were both called "sell outs," at over 100,00 on race day, alone. The track actually closed the "IN" gates last year. Also, I've seen the tremendous job that Adelaide does to promote a race.

I have attended two to three races at three of the four best tracks in Australia, and seen the other Supercar tracks on TV. Recognizing that Mount Panorama is insanely unsafe for IndyCar speeds, and Albert Park would be a political quagmire, Adelaide is the ideal location for a successful IndyCar race. Go ahead — force me to renew my passport. Roger Wyman, Pleasant Hill, CA

Note: Back in 2002 Roger wrote to us about why Adelaide would be such a good venue for IndyCar