Miller Motorsports Park

[JohnBM01]

I was surprised that the AMA Superbikes ran this 3.06 mile course. I think the course is actually the longest in America- even longer than Road America. The AMA christened this course, and it's soon to be raced by the American Le Mans Series and the Speed World Challenge among others. I think the nicest recent course made was Barber Motorsports Park. But, what do you think about the new Miller Motorsports Park?

Speed Channel motorcycle road racing analyst Freddie Spencer said that this course reminded him of the Doha Circuit in Qatar. The track does seem like one of those "jewel in the desert" tracks like the Bahrain Circuit. F. Spencer mentions that this is a Grand Prix-type circuit (like what I think about Barber Motorsports Park). Motorcycle racers here say that this course is a wonderful course and prosspective of maybe a World Superbike or MotoGP. I'm really starting to think that America is sort of on the rise in terms of world-class, European-style race tracks. Only thing now is if we can come up with a widely respectable FIA-spec road course for a chance to host pure world-class racing on. The 62-year old owner, Larry Miller talked to the Speed crew. He talked about some of the different things Miller still wanted to attend to for this wonderful track:

* cosmetic changes still to be made
* like to see MotoGP, IRL, Champ Car, maybe even Formula One
* more seating in plans
* not enough track features yet

See? Americans can come up with classy race tracks even as much as European-spec. I haven't heard of too many ovals recently being built (especially since Houston Superspeedway been cancelled long ago), so I've heard of a few new road courses being made. The track has a lot going for it. Another thing about MMP is that it isn't far from the Bonneville Salt Flats. I think Speed commentator Ralph Sheheen mentioned that there's probably only one other race track in Utah, which is some "short" track called Royal Mountain Raceway or something. So what do you think about this new course? The website is: { http://www.millermotorsportspark.com }.

By the way, congratulations to Suzuki for winning every race so far in AMA Superbike. I liked Suzukis in "Tourist Trophy," and it seems like Suzuki is giving Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ducati, and Buell (in series?) more complications. That honor held until Jamie Hacking (Honda CBR1000RR) broke the Suzuki domination. That's one of the disadvantages to pre-typing things. Stuff can change just when you think you know what the hell you want to talk about.

 

[Elegy]

It certainly looks like a wholly challenging course (particularly the full course; it's 4.5 miles long! ). I wonder which configuration the ALMS and SCCA are going to run on in July...

 

[m.piedgros]

Grand-Am are doing 9 hours there on labor day weekend.

m.piedgros

 

[Layla's Keeper]

America HAS FIA QUALITY COURSES NOW!

Ferchrissakes, Mid-Ohio, Road America at Elkhart Lake, Watkins Glen, Brainerd, and that's just in the Great Lakes region!

It's this sort of short-sighted, "But it's not new" whining that cost Mid-Ohio the Runoffs, and will only lead to more cookie-cutter Tilke washouts and fewer REAL RACE TRACKS.

 

[JohnBM01]

You know, Leyla's Keeper, I ALWAYS thought Road America was an FIA-quality course, especially if it was enhanced a bit more. Imagine this: The F1 Grand Prix of America at Road America. Even though it's no longer the longest track in America (no pun intended), but it is still a quality challenge. Larry Miller may be the one to provide about as much quality courses as there are in Europe and Japan.

How many of you can actually imagine what this track COULD look like if they hosted MotoGP, (maybe) Formula One, FIA GT, or any international-spec series? I actually see GREAT things for this track. And in a way... I sort of envision it looking more like a European-style course. Maybe with that "Attitude" chicane section, I was probably imagine seeing banners for betandwin.com or maybe a lot of grandstands. Please note that this is the shorter track AMA Road Racing ran on. I've never been outside of Texas (fartest east- Beaumont; farthest west- Kerrville), but I can imagine Barber Motorsports Park. If that track doesn't scream "European circuit," NOTHING does. Barber Motorsports Park (I have my own old thread on this track) is another quality job. I really think that recent road courses are looking VERY good and may possibly have a chance at hosting some quality international race courses in addition to competitive American series. I must say that I have some great, newfound respect for Larry Miller. He's done a stellar job for a track that took about 15 months and hundreds of millions of dollars. But he got it done. Now if only he (or some other talented bloke) can make a quality FIA-style, European-style race course here in southeast Texas, then WE would be on the map. There is Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, but that's a short track and drag race course.

The website to this track is: http://www.millermotorsportspark.com. Roll the pointer over "Track Info" and click on "Track Configurations." The AMA Road Racing series raced MMP's Outer Course. The Outer Course is 3.06 miles long which bypasses technical inner sections. This perimeter course is told to be great for stock cars and other road racing events. The Speed World Challenge will race the baddest of the configurations, the FULL COURSE! The Full Course is 4.5 miles long, making it the longest existing race course in America, if not the longest permanent race course in America. It features over 24 turns, 12 straights for a total of 2,855 ft. (about a mile and a half since 1,760 yards is one mile), and 12 spots to overtake. Plus, it just looks wicked. To use NASCAR terms, the Full Course is a car-breaker. The info in this paragraph was from the website. You are free to comment on this course. By the way, when I seen the tall mountains, it almost reminded me of a certain F1 race course- the beautiful A-1 Ring in Austria.

And one last note, Leyla's Keeper mentioned Mid-Ohio losing the Valvoline Runoffs. The track hosting it now is Heartland Park Topeka. Some of you NASCAR Craftsman Truck fans may remember this course because the Craftsman Trucks used to race this course. And according to "NASCAR Racing 1999 Edition," it is a pretty tough course.

 

[Elegy]

To give a good comparison, Spa-Francorchamps is a little over 4.3 miles long. So one could probably expect times at MMP to be within a similar range to those at Spa, I'd imagine.

 

[JohnBM01]

Both the ALMS and Rolex Sports Cars should put on great shows at this course. Miller Motorsports Park may just put Utah on the map since there isn't too much racing in Utah except for the Bonneville Salt Flats event and some little-known short track there. Anytime you can put in a world-class race course in a city not a lot of people know about, you do GREAT wonders. How do you think people get to know about Knoxville, IA? Because of the annual Knoxville Nationals. Only Knoxville I know is Knoxville, TN, home to the University of Tennessee Volunteers.

Carry on with your views on this new race track.

 

[JohnBM01]

What have others been saying about Miller Motorsports Park? Look no further to what speedtv.com and the Grand American Series had to report. As reported by the Grand American series, Daytona Prototypes had their chance to give the course a whirl back last month. Here is what some of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car stars are saying:

"It's a great track and it's going to be an amazing facility...I think it's going to make for some of the best racing we ever see. It's pretty wide and very smooth, and there's lots of places to pass. There are probably 10 good passing spots on this track. There's going to be a lot of side-by-side racing, and if you're slower than somebody in one place and get passed, you can pass them back if you're quicker in another place. You can get lost here more than at other tracks. It's definitely a fun race track." -DP racer Mike Borkowski

"It's a very nice place, nice facility... It doesn't look like it's in America. We have rest rooms in the pits, which is pretty unusual...it's the perfect track to have a nine-hour race and it's the perfect track to have a lot of cars." -DP Racer Max "The Axe" Angelelli

You can read more of this month-old article at: http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/grandam/23310/ . But what do YOU think about this new course?

 

[Jim Prower]

Just added it to the GT5 Track Wishlist.

 

[m.piedgros]

America HAS FIA QUALITY COURSES NOW!

Ferchrissakes, Mid-Ohio, Road America at Elkhart Lake, Watkins Glen, Brainerd, and that's just in the Great Lakes region!

It's this sort of short-sighted, "But it's not new" whining that cost Mid-Ohio the Runoffs, and will only lead to more cookie-cutter Tilke washouts and fewer REAL RACE TRACKS.

I couldn't agree more. Fortunately club racing is still at home in Ohio. NASA are running their National Championships at Mid-Ohio. Off-topic; what do you guys think about the U.S. Grand Prix? Does it belong at Indy? Does it belong, as I and I'm sure many others believe, at Road America? Heck there are hundreds of other locations I'd rather see it at. Partially because of personal bias, and patially because I think there is a far greater threat of serious injury, or god forbid death at Indy than there is at other U.S. circuits. Would it not be viable to run the G.P. at Sonoma? NASCAR's place in the circuits yearly schedule has brought it up to what I think many would consider FIA quality. I think they could hold an F1 capacity crowd there. Couldn't they?

m.piedgros

 

[scoobyonline200]

I suppose its not a green track, no vegitation at all??? so I guess its a Bahrain type of track....dusty??? or am I wrong?

 

[JohnBM01]

My past on GTPlanet had me saying that Indy stole the chance of an F1 race on a real track. I'm not a card-carrying member of the Tony George club, but I felt that the race could have been at a better course than Indianapolis. Sorry if I sound one-sided, but I wouldn't like watching an F1 race on a "roval." I'd rather a real track like Road America, Sebring, Road Atlanta, Laguna Seca... but Tony George had to bring the event to Indy instead of a permanent road course. A big advantage to a permanent road course (or even a temporary street course) is that you don't have to worry about red flags and such if there's heavy rain on the track. In terms of tracks that had oval configurations to it, I'd rather Monza than Indy. Hell, I'd do Vallelunga's road course than Indy. But then, there are some who say that F1 races at some of the greatest places in the entire country to race at and hold national F1 Grands Prix at. Indianapolis has a lot of history to it and not disputing it. Making a road course around Indy had that one problem of one turn being rather blunt on the oval. People complained EVERYONE. I'm talking about people here who hated the French, hated the FIA, but the real culprit was Michelin. Michelin was the winning tire make of last year's 24 Hours Le Mans, and you mean to tell me that they can't provide quality tires for F1 cars at this course? This was sad even though a plan to put in a temporary chicane at Indy was declined. Word to the wise- go to a permanent road course where racers don't have to worry too much about niggles things like that final turn of the Indy course. I would have liked Road America or Road Atlanta better. I'd even go with Laguna Seca like with the MotoGP crew. They could have even done Sebring. But why Indy? Why build a road course specially catered to F1? And why doesn't any other American road racing sanctions use this course if it's so prestigious and special? I sort of think of this as missed oppurtunity. But what can I do about it? I'm insignificant to any of this.

As an off-topic deal to the last paragraph, I hope F1 NEVER races Fuji again even after Herman Tilke screwed up Fuji to cater it to F1 racers. Stay in Suzuka. The Grand Prix of Japan is better in Suzuka than the screw job Tilke did to Fuji. But if you want to be on the topic of exotic or significant locales in the countries F1 races in, you could say that the only thing in Fuji's defense is Mt. Fuji- the national symbol of Japan.

Rant over. More on Miller Motorsports Park or provide answers to m.piedgros's question.

 

[scoobyonline200]

Just to add a few more cents to my 2 that I put before, I found some videos of the track how it looks. Below is the link to the page that holds them, and also a link to the video that shows the pits. Check'em out.

Video of the pits: The Pits at MMP

All The Videos of MMP:All Videos of MMP

 

[dougiemeats]

I tend to like racetracks with green surrounding it, but I really like this race track from what I saw of the Utah Grand Prix. The scenery, though somewhat bare, is beautiful. I believe it has already been added to the "GT5 Track Wishlist," and I certainly hope it makes in the game.

 

[TheCracker]

Watched some ALMS high-lights from Miller MSP on Motors TV last night. Can't say i was too impressed, seemed pretty featureless both as a venue and a track. It suffers from being a dust bowl leading to the track being a bad place to be off the racing line, which is never good for overtaking. Still i only watched for a short while and didn't get a great handle on the circuit.

 

[JohnBM01]

Yeah, but think about the Bahrain F1 course. I've raced it in "ToCA Race Driver 3," and it's almost like a desert turned into a race track. There isn't as much to ellicit it as a track with a lot around it. Think about the beautiful forests around Lime Rock Park, the castle at the Nürburgring (F1 course, Nordschleife, or the full 24h course), the amusement park stuff around Suzuka, and the like. I will say that it can be tough to keep track of exactly where the cars are on the track. Now, Mr. Larry Miller said there is still a little more the track needs to be upgraded for. I just hope the track can one day host something like MotoGP or Formula 1 at the track. Speaking of MotoGP, the MotoGP boys will be at Laguna Seca and Kentucky's Nicky Hayden will return home. I wonder what it would be like if the MotoGP crew fulfilled the wishes of Mr. Larry Miller by having some MotoGP bikes do some practice. I know the track probably isn'tas packed at this point, but I see GREAT things for this course, much less for Rocky Mountain racing.

What would make Miller Motorsports Park better for you, TheCracker?

 

[m.piedgros]

Bahrain literally is desert turned to race track. And having driven it in Race Driver 3 as well, I love it. Barber Motorsports Park needs to be green, I think that Miller Motorsports Park needs to be brown. Fifty years from now folks will be talking about how that is part of the tracks character.

m.piedgros

 

[L8 Apex]

Riverside was always a dust bowl (though it was occasionally a mud bog, from some pics I've seen), and few people really ever faulted it for that. Same is true of Willow Springs, Bahrain, Doha, etc. In other words, you don't necessarily need lush greenery to have a fun and challenging circuit.

 

[dougiemeats]

Miller Motorsports Park has received the award of "Motorsport Facility of the Year" at the Professional Motorsport World Expo.

Here is a list of the winners from all the categories: Winners

 

[JohnBM01]

I would say it's a well-deserved honor for the track. It's been a big battleground for American competition. I'd love to see some international competition at this wonderful place. Awesome place.