Attending Portland Grand Prix?

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racingfan7

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Who has been to the Portland Grand Prix? How are the sightlines? Been thinking of attending this year and making the trip to Williamette Speedway a few days after for World of Outlaws.
 
I was there last year and at Willamette for WoO, which I attend at least a few times each year.

I am not much of a road racing authority. To me, PIR is a pretty good course in a nice setting. Primitive in terms of facilities, which is fine with me. One cool aspect is how close it is to the city, and that you can ride the light rail practically right to the front gate rather than fighting traffic.

In my opinion, the view from the front straight where the main grandstands are is quite limited and not great. But it depends on what you're looking for. My experience was colored by it being hot as hell (for Oregon) and having my five year old son with me for his first big race. The more expensive seats in the "festival curves" are probably better in terms of seeing some action. The RV spots and area are near those and also provide a good viewing location as well. In my opinion, the smart bargain move is to buy the cheapest tickets you can find and pick a spot along the back straight on the grassy hill. Bring a lawn chair, maybe an umbrella, or find a tree to sit under. You can move around and get views everywhere from turns 4 to 11. We found it more enjoyable back there than in the front bleachers.

Willamette is a cool little 1/3 mile. Slightly one groovish track, they have to prep it just right to get a good cushion and bottom. WoO will always put on a good show almost anywhere. You could also consider catching WoO at the high-banked Grays Harbor Raceway about 2.5 hours from Portland on Monday September 2, and then Willamette on Wednesday September 4. I would like to make both, and will be at at least one.
 
Looks like it's most likely the same schedule for 2019:

Friday: Practices & Qualifying Sessions
Saturday: MX-5 Cup Race 1, USF 2000 Race 1, Indy Lights Race 1, IndyCar Qualifying, Pro Mazda Race 1,
Sunday: MX-5 Cup Race 2, Indy Lights Race 2, IndyCar Series Portland Grand Prix, Pro Mazda Race 2, USF 2000 Race 2

gnomesayin said:
I was there last year and at Willamette for WoO, which I attend at least a few times each year.

I am not much of a road racing authority. To me, PIR is a pretty good course in a nice setting. Primitive in terms of facilities, which is fine with me. One cool aspect is how close it is to the city, and that you can ride the light rail practically right to the front gate rather than fighting traffic.

In my opinion, the view from the front straight where the main grandstands are is quite limited and not great. But it depends on what you're looking for. My experience was colored by it being hot as hell (for Oregon) and having my five year old son with me for his first big race. The more expensive seats in the "festival curves" are probably better in terms of seeing some action. The RV spots and area are near those and also provide a good viewing location as well. In my opinion, the smart bargain move is to buy the cheapest tickets you can find and pick a spot along the back straight on the grassy hill. Bring a lawn chair, maybe an umbrella, or find a tree to sit under. You can move around and get views everywhere from turns 4 to 11. We found it more enjoyable back there than in the front bleachers.

Willamette is a cool little 1/3 mile. Slightly one groovish track, they have to prep it just right to get a good cushion and bottom. WoO will always put on a good show almost anywhere. You could also consider catching WoO at the high-banked Grays Harbor Raceway about 2.5 hours from Portland on Monday September 2, and then Willamette on Wednesday September 4. I would like to make both, and will be at at least one.
Click to expand...

I'll have to consider Grays Harbor, rental cars are just expensive so I'm not sure if 1 vs 3 days will make a price difference.

I was considering Long Beach, but I feel like the sightlines would be mediocre compared to Portland & Portland is easier to access without a car compared to Long Beach & LA area. Plus World of Outlaws in town nearby seems better. I am interested to see how the IndyCar experience is I've never been to a race live.
 
True, rental cars will be expensive over Labor Day weekend especially. Portland itself is pretty easy to get around without one.
 
Wish Portland would bring Stadium Super Trucks lol. I know Blancpain GT World Challenge America is running in July.
 
Does IndyCar have a fanvision rental similar to NASCAR (I don't use FanVision at races because videoboards are so close) or do they have decent videoboards?? Hopefully the 3 day paddock pass is worth it.
 
AuzGrams said:
Does IndyCar have a fanvision rental similar to NASCAR (I don't use FanVision at races because videoboards are so close) or do they have decent videoboards?? Hopefully the 3 day paddock pass is worth it.
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It doesn't look like they offer FanVision for IndyCar: https://racingelectronics.com/pages/at-the-track but I imagine they'll at least bring temporary video boards in? I know the race promoters are the same as St. Pete - Green Savoree - and they have several video boards brought in each year. But I can't say for sure.
 
I'm happy to see it. Even with 8 truck fields so far.

Portland looks a little less crowded than Long Beach, waa considering going there, but with WoO in the area, Portland looks better.
 
I'm really tempted to go to Portland and visit Oregon / Washington but my excitement as a fan isn't quite the same without a hot pass (is IndyCar any different than NASCAR for that?) when you can only see portions of the track, Sonoma is good enough for me that you can see 70-85% with binoculars, I don't know how Portland is like that in festival curves?

IndyCar Racing-Electronic scanner rentals have a radio broadcast feed right? That's really all I absolutely need honestly, the Fanvision that they do for NASCAR stats/video is just a bonus.
 
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