Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle
The biggest and most popular auto racing event in Michigan is the Detroit Grand Prix. Every year on Belle Isle which is located near downtown Detroit they hold the race in May over a long three day weekend. The race includes the VZW Indy Car, Tudor United Sports Car Championship, Speed Energy Stadium Super Track, and last but not least the Pirelli World Challenge. They are all located on Belle Isle's Raceway track. The event has many sponsors such as Chevy, Caddilas, Auto Trade, BCBS Insurance, Coke, FifthThird Bank, Meijer Grocery Store, Tim Hortons Restaurant, PNC Bank, Quicken Loans (Rock Financial), and some of the local news stations. If you are not a fan of auto racing the event is still great and you won't be disappointed. There is much more going on than just the races, read below to see some of the things you can do and learn more about the race.
The first race series we're going to talk about is the Verizon Indy Car Series! The Verizon Indy Car Series is the premiere open wheel racing series in all of North America. This series offers one of the few of the most diverse and challenging schedules in motor sports! With the races held on ovals, permanent road courses and temporary street circuits, roads are a bit more challenging to navigate. This Indy Car series debuted a new car in the year of 2012, the Dallara DW12. Chevrolet and Honda are the two engine manufacturers that competed in the 2014 Verizon Indy Car series. The 2014 series featured star drivers such as Helio Castroneves, Marco Andretti, Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Juan Pablo Montoya and Will Power! The series hosted two full championship races on one special weekend in Belle Isle, 2014!
The TUDOR United Sports Car Championship made it's debut in the year 201. They made their debut due to the merger between the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Tequila Patron. This particular series features 4 classes; GT Le Mans (GTLM), Prototype (P), Prototype Challenge (PC) and GT Daytona (GTD) racing at the same time at most of the races, driven by many of this world's greatest road racers. The Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix will include both the P and GTD classes. The GTD class features machinery such as the Ferrari 458, Porsche 911, Audi R8 and the SRT Viper. The 13-race TURDOR Championship is highlighted by endurance races, the season opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, Mobil 1, with twelve hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh from Florida and the 1,000 mile or 10 hour Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks, also refereed to as the SST, is a race with the added concept of Motor sports. The SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks brings the best of Baja together with the excitement of motor cross and road course racing in the mix! They've brought this new idea to venues all over North America. SUPER Trucks are high powered off roading trucks that race side by side on dirt and asphalt tracks with an extensive array of obstacles to test each drivers skill levels. The obstacles will include tight corners, high speeds and large jumps! This is one race you do not want to miss!
The Pirelli World Challenge Series purpose is to find teams, aftermarket suppliers and manufactures a competitive, entertaining and production based race series. This race consists of four classes, The Grand Touring (GT), Grand Touring Sport (GTS), Touring Car (TC) and Touring Car B-Spec (TCB)! The Pirelli World Challenge Series manufacturers are Ford, Honda, Mazda, Porsche, Volvo and Cadillac. This series hosts two races on Belle Isle!
The Motor City Casino Hotel will have an entertainment stage at the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, located in the Meijer Fan Zone! Here they will have daily concerts during the race show. In 2014 the show had 2XL, Rock & Roll Prep School, Orbis, Lifehouse, Shaggy, Anna de Ferran and L'USA. If you're one of those people who love to volunteer, or you just want to be a part of the race yourself, the Detroit Grand Prix needs your help! They are looking for people to join the Detroit Grand Prix Association. Sign up and become a member of one of Metro Detroit’s most dedicated volunteer program! Experience the Detroit Grand Prix in Belle Isle, in a fun, exciting and unique way! If you'd like to sign up you can go to www.detroitgp.com! If you have any questions about the tickets and ticket sales, you can call (866) 464-PRIX (7749)! Get them while they last!