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MV66, from ticket renewal reports we've read here, Long Beach is on for 2014. And I'm not going to be terribly happy seeing VIR drop from the calendar, assuming it does.
Beetle, Long Beach is 1.968 miles, and Baltimore is 2.04 miles, without the chicane. Also, the Fountain Complex and the entry to the Hairpin at Long Beach are both narrower than any place on the Baltimore circuit.
The tie to Detroit is the American manufacturers. Chevy sponsors the event. The long course on Belle Isle isn't bad. Without Yacaman making a mess on the first lap of the Grand-Am race, I think that event would have been seen to have gone pretty smoothly.
Mosport isn't actually confirmed yet; so, we don't exactly know which venues are at the front of the line in the middle of the continent. Also, it makes sense to have more races in an area where you have a lot of population, like the Northeast and Upper Midwest.
Myself, I just about expect that Mid Ohio, Lime Rock, VIR, and Barber are gone. If all three rovals return, and all three temporary circuits are locked in by contracts, you then have Watkins Glen, Road Atlanta, and Sebring for sure on top of those. If we're down to 11 rounds (just half of what we have this year!), then I suspect it will be Road America and Austin, with Laguna Seca and Mosport both out of luck.
So, I already KNOW that I'm NOT going to be happy about next year's calendar, and I suspect that may be the case for much of the coming decade.
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