American spectacle fails to win over British fans

Little excitement for Brands Hatch crowd as restrictive circuit hinders Champ Car series' efforts to entertain

The American commentator could scarcely be accused of over-hyping the occasion. "A relatively incident-free event," was his summary of yesterday's London Champ Car Trophy race.

A crowd of nearly 40,000 witnessed Cart's latest attempt to find a home in this country and could be forgiven for wondering why the series still claims to represent racing at its most thrilling. For two hours they watched the cars circulating the 1.2-mile Indy track, nestling in the natural amphitheatre here, and waited in vain for the much-vaunted spectacle to materialise. The 23-year-old Frenchman, Sebastien Bourdais, in only his fourth Champ Car race, achieved his maiden victory with an impeccable drive and confirmed the potential evident when he won last year's International Formula 3000 Championship.

However, he assumed command from Paul Tracy, the series leader, after the first round of pit stops and when the Canadian pulled off with smoke and flames billowing from his car, the contest was effectively over.

Bourdais made his only dramatic manoeuvre at the end, thrusting his Newman-Haas Lola Ford-Cosworth into celebratory spins – known as "doughnuts" in the trade. A tad embarrassingly, he stalled. It was that kind of day.

The short circuit here is simply too tight and restrictive for machinery with the performance of Champ Cars. Overtaking was virtually impossible, leaving those expectant spectators with the kind of procession once associated with Formula One. Drivers were also concerned about fuel consumption, most of them having opted for a two-stop strategy.

British promoters endeavour to embrace American racing but, after the demise of the Rockingham venture, the future of Cart in this country seems no more assured.

Bourdais and his team mate, Bruno Junqueira, who finished second, and the third-placed Mario Dominguez, of Herdez Competition, all expressed their frustration and concerns that Champ Cars had been unable to give full expression here in Kent. That message was echoed by Britain's sole representative, Darren Manning, an enthusiastic recruit in the build-up to this event. It had been an inauspicious day for him, anyway. He finished 10th after twice running off the track.

He said: "The cars don't get the chance to stretch their legs here. It's also so easy to block other cars here. And then you have the problem of conserving fuel. The Champ Cars series needed to be aired here and I do believe it could have a great future in this country. I'm sure the fans would take to it. But hopefully it will be switched to the grand prix circuit. That would promote a lot more overtaking."

The reality is that it would also require extensive safety work and expense. That may prove prohibitive.

The anticlimactic feeling contrasted with all the pre-race optimism and peripheral activity here. American racing has always claimed a more equable and fan-friendly alternative to the grand prix variety. The cars are less sophisticated, more evenly matched and the action generally better. Tickets are cheaper, drivers and teams are more accessible. It is fries and beer to Formula Ones' canapés and champagne.

But then American racing has also gone through a domestic fall-out, creating something of an identity crisis. Indycars are no more. Now it is Carts, Champ Cars and the Indy Racing League. Cart retains its combination of road and oval events, while IRL is an oval series. IRL also has the plum draw of the Indianapolis 500.

Rockingham contend the split confused British fans and undermined their initiative. In their first year, 2001, they had 26 cars. Last year they had 18. Rain and a "weeping track" seriously disrupted the first event and, 12 months on, the attendance had fallen from 42,000 to 32,000.

A "sanction fee" of £2m proved too heavy a burden to carry and Rockingham gave up on the race, although Cart maintain they have not given up on Rockingham. Tim Mayer, the director of International Operations for Cart, said: "Rockingham is not necessarily dead. You have to go through an education process with respect to oval racing. It was an experiment ahead of its time. But we could be back at Rockingham. We would never rule it out."

He did concede that the prospect of coming to Brands, a world-renowned circuit, close enough to the capital to include London in the race title, was more appealing than pitching up somewhere in middle England. Similar reasoning renders a British Olympic bid based outside London futile.

Brands' owners, Octagon, part of the American Interpublic Group of Companies, have also come to a more accommodating financial arrangement with Cart. They have shared in the promoting and costing of the event – and would, indeed, share the losses. The "multi-year" deal done, Cart are anxious to wow the British public.

A general admission ticket yesterday cost £40 for an adult, free for children. A £15 upgrade bought a seat. General admission for the race day at this year's British Grand Prix at Silverstone costs £115 for adults, £30 for children. Seats cost £140 and Cart maintain they give more for your money.

Mayer said: "We're not strictly a racing business, we're in the entertaining business. Of course, we believe we have exciting racing and here at Brands the spectators can see 90 per cent of the track.

"We also try to give the fans a package that is accessible. We encourage them to get close. We want them to touch and feel, to smell the methanol. Whether they come for the racing, the funfair, the camping, the eating or the beer, I hope there's plenty for everybody."

Ultimately, you suspect, they will come back only if they are convinced the racing is good enough.