Kurt Verlin
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Detroit Grand Prix Wants To Get Back to City Streets

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IndyCar at 2021 Detroit Grand Prix
Photo: Honda

IndyCar’s Detroit Grand Prix has taken place on Belle Isle for nearly 30 decades, but race officials want to move the event back to the city streets, where it was held from its inception in 1982 until 1991.

Officials announced the State of Michigan agreed to extend its agreement to host the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle through 2024, but that they were “exploring the option of returning the event to a downtown street circuit in 2023.”


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According to Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones, the move back to the streets is “something the citizens have been asking for.” Certainly, they would enjoy the free viewership afforded by the proposed layout, which has the truck running on Jefferson and Atwater, and past the Monument to Joe Louis.

Mayor Mike Duggan stated he was a “strong supporter” of the proposition and reminisced about working downtown in the 80s when the grand prix took place. “It was exciting,” he said. “It shows off the city in a way that the shots from Belle Isle never did.”

Ericsson with 2021 Detroit Grand Prix winners trophy in front of Belle Isle Foundation
Marcus Ericsson, winner of the 2021 Detroit Grand Prix, poses in front of Belle Isle’s James Scott Memorial Fountain — where drivers have occasionally gone for a controversial celebratory swim
Photo: Honda

There are of course challenges to running a downtown race. Council Chairman Bud Denker emphasized the need to make the event inclusive to the city’s communities and minority businesses, as well as ensure it does not disrupt businesses and traffic.

That said, the race on Belle Isle has its own share of critics. Parkgoers, along with an activist group known as Belle Isle Concern, have opposed the grand prix for years, particularly the long setup and disassembly period that restricts access to areas of the park.

Open-wheel racing in Detroit started with Formula 1 in the early 1980s, and moving the event from Belle Isle to downtown streets could be a bid to attract the world’s most popular motorsport to the city —especially now that its American owners are looking to expand F1’s fan base in the United States.