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New Detroit track “more like Long Beach than Belle Isle”, says Ferrucci

AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci hopes that the new downtown Detroit street circuit lives up to the exciting IndyCar racing that the nearby Belle Isle track produced.

Ferrucci, who finished third in last weekend’s Indianapolis 500, took some laps around the street course layout – which will be used for the first time this weekend – in his Chevrolet Tahoe SUV in the off-season.

The 1.7-mile, nine-turn circuit features a huge straight on one of Detroit’s most famous streets and, unique in IndyCar, a split pitlane.

“That place looks phenomenal,” said Ferrucci. “We went in the wintertime to go check it out. I just got a picture of pitlane. Super excited for everything.

“Very happy to be going 200 miles an hour down Jefferson [Avenue, one of the five major roads in the city]. It was still bumpy in the Tahoe that we took a hot lap in, so I can't imagine what it's going to be like in the IndyCar.

“The straight is longer than the one at the [Indy] GP. In the GP, you do have a lot of passing at the end of that straight going into the first turn. I think it will provide for some great racing.

“I hope we have a great strategy race like we did on Belle Isle. I think that was our best street course race as far as entertainment goes. I'm hoping the new Detroit track lives up to that.”

Source: Autosport

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