Yet having races OUTSIDE the US was always bashed, in these parts, for being outside the sponsors realm of advertising. It didn't seem to matter HOW much the promoter was promising.

I plan on waiting to see if the big money is STILL part of the deal, when the contract is signed. It took so long to find a city to host this race, it makes me wonder what other parts of the deal were modified to get it done.

If they do the races like Brasil is "supposed" to work out, then I don't mind them too much. I've said all along that I would rather they had an international season series, but I won't get into it again at the risk of beating it like the dead horse (like the wing package).

No, they have not been always bashed.Only your stupid races out of the US were bashed.LOL.

Smuff,

As we have discussed, I think non US races can be made to work. It's just that so many claimed that local sponsors get no benefit and the race is on at the wrong time and would get, as one guys posted " ZERO ratings ".

What we are seeing, is that no matter WHAT series is doing it, getting all the ducks in a row for a foreign race is not very easy and it often falls apart.

Oh, there is little doubt that the ratings will be crap if it's held in a time zone that's 7+ hours out of normal...... I think the over-seas races are hard on "local" sponsors for that very reason. I also think the cultural differences make things more of a challenge. I would guess that we work in very different ways than the Brazilians and both of us work different than the German's etc. The only way to make an international event "easy" is when you have the leverage of someone like F1 where it's your way or the highway m/l.