- Phoenix street circuit
Motorsport venue
Name = Phoenix Grand Prix Circuit | Location = Phoenix,Arizona ,United States
Events =Formula One
Length_km = 3.72
Length_mi = 2.312
Turns = 15
Record_time = 1:21.434
Record_driver =Ayrton Senna
Record_team =McLaren -Honda
Record_year = 1991The
Formula One United States Grand Prix was held on the Phoenix street circuit inPhoenix, Arizona between 1989 and 1991. It was helddowntown by the Phoenix Civic Plaza and theAmerica West Arena , prior to the introduction of the state's baseball stadium,Bank One Ballpark . The United States Grand Prix lasted in Phoenix for three years, but was ultimately dropped due to poor fan turnout. There were no further Formula 1 races in the US until theIndianapolis Motor Speedway first held a Grand Prix in 2000.The United States Grand Prix was first held in Phoenix on
June 4 ,1989 .Ayrton Senna took pole in hisMcLaren -Honda but suffered an electronic failure a little over halfway through the race. The scorching heat of the Phoenix desert made it a nightmare on the teams and drivers and of the 26 cars that started the race, only six finished.Alain Prost , Senna's teammate, won ahead ofRiccardo Patrese and Phoenix nativeEddie Cheever . Fourth-placedChristian Danner scored what turned out to be his final points-scoring finish. His Rial team also would never score points in Formula One competition again.In an attempt to beat the scorching Arizona heat, the event was moved to become the season opener the next year, held on
March 11 ,1990 . Senna recovered from his near miss in '89 to win both the pole position and the Grand Prix.Jean Alesi finished 2nd, making his mark as a driver to watch in the future as he pressured the Brazilian world champion in a Tyrrell, a car that was average at best compared to the McLaren. Alesi's teammate,Satoru Nakajima , also scored a point in that race The event was the first and only time aMinardi made it onto the front row of the grid, asPierluigi Martini qualified 2nd behindGerhard Berger .The last United States Grand Prix held in Phoenix was on
March 10 ,1991 . Senna took another victory. Again reliability was a factor with only nine cars running at the finish. For a second straight season both Tyrrells finished in the points;Stefano Modena , who had replaced the Ferrari-bound Alesi, in fourth heading Nakajima in fifth. The death blow for the organizers came when word arose that a local ostrich festival had drawn more people than the Grand Prix.ee also
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Grand Prix Arizona - a plannedChamp Car race to be held on a different street circuit in Phoenix
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