Big-time auto racing moves into a new market in 2011 with the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix. Scheduled for September 2-4, 2011 (Labor Day Weekend), the Grand Prix will feature races of both the IZOD IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series. The races will be run on a track consisting of downtown Baltimore’s city streets surrounding Camden Yards, the Baltimore Convention Center and the Inner Harbor.
TheRealPlaces has a guide to hotels near the Baltimore Grand Prix, including three that are inside the race course! The downtown Baltimore location means there are several other hotel options located within a short walk of the racing festivities.
Friday (September 2nd) is expected to include practice and qualifying for American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race and the IndyCar race. On Saturday race fans will get to see final qualifying for the IndyCar race and the ALMS racing. Sunday will be the date for the IZOD IndyCar Baltimore Grand Prix. In between the bigger events on Friday and Saturday there will also be races featuring cars from the Firestone Indy Lights series, the Star Mazda series and the USF2000 Series. Planning is underway for major concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings.
If you’re a car racing fan in the mid-Atlantic region, this is obvious “must be there”. But even if you’re not much of an auto racing fan, this is the kind of event that makes for an easy “add it, then check it off” on your personal “bucket list”. You really don’t get a true feeling of the speeds of these vehicles from watching them on television. And the street course of the Baltimore Grand Prix will get you much closer to the action than you usually get at a major speedway.
It’s sure to be a pretty popular time to visit Baltimore, so order your tickets today and make your reservations at one of the hotels closest to the Baltimore Grand Prix.
One more thing: Don’t forget to bring earplugs!
