Michelin North America, Inc. and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) revealed last month the details of the ticket refund process for ticket holders of the 2005 Formula One United States Grand Prix (USGP).
The move was expected to sweep away much of the ill will as well as class action lawsuits that emerged after several Michelin teams abruptly pulled out of the July 19, 2005 race just before it was about to start. The Michelin teams pulled out after expressing safety concerns about the tires its teams were about to use on the Speedway. They had argued unsuccessfully with the FIA (Formula One’s governing body) to have last-minute changes made to the course, which it believed would make the course safer for its teams.
“By working with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we’ve created a thorough and quick process to reach out to all those fans present at the United States Grand Prix and offer them the face value refund of their race day ticket,” said Jim Micali, chairman and president of Michelin North America, Inc. “In addition to the ticket refund, we will provide 20,000 tickets to the 2006 USGP at Indianapolis to dedicated fans who purchased tickets to this year’s race. We hope through these gestures to encourage the further development of F1 in the United States.”
“Although many different parties had an influence on the race run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on June 19, Michelin has made a tremendous commitment to the fans of the United States Grand Prix,” said IMS President and Chief Operating Officer Joie Chitwood.
For the vast majority of ticket purchasers, no action will be required to receive the Michelin ticket refund. IMS has begun sorting information on their USGP account holders automatically so Michelin can provide ticket refunds directly to them. USGP Account Holders were mailed a letter detailing the ticket refund process.
Other individual race day ticket holders were given an opportunity to submit their ticket stubs, along with a completed Stubbed Ticket Claim Form to IMS, which will administer the ticket refund.
