A Rough And Tumble Round 4 Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 Presented By Nestle

April 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

Three in a row at Sao Paulo! Congrats @12WillPower! #saopauloindy twitpic.com/9fau1g - Image Credit Penske Racing via TWEET

A Rough And Tumble Round 4 Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 Presented By Nestle 

The morning of the fourth round in the IZOD IndyCar Series in Sao Paulo, Brazil started in having the DW12 IndyCars warm-up in light showers with the drivers finding dryer areas of the track to run and post the best times. When this happens in Sao Paulo, people begin to understand why this part of Brazil is known as the “Land Of Drizzle”.

The start time was moved up about 15 minutes in order to account for the weather on the Anhembi temporary street circuit (the fourth street/road race course of the 2012 season), which has turned sunny, with the starting grid of the 26 car field to reflect this starting order:

Event: Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 – Round 4

Track: Sao Paulo Street Circuit 2.536 mile(s)

Report: Starting Line Up IZOD IndyCar Series – Tire Designation for Race April 29, 2012


SP — Car — Driver — Name — C/E/T — Start Tire

1 12 Power, Will D/C/F Alternate

2 10 Franchitti, Dario D/H/F Alternate

3 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F Alternate

4 27 Hinchcliffe, James D/C/F Alternate

5 28 Hunter-Reay, Ryan D/C/F Primary

6 38 Rahal, Graham D/H/F Alternate

 

7 14 Conway, Mike D/H/F Alternate

8 67 Newgarden, Josef (R) D/H/F Alternate

9 2 Briscoe, Ryan D/C/F Alternate

10 26 Andretti, Marco D/C/F Primary

11 11 Kanaan, Tony D/C/F Alternate

12 8 Barrichello, Rubens D/C/F Alternate

 

13 5 Viso, EJ D/C/F Alternate

14 4 Hildebrand, JR D/C/F Primary

15 83 Kimball, Charlie D/H/F Alternate

16 77 Pagenaud, Simon (R) D/H/F Primary

17 19 Jakes, James D/H/F Primary

18 3 Castroneves, Helio D/C/F Primary

19 25 Beatriz, Ana D/C/F Primary

20 20 Carpenter, Ed D/C/F Alternate

 

21 78 de Silvestro, Simona D/L/F Primary

22 7 Bourdais, Sebastien D/L/F Primary

23 22 Servia, Oriol D/L/F Primary

24 6 Legge, Katherine (R) D/L/F Primary

25 15 Sato, Takuma D/H/F Primary

26 18 Wilson, Justin D/H/F Primary

(R) Rookie

 

Pursuant to Rule 14.14.6.4.1, Cars 4, 6, 7, 18 & 19 will start on Primary Tires.

(ht: IICS PDF Report)

NOTES: Qualifying lap times for the No. 18 Sonny’s BBQ car have been voided by INDYCAR following post-race technical inspection. Pursuant to Rule 14.4.13.3 of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series rulebook: As requested by INDYCAR each Car must run either the cameras or dummy equipment as supplied by BSI/INDYCAR.

Justin Wilson, who had qualified sixth in the Dale Coyne Racing car, will start from the rear.

Not exactly what you want to see between warmup and race, 2nd engine change in 12 hours! Ayayay! Our guys working hard. Image Credit: Oriol Servia via TWEET

Unapproved engine changes, which incur 10-grid spot penalties, were made to the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing car of Takuma Sato (did not participate in qualifying), the No. 7 Dragon Racing car of Sebastien Bourdais (qualified 19th), the No. 22 Lotus DRR car of Oriol Servia (qualified 24th) and the No. 6 TrueCar Dragon Racing car of Katherine Legge (carried over from Long Beach; qualified 25th).

 

GREEN Flag starts the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 -

Everyone gets off to a great start with Will Power maintaining the first position. On the first lap, Newgarden and Hinchcliffe battle hard with Newgarden taking the position.

End of the first lap saw Conway taking the position from Hinchcliffe and Dario Franchitti staying tight on Will Power’s wing.

The long, nearly one-mile straight-away featured on this circuit really lets these new DW12′s stretch their legs, so much so that during qualifications, Will Power, who won the two previous races here, set a new track record with a lap of 1 minute, 21.4045 seconds at about 3 minutes left in the Firestone Fast Six qualifications round.

At Lap 4 of 75 – The engine wars have been invigorated with the change to the turbo design on the Honda engines – the top six positions are Power-Chevy, Franchitti-Honda, Dixon-Honda, Newgarden-Honda, Rahal-Honda, and Conway-Honda!

Lap 7 of 75 – AJ Foyt’s Mike Conway is all over Sarah Fisher Racing’s Josef Newgarden to try at taking away the spot as KVRT’s Tony Kanaan passes team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

Announcement Note: Bryan Herta Autosport stayed behind from the race in order to prepare for the INDY500. The team has left the Lotus Legion and will be running the Honda engine the rest of the season.

Pit Stops begin on Lap 10 of 75. Pagenaud is in early and has an adjustment to his front wing for more downforce.

Takuma Sato came into the pits too hot and incurs a drive through penalty … needs a third wing replacement for the weekend.

Lap 13 of 75 – Justin Wilson is one of the big movers starting at the back of the field at P26 up to P18 – Drizzles are beginning to fall so those who waited may be able to have one less stop for rain tires.

Marco Andretti in the pits from P14 and takes on Firestone Reds – drops to P25.

TWEET – The EDJE @theedje -18 laps. 3 commercial breaks. 1 pre-taped segment. Missed passing and pits tops. Awful.

Lap 20 of 75 has Power leading the field by 3.2 seconds ahead of Franchitti, Rahal, Conway, Hunter-Reay, Briscoe, Viso, Barrichello, Carpenter, and the Lotus Dragon Racing of Bourdais.

The Lotus and team-mate to Bourdais at Dragon Racing, Katherine Legge, slaps the wall and damages the right rear of the car.

A wet spot has Ryan Briscoe bringing out the Yellow Flag while under pressure from Rahal.

Full Course Yellow Lap 23 of 75 – Castroneves at P8 is listed as the biggest mover up 10 positions from his start.

TWEET – Formula 1 @F1grid – Sonny’s BBQ car has a gearbox clogged with cornbread problem. #IndyCar

TWEET – F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive – Under caution it’s Power, Franchitti, Hunter-Reay, Dixon, Conway, Rahal, Pagenaud, Castroneves, Newgarden and Barrichello. #IndyCar

Lap 25 of 75 – Ryan Briscoe’s DW12 is on the flatbed truck and is out of the race – storm clouds are gathering with the winds stepping up a notch.

A two stop strategy seems out of the question given the potential of rain and the timing mix of yellows the race is having.

GREEN Flag – Lap 26 of 75 Side-By-Side – Franchitti spins in turn #1 as he was tapped by Mike Conway – Franchitti’s car is dead – Full Course Caution!

Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay was strong again (as he was in Round 3 in Long Beach) and kept toward to top of the running order all day during this very entertaining race. Image Credit: Marshall Pruett via SPEED

The shake-out has Power leading RHR, Dixon, Castroneves, Barrichello, Kanaan, Viso, Hildebrand, Hinchcliffe, and Sato round out the top 10. The cheers are going up around the track as the three favorite sons in the race are Helio-P4, Rubens-P5, and TK-P6 in the top 10.

Franchitti is able to get restarted, gets checked out in the pits, and rejoins the field.

Side-By-Side restart Lap 29 of 75 – Everyone gets through Turn 1 but several cars 4-6 collect themselves in Turn 3.de Silvestro taps Newgarden and causes a blockage – two cars are damaged and in the pits – Newgarden and Jakes.

Newgarden rejoins the race – the DW12 is a much stronger and resilient chassis and aero-package. Simona de Silvestro stalled on track.

Top six positions are Power, RHR, Dixon, Kanaan, Barrichello, and Viso. A favorite daughter Ana Beatriz occupies P7.

GREEN Flag on Lap 33 of 75. Everyone through Turn 1, 2, and 3. RHR is all over the back of Power but the string of cars seems stable.

TWEET – Donna Lingley @MissLingley – Finally, we’re racing again. Double file restarts on street circuits don’t work. #IndyCar

TWEET – Brian J. Wiggins @brian_wiggins – Aussie, American, New Zealander, Brazilian, Brazilian. #Diverse #IndyCar

Lap 37 – SeaBass goes off in the run-off area and needs assistance – a rough day for Lotus Dragon Racing.

Lap 38 – Crossed Flags signify that this race is official … no matter what happens from now on, if the race is stopped, it counts.

Franchitti is on a charge as Franchitti passed Castroneves for P8. KVRT cars are P4, P5 and P6 (TK, Rubens, and Viso).

Lap 40 of 75 – Top 10 are Power (leading all laps) by 1.6 seconds over Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dixon, Kanaan, Rubens, Viso, Beatriz, Franchitti, Helio, and Sato with the biggest move of the day up 15 positions!

Tony Kanaan goes to the pits (last stop) so everyone moves up one. Franchitti giving fits to Beatriz and loosess a couple of positions. Castroneves has damage to his front wing but continues on after passing fellow country-person, Beatriz.

Lap 45 of 75 … 30 laps to go:

TWEET – Allen Wedge @AllenWedge – ALmost all of the field is throwing down their fastest laps of the race right now #indycar

Franchitti has moved up plus 16 after restarting from the back of the field. Dario now running at P8. Team-mate Scott Dixon in the pits for his assumed last stop.

Dreyer and Reinblod’s Lotus driven by Servia in for final pit-stop, comes out at P17 … will be running Chevy for the rest of the season.

TWEET – AJFoytRacing @AJFoytRacing – How come Franchitti can improve 10 spots under yellow by ducking into pits before green & no one notices? #saopauloindy #indycar

Sounds like … sour grapes?

TWEET – F1 Paddock @Formula1Paddock – Rubens Barrichello up to 5th now! #IndyCar

TWEET – Bruno Tarulli @BrunoTarulli34 – 50 vueltas cumplidas en Brasil! #IndyCar

Twenty Laps to go – Power by 2.6 seconds over RHR, Franchitti (oh, yes), Castroneves, and Sato. Pit-stops by leaders and Power has a great stop – Power on cold tires as Dixon takes the position away from Power in Turn 11.

Franchitti – good stop … does Dixon need to come in?

Hichcliffe and Hildebrand battle with Manica taking the position. Ed Carpenter is running strong in P5 – very good.

Everyone is waiting on Dixon to see if he needs to come in.

15 laps to go and Castroneves goes off into runoff area and drops from lead to P7. The pit-stops continue as the order continues to change.

TWEET – Donna Lingley @MissLingley – Hmmmm, Brazilian tv director cuts away from Helio making a mistake. Helio is Brazilian. Useless! #IndyCar

TWEET – Magnificent Geoffrey @MagnificentGeof – Credit to the TV director, the coverage of this race has been outstanding(ly questionable) #IndyCar

TWEET – Christopher Estrada @estradawriting – Less than 20 laps to go here at #SaoPauloIndy. 9-Dixon leads 12-Power, 28-HunterReay, 5-Viso and 10-Franchitti. #IndyCar #SaoPauloIndy

Viso in the Pits – Good stop. Dixon has a 2.8 second lead but … needs a splash of fuel?!

Great track action all race long – just great racing all around. Rahal takes P12 away from the Fuzzy’s car of Ed Carpenter – big difference between Reds and Primary compound tires.

Josef Newgarden was racy throughout the event but his day came to an end when he got mixed up in a late race multi-car incident. Pictured here, he is followed by Brazilians Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan. Image Credit: Marshall Pruett via SPEED

TWEET – Ross Bynum @therossbynum – Newgarden with fastest lap in race so far…wow. #IndyCar #SaoPauloIndy @SFHRindy @SarahFisher

Lap 60 of 75 has Dixon by 3.1 seconds over Power, RHR, Dario, Helio, Rubens, Sato, Manica, Conway, and JR Hildebrand.

Carpenter spins – Full course caution – Pits currently closed – All cars on Lap 63 track behind caution car – Pits OPEN!

TWEET – Danielle Asphall @DannieAsphall – Man, I’m a ball of nerves right now. #IndyCar #saopauloindy

Scott Dixon in … fuel … and out in P13 which sets up a RESTART with Power, RHR, Dario Franchitti, and Helio Castroneves on the front two rows – WOW!!!!!

TWEET – F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive – Looks like a disaster for Dixon – he gambled on staying out but his lead has been destroyed now. #IndyCar

TWEET – IndyCar Mom @IndyCarMom – I have to say how bad I want @rubarrichello to win so we can gain some #F1 fans. #callmedesparate #willbegforfans #iloveindycar #IndyCar

TWEET – Tim Moran @golic_2004 – Another car hits the wall. Looks like Newgarden… Caution #Indycar

This is the 12th consecutive race that Power has led. Newgarden pulls into the pits – broken, out of the race.

TWEET  – Ivan Renko @Ivan_Renko – Is the IZOD #IndyCar Series called “Formula Indy” in Brazil? I kinda like it.

Lap 67 of 75 RESTART – GREEN  Flag – Side-By-Side – A bunch of cars get balled up in turn 2 – a ton of chassis are just a mess – Full Course Caution!!!

Eight cars involved – Conway hits the wall in Turn 2 as he runs out of room – A call for all of the flatbeds in Sao Paulo to come to the track is put out – RED ALERT In Red Corner!

TWEET  – Tom Rowell @senorsoupe – That restart is why we love banzai Takuma Sato! He seemed to use the force just to get his car slow enough to get through turn 1 #indycar

New top 10 are Power, Hunter-Reay, Sato, Franchitti, Castroneves, Hinchcliffe, Hildebrand, Kimball, Viso, and Barrichello.

The "Formula IndyCars" get all piled up when Mike Conway runs out of room running on the outside of turn 2 and crunches the wall. One car after another had their nose cones collect under the car in front of them until eight cars were stopped and unable to continue. Image Credit: Sini Salminen via TWEET

TWEET – Sini Salminen @SiniF1 – RT @lightmasf1: ooooops! #IndyCar twitpic.com/9fagpq

Lap 71 of 75 – TWEET – Chris Tansley @ChrisTansley – Does the safety car have enough fuel? #Indycar

TWEET  – Austin Brauser @austinbrauser – What are the odds? An 8 car pile up and EJ Viso is not involved! #indycar #saopauloindy

Lap 72 RESTART – GREEN Flag Side-By-Side – Sambadrome turn 1 everyone safely through – Power out positions RHR!

Sato in the mix – tracking RHR – Castroneves being chased by Dario Franchitti. Chevy, Chevy, Honda, Chevy, Honda in top five!

2 Laps to go – Will Power looks strong and may only be beaten if he makes a mistake – no drizzles, clear track, Paul Blevin waves the White Flag!

TWEET – Dan Takyi @D4NT4KY1 – Final lap now! Sato will be third! Sadly Rubens is only 10th after being 3rd at one stage #IndyCar

Helio Castroneves was the highest placing driver of the hometown contingent at P4. He was able to hold off Dario Franchitti and survive a practice crash and a couple of on-track incidents to come back to P2 in season championship points. Image Credit: Marshall Pruett via SPEED

Checkered Flag – Will Power Three-Peats the Sambadrome!!! Wins third race on the season – Dixon, nearest in points, drops positions.

TWEET – IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar – It’s @12WillPower again! AAR’s Hunter-Reay and RLR’s Sato finish on podium, Sato’s first one! #saopauloindy #indycar2012

TWEET – Matt White @MattW1986 – Good recovery from @dariofranchitti to 5th #indycar

TWEET  – Dave Furst @DaveFurst – If it’s a non-oval, its Will Power. It’ll be interesting to see how the #IndyCar dynamic changes during the month of May. #Indy500

TWEET – lookingspiffy @lookingspiffy – Good stuff from the #BrazilianMafia today. Most vexed by that last restart, though. #IndyCar

Will Power jumps off of the front nose of his Verizon Team Penske #12 – in interview says he is happy that it did not really rain on the race all day.

Ryan Hunter-Reay – “Will runs such a clean race. I tried to jump him but he was able to keep the position on the restart.”

TAKU – “We had a nice race, really – I’m really excited for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – Fantastic. We finally got a good result going into Indianapolis.”

Helio Castroneves started in P20 and ends up P4 as the highest placing Brazilian! “In the end, Takuma made a kamikaze move and was able to hold until the end.

The Twitter, the people were supporting me saying nice things.”

Oriol Servia (#22 – for the last time – Lotus DRR): “We almost didn’t make the start of the race. The guys did an amazing job. They were working until the last second putting the engine together and we didn’t think that we were going to make it. Somehow we picked up the best result of the year and we’ll take it.”

Sebastien Bourdais (#7 – Lotus Dragon Racing): “You just need to look at the splits from the race: We have three fastest sectors (corners only : Turns 1 & 2, then T5 and T6) but it is not enough when we get in a pack of cars for a restart or a straight fight. We could have finished in the top 10 if we had not been collected in a multi-car incident that put us a lap down, but that’s racing.”

TWEET – NBC Sports @NBCSports – Will Power earns his third consecutive #indycar win, taking the Sao Paolo 300. See the stats here: scores.nbcsports.msnbc.com/nascar/leaderb… @IndyCar

IZOD IndyCar Series YouTube Race Highlights>>

Engine Wars Update: Chevy, Chevy, Honda, Chevy, Honda, Chevy, Chevy, Honda Chevy, and Chevy … Lotus just misses out of a top 10 finish with Wix Filter Dreyer and Reibold Racing’s Oriol Srevia posting up at P11 in this team’s last race for Lotus this season (will be using Chevrolet-power in their DW12 for the balance of the season). The next closest running Lotus-powered DW12 was McAfee Dragon Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais at P18.

It is now on to the season’s first oval race at the “Greatest Spectacle In Racing” with the month of May’s INDY500!

… notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as “A Rough And Tumble Round 4 Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 Presented By Nestle” at Technorati **

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Kimi Raikkonen Joins Lotus Renault GP for 2012 F1 Season

November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Image Credit: lotuscars.com

Kimi Raikkonen came across the pond to keep his skills fresh by driving a NASCAR truck in the Camping World Truck Series in 2011. Further, Kyle Busch Motorsports built a car that former Formula One champion Kimi Raikkonen used to make his debut in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series. That one-time entry proved to be a springboard toward a full-time effort on the circuit that Busch’s organization will undertake next year … but this effort will be without the services of Kimi.

Kimi has decided to campaign the Black and Gold of Lotus Renault GP for the 2012 season and the ambassador of Group Lotus, Jean Alesi, couldn’t be more pleased as expressed in this Lotus interview release.

Jean, are you excited about the news that Kimi Raikkonen is returning to F1 next year with Lotus Renault GP?

It’s fantastic news. Kimi has more natural speed than just about anyone who has ever raced a Grand Prix car, and if he’s coming back it’s because he wants to do it, he misses F1, and he believes he can do well. He has had a short break, which was a little bit forced by Ferrari. I think he was fed up with the system and wanted to take time out, which I can totally understand. But now he’s coming back, with Lotus, so it’s really exciting.

Kimi’s speed was never in question, but there were concerns he failed to develop the car as Michael Schumacher had done before him. Is that a concern for you now?

Michael was brilliant at that, but it isn’t working for him now at Mercedes and I think this is a reflection of how F1 has developed in recent years and re-prioritized. Now you just need to focus on having a quick driver, someone who does the job. The great thing with Kimi is he extracts the maximum from a quick car. When the car was good at McLaren and Ferrari he was always winning. LRGP will expect him to extract the maximum from the Lotus as well.

It’s sure to fire up the workforce at Enstone, isn’t it, having a world champion in the car?

F1 teams need a driver who will consistently set lap times that are 100 percent on the edge. That is what a driver of Kimi’s caliber can do, to dance on the edge and never fall off. From that, the engineers get a baseline. They understand the true speed of their car and can make changes accordingly. It eradicates any doubt. I expect Kimi will be a very valuable tool indeed. But I don’t expect a lot of talking outside the car! I’m sure he hasn’t changed a bit.

Let’s talk about the Sao Paulo race. Bruno Senna was given a drive-thru penalty after he came together with Michael Schumacher. Did you think that was unfair?

Definitely, yes. It was a 50/50 accident, so why penalize one of them? Both cars were compromised – Bruno with a broken front wing and Michael with a rear puncture. To then penalize one of the drivers in this situation kills the spirit of racing. The stewards should have let it go.

Vitaly Petrov started the year on a high with his podium in Australia and finished the season tenth in the Drivers’ World Championship. How well do you think he did?

He’s been very competitive when the car is quick, and it’s been more difficult for him in the second half of the season. He did a fantastic first grand prix but he seems to suffer more when the car is not perfect.

Lotus Renault GP started the year on the podium but struggled towards the end. Did the designers take a few wrong turns?

The R31 was extremely aggressive in terms of design. At the start of the season, Red Bull’s designer Adrian Newey said that the most creative car out there was the Lotus Renault GP. When the best designer in the world says that, it means a lot, and at the start of the year LRGP were brilliant. Then the exhaust-blowing rules changed, and that hurt the team a lot. We were penalized more heavily than any other team. To finish fifth in the championship is superb.

How did you rate the F1 World Championship 2011 generally?

Even though Red Bull Racing was dominant throughout, I thought it was a very interesting season and I enjoyed the races very much. Out of those 19 races, only three or four were a bit boring; I was on the edge of my seat for the rest. We’ve seen lots of overtaking, lots of incidents, and there was tough competition out there, particularly between McLaren and Ferrari. Lotus Renault GP were very competitive at the start of the season as well, so overall I really enjoyed it.

Which race stood out for you?

My shoes are still drying after the Canadian Grand Prix, so that was memorable not least for the incredible race we saw. I could have done without the two-hour red flag delay in the middle, but that race was really exciting and it’s always great to see a change of the lead on the last lap.

Sebastian Vettel was the class of the field, but who would you nominate as your Man Of The Year?

Apart from Vettel, who did an unbelievable job, the award should go to Jenson Button. I was not surprised by his performance, because he’s been a world champion, but the way he managed to be there all the time, even when he was struggling with set-up, and still get good points was impressive. He also pulled some great overtaking moves, so he was aggressive when he needed to be and smooth when he needed to be, adapting to the Pirelli tyres quicker than most. What a mature performance, and all the more impressive when your team-mate is Lewis Hamilton and Jenson is still, essentially, the new boy. I believe 2011 was even more impressive than his championship-winning year, given that he didn’t have the best car and his team-mate was Hamilton.
(ht: Lotus Motorsport and Group Lotus)

… notes from The EDJE

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IZOD IndyCar Series 2012 Motorsports Musings

November 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Memorial three-abreast five lap salute To Dan Wheldon performed by the IZOD IndyCar Series drivers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway October 16, 2011. Image Credit: LAT Photo

 

IZOD IndyCar Series 2012 Motorsports Musings

The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season will be the 101st season of American open wheel racing. It is hard to get one’s mind around the beginning of a new season of competition when the previous season ends, in such tragedy, as the 2011 season ending race in Las Vegas played out.

The memorials and auctions in support of all that Dan Wheldon and his family stood for during his career have taken place and are winding down on the internet. The response on eBay in terms of donated items and bidding response was beyond anyone could have imagined. Dan was unique in that he was very independent and corporate at the same time. A trick that held him in high esteem with the top brass in the series and some of the most renegade fans this sport had to offer. He was so unique in this posture, he was probably one of a very few IRL standard drivers fans from the former CART/ChampCar series could relate to and half embrace as their own.

Dan had a large hand in helping to understand and craft the beginning of a new era in American open wheel racing as it enters 2012. So large was his influence, the IZOD IndyCar Series and Dallara have decided to rename the new chassis Dan spent the last months of his life testing with the Bryan Herta Autosport engineering staff based out of Santa Clarita, CA.

The Dallara DW12 IndyCar Safety Cells, ready for their close-up, as they sit next to the “yard of bricks” start/finish line. Image Credit: Ron McQueeney

The new era, as set upon by the ICONIC committee in 2010, will feature the IndyCar Safety Cell monocoque and suspension parts renamed the Dallara DW12 which, instead of being a pure specification car where all of the component parts come from the same manufacturing resouces, keeps the driver encased in a frame covered with a choice of outer composite aerodynamic body work (not at first, but starting in 2013), rolling on tires from Firestone (with discussions of having a potential of at least two manufacturers supplying solutions during future seasons), powered by engines supplied by at least three different manufacturing marks in 2012 (Honda, Chevy/Illmore, and Lotus/Judd). What this brings to a racing series is an element of diversity in the fielding of a competitive entry. This places even greater emphasis on the team’s engineering, and support make up as well as driver talent.

With all of this diversity and evolution of technology in the paddock, one has to ask, what is the IZOD IndyCar Series going to do to meet the support challenges that will show themselves on the track during race events?

The management and negotiation quotient between additional suppliers for body parts, and engines is only a part of the equation … race control has to be considered on the other side. Cars being fielded with a broader diversity of component parts will translate to a greater difference in performance on the track between teams.

Will the current, years old specification template, and staff (with a cobbled together, two series philosophical input flow), stand up to the demands this new ICONIC committee Dallara DW12 approach exact? Given the troubles that exposed themselves this past year (possibly placing the series championship at stake), can the current race control be the standard for 2012 and beyond … or is it time for a change that can adapt to the engine and aero-package diversity that will present itself in competition?

On behalf of the unique approach the ICONIC committee and CEO Randy Bernard have embraced, which recognizes the precept that some potential for technology evolution is a good thing for motorsports, let’s hope that management template evolution can be explored in background series support and race control as well.

… notes from The EDJE

 

<Article first appeared as IZOD IndyCar Series 2012 Motorsports Musings at Technorati>

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Bumpy Baltimore Gets A Rubbing In With IndyCar & ALMS

September 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Conquest Racing’s Sebastian Saavedra occupied his time [during the initial event delay] with engineering and drivers meetings, tweeting, checking email and even working in a brief nap before being jostled by the bumps of the Pratt Street frontstretch in the No. 34 Bogota Es Mundial entry in front of tens of thousands of enthusiastic spectators. Caption & Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

Bumpy Baltimore Gets A Rubbing In With IndyCar & ALMS

A group of downtown streets converted into a shiny new racing circuit will always have its start up problems. The first day warm-ups (as well as qualifying for the American Le Mans Series) with the two racing series competing in the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix were no different. First off, the beginning to the schedule was moved off for about four hours due to last minute safety improvements to the fencing that defined the 2-mile, 12-turn track.

The reaction of many of the drivers overall, was quite positive … for example, Will Power after posting the fastest time in Baltimore with a best lap time of 1 minute, 22.1739 seconds which translates to 89.411 mph, had a good time learning the course with a couple of non-damaging “offs”.

Penske Racing’s Will Power, needing to make up 26 points, sets fast lap during the first practice period at the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

“You are working the entire time and it is a pretty cool track,” said Power, who won the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma five days earlier to tighten the championship points duel with front-runner Dario Franchitti to 26 behind. “They did a really good job creating the circuit. It takes a lot of commitment and there are several technical bits. It’s bumpy and I think it will be a great race.”

After a 75 minute warm-up and about a 90 minute break, the ALMS went out to set their positions for the start of their race on Saturday. The fastest qualifier overall was the Dyson Racing LMP1 Lola B09 86/Mazda shared by Guy Smith and Chris Dyson where Brit Guy Smith set his fourth class pole with a fast pace of 1 minute, 27.750 seconds (83.692 mph).


Guy Smith takes his Mazda LMP1 to the streets of Baltimore. Image Credit: ALMS

“I think the people of Baltimore have done a great job with the circuit and gave us as much track time as they could,” said Smith, who will drive with Chris Dyson. “With a new circuit, there are always teething problems. But they gave us a great track. It’s bumpy and it’s demanding, but that’s what street courses are all about.”

In the GT Class, BMW Team RLL was once again at the top of the charts with the #55 BMW M3 GT of Bill Auberlin and Dirk Werner with Werner posting a fast lap of 1 minute 31.362 seconds (80.834 mph) … the team car to the season points leading #56 BMW M3 GT of Joey Hand and Dirk Muller.


Dirk Werner gets his wheels to bounce over the temporary curbing that defines the track on the streets of Baltimore. Image Credit: ALMS

“It’s amazing to have a pole this year,” said Werner. “The car is really fantastic; it has been this whole season – especially our car. We have had a lot of close calls this year [in qualifying] but we never got that pole. The team is very competitive with drivers who can be quick. So to be here at the new track, is really great.

“After free practice going into qualifying we looked at the data from the sessions and looked who had the best turns and speeds so we could learn a lot in a few short minutes,” Werner continued. “You could see how from the short time we’ve been on track we keep getting faster. We could actually be going faster at the end of the race than we are right now. It shows how great our team is and finding the settings for the street circuit. (The tires) are really holding up over the long drives.”


Top shot of the Dyson Racing #16-LMP1 Lola B09 86/Mazda. Image Credit: ALMS

Based on comments made by many of the drivers of both series, this Baltimore street venue drives like St. Pete with a crowd more like the festival atmosphere imparted by the grand-daddy of all American street races at Long Beach. Not a bad review for a near Washington D.C. venue.

The American Le Mans Series Baltimore Grand Prix is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 3. The race will air on ABC, Sunday, Sept. 4 at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT) and be shown live in the U.S. on ESPN3 or americanlemans.com outside the U.S. Live coverage also will be available on Rogers Sportsnet One in Canada and MotorsTV in Europe.

The IZOD IndyCar Series Baltimore Grand Prix – Baltimore, MD Streets of Baltimore – Qualifications, 6:00 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT) Saturday, Sept. 3 on Versus / Race, 2:00 (11 a.m. PT) p.m. ET Sunday, Sept 4 on Versus with both broadcast on www.indycar.com – multimedia timing & scoring with concurrent radio broadcast.

… notes from The EDJE

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MAZDASPEED Motorsports Starts To Crown 2011 Supported Series Season Champions

September 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Driving the Juncos Racing TrueCar sponsored Star Mazda, the Californian rookie, 16-year-old Gustavo Menezes participated in what was probably the best on-track battle of the day at the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear race during the recently held Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (more). Image Credit: juncosracing.com/MAZDASPEED Motorsports

 

MAZDASPEED Motorsports Starts To Crown 2011 Supported Series Season Champions

The inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix kicks off six straight weeks of season finales for over 200 Mazda racers ranging from SCCA and NASA club racers to professional teams in Grand-Am and ALMS. There will be over 50 individual races at nine different tracks at ten different events.

As the seasons conclude, Mazda is leading the manufacturers’ points championships in ALMS LMP1, Grand-Am GT, and Continental Tire ST. Mazda racers are leading the ALMS drivers championship, and within reach of the Grand-Am GT drivers championship.

As a part of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Ladder and the Mazda Road to Indy, Mazda will be crowning champions in the Star Mazda Championship, USF2000 Championship, Skip Barber Nationals, and Playboy MX-5 Cup. These drivers will be promoted to the next level in 2012 with Mazda support.

Club racing is the heart and soul of Mazda, and the two biggest annual events for club racers takes place at two of the classic tracks – The NASA Championship at Mid-Ohio and the SCCA Runoffs at Road America.

John Doonan, Motorsports Director, Mazda North American Operations, noted that “The 2011 season has been non-stop since January with the Rolex 24 at Daytona, but September will bring out the best in our racers as they aim to finish on a high note. The fact that we have the potential to score three manufacturers championships is a testament to the amazing teamwork and dedication of all of our teams, drivers, and partners. Going head-to-head with some of the top brands in the world shows that Mazda can produce world class cars for both the racetrack and the street.”

 

September 2-4 Baltimore Grand Prix

American Le Mans Series Presented by Patron

Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda – FINALE

Also:

BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda @ Autobahn Country Club

 

September 16-18 ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey @ Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

American Le Mans Series Presented by Patron

Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear – FINALE

 

September 16-17 Grand-Am & Continental Tire FINALES @ Mid-Ohio

 

September 23-25 48th Annual SCCA Runoffs @ Road America

600+ club racers in over two dozen classes

 

Sept 28 – Oct 1 Petit Le Mans @ Road Atlanta

American Le Mans Series Presented by Patron – FINALE

SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup – FINALE

Pirelli World Challenge – FINALE

 

October 6-8 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda FINALE @ Lime Rock

 

October 7-8 Formula D – FINALE @ Toyota Speedway

 

… notes from The EDJE

 

 

[Article first published as MAZDASPEED Motorsports Starts to Crown 2011 Supported Series Season Champions on Technorati]

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Toyota Motorsport GmbH Successful At Electric Vehicle Timed Speed Record

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment


The TMG EV P001 electric vehicle next to its new electric lap record time at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Image Credit: Toyota Motorsport GmbH

Toyota Motorsport GmbH Successful At Electric Vehicle Timed Speed Record


Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) has set a new lap record for an electric vehicle (EV) at the legendary 20.8km Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany.

The TMG EV P001, with 100% electric powertrain and Jochen Krumbach at the wheel, set a new lap record of 7mins 47.794secs to beat the previous lap record, which stood at 9mins 1.338secs, by a very substantial margin.

The TMG EV P001 electric vehicle on its way to setting a new lap record for electric vehicles at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Image Credit: Toyota Motorsport GmbH

Using two electric motors, the TMG electric powertrain has a top speed of 260km/h (161.556509981707 miles per hour) which combined with 800Nm of torque to achieve impressive speeds on the extremely challenging Nordschleife track, which includes significant elevation changes and lengthy flat-out sections.

TMG’s target, prior to the 29 August record run, was to become the first electric vehicle break the eight-minute barrier and this was achieved comfortably on a day when the notoriously changeable Nürburgring weather stayed fine, although track temperatures were relatively low.

The TMG EV P001 electric vehicle photo shot before its lap record attempt at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Image Credit: Toyota Motorsport GmbH

 

Such performance shows TMG’s electric powertrain is ideal to power any future single-make electric motorsport series and TMG will begin commercial sales of this technology in 2012. TMG continues to advance its electric vehicle capability for motorsport applications with in-house development of the electric powertrain and ongoing investigations into alternative chassis solutions.

The future of alternative powertrain racing (non-petro/non-liquid fuel) is at hand … but, to what end?

… notes from The EDJE

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Will Power’s Rally In The Valley – IZOD IndyCar Series Race 14 of 18

August 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Penske Racing teammates (Power, Castroneves, and Briscoe) hold the line against the rest of the field during the double-file start of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Image Credit: Richard Dowdy via IZOD IndyCar Series

 

Will Power’s Rally In The Valley – IZOD IndyCar Series Race 14 of 18

From the command of “Drivers, start your engines” and the audio of “Row 1, Hot” – “Row 2, Hot” – “Row 3, Hot” – and etc. one felt that this was the race that would keep the 2011 points race alive as the sound of the Honda engines echoed throughout the Sonoma valley. Power, at 46 points down to Dario Franchitti, had to win and keep the Target Chip Ganassi drivers (Franchitti and Dixon) as far down in the order that was legally possible. Qualifications gave a blessing to Will and the rest of the Penske Racing team with a 1-2-3 starting position with Helio Castroneves, and Ryan Briscoe acting as protection to any erosion to the running order from the starting grid of the race.

From the very drop of the Green Flag starting the race, Ryan Briscoe kept the Red Target team cars behind both Will Power and Helio Castroneves which allowed Power to pull comfortably away.

All went smoothly through to the first round of pitstops by the leaders with eight cars opting to come in earlier for a change of sequence. On lap 5 of 75, Tony Kanaan running back at P25, was the first to opt for a change to Red tires and a change in pit sequence followed by Takuma Sato, JR Hildebrand, Simon Pagenaud, Charlie Kimball Danica Patrick, and Vitor Meira.

First, Mike Conway from P7 on Lap 22 of 75 began the process with Tagliani, who had just been passed by Graham Rahal due to poor handling in on Lap 23. Hinchcliff, Ryan Hunter-Raey, Helio Castroneves on LAP 25.

Lap 26 has Dixon taking on primary Black tires. Next on Lap 26 Power comes into the pits, leaving Briscoe leading until Lap 28.

Briscoe comes out in sequence with all three Penske Racing cars holding station at 1-2-3 keeping Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon behind. This may seem boreing to some, but clean and precise racing to a strategy toward a championship is just that … predictable and boreing. Gotta’ love it if ya’ like a tight season points race.

Top 10 after 32 laps of 75 sees Power, Castroneves, Briscoe, Franchitti, Dixon, Pantano, Hinchcliffe, Viso, Bourdais, and Rahal.

On TV, Robin Miller reports that there are about 130,000 people in attendance as opposed to about 30,000 sitting in the stands at the last race (oval) in Loudon, New Hampshire.

Fan stands are full of people who traveled to the middle of nowhere to see a premiere open-wheel race for season championship points. Image Credit: Shawn Gritzmacher via IZOD IndyCar Series

Robin asked Randy Bernard, CEO of IZOD IndyCar Series, if Sonoma was on the schedule for next year and Randy reported that the schedule has not been finalized and that the people who run Infineon Raceway have not committed to the race fee as yet.

Lap 39, Tony Kanaan stalls out on pit lane and appears to have an engine stuck at full throttle. KV Racing Technology’s Kanaan retires from the race.

TWEET - Fieldof33 Paul Dalbey
Thank God for side-by-side. If hate to miss watching the sand grow.

TWEET - pressdog Bill Zahren
Nailed it. “@spikerogan: @99forever You could make nachos from scratch and not miss a thing. By scratch I mean from growing the corn. lol”

Lap 45 of 75 has Will Power on the radio complaining about lapped traffic not clearing out of the way. It has him braking at odd times and kicking up some blue tire smoke.

All of the drivers are looking to get back on REDS again on the next pit sequence. Oriol Servia takes on a set and fuel on lap 47 – good to go all the way to the end.

Before this next round of stops, P1 Power leads P4 Franchitti by about 32 seconds. Castroneves pits on Lap 49 … Dixon in for REDS … 25 laps to go and more stops with side-by-side passing in the pits.

Lap 50 Will Power comes in with little traffic to contend with … comes out ahead of Castroneves and all is right in the Penske world with Briscoe leading.

All top 10 drivers complete pit stops and are good to the end – Lap 53 P1 to P10 are Power, Castroneves, Briscoe, Franchitti, Dixon, Pantano, Hinchcliffe, Bourdais, Viso and Rahal.

TWEET - SBPopOffValve Mr. Pop Off Valve
Wally Dallenbach says (correctly) that Sonoma is a blast to drive. Doesn’t make it any easier on the spectators.

TWEET - Fieldof33 Paul Dalbey
@SBPopOffValve I believe the Sr Official has discretion to mandate Power pull over, let Castroneves by, and drive rest of race 1 handed.

Lap 56 Marco Andretti brushes JR Hildebrand’s rear tire causing a rear flat for the driver from the Sonoma area.

TWEET - AllenWedge Allen Wedge
Can’t wait for the eventual Panther Racing press release saying JR got Marco’d

TWEET - PantherRacing Panther Racing
Marco & Hildebrand make contact for the second consecutive year @InfineonRaceway …. looked like that was on Marco to me. But I’m biased.

TWEET - toomuchracing Pat W
They want to bring Belle Isle back… that’s even worse for IndyCar. I liked the ALMS there though

TWEET - 99forever Steph@MoreFrontWing
Interesting. TK refutes Cavin’s story and says he’s not signed at KV. #indycar

Ten laps remain and it is still Power, Castroneves, Briscoe, Franchitti, Dixon, Pantano, Hinchcliffe, Bourdais, Rahal, and Viso.

YELLOW Flag – Ho-Pin Tung slides out of control and into a tire wall – look out for a crazy restart as the cars get bunched up. Power looses about a 20 second cushion to the YELLOW Flag full course caution.

TWEET - IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series
Full course Yellow for incident in Turn 9 involving #88 Ho-Pin Tung cot.ag/d3QLxP

Restart cones are clearly defined and Power looses an advantage as to surprising the rest of the drivers as to when he will apply the fuel peddle to take off on the GREEN Flag.

Penske is sitting at 1-2-3 so, to be frank, who knows what Will Power is talking about.

TWEET - shagers Shane Rogers
Double file restarts are the best thing for these mickey mouse road courses. Drivers hate them, but they are awesome.

TWEET - SBPopOffValve Mr. Pop Off Valve
SATO DOES NOT RESPECT HIS BRAKES.

Saavedra and Conway get together and up the dirt bank on the last lap pushing hard for position.

Top 10 with four laps to go – Power, Castroneves, Briscoe, Franchitti, Dixon, Pantano, Bourdais, Hinchcliffe, Rahal, and Viso.

Verizon Penske Racing’s Will Power takes the Checkered Flag at Infineon Raceway, Sears Point, in the Sonoma Valley. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

Will Power gets maximum points and wins the race. This will be his 5th win of the season and the most by any driver this season. Gains 20 points on the event and moves from being 46 points to 26 points down with only four races to go in the season.

TWEET - toomuchracing Pat W
Chequered. Snoozefest. Power and his teammates held station for the duration, followed by Dario and Dixon.

TWEET - racintoday Jim Pedley
Power Cruises At Infineon bit.ly/rhPlBs #indycar

TWEET - toomuchracing Pat W
Great drive by Pantano to take 6th in Wilson’s car after not racing these cars for 6 years (and only then he did two starts).

TWEET - FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport
Checkered flag at @InfineonRaceway. Ryan 11, Mike 17, Danica 21, Marco 24.

TWEET -in dy44 Matt Archuleta
Ckrd Power Helio Briscoe Dario Dixon Pantano Bourdais Hinch Rahal Viso RHR Servia Plowman Ana Saavedra Pagenaud Conway Sato Jakes Tagliani

Will Power jumps once again into the wall of confetti at the winner’s podium. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

TWEET - JamieLittleESPN Jamie Little
Penske sweeps the podium at Sonoma and Sweeps the @NASCAR and @IndyCar this weekend!

Post race interview has Power saying, “It was just a perfect race. This one is pretty important. I have been unbelievably motivated after a few bad races this season. I knew that Verizon Team Penske was better than this as a team and we came here with a good set-up, finished strong and we are on the right track now … Verizon baby, we are back on top now!”

Fingers Up – Will Power was fined $30,000 for a gesture not too dis-similar to this gesture. That’s right, Will was fined about $15,000 a finger when he showed his initial displeasure toward Brian Barnhart and the folks at Race Control at the decision to restart the race at Loudon, New Hampshire. At least Power has the sense of humor to mimic his fine-able action of a couple of weeks ago. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

Next up, a shiny, brand new temporary street course in Baltimore will have all teams searching for what will work. Penske had the “special sauce” here at Infineon Raceway but will they be able to maintain the edge and keep Dario and the Target Chip Ganassi racing team at bay. Thank God that hurricane Irene decided to show up on the East coast this week so everything remains on track for the season.

… notes from The EDJE


[Article first published as Will Power's Rally In The Valley - IZOD IndyCar Series Race 14 of 18 on Technorati]

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No Magic For Power In Round 11 Of 17 At Mid-Ohio

August 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Scott Dixon preparing for warm-up session on race day. Dixon went on to win the Honda 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Image Credit: Dan Helrigel via IZOD IndyCar Series

No Magic For Power In Round 11 Of 17 At Mid-Ohio

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, Round 11 of 17 delivered a fatal blow to Will Power’s chances at getting his first IndyCar Series (ICS) season championship. The Verizon Penske Racing Dallara driver, who was on track to get the ICS championship last year up until the final race of the season when Dario Franchitti was able to eclipse Power’s season points total, was looking to climb back into the challenge at 38 points behind and a perfect track for his talents, was caught out twice in pit stop strategy by full course cautions.

“We were making great fuel mileage and we were going to go a lap or two longer than the leaders on the second stop, which would have put us in great position to challenge for the race lead in the last stint,” said Power of the Lap 58 incident involving contact between the cars of Graham Rahal and Danica Patrick. “Basically, today we suffered for doing a great job of driving a smart race. We just got caught out by that last yellow flag.” 

Will Power as he is being followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

This dropped Power to P16 and allowed Target Chip Ganassi team-mates to duke it out for the win with Scott Dixon passing Dario Franchitti on a restart to eventually take the win. It may have been doubtful if Will Power had anything for the Scott Dixon Dallara because of how well the driver and car had been hooked up all weekend long (fastest Lap – 1:09.1271 / 76), but to finish so far down in the order with a competitive car (set 2nd fastest lap late in the race – 1:09.2376 / 85), placed a stake through the heart (a loss of 24 points against Franchitti – at 62 points behind) of Will Power’s chances for a ICS season championship. In fact, with the points Scott Dixon gained with his win (he is now just 29 points behind Power with six races left), Will Power may not even become a repeat “bridesmaid” (runner-up) at season’s end in 2011.

The Penske Racing fleet of Dallara cars had a terrible outing at Mid-Ohio. After qualifying Ryan Briscoe at P2, Will Power at P4, and Helio Castroneves at P15, the three drivers end up with Power at P14, Briscoe at P16 and Castroneves at P19.

Newman-Haas’s Oriol Servia runs nearly side-by-side with replacement driver for Dreyer & Reinbold’s Simon Pagenaud. at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

KV Racing Technology ended up having a fair showing with two of their three cars placing in the top five. Takuma Sato missed the podium for the second time this year, repeating his finishing position at the street course in St. Petersburg at P4 (qualified P9) followed by Tony Kanaan at P5 (qualified P16) … a good outing for E.J. Viso who finished the race running, and came in just behind Will Power at P15 after qualifying in P12.

Last note: Justin Wilson had an off in turn one and compressed his back but at this point, it does not look like he will need surgery as Vitor Meira required when he suffered a similar injury. He was replaced by former ChampCar World Series driver and ALMS Champion, Simon Pagenaud, in the Dreyer & Reinbold #22 Roll Coater Dallara and delivered a steady performance coming in ahead of Power at P13 after taking the Green Flag at P18.

Said Pagenaud after the race, “Considering that I was thrown into the car yesterday morning, I think that it was a good weekend. Obviously qualifying was a bit of a roller coaster for me with getting in the car quickly and trying to do my best. We started at the back in 18th position. It’s difficult to pass here, so we finished 13th. We had a really good racecar, but it’s just frustrating because I didn’t have the chance to run by myself and show the pace of the car. I think that the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing / Roll Coater car was one of the fastest out there today. We just needed to qualify up front and we would have been okay. All in all, considering the bad luck that the team had all weekend, the team should be glad about that. Bia did a great job and we should all be proud. We will see what happens next.”

Round 12 of 17 sends the teams off to the oval at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where the race is set to be run August 14, broadcast at 3:30pm ET on Versus.

… notes from The EDJE

[Article first published as No Magic for Power in Round 11 of 17 at Mid-Ohio on Technorati]

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Eight Questions With ALMS GT JaguarRSR’s Bruno Junqueira

August 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The #99 Jaguar XKR driven by Bruno Junqueira and Ken Wilden leads a group of GTC and GT Class cars just past pitout at Mosport International Raceway. Image Credit: JaguarRSR

Eight Questions With ALMS GT JaguarRSR’s Bruno Junqueira

Weekend before last, The IndyCar Series was in Edmonton and the ALMS was near Toronto at Mosport International Raceway. Two standout performances were registered by drivers from the former ChampCar World Series and both performances were to set the fastest competitive lap in the their respective races. The two drivers, Sebastien Bourdais and Bruno Junqueira, it could be argued, were the most competitive drivers of the CCWS era. Sebastien, the perennial champion for four years straight from 2003 – 2006, and Bruno with near consecutive runner-up season performances from 2002, 2004, and 2005 (the last two as a team-mate to Sebastien).

While the Frenchman (Bourdais) posted the fastest IndyCar race lap on lap 80 of an eighty lap race, the Brazilian recorded the fastest GT race lap posting a 1:18.102. Almost two hours into the race, Junqueira came into the pits to pass on the “fast cat” to Toronto area native and team-mate Ken Wilden, who drove the remainder of the two hour and forty-five minute race to take the checkered flag and salvage a 15th place GT finish.

JaguarRSR race control keeping tabs on the progress of the #99 Jaguar XKR of Bruno Junqueira as he sets fastest race lap in the ALMS GT Calss at Mosport International Raceway. Image Credit: JaguarRSR


This excerpted and edited from IndyCar.com Bio - 

Bruno Junqueira entered the IZOD IndyCar Series full time in 2008 with a wealth of experience in open-wheel racing, including four starts in the Indianapolis 500. He earned the pole position at Indianapolis in 2002, driving for Target Chip Ganassi Racing [Further, he was able to qualify a car into the 33 car field of the INDY 500, only to be replaced by a primary or more strongly sponsored driver who did not qualify their car into the field (Alex Tagliani - 2009 and Ryan Hunter-Reay - 2011)].

Junqueira enjoyed success competing in Champ Car for seven seasons. With his 2005 win at Monterrey, Junqueira became the first driver in 19 years to win races in each of his first five years in Champ Car. He also finished runner-up in the series standings three times. Junqueira is part of a proud tradition of Brazilian open-wheel drivers, coming up through the Brazilian karting ranks and competing in South American Formula 3 and FIA International Formula 3000 before landing a ride in Champ Car.
[Reference Here]

Bruno Junqueira (left) and Ken Wilden (middle) prepare to take the #99 Jaguar XKR out for qualifications at Mosport International Raceway near Toronto, Canada. Image Credit: JaguarRSR

We last saw Bruno Junqueira on Pine Avenue during a fan appreciation activity the day before the cars took to the track at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach catching the sights and sounds as just a fan in the crowd. We catch up with Bruno, now, just before Round 5 in the ALMS GT season of 9 races to be held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge.

(1) Many teams call on your skills when they have a problem with their “regular” drivers, crashes, etc. But you haven’t been able to secure a ride in IndyCar. It’s almost a rhetorical question, but is it funding?

A – There are many reason because I didn’t find a full time ride for the last 3 years in IRL. At Champ car, I was one of the winningest drivers and finished the championship 3 times 2nd. I was able to always find rides and win races and get paid.

With the unification of IRL and Champ Car, it changed for me. I still did well, but I never got a good ride for the year. Probably, because in Indycar, more then half of the drivers have to bring money, or sponsors for the teams. Many good Champ Car driver struggle to find rides as well and the Champ Car team to find sponsors.

(2) Just how difficult is it to secure funding in the present IndyCar series?

A – In the last 12 years, I have been a professional driver. The correct is that the teams find the sponsor and hire the best drivers. It has changed, and I tried to find sponsor for 2010 season, but the TV rating in USA and Brazil made it hard to find money.

(3) Do you think that the new IndyCar will make a difference in the competition tightening up?

A – I think the new car will make the best teams have a bigger advantage. They will be able to develop the new car faster.

(4) Does the ALMS GT series seem to have a chance at becoming a viable series?

A – It already is viable. There are many manufacturers involved and a very good competition.

(5) Do you enjoy this series as a continuation and evolution of your career?

A – When I was 25, I thought that when I about 35 I would be going into sportscar racing. I will be 35 in November. I am enjoying it lot driving for Jaguar at ALMS.

(6) How competitive is the GT series in ALMS?

A – Very competitive. Good drivers and teams and a big support from the car and tires manufacturers.

(7) Do you still want to compete in the IndyCar series?

A – If I have a good opportunity, it will be nice.

(8) How did it feel to set the fastest race lap in GT at Mosport, and did you know that fellow ChampCar ex-pat Sebastien Bourdais also set the fastest race lap at the Edmonton Indy on the same weekend?

A – It was good to run fast at Mosport. The Jaguar RSR team did a good job. It was my first time there and loved the track. I always like to race in Canada . I didn’t know that Seb set the fastest lap, but I wish that the races were in a different weekend, and I could race both.

END

It’s August and this weekend it is all about the dedicated road track outside of Cleveland known as Mid-Ohio. The two top technology major automobile racing series converge, showcasing the best drivers American auto racing has to offer driving everything from open wheel, prototype closed body, and modified sports cars. IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series repeat in a double header event as thay did earlier in the year at Long Beach California.

The JaguarRSR team looks to carry the momentum of posting the fastest GT race lap in the last event at Mosport to Mid-Ohio this weekend. With track veterans behind the wheel of the pair of JaguarRSR XKR GTs, the team will be looking to make additional strides to move up the 16-car GT field set to take the green flag in the fifth round of the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron.

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 6 with ESPN2 airing the race starting at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 7. Live video coverage on race day will be available at 3:15 p.m. ET on ESPN3.com in the US, and americanlemans.com for international viewers. Canadian fans may also watch live coverage on Rogers Sportsnet. Worldwide radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio at americanlemans.com. or more information on the broadcasts, go to americanlemans.com/tv.

… notes from The EDJE

 

[Article first published as Eight Questions With ALMS GT JaguarRSR's Bruno Junqueira on Technorati]

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Five Questions With ALMS GT JaguarRSR Team’s Rocky Moran Jr.

August 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

All eyes are on Rocky Moran Jr. as he tracks around Mosport International Raceway, outside Toronto, in the #98 Jaguar XKR during round 4 of 9 in the ALMS GT season. Image Credit: JaguarRSR

 

Five Questions With ALMS GT JaguarRSR Team’s Rocky Moran Jr.

It’s August and this weekend it is all about the dedicated road track outside of Cleveland known as Mid-Ohio. The two top technology major automobile racing series converge, showcasing the best drivers American auto racing has to offer driving everything from open wheel, prototype closed body, and modified sports cars. IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series repeat in a double header event as thay did earlier in the year at Long Beach California.

At Long Beach, during the pre-race media day activities, we first met Rocky Moran Jr. behind the wheel of a Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Camary pace car providing laps around the famed 11 turn temporary street course that features the long straightaway of Shoreline Drive. Rocky cuts the figure of an American football linebacker at well over six feet tall which is a little disarming when he might be standing in a field of car jocky’s like Cristian de Matta (around 5’5″), Oriol Servia (about 5’8″), Bruno Junqueira (around 5’9″)and Patrick Long (also around 5’8″).

Rocky is the son and business partner of famed All American Racers’ Grand Touring Prototypes Toyota Eagle MKIII driver Rocky Moran (as team driver, helped cement the IMSA Manufacturing Championships in ’92/’93 for Dan Gurney’s AAR team) who himself is a long, tall glass of water, standing at 6’3″ and over 200 lbs. during his racing career.

Rocky Moran Jr. at 32, married with two kids, hailing from Southern California, is coming into his own as a regular on Paul Gentilozzi’s JaguarRSR ALMS GT effort. This weekend at JaguarRSR he teams with PJ Jones driving the #98 Jaguar XKR GT in the fifth round of nine in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón held at Mid-Ohio. We catch up with Rocky the week after Mosport where his #98 just missed making the top 10 in Class when a tire puncture and change dropped Moran Jr. and Jones back to P11.

Driver’s Roundtable - The JaguarRSR team drivers take a moment to review the track at Mosport. From right to left are pictured #98 Jaguar XKR drivers PJ Jones & Rocky Moran Jr., #99 Jaguar XKR drivers Ken Wilden & Bruno Junqueira. Here, Rocky engages Ken in a discussion with an intent PJ looking on. Image Credit: JaguarRSR

 

(1) Your Father enjoyed success in the GTP category in IMSA back in the day. How do you see the LMP1 cars fitting in with such low car counts?

A – The GTP era was very unique and quite a bit different than the current ALMS era. Obviously, the biggest difference is the car count, for most years the GTP field was quite full and they enjoyed large factory involvement and support. You had Jaguar, Toyota , Nissan, etc. Today the LMP field is smaller and most of the factory support seems to be in GT classes where we are currently competing. The LMP cars are really cool, I wish there were more of them on the track with us, I’m sure they will figure out a way to attract more cars in the future.

(2) Have you ever considered the Grand Am series as an alternative in the Prototypes or are you satisfied with the GT series in ALMS?

A - I have raced the Grand-Am Daytona Prototypes with Gainsco Racing and Segal Motorsports in the past so I now have experience in both series. The Prototypes are faster but not necessarily any more difficult to drive, any car becomes challenging when you put it on the limit.

I am more than satisfied to be racing in the GT class in ALMS, I truly love this division. It is competitive, the series is very well run, and it is interesting to be in the class where you are passing cars but also still getting passed by LMP cars.

(3) How many drivers in GT switch back and forth between Grand Am GT and ALMS?

A - I don’t think too many drivers do the switch back and forth. I know many of them do for the 24 hours of Daytona and certain select events but I think it helps to stay focused in one area.

(4) Coming from a racing family, do you ever think about running LMP1 in Europe ?

A - I have not given much thought to racing LMP1 in Europe , but I’m sure it would be a blast. I would love to race the 24 hours of Le Mans , as this is such a huge event.

(5) How do you like piloting a car with the #98 in the ALMS?

A – I race the #98 car in GT and I love it. The #99 car is driven by Bruno and Kenny and they make for great teammates. We are only getting faster and more complete as a team so I am really looking forward to Mid-Ohio.

END 

The JaguarRSR team looks to carry the momentum of posting the fastest GT race lap in the last event at Mosport to Mid-Ohio this weekend. With track veterans behind the wheel of the pair of JaguarRSR XKR GTs, the team will be looking to make additional strides to move up the 16-car GT field set to take the green flag in the fifth round of the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrόn.

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 6 with ESPN2 airing the race starting at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 7. Live video coverage on race day will be available at 3:15 p.m. ET on ESPN3.com in the US, and americanlemans.com for international viewers. Canadian fans may also watch live coverage on Rogers Sportsnet. Worldwide radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio at americanlemans.com. or more information on the broadcasts, go to americanlemans.com/tv.

… notes from The EDJE

 

[Article first published as Five Questions With ALMS GT JaguarRSR Team's Rocky Moran Jr. on Technorati]

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