2014 IndyCar / Mazda Road to Indy season

Indy500

Indy500

Indy500

Soldato
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The 2014 Indycar season will begin with manufacturer and team tests in the first few months of the calendar year, leading up to the race schedule in late March. Technical changes have not yet been finalized, although increased safety and horsepower are said to be on Derrick Walker's agenda. The vast majority of teams and drivers have already taken part in post-season testing, notable exceptions being Bryan Herta Autosport and Panther who have not announced their line-ups.

Schedule

The 500-mile oval Triple Crown will make a return (Pocono having been 400 miles in 2013) with the $1 million prize for winning all three races on offer. A $250,000 payout for winning two of the three events serves as a consolation prize. Sao Paulo is no longer on the schedule due to the financial collapse of Band TV, and Baltimore has been removed for 2014-2015 due to event conflicts. The oval races at Iowa, Texas and Milwaukee were all lengthened. The inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on an improved version of the infield road course has been added prior to the Indy 500.

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Team/driver changes

  • Chip Ganassi Racing switched to Chevrolet engines, retaining 2013 champion Scott Dixon and maiden race winner Charlie Kimball. Tony Kanaan replaces the retiring Dario Franchitti, and Ryan Briscoe completes the four car line-up.
  • Andretti Autosport returns to using Honda power, retaining Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe. Carlos Munoz will compete for rookie of the year honours, replacing Ernesto Viso.
  • Bryan Herta Autosport are expected to continue using Honda engines, but have not announced a driver for the 2014 season. After dismissing Alex Tagliani in mid-2013, Luca Filippi and John Hildebrand shared the race seat - they are likely to be the leading contenders for a full season drive in 2014.
  • Dale Coyne Racing recently tested with Honda engines, and lead driver Justin Wilson has a contract option for 2014. Coyne is said to be looking for a full season driver in the second car, avoiding the persistent driver changes in 2013.
  • Ed Carpenter Racing saw a major change, with owner-driver Ed Carpenter stepping down from street\road course racing for 2014. Mike Conway (also joining Toyota's WEC LMP1 effort) has been signed for those events instead. The team is highly likely to continue with Chevrolet power, as per the recent Sebring tests.
  • KV Racing Technology responded to the departure of Tony Kanaan by signing Sebastien Bourdais on a 2-year deal. Negotiations for the second seat are still ongoing. The team will remain with Chevrolet for the foreseeable future.
  • Panther have no confirmed driver for 2014. John Hildebrand, Ryan Briscoe and Oriol Servia piloted their lone entry at various points in the 2013 season.
  • Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing retains Graham Rahal for a second season, and opted to remain with Honda. Second and third drivers are possible but not yet confirmed.
  • Sarah Fisher-Hartman Racing benefited from a strong sophomore season with Josef Newgarden, who returns for a third year with the team in 2014. An extension of the engine contract with Honda is on the cards.
  • Schmidt-Petersen-Hamilton Motorsports became Honda's flagship team and signed Simon Pagenaud for a third season. Tristan Vautier was replaced by Mikhail Aleshin, who will be eligible for rookie of the year.
  • Team Penske surprised the racing world by bringing Juan Pablo Montoya back to Indycar racing. They retain Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Chevrolet.

Mazda Road to Indy / US junior series

The schedule for Indy Lights, Pro Mazda and USF2000 announced in October remains unchanged. A better picture of the series' team\driver line-ups is likely to emerge following pre-season tests and the Winterfest races in February. Links to US, Canadian, and British Formula Ford championships in addition to Skip Barber are expected to be retained. (http://indylights2014.com/2013/mazda-road-to-indy-2014-schedule-confirmed/)
 
While we're awaiting the new year, here's some historic footage of the first Indianapolis 500 held in 1911 that attracted 46 entries (40 qualified for the race) from various countries. Ray Harroun won by 1 minute 43 seconds in a personally designed 7.82L Mormon Wasp, leading 88 of 200 laps and averaging 74.602mph.

 
Pre-season testing for 2014 begins at Sebring this week, with several drivers running for Indy Lights teams in a two day test session. Among those present at the test are former Marussia F1 driver Luiz Razia, and 2012 British F3 champion Jack Harvey who signed to drive with Schmidt Motorsports last month. (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112042)
 
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Indycar drivers will once again be out in force at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona on January 25-26, spearheaded by Ganassi's two-car Daytona Prototype effort. Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ryan Briscoe, Simon Pagenaud, Justin Wilson, Graham Rahal, Sebastien Bourdais, James Hinchcliffe, Ernesto Viso, Tristan Vautier, James Davison, Townsend Bell, and Indy Lights champion Sage Karam have all secured drives for the race. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/01/1-3-Champions-highlight-Ganassi-lineup)

Edit: Additional Indy Lights\Indycar drivers will be participating in the Rolex 24 - Gabby Chaves, Alex Tagliani, and Mikhail Aleshin have been confirmed. The full entry list can be found here: http://www.imsa.com/sites/default/files/races/entry_lists/Daytona Entry List 1-15.pdf

Team Penske announced that Hitachi will return as a sponsor on all three of their cars for 2014, with primary placement on the #3 driven by Helio Castroneves. Verizon will remain the primary sponsor on the #12 entry piloted by Will Power. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/01/1-8-Team-Penske-re-signs-with-Hitachi)
 
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Andretti Autosport held their 2014 car launch, in addition to confirming their Pro Mazda driver line-up. The #25 driven by Marco Andretti will be sponsored by Dr Pepper\Snapple Group; the #27 entry with James Hinchcliffe is backed by United Fiber & Data; Ryan Hunter-Reay's #28 sees DHL return as primary sponsor; and Carlos Munoz's #34 car carries title sponsorship from E-commerce firm Cinsay.

Shelby Blackstock will return to the Pro Mazda team for a second season, while Garrett Grist moves up from USF2000 having finished third in the 2013 standings. (http://andrettiautosport.com/news/?p=3958#.UtSyCftCn48)
 
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Eleven Indycar team\driver combinations participated in a Chevrolet manufacturer test at Sebring yesterday. Panther appeared on track for the first time since the 2013 finale, with Formula Renault 3.5 race winner Carlos Huertas. (http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.co...mons-engineered-no-10-at-todays-indycar-test/)

Chevrolet's Indycar program manager Chris Berube reported he was happy with the progress made at the test.
“The IndyCar engine homologation table allowed a fairly significant amount of change to the engine for 2014, including new turbochargers and fuel system revisions,” Berube said in a Chevrolet manufacturer release. “Work on all of that started last year and this first track test is an exciting yet anxious time for the engineers that toiled over and tortured the new bits to push the performance level up while maintaining the competitive advantage in reliability Chevrolet has had in 2012 and 2013.
Click to expand...
(http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.co...ram-on-first-test-day-of-2014-indycar-season/)

Additional team and manufacturer tests are expected to continue through January and February, leading up to the series open test at Barber Motorsports Park on March 17-18.
 
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Mikhail Aleshin began his first oval today at Homestead with the Schmidt Motorsports team, after co-driving a GTD Ferrari 458 at the Daytona 24 hour event last weekend. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/01/1-26-Notes-Aleshin-moves-to-oval-for-rookie-test)

Kurt Busch has been in preliminary talks with Chip Ganassi Racing to run the 2014 Indy 500. The 2004 Nascar Sprint Cup champion conducted an oval test last year with Andretti Autosport. Ganassi is also looking to place Indy Lights champion Sage Karam in additional USCC and Indycar races following his drive in the Daytona 24. (http://espn.go.com/racing/indycar/s...busch-hold-initial-talks-indianapolis-500-run)

Andersen Promotions announced another supplier for the upcoming Indy Lights IL-15 chassis, as Motegi Racing will be producing wheels for the series from 2015 onwards. (http://indylights2014.com/2014/andersen-promotions-announces-partnership-with-motegi-racing/)

Owned by Wheel Pros, one of the world’s largest suppliers of branded custom wheels, Motegi Racing has technical partnerships with teams in a variety of formulas including Formula One, Formula Drift and Global Rallycross.

...

“This technical partnership underscores our commitment to the ladder system in U.S. open-wheel racing and the young future stars on their way to the IndyCar Series,” said Jody Groce, President of Wheel Pros LLC. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to introduce our forged aluminum wheel technology to the top level of the ladder after being already proven at the highest levels of sportscar GT racing with the Ferrari AF Corse GT factory team in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the factory Viper SRT in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and the Ford factory OMSE team in Global Rallycross.”
Click to expand...
 
Team Penske has announced that Juan Pablo Montoya's #2 car will be sponsored by Verizon for at least 8 races. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/02/2-10-Verizon-Team-Penske-expand-partnership)

Chevrolet teams completed their Indycar engine testing at Auto Club Speedway, are moving on to the road course at Sonoma today in addition to several Honda entries. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/02/2-11-Testing-continues-at-Auto-Club-Speedway, http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/02/2-13-Nine-teams-test-at-Sonoma-Raceway)
 
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WEC LMP2 champion and Le Mans class winner Martin Plowman has signed with AJ Foyt Enterprises for both Indianapolis races. He will drive the #41 entry sponsored by Alfe Heat Treating and ABC Supply. (http://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/martin-plowman-is-set-to-drive-the-indy-double/)

Team Penske have announced that Hawk Performance Group will be the primary sponsor on Juan Pablo Montoya's #2 entry for 3 races. (http://www.teampenske.com/news/index.cfm?cat_id=628&cid=52023)

Indycar testing continued at Sebring yesterday, with Honda's latest twin turbo specification being rolled out to their teams. Bryan Herta Autosport (who ran Indy Lights race winner Jack Hawksworth), AJ Foyt Enterprises (Takuma Sato), Dale Coyne Racing (Justin Wilson), KV Racing Technology (Sebastian Saavedra, Sebastien Bourdais) and Fisher-Hartman Racing (Josef Newgarden) were present. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/02/2-17-Notes-Hawksworth-joins-Herta-team-for-Sebring-test)
 
Indycar testing continued for some teams at Sebring, with Martin Plowman joining AJ Foyt Enterprises for initial seat time ahead of the Indianapolis events. (http://www.motorsport.com/indycar/n...turns-to-the-indycar-cockpit-at-sebring-test/)

Trackside video from Sebring:


The 40th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach this year will feature a standing start, for the first time since the Champ Car World Series finale in 2008. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/02/2-18-Standing-starts-added-for-Long-Beach)

An upgraded Race Control unit and mobile trailer are in development to improve data available for Indycar race direction. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/02/2-18-Rolling-Race-Control-in-2015)

All of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder series will be in action at the Cooper Tires Winterfest beginning tomorrow, with 6 races for USF2000 (4 for Pro Mazda) at NOLA Motorsports Park and Barber Motorsports Park. Indy Lights teams will have 2 days of testing at each venue. With a wide range of countries represented and increased participation of European drivers seeking to an alternative to the high cost F1 ladder, 2014 will likely be the most interesting season to date. (http://www.usf2000.com/News/14-02-2...interfest_Heads_to_Louisiana_and_Alabama.aspx)
 
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The first half of the 2014 USF2000 Winterfest saw some new faces up front, with Victor Franzoni, Clark Toppe and R.C. Enerson taking wins in the 3 races at NOLA Motorsports Park. Enerson (who finished 9th in USF2000 last season) leads the standings on 70 points, with reigning F1600 Formula Ford champion Jake Eidson 6 points adrift. Franzoni (a graduate of Brazilian Formula 3) is third, a further 3 points back. (http://eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=13368&sid=4d5187b6d2ab1ce61eda2b1ebdc2f64e)

The Pro Mazda class saw Spencer Pigot and series rookie Garett Grist (previously 3rd in USF2000) take dominant victories. Pigot goes into the second half of the Winterfest with 60 points to Grist's 50. (http://racer.com/index.php/indycar/74-pro-mazda/101388-grist-wins-second-pro-mazda-winterfest-round)

Gabby Chaves led the Indy Lights testing time sheets (1:27.612), just 0.018s faster than reigning Pro Mazda champion Matthew Brabham (1:27.630). GP2 veteran Luiz Razia was third fastest (1:28.226).
 
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The second half of the 2014 USF2000 Winterfest at Barber Motorsports Park saw another first-time winner, with Micheal Epps victorious in 2 of the 3 races. R.C. Enerson won the finale to secure the Winterfest title on 146 points, with Epps second on 132. Jake Eidson wrapped up third overall with 118 points and was the highest placed rookie. (http://eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=13385&sid=b4c414801afcd2c80dbb98f88142200b)

Spencer Pigot took the Pro Mazda class title with another win and 2nd place, while reigning USF2000 champion Scott Hargrove earned his first race victory after stepping up for 2014. Top 3 in the points standings: Spencer Pigot 118, Scott Hargrove 92, Garett Grist 91. (http://eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=13386&sid=b4c414801afcd2c80dbb98f88142200b)

Meanwhile, Matthew Brabham confirmed his pace in Indy Lights testing, setting the best time over 2 days (1:15.160). Gabby Chaves was second fastest (1:15.461), and Luiz Razia was third (1:15.522).

In a surprise move, Schmidt Motorsports announced that Jacques Villeneuve will return to the Indy 500 after a 19-year absence, in their third entry alongside Simon Pagenaud and Mikhail Aleshin. (http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140226/INDYCAR/140229848)
 
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