2014 IndyCar / Mazda Road to Indy season

Kurt Busch, the 2004 Nascar Cup champion, will join Andretti Autosport for the Indianapolis 500. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/03/3-4-Busch-to-compete-in-Indy-500)

KV Racing Technology have signed Mikael Grenier as their reserve\associate driver, following initial testing at Sebring. He is expected to participate in further test days during the 2014 season. (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112766)

Bryan Herta Autosport announced that Collection Auto Group and Castrol will be among the team's sponsors for 2014. (http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/feat...tion-auto-group-castrol-indycar-team/5902919/)

Fisher-Hartman Racing will extend their sponsorship deal with Quaker Chemical through the 2014 season. (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/quaker-chemical-sfhr-renew-partnership-150000857.html)

Cosworth representatives met with Indycar series staff today to discuss entry as an engine manufacturer, and have begun construction on a new facility in Northampton as part of their expansion. (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112691)
 
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To change up from my usual posts, here's a gallery from the Mazda Road to Indy Winterfest. All images courtesy of the USF2000 and Pro Mazda championships.

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Pre-season testing continued at the Homestead road course (http://www.spmindycar.com/homestead-miami-pre-season-indycar-testing-update/) and Sebring (http://rahal.com/indy-news/graham-r...-day-of-2014-pleased-with-continued-progress/) with several teams testing engine and suspension packages.

Oriol Servia has been signed as the Rahal-Letterman team's second driver (http://rahal.com/indy-news/rahal-le...-servia-in-select-2014-indycar-series-events/).

Following their sponsor announcements for the 2014 season, Bryan Herta Autosport have selected 2012 Star Mazda champion Jack Hawksworth as their driver. (http://www.bryanhertaautosport.com/2014/03/jack-hawksworth-to-drive-for-bha-in-2014/)
 
Verizon has been announced as the new title sponsor for the Indycar series. The partnership is expected to include improved connectivity for spectators at all venues. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/03/3-14-Verizon-named-title-sponsor-of-INDYCAR-series)

Alex Tagliani will drive a second car for Fisher-Hartman Racing at the Indianapolis 500, with the potential for further races in the latter half of the season. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/03/3-13-Tagliani-joins-SFHR-for-Indy-500)

Matthew Brabham was presented with the Gorsline scholarship at Sebring for his racing accomplishments. (http://eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=13437)

The Gorsline Scholarship is presented by Gorsline Company, of Rochester, N.Y., the leader in high-risk motorsports insurance. It recognizes aspiring drivers by providing programs with tools that will assist them in developing skills on and off the track to help attain their professional goals.

Two other young drivers were also considered for the Scholarship: Sean Rayhall, 19, of Winston, Ga., and Madison Snow, 18, of Lehi, Utah.

"At such a young age, Matthew is already an accomplished racer," said Gorsline, principal of Gorsline Company. "All three of the candidates for the 20th Gorsline Scholarship are worthy recipients. It was a tough decision, but we selected Matthew. We're confident he'll benefit from the performance-enhancement and fitness training programs that Dallaire and Leo will provide as he progresses in his racing career."
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Will Power led the field in the two-day series open test at Barber Motorsports Park, although Justin Wilson and reigning champion Scott Dixon were within one-tenth on the overall timesheet. Juan Pablo Montoya was 9th fastest, and the highest placed rookie was Jack Hawksworth in 12th. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/03/3-18-Power-posts-best-lap-on-second-day-of-Open-Test)

An on-board lap from the test:


Drivers discuss the session: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze0ObwzpnEE

Teams can now carry over unused sets of tyres from test sessions and races (one set per event). An additional set of tyres is available to those completing a specified number of laps in first practice, except for superspeedway races. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/03/3-17-Tire-carryover-to-benefit-teams)
 
John "JR" Hildebrand will participte in a second entry for Ed Carpenter Racing at the Indianapolis 500. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/03/3-20-Hildebrand-joins-Ed-Carpenter-Racing-for-Indy-500)

Former Marussia F1 driver Luiz Razia will join Schmidt Motorsports for the 2014 Indy Lights season. (http://instagram.com/p/lz-JbZKc1t/)

Indycar is in discussions with Brazilian representatives to hold a race at the Autodromo Nelson Piquet in Brasilia from 2015 onwards. (http://www.indycar.com/News/2014/03/3-21-Officials-Open-To-Return-To-Brazil)
 
Courtesy of Marshall Pruett, a technical overview of the engine changes for 2014: http://www.racer.com/index.php/late...l-engines-on-tap-in-2014?showall=&limitstart=

With freedom to re-design most of the 2.2L V6 turbo powerplants and reposition supporting components, performance, efficiency and weight distribution should be improved. In addition, new exhausts will change the audible engine note and chassis aerodynamic characteristics. While no horsepower figures have been quoted, it appears Chevrolet have retained an advantage, in part due to Honda's transition from single to twin turbos.
 
2014 Verizon Indycar Series Round 1 of 18: Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

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Venue: Albert Whitted Airport, St. Petersburg, FL
Track length: 1.8 miles
Race length: 110 laps (198 miles)
Lap record: 1:00.928 (Sebastien Bourdais, Lola B02/00 Ford-Cosworth, 2003)

Overview: The SCCA Trans-Am series was the first to race on the streets of St. Petersburg from 1985-1990, and again for 1996-1997 with several junior support races. In 2003, the event was revived by CART using a modified version of the original layout. The race switched to the IRL in 2005 after a promoter dispute, and has remained an Indycar series event post-unification. The ALMS joined the event from 2007-2009, with Audi Sport North America winning the LMP1 class with Allan McNish in the first year. Current support races include the Pirelli World Challenge, Stadium Super Trucks, and the entirety of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder (Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, USF2000).

Drivers' preview:


Entry list:

http://www.indycar.com/~/media/File.../indycar-entrylist.pdf?vs=1&d=20140324T183057

Spotters guide:

http://www.indycar.com/~/media/File...dycar-spotterguide.pdf?vs=1&d=20140326T123855

Schedule:

http://www.gpstpete.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=97&Itemid=226

TV coverage:

ESPN UK at 20:00, 30th March (live); 06:00, 2nd April (re-run); 11:30, 2nd April (highlights); 21:15, 2nd April (highlights); 12:30, 3rd April (re-run).
 
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Reigning AutoGP champion Vittorio Ghirelli has signed to drive in Indy Lights. (http://www.paddockscout.com/auto-gp-champion-ghirelli-joins-indy-lights-for-2014/)

Ghirelli continues the trend of European junior series drivers migrating to the Mazda Road to Indy; he follows in the footsteps of Luiz Razia, Jack Harvey and Alexandre Baron who joined the Indy Lights grid in the off-season.

The vacant Indycar seat at Dale Coyne Racing has reportedly been filled by Formula Renault 3.5 race winner Carlos Huertas. He tested with the Panther team earlier this year. (http://colombiamotorfans.com/2014/03/24/carlos-huertas-llega-a-la-indycar)
 
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Ryan Briscoe (1:02.4236) led the third practice session. Full results: http://www.imscdn.com/INDYCAR/Documents/2894/2014-03-29/indycar-results-p3.pdf

Takuma Sato took advantage of changing conditions to take pole position for the Grand Prix of St Petersburg. Full qualifying results: http://www.imscdn.com/INDYCAR/Documents/2886/2014-03-29/indycar-results-quals.pdf

Qualifying highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjtnRyWCNWg

Post-qualifying interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqlpGWBXgo0
 
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The morning warm-up session was led by Carlos Munoz (1:02.2239). Full times: http://www.imscdn.com/indycar_media/documents/2014-03-30/St Petersburg warmup.pdf

Starting line-up for the Grand Prix of St Petersburg:

1) Takuma Sato
2) Tony Kanaan
3) Ryan Hunter-Reay
4) Will Power
5) Scott Dixon
6) Marco Andretti
7) Carlos Munoz
8) Jack Hawksworth
9) Ryan Briscoe
10) Helio Castroneves
11) Sebastian Saavedra
12) Mike Conway
13) Sebastien Bourdais
14) Simon Pagenaud
15) Mikhail Aleshin
16) Justin Wilson
17) Carlos Huertas
18) Juan Pablo Montoya
19) James Hinchcliffe
20) Charlie Kimball
21) Graham Rahal
22) Josef Newgarden
 
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