IndyCar 2012

Flibster said:
Didn't realise that a season of Indy running a team only costs something like $20 million for a top team...

HRT and Marussia spend around double that...

Ferrari & Red Bull - 20 times that. :eek:
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Still produced a more interesting race too, IMO :p

They're all privateer teams with low sponsorship numbers so I can see chassis development being very limited next season. Dallara needs some competition because they're overcharging for parts, and the further away from spec the cars get the more room there is for teams to be creative.

Speaking of development, a one day test is scheduled at Mid-Ohio before the race weekend:

http://www.midohio.com/Schedule/Mid...D-IndyCar-Series-Test-Open-to-Fans-on-July-26
 
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Highlights from Edmonton (not sure what's up with the new format but that's what Indycar have uploaded):


Race results:

1. #3 Helio Castroneves 1:38:50.9294s (75 laps)
2. #15 Takuma Sato + 0.8367s
3. #12 Will Power + 5.3697s
4. #38 Graham Rahal + 6.9481s
5. #98 Alex Tagliani + 15.2358s
6. #10 Dario Franchitti + 15.8757s
7. #28 Ryan Hunter-Reay + 21.5357s
8. #2 Ryan Briscoe + 23.5311s
9. #18 Justin Wilson + 26.3280s
10. #9 Scott Dixon + 26.6481s
11. #14 Mike Conway + 27.0458s
12. #27 James Hinchcliffe + 31.4527s
13. #8 Rubens Barrichello + 35.1256s
14. #26 Marco Andretti + 39.8669s
15. #7 Sebastian Bourdais + 40.8154s
16. #5 Ernesto Viso + 55.1028s
17. #67 Josef Newgarden + 56.0449s
18. #11 Tony Kanaan + 57.0272s
19. #83 Charlie Kimball + 1:04.8947s* (after 30 second post-race penalty)
20. #77 Simon Pagenaud + 1 lap/Collision
21. #4 JR Hildebrand + 1 lap
22. #20 Ed Carpenter + 1 lap
23. #78 Simona de Silvestro + 2 laps
24. #22 Oriol Servia + 10 laps/Engine
25. #19 James Jakes + 32 laps/Suspension

Fastest lap: 1:17.3629s (103.491mph) on lap 68 by Josef Newgarden

Some statistics of interest:

No laps run under caution, for the first time since race 2 at Texas Motor Speedway in 2011.

Team owner/driver Ed Carpenter is the only competitor to be running at the finish for all 11 races this season. His best finish is 8th (twice) at Milwaukee and Iowa.

Edmonton was the fifth consecutive front-row start for Dario Franchitti, although only one has resulted in a podium (Detroit).

15 different drivers have finished on the podium this season.

This race also saw the most cars that finished on the lead lap for 2012 (19).

It's been 88 races between pole positions for Ryan Hunter-Reay. His last pole was at Milwaukee in 2004.

Helio Castroneves has lead the most laps of any active Indycar driver - 4,731.

Race analysis from Racer.com: http://www.racer.com/analysis-edmonton-indy/article/251495/2/

As for my own thoughts, apart from what's already been said: Mike Conway finally drove a strong race with 11th having started 23rd. Will Power was his usual road-course self advancing to 3rd from 17th. Scott Dixon gained some places but only managed 10th at the flag so his chances of a 3rd Indycar title are highly diminished.

Graham Rahal was in the unusual position of being the leading Chip Ganassi car in the race with a solid 4th. KV Racing Technology had a mediocre weekend with Rubens Barrichello dropping from 7th on the grid to 13th at the finish, while Tony Kanaan's odd choice of 3-stop strategy leaving him 18th. Ernesto Viso made no noticable impression in 16th.

A controversial drive-through penalty was issued for Sebastian Bourdais on lap 29 after he was judged to be blocking illegally. Other penalties included 30 seconds post-race time added for Charlie Kimball due to his last-lap collision with Simon Pagenaud, and Josef Newgarden once again broke the pitlane speed limit (one wonders if his limiter is faulty or his team are not advising him on the correct timing to push the button).

HVM continued to have mechanical problems, relegating Simona de Silvestro to a lonely 23rd position two laps down. Despite the underpowered and unreliable Lotus\Judd engine she made passes early in the race before the car trouble.
 
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Just finished watching the Indy race courtesy of the Sky Sports free weekend. It was good. These new Indy Cars have grown on me. They have a bit of an early 90's F1 look to them with the low nose and sidepods. The push to pass thing seemed well implemented too. Some good racing and I fully agree with the British commentary team that they should come over here for a British round. We have plenty if airfields they could use :).

Not going to be picking up a Sky Sports subscription any time soon, but it was good to get a chance too see some Indy action.

Lol, Helios seems a bit happy :D
 
Skeeter said:
Just finished watching the Indy race courtesy of the Sky Sports free weekend. It was good. These new Indy Cars have grown on me. They have a bit of an early 90's F1 look to them with the low nose and sidepods. The push to pass thing seemed well implemented too.
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Thing is they had to sacrifice some top-end power because of engine reliability concerns. So it's more like 550hp boosted to 600 with P2P. Maybe next year the limits will be increased.

Skeeter said:
I fully agree with the British commentary team that they should come over here for a British round. We have plenty if airfields they could use :).
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CART used to run on the Rockingham oval in Corby. ;)

As for Helio...well, he was denied a win in the past because of a controversial penalty call and has finished 2nd three times at Edmonton so I don't blame him for the fence climbing :)
 
Ah, its new engine tech, I think we can allow them some teething problems.

I'd rather a road circuit layout in the UK. They go to Japan, so why not the UK? Although I expect they go to Japan because off Honda, meaning the chance of a British round will have faded away as quickly as Lotus' engines...
 
Skeeter said:
I'd rather a road circuit layout in the UK. They go to Japan, so why not the UK?
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No, the deal with Twin Ring Motegi was dropped (yeah, Honda played some part in having it there but they also had several Japanese drivers at the time, not just Sato). The schedule for 2013 hasn't been finalised yet though. The Rockingham infield has a couple of layouts that could work.

Skeeter said:
Although I expect they go to Japan because off Honda, meaning the chance of a British round will have faded away as quickly as Lotus' engines...
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Well sponsorship isn't the only issue, the locals still have to be able to make a profit on the deal with ticket revenues. Which is difficult when the domestic fan base prefers F1 and the circuits are in the middle of nowhere.
 
I've driven the Rockingham circuit (International Super Sportscar Long) and its too narrow for Indy really. Plus if they come to an oval, they will want to use the oval.

I like the way that Indy builds tracks in odd places that you wouldn't expect to see a circuit. Maybe they could use the Olympic circuit :D?
 
Skeeter said:
I've driven the Rockingham circuit (International Super Sportscar Long) and its too narrow for Indy really. Plus if they come to an oval, they will want to use the oval.
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Barber Motorsports Park was originally intended as a motorcycle track but they managed to pass fine on that :p

Skeeter said:
I like the way that Indy builds tracks in odd places that you wouldn't expect to see a circuit. Maybe they could use the Olympic circuit :D?
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Nah. We're more likely to see Portland, Vancouver and some more ovals back on the schedule than a street circuit in London.
 
Sky should move the IndyCar coverage to the F1 channel. That will up its popularity over here!

They should bring the Speedway over too while they are at it!

/dreaming...
 
Skeeter said:
Sky should move the IndyCar coverage to the F1 channel. That will up its popularity over here!

They should bring the Speedway over too while they are at it!

/dreaming...
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They're too greedy unfortunately :p

While there are British drivers in the series, Justin Wilson is not as high profile and recognised as Nigel Mansell was back in the day. Mike Conway's been largely mediocre except his win at Long Beach last year. James Jakes is a virtually unknown rookie and Katherine Legge has been doing a good Milka Duno impression. :p
 
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1078042_indy-cars-test-at-mid-ohio-kimball-injures-hand

Some news from the Mid-Ohio testing (more at the link):

...

The full-day session ended 90 minutes early as a shower burst through the Ohio countryside, but not before fully half the field were between one and two seconds quicker than the 2011 marks set in practice and qualifying for the marquee event over the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio undulating road course.

There was one major incident during the day: Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Honda driver Charlie Kimball was injured at the test. Kimball broke his right hand and was treated for a fracture of the fifth metacarpal at MedCentral Hospital in nearby Mansfield. He's expected to be re-evaluated on Friday with the help of an Indianapolis-based specialist and at this time his status for next week's race is unknown.

Scott Dixon, the Target Ganassi Honda driver who has won three of the last five contests held at this racetrack remarked, "The new car is quick without even putting red (Firestone Firehawk)* tires on. I can't wait until next weekend to make up points," he said.

...
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*a re-branded Bridgestone super-soft compound
 
One more news update before the Indycar race weekend at Mid-Ohio:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/101677

Giorgio Pantano will be filling in for Charlie Kimball at Chip Ganassi for the race. He previously finished 2nd in the 2002 F3000 season, drove for Jordan during most of the 2004 F1 season, then moved to GP2 winning the 2008 championship with the Spanish team Racing Engineering. He has 5 CART and Indycar starts with a best finish of 4th at Watkins Glen.

As some flavour material, here's Indycar 36 with James Hinchcliffe:

 
Time for the introductory post to the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend, starting with a drivers' preview:


Track map and overview:

http://www.trackhq.com/forums/attac...7-mid-ohio-sports-car-course-info-midohio.gif

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio
85 laps
Lap length: 2.258 miles
Lap record: Dario Franchitti, 1:05.347 (1999)

Unlike many other Indycar circuits, the rolling start takes place on the second straight after the Keyhole hairpin, not the pit straight. ALMS and the Porsche Challenge series will also be racing at the circuit this weekend in addition to US Formula 2000 and Indycar.

Schedule:

Friday, 3rd August

08.45-09.45: American Le Mans practice 1
11.15-12.15: American Le Mans practice 2
12.25-13.35: American Le Mans qualifying
14.00-15.30: Indycar practice 1

Saturday, 4th August

08.00-09.00: Indycar practice 2
09.20-09.50: ALMS warm-up
11.00-12.15: Indycar qualifying
13.05-15.50: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge
16.15-16.55: US F2000 race 1
17.10-18.20: Porsche World Challenge race 1

Sunday, 5th August

08.05-08.35: Indycar warm-up
09.55-10.55: Porsche World Challenge race 2
11.10-11.50: US F2000 race 2
13.00: Indycar race start

These are local times, the UK race coverage begins at 5.30pm on Sky Sports 4.

Highlights from first practice:


I'll have to confirm this, but it seems that former Indycar and Indy Lights driver Pippa Mann has joined the US commentary team for this race (having previously been a commentator for Indy Lights this year).

Going back to the action itself, Giorgio Pantano was unfortunately off the pace due to a lack of track time with the DW12, while James Hinchcliffe narrowly avoided an excursion into the barriers. Alex Tagliani of Bryan Herta Autosport (who spun off during the session at the same corner as Hinchcliffe) has changed engine early, and is likely to incur the standard penalty of a 10 place grid drop. The fastest lap was set by Will Power, 1:06.8632. Simona de Silvestro appeared to have more technical issues with the Lotus-Judd engine, stopping on track mid-way through practice.
 
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Practice and qualifying are now complete, here are the highlights:


Justin Wilson was fastest in second practice, and the session was relatively uneventful other than a close call between Mike Conway and Helio Castroneves.


Will Power once again showed his supremacy on road courses by taking pole position with a 1:05.6474 lap, 0.25s ahead of Dario Franchitti. Simon Pagenaud was less than a tenth back in third place, followed by Alex Tagliani, Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe.

Charlie Kimball's stand-in Giorgio Pantano ended 24th, while title contender Helio Castroneves qualified just 13th. The current points leader Ryan Hunter-Reay will line up 8th on the grid, and Sebastian Bourdais qualified strongly in 7th.

Qualifying interviews:


Full grid for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio:

1) Will Power
2) Dario Franchitti
3) Simon Pagenaud
4) Alex Tagliani
5) Scott Dixon
6) Ryan Briscoe
7) Sebastian Bourdais
8) Ryan Hunter-Reay
9) Marco Andretti
10) Josef Newgarden
11) Oriol Servia
12) Justin Wilson
13) Helio Castroneves
14) John Hildebrand
15) Rubens Barrichello
16) James Hinchcliffe
17) Mike Conway
18) Takuma Sato
19) Tony Kanaan
20) Ernesto Viso
21) James Jakes
22) Graham Rahal
23) Simona de Silvestro
24) Giorgio Pantano
25) Ed Carpenter

Engine penalties are to be confirmed, but it is expected that Tagliani and Castroneves will be put back 10 places.

Race build-up and coverage begins at 5.30pm on Sky Sports 4.
 
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Looks like I'm late. ^Wilson never catches a break does he? :(

Just a quick news piece: Katherine Legge will have a car for the Sonoma race, Chevrolet have supplied more engines.

http://www.indycar.com/en/News/2012/08-August/8-5-Legge-gets-ride-for-Sonoma

I expected Power to be running away with this but he's got Scott Dixon breathing down his neck...and Bourdais. Looks like Oriol Servia had yet another mechanical problem because he's 7 laps down...

Edit: I'm guessing Ernesto Viso was responsible for the collision earlier, he got a drive-through.
 
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Guerrilla said:
Oh Dixon takes the lead.
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Could be important for the race's outcome, if they stretch this set of tyres to the end. Pantano looks quick, he might pick up a top 10 here if the pitstops pan out for him.

Dixon extending his lead. I guess that lack of power steering is giving him an edge, since he's reputed to have the best physical fitness among the Indycar drivers.

Edit: Wilson is the last car to pit. Hinchcliffe is up several places from his grid position. Pagenaud looking very fast here, he's up to third now.

Edit2: Unexpected pitstop for Dario. It's battle of the ex-F1 drivers in mid-field, Sato, Pantano and Barrichello running close together.
 
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