Corvette Z06 GT3.R drivers Robert Wickens and Tommy Milner met with members of the media via Zoom on Thursday afternoon. The pair discussed Wickens’ initial test and upcoming race debut with Corvette at the Grand Prix of Long Beach alongside Corvette Racing factory driver Milner in a DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R equipped with Bosch’s state-of-the-art hand-control braking system. Image Credit: DXDT Racing (2025)
Famed Former INDYCAR Driver Robert Wickens To Co-Pilot The DXDT Corvette
With Tommy Milner At 50th Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach
Robert Wickens will race the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette for the Acura Grand
Prix of Long Beach, with Corvette factory driver Tommy Milner confirmed on
Wednesday as his co-driver for the 100-minute contest. RACER revealed last
November that Wickens would be running the IMSA WeatherTech Championship
sprint races this season with DXDT. The first of these at Long Beach will also
be Wickens’ first on a street circuit using hand controls.
The following ZOOM Call with Robert Wickens and Tommy Milner was conducted and
this is what each driver had to say about their prospects. FULL TRANSCRIPT >>>
This Excerpted and Edited from SportCar 365 -
WeatherTech ChampionshipWickens: ‘Not a Single Hiccup’ During Sebring
Test
Robert Wickens ‘comfortable straight away’ aboard DXDT Racing Corvette at
Sebring
By: Davey Euwema - March 20, 2025
Robert Wickens hailed the Bosch hand-control system aboard the DXDT Racing
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R as “a massive step forward” after sampling it
during a two-day test at Sebring International Raceway ahead of his IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship return at Long Beach next month.
Wickens will race the No. 36 Corvette for the Acura Grand Prix of Long
Beach, with Corvette factory driver Tommy Milner confirmed on Wednesday as
his co-driver for the 100-minute contest.
It will only be Wickens’ second WeatherTech Championship appearance,
following eight years after contesting the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona in a
Starworks Motorsport Oreca FLM09.
At Long Beach, Wickens will make use of the latest version of the Bosch
hand-control system, with a newly developed braking system that was debuted
on the Canadian’s Hyundai TCR car in the final two rounds of last year’s
Michelin Pilot Challenge season.
The new system that Wickens will be working with was developed using Bosch’s
existing electronic brake system module from the LMDh platform, but has been
adapted to feature a brake-by-wire system on the No. 36 Corvette.
----
“There hasn’t been a single hiccup,” he said. “It’s like when they designed
the Corvette Z06 GT3.R it was always in the plan. It looks like it belongs
in the car. It feels like it belongs in the car.
“Immediately I felt way more comfortable with the braking feeling and
braking sensation than I had in my past racing in TCR with the Bosch EBS.
“It was a massive step forward so hats off to all the men and women at
Bosch, Pratt Miller, GM and DXDT Racing for collaborating in making this all
possible.”
The Long Beach event will be Wickens’ first racing appearance at the wheel
of a rear-wheel-drive car since his NTT IndyCar Series career was cut short
by his Pocono crash in 2018.
During Content Days where the NTT INDYCAR SERIES sets up to capture photo and video content for the series to use throughout the year, on the web and broadcast production, Alexander Rossi spends about 20 minutes with the gathered Press in attendance at the Palm Springs Convention Center where he was introduced for the first time in an Arrow McLaren colors fire suit. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks
Alexander Rossi As Two-Time Winner Previews The 2023 Acura Grand Prix Of
Long Beach
Alexander Rossi, the first year driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren
Chevrolet, is one of two California natives (the other is former teammate
Andretti Autosport's Colton Herta) who are expected to compete in the Acura
Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 16.
Rossi is a two-time winner (and a two-time NTT P1 Pole Award winner) on the
streets of Long Beach, achieving both marks in 2018 and 2019.
We are pleased to spend some time with former Formula 1 aspirant and 2016
INDY 500 winner, his first win in an INDYCAR ... Alexander Rossi.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference - Alexander Rossi
Preview On Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach
THE MODERATOR: Welcome, everybody. Glad you're here. Another race
week here in 2023. 2023 resumes this Sunday on the beautiful streets of Long
Beach for another edition of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, one of the
longest running races on the schedule outside of, of course, the Indy 500.
Few have had the type of success that Alexander Rossi has had on the streets
of Long Beach. Back-to-back wins, back-to-back poles, 2018 and 2019. Driver
of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet joins us today after a visit to the
White House and the annual Easter egg hunt yesterday.
I got to ask you about the Easter egg hunt. How cool was that?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: It was awesome, man. I didn't really know what I was
getting myself into. When the opportunity presented itself to go to the
White House, like why wouldn't you? I had also never been to D.C. before, so
I got kind of spoiled on my first trip there.
No, just an amazing event for not only INDYCAR to be there but for all of
some 30,000 kids that got the opportunity to kind of learn about their
favorite sports and kind of the physical and mental aspect that it takes to
get into that sport.
We were sandwiched between the NFL and the MLB, so pretty great company for
INDYCAR to be around. I think it was a pretty amazing activation that we had
in terms of having the show car there, Jim Leo from PitFit Training there, a
little bit of a glimpse into what it's like. I think we definitely created
some new race fans. It was really exciting to be a part of.
THE MODERATOR: You're from California, won a couple times at Long Beach. How
much are you looking forward to leading Arrow McLaren there this coming
weekend?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, man. I say it all the time, outside the Indy 500 I
think this is one of our flagship races if not the flagship race. It's
always such an amazing event from not only an entertainment
on-and-off-the-track standpoint but a turnout standpoint. The fans there are
passionate, they're incredibly knowledgeable about the sport, there's
obviously a huge amount of history that exists with that city and that
track.
Jim Michaelian and his whole group do an amazing job for us every year. Real
excited to get back there. As you mentioned, we've had some success there in
the past. With the new team and the momentum that the Arrow McLaren group
has at the moment, we're very much looking forward to the weekend.
THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions.
Q. Could you give us an idea of how different you feel the setups are
between St. Pete and Long Beach, how much confidence you take from the pace
you had in St. Pete, whether you think that's going to apply to Long Beach.
ALEXANDER ROSSI: They are different. I think St. Pete's borderline getting
to the point where it's almost a road course, it's so smooth and the grip
level is what it is. I think you definitely take a little bit of a different
approach there than you do other street courses.
Yeah, there are obviously some similarities. I think as a whole, obviously I
didn't drive the car last year, but I think the team has taken a step
forward in terms of the street course program. I think Chevrolet has made
monumental steps, especially coming from 2021, their evolution of '22, then
again a step this year.
I think it's going to be the normal competitive obviously qualifying and
race. I think your normal participants are going to be fighting for pole.
It's going to take perfect execution from everyone and exciting to see how
it shakes out.
Q. What is your level of excitement being inside the team? You've had two
races under your belt, where is your mind at? How do you feel with this team
settling in now?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, for sure we're two races, but also only two
races, right? It's still early days.
I think the entire atmosphere and the positivity within the team is obvious
from the outside. I think the cohesiveness that they were able to keep and
also the continuity of adding a third car, the people we've talked about
many times, it's a testament to everyone there from the top all the way to
the bottom.
It's a real privilege and joy to be part of that team every single week. I
think we're only going to get stronger as time goes on.
Q. You mentioned Chevy feel good on a street course. Is it a different feel
inside the car, torque? What is different coming from a Honda to Chevrolet
now?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: I mean, again, I can't speak for what it was like. I think
they had a huge focus on the bottom-end drivability side of things. Even
when it was a challenge, they were still obviously very successful. Even
when it was difficult in '21, they were still winning races.
Again, it's very hard to have that big of a difference when the engine
architecture is similar or the same, and the rules have been around for so
long, everyone kind of follows to the same point.
But, yes, there are still subtle differences. It's kind of about maximizing
the strengths and weaknesses of each engine, right? Honda might go about
that a different way than Chevy does. For us as drivers, me making the
transition from one to the other, you've got to understand the areas that
the Chevy is working in a better range, and you got to focus on those areas
to make sure you maximize the performance available.
Q. What about street course races makes you jump to another level? Do you
treat these races differently?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: I won Pocono, and that's not a really big race (laughter).
Pretty random actually.
It's obviously cool to be able to have success in those types of races. But,
no, it's all the same. If you're fortunate enough to get it right on that
day, it's cool.
Alexander Rossi rides around Thermal during the Open Winter Test in his new colors ride provided by Arrow McLaren with Chevrolet power. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2023)
Q. How crucial in INDYCAR, seems like milliseconds separate a gap from first
to 10th, is pit selection? This week you're pitting third. Do you have any
input? Is there a study behind that?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, it really depends on the track. For example,
Long Beach, you want to be towards the front. I assume everyone knows, but
if you don't know, it goes in order of qualifying. For example, Felix got to
pick first at Long Beach based on Texas, then down the qualifying order.
For Long Beach it's important to be in the front in terms of pit selection
just so that when you're leaving to go to practice, qualifying sims,
whatever, you have as much clear track in front of you as possible.
For the ovals it's a pretty big advantage to have an open in just because of
the way the cross weight is set up, you can carry more speed into the pit
box. On a track where we have a lot of cars and a small pit lane, at
Mid-Ohio or Toronto, an open in or open out is kind of the preferred choice.
You'll see guys, even if they qualify third, they'll choose the 15th box
because it's an open in or open out.
Indy is a little bit similar, but there's the added superstition that goes
into that. There's metrics that are run on these pit boxes historically have
been the most successful. There's really no rhyme or reason to it other than
odds. That's kind of what goes into it.
It's a little bit of everything.
Q. You have teammates around you, is there a reason you guys chose between
Dixie and Josef?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: No, I mean, I think that was the order of qualifying. It
went Felix, Scott, me, Josef, which just shows how important track position
is.
Again, track position is that important that we all wanted to be up front.
It's the order of qualifying.
Q. What do you put down to your success in Long Beach? Do you think the
track suits your driving style or just a track you enjoy?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: I don't know. I don't have an answer for you. I think for
me it's always an exciting event there in Laguna. It's a home race in the
sense that I'm from California. I always have a lot of friends and family
turn out that come. I think everyone kind of gets a little bit of a
subconscious boost and a little bit extra motivation. We hear Josef talk all
the time about how much he'd love to win Nashville, his home race. That sort
of exists.
Beyond that, I've been fortunate to have good cars there and it's a track
that suits my driving style. It's pretty medium- to high-speed corners.
There's only one and the fountain that are slow-speed corners, so you can
make time up from that standpoint.
Yeah, I mean, it's a little bit of everything. If I had an answer for you,
I'd probably win every race. I don't think it comes down to just one thing.
It's a combination of things that work out ending up to be in your favor.
Q. Do you think traffic is going to be a big issue?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: At this point with the grid size we have, it's an issue
every weekend, aside from really Road America or Road America (laughter).
That's just the nature of it. It's the same for everyone. You manage it as
best you can.
For sure at some point throughout the weekend you're going to get caught up
in it. Everyone is. You just hope it's not on a super critical part of the
session.
Q. Qualifying is important at almost every race, but it seems like the
leader is really favored at Long Beach. Does that make Saturday's
qualifications one of the more important ones of the season?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, for sure. I think you're right: every
qualifying is very critical, but especially Long Beach because the way it
works out, it's a two-stop race, pretty straightforward two-stop race.
There's not many yellows. It's a pretty clean race, historically speaking.
The leader doesn't really get hung out by a close pit situation type of
thing.
Yeah, I mean, it's very important to start in the top two or three I think
if you're going to want to try to win that race.
Q. A couple of the wins you had there, once you were out front, it was
smooth sailing. Before you caught the end of the field, did it feel like you
were on a qualifying run?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, it's an easy two-stop race. Everyone is kind of flat
out from the drop of the green. The tire life is usually pretty good there.
There's not a whole lot of strategy or saving, like, different fuel.
Everyone does the same thing, so you can push pretty hard from the green.
Q. As far as the vibe, it's one of a kind, southern California, fans turn
out for it. Celebrities, glitz, glamour. Is it always one of those where
you're not only excited about racing but just excited to be there?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, 100% right. It's an awesome event. It's one of those
ones where you feel kind of like a Super Hero when you get to go do driver
introductions. It's annoying sometimes how busy pit lane is, but that's just
a testament to the excitement and energy that exists at that track.
It's certainly one that we try and model as many of our street courses after
it. I think St. Pete comes close. Nashville comes close. I think Detroit
this year is going to be phenomenal.
Yes, the pedigree it has in terms of its history, just the location, all of
the extracurricular activities that you can find throughout the weekend just
makes it pretty unique.
Q. Next week you switch gears and it's the two-day open test for the Indy
500. How important is it to have everything sorted before you hit the track
in May?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, it's hugely important. That's a really good time to
really understand. Everyone has been working on their speedway cars probably
since June 1st of last year. It's such small details that add up to make a
really big difference at Indy.
April is a good opportunity for you to get an understanding of what your car
is lacking, and also the areas where it's strong. Then you have a couple
weeks. It's not much time. You have a couple weeks to really dive into why
maybe there's a deficit to a teammate or to another car, whatever, and
resolve that.
It's a great test for us as drivers. Great test for the team. Then obviously
it's great to get fans out there and start to see cars on track at the
greatest track in the world.
Q. You've talked about Long Beach being an easy two-stopper. For you as a
driver, it must be better than the fuel-saving races.
ALEXANDER ROSSI: I kind of am of the opinion that we could make Long Beach a
little bit longer so you have the two options. Some of our best races are
when you have guys on a fuel save two-stop, other guys on a flat-out
three-stop race trying to make up that pit lane difference.
It's been this length for a long time. It's put on some great shows. Colton,
I think it was '21 or '20, where he started 14th and ended up winning, no
yellows to help him.
If you have a strong car, like always in INDYCAR, you can usually have a
pretty good result. But yes, in the perfect world we'd probably extend it a
little bit, but that's for people that are paid more than me, so we'll leave
it to them.
Q. You are in your eighth season of INDYCAR. Is it something you could
imagine when you came back from Europe into INDYCAR? Maybe something that
surpasses your wildest dreams?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, I certainly didn't realize that I would have
the longevity that I've had so far. Obviously very thankful for that. It
doesn't feel like eight years, but there you go.
Yeah, I mean, obviously I think it surprised everyone. I talked about it at
length. Surprised everyone, including myself, the fact that we were able to
do what we did in 2016 at the 500. Yeah, I've been very fortunate to have
the amount of time in the series that I have had.
There's still a lot of things left that I'd like to accomplish. That's
really all we're focusing on right now.
Q. With the variety of cars that run at Long Beach, how does it impact on
how the track rubbers in for the INDYCAR guys?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, that's a good question.
Last year was a weird one. They put a sealant down, the city did. The track
grip was, like, insane from lap one of practice one. The other running of
the other cars didn't really change anything because the grip level started
incredibly high anyways. Pole was a new record, crazy fast all weekend.
Usually it's a really beneficial thing because it starts out as a very low
grip, green surface, because it hasn't been use as a racetrack in a year.
Having all the different stuff, especially IMSA on track, really speeds up
the evolution of the track.
I don't know what it's going to be like this year, if that sealant will
still have that effect or if it's worn off after California got pummeled
with rain for seemingly five months. I don't know. We'll have to see.
Usually it's a good thing in terms of getting the cars up to speed.
Q. Looking more towards the month of May, you've come from a team that's run
four or five cars at the 500, you mentioned McLaren have geared up to take
on your car. Going into Indy with four cars, do you feel the team is in a
good position to be able to cope with the number of cars they're now
running?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, 100%. We have a lot of people, like, a significant
amount of people. I don't think that's any concern of anyone.
Obviously numbers aren't everything. You got to make sure that they're the
right people in the right positions. I think the team has done a very good
job. We have access to a lot of people from the McLaren F1 side of things in
terms of testing, so they're very skilled mechanics. I think Tony is in
great hands.
Yeah, I don't foresee it being any issue whatsoever.
Q. Since McLaren joined INDYCAR in 2020, I think this is the best car we
seen they give to you. How important it is for the sport of the season have
this Long Beach race which you actually won twice, how important is it to
have the Long Beach Grand Prix as opportunity to get into the championship
mix?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, every race is important. But, yes, obviously
you highlight the tracks that you've been historically good at, either for
yourself or team perspective. It was a missed opportunity for two of the
cars in Texas with very fast race cars not ending up getting a result.
I think you're correct in saying that the program that the team has this
year and the performance of the cars has been really strong through the
first two races. There's no reason to not think that that won't continue.
Yeah, we're excited about Long Beach. We feel very confident in what we
have, what we can do there. It's just about hoping a couple things go your
way and you can come out of there with a strong result.
Q. How are things with Kyle after the Texas incident?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: I mean, that's a long time ago now. So it's all behind us.
Q. This is the first full season you've been competing against Pato. Now
you're in the same team. How impressed are you by his ability and speed? Do
you think he's right now the toughest driver to beat in INDYCAR?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, I think everyone's been impressed with Pato
since day one that he came into the series. I think his speed was obvious.
Obviously he's very exciting to watch from his in-car videos. I think his
nickname is the Ninja or whatever.
He's very good. I didn't have to be on his team to realize that. I think the
three of us are pushing each other very hard. It's important that we have
three cars kind of at the front every single weekend. That's the goal of the
team. That's what McLaren as a brand expects and demands from us.
Quite honestly, Pato, you could argue, he maybe should have two wins to
start the year. He's done a very, very good job. It's going to be a fun
remaining 15 races with him and everyone else.
Everyone at this level is pretty good. I think you can pick 10 guys that are
hard to beat every single weekend.
THE MODERATOR: Are you worried about Kanaan and Pato together during the
month of May? They're pretty similar, aren't they?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: I don't think anyone's really the same as Pato. He's very
unique (smiling).
Yeah, I mean, they're both South American, highly energized and excited
about seemingly everything (smiling).
Q. You've driven for the greatest names in all of motorsports. You're
considered one of the best race car drivers on the planet. Can you put into
words what it means to race for Arrow McLaren?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: First of all, thank you (smiling).
It's amazing. This year is the 60th anniversary of McLaren being founded as
a race team. To be able to kind of be a part of that and be in history at
one point a part of all of the great drivers that have gotten the
opportunity to drive for this brand, it's something very, very special. It's
something that I don't take lightly. I take a lot of pride in. It certainly
forces all of us that kind of wear (indiscernible) to elevate ourselves on
and off the track.
It's an honor, but obviously there's responsibility that comes along with
it.
Q. As a race car driver, how do you feel ending a race under caution?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: It's a tough one. I think INDYCAR does races on distance. I
think that is an important thing to remember, especially when you're
comparing it to other championships. You can't necessarily, because of the
circumstance, just change the distance of a race because you want to see a
certain finish.
I think INDYCAR in the past has done a really good job at red flagging races
when there is enough laps, once the cleanup is over, to kind of go through
the restart process, whatever the correct terminology for that is.
For example, at Texas, it was one lap. Even if they red flagged it, there
wasn't enough laps left to get the field around and do a restart. That was a
tough situation. I think obviously everyone would have liked to see it go
green to the finish. Pato would obviously have liked that as well. It wasn't
meant to be. That's just racing sometimes.
Q. How are you feeling from the mileage you've done on the new tires? Does
the info you get from the tires get shared within the team or do you provide
some feedback to the manufacturer, as well?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: So all of the above. At the end of every weekend we kind of
have a debrief, every driver and team I believe has a debrief with
Firestone, kind of going through the pros and cons of the primary and the
alternate, what needs to be adjusted for the future. I think they take that
into account, not for 2023, but certainly for 2024.
Yeah, I mean, using the tires in practice, there's usually a pretty big grip
increase that comes on the alternate that you got to make an adjustment to
the balance of the car so you can't just go out with the same race car, put
softer tires on, expect to maximize it. You've got to change something.
Usually you're trying to figure out how big the offset needs to be.
I think Firestone has done an amazing job in the sense that we have a
sustainable tire that really produces the same level of performance as a
non-sustainable tire. I think that was proved in Nashville last year, and
that's why we're using them on all the street courses this year. I think
it's a huge step for INDYCAR, huge step for Firestone, something we should
all be very proud to be a part of.
Q. You have been successful at Long Beach with Andretti. With McLaren, how
do you feel with a new team for this weekend?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: We're still learning as we go at this point. Yeah, I mean,
I think based on St. Pete, I think based on the fact that I think Felix was
in the top six in qualifying last year, their cars are good.
Certainly there is a step we need to make to be as strong as Andretti or
Penske I think on the street courses in general. But I think we're close. I
think we have just as good of a shot as anyone this weekend.
Q. You've been with Formula 1 before. You know what it's like to travel
internationally with a team. How do you feel about INDYCAR going to
Argentina and how will it benefit INDYCAR as a whole to go international?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, I think as drivers we all would love to see
not only international races but still an expanded calendar, right? I think
certainly the interest that exists from Argentina, as you mentioned,
obviously from Mexico, makes a very strong case to have races in a place
like that.
But there's a lot of factors other than just wanting to do it, right? I
actually was talking about this with someone earlier today, talking about
adding a race that we used to go to in the States. It's like you can talk
and dream and think it's going to be this great idea, but you got to
actually go out there and buy tickets, show up. You can't just say it's a
great idea.
I think there is momentum building. I think there is an interest that exists
that we certainly are looking to exploit, but there's a lot of different
factors that go into it.
I look forward to seeing how it goes. But certainly Argentina and Mexico
with the interest we've seen there in the past 12 months, it's certainly on
the top of the list.
Q. Have you had any sort of change of opinion in terms of pit lane incident
in Texas, how that played out? You made it clear you thought it was Kyle's
fault.
ALEXANDER ROSSI: No change of opinion. I think hopefully we can, as a
series, learn about communication and continuity, just take lessons from it.
It's a shame to have situations exist and not really learn anything from it.
It's something that we all talked about at length. At the end of the day
it's history now. We just got to make sure going forward everyone is on the
same page.
Q. Looking back at St. Pete, there was a couple of incidents where cars were
airborne. Going into another street course, do you think the street courses
could be widened or changed in any way to avoid situations where cars have
nowhere to go but up?
ALEXANDER ROSSI: That's a good question, good observation. Obviously there's
airborne cars in Texas, too.
But, yeah, I think racing is dangerous. I think INDYCAR has done a really
good job at putting driver safety, team safety at the forefront of what they
do.
I think we've all seen the images of - who was the red car - Benjamin, we've
seen the images of his car, kind of all the impact marks that went up the
aeroscreen.
Everyone, despite the magnitude of that incident, walked away totally fine.
I think that just goes to show that these cars are safe and the advancements
that we've made have not been for nothing.
But, yeah, racing is always going to have risk to it. That's just a part of
life. Everything you do has risk. I think you're always looking at ways to
make it safer, but I certainly don't think there's any issues with street
courses, and I don't expect that to be a normal thing going forward.
THE MODERATOR: Alex, safe travels.
ALEXANDER ROSSI: Thank you, guys. Appreciate it. We'll see you out there. [ht: FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports]
Also, in the same years he posted P1 Poles and race wins at Long Beach, 2018 and 2019, Alexander Rossi finished second and third in the championship.
He won eight races from 2016 but has not won a race since the GALLAGHER GRAND PRIX on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Rossi, with the support from Chevrolet and a new team that has heritage from Formula 1, has the base and place to start anew - all are hoping that a third time at winning Long Beach will be his new Championship lucky charm.
Longtime motor culture business and competition executive, Beth
Paretta takes the plunge and opportunity to make a difference in the
NTT INDYCAR SERIES paddock and forms a team to compete in the 105th
running of the Indianapolis 500. This effort is designed to make the
most out of preparing those of the female gender at having a serious
shot of a full-time career at the highest levels of professional
motorsports. Image Credit: Joe Skibrinski via NICS (2021)
Paretta Autosport Launches Team Bid With Simona de Silvestro For 105th
Running Of The Indy 500
From support given through a longtime professional relationship between Roger
Penske and Beth Paretta, IndyCar's Race For Equality & Change announcement
provides another element at establishing a serious developmental step into a
top-level racing series for the fairer gender. Penske, Chevrolet, and even
Porsche Motorsport are pleased with the possibilities of this breakthrough
agreement and formation of
Paretta Autosport.
Past Indianapolis 500 "Rookie Of The Year" Simona de Silvestro is tapped to be
the tip-of-the-spear giving great promise for the success of this union and
agenda.
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Jimmie McMillian - Chief Diversity Officer, Penske Entertainment
J. Douglas Boles - President, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Beth Paretta - Team Principle, Paretta Autosport
Simona de Silvestro - Driver, Paretta Autosport
(video feed from Switzerland)
Press Conference Begin (truncated video of ZOOM Call begins later in the transcript)
THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the world famous
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Great so see some familiar faces back here at the
world's greatest race course. It's a good day here at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway. Before we introduce everyone up on stage we do want to recognize
Roger Penske. Good morning to you, sir. Chairman of the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway is here. Up on stage, on the far right, we say good morning to Jimmie
McMillian who is the chief diversity officer of Penske Entertainment. In the
middle, Beth Paretta, long time automotive and motor sports executive and
certainly no stranger to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Another no stranger
to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, J. Douglas Boles is here, the president of
IMS. And joining us via Zoom all the way from Switzerland, we say good morning
and/or good afternoon to Simona de Silvestro, a veteran of the NTT IndyCar
Series, who appeared in five Indianapolis 500s after being named the rookie of
the year back in 2010.
We are here this morning to witness the launch of a brand new race team in the
NTT IndyCar Series, which will begin its journey at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway 500, the 105th running this coming May. And this team will only grow
from that exciting race, perhaps with an eye on a full-time ride. We'll see
what, we'll get Beth's thoughts on that, the 2022 season of the NTT IndyCar
Series. It will be known as Paretta Autosport, with Beth Paretta as the team
owner, part of the female-owned and managed race team integrating female
members to ensure opportunities on the competition side of the team, along
with operations and administrative roles.
Team Penske will provide technical support, with Simona returning to the NTT
IndyCar Series to drive the No. 16 Chevrolet-powered entry. All told, it
becomes yet another initiative of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and
IndyCar's Race For Equality & Change announced last July. If you've been
following this, it's the latest step in a series of really groundbreaking
events over the last several months covering any number of sports around the
world.
Ladies and gentlemen, first things first, turn your attention towards the
monitors for a brief first look at Paretta Autosport.
THE MODERATOR: We'll start with Beth. Congratulations. What an awesome day. A
long time coming for you. There was a similar announcement some five years ago
for a team that was entitled Grace Autosport, but it's all coming to fruition
now. What a journey for you, Beth.
BETH PARETTA: Thank you, Dave. Thanks to everyone here and thanks to everyone
on Zoom. Yeah, first, I am grateful for the opportunity to officially announce
the start of this program. It has been a long time coming, a lot of hours, a
lot of flights, a lot of meetings, but we are here. There's been a lot of talk
lately about representation and that is a very real thing. We hear about the
importance of role models, examples, mentors, for people to have the
opportunity to see themselves in the women on the grid and in pit lane.
Just a bit of background about why I'm doing this, why we feel it's necessary,
why I have been driven to put this together. I've worked with women engineers
who only decided to follow the engineering path after they saw another woman
in that role. I'm guilty of that myself. I only pursued the job as an
automotive executive after I saw another woman in a role that I thought that
maybe I could do one day. And -- even though I've seen examples of men in
those roles for years.
But change is happening and there is some momentum by we're sort of able to
create opportunities for women by shining the spotlight on their stories,
because the way that people identify and feel a connection to what they see is
innate and we can't change that, but we can change the focus and we can shine
that spotlight on the members of this team and their stories, and what will
that mean, what will that do.
Maybe some of those girls watching from home can become fans that might not
have ever thought that something like this was possible for them. Maybe some
of them will be inspired to join us. Others might be captivated by the idea of
racing and perhaps pursue education in STEM and ultimately choose a career in
a related field. All of those outcomes would be success. Let's be clear. There
are women in racing. We all know each other. And in the past several years
there have been, there's been some progress with programs to get more female
racing drivers on the grid, from all female driving lineups in sports cars,
the W Series, these are all great strides.
But we believe that there's a lot more to do and even more opportunity. A race
team is just that, a team. Many people with varied roles, all critical to
getting the car on the grid and running at its best. When the Race For
Equality & Change was announced, I was so pleased. I hoped that it meant
that there was a real commitment and investment in our collective future, as
race fans, as racers, and as a series.
IndyCar is competitive, exciting racing, with a talented field and great
venues and a very loyal fan base. But it should also be said that the IndyCar
paddock has the most women working in all levels, on teams, in the series
itself, and at the track, and that should be celebrated. This has always been
a welcoming paddock, to me and to other women.
But now, under the stewardship of Roger Penske and the management here, it is
just getting stronger. So, after the announcement for Race For Equality &
Change, I called Roger, as you do, and asked if we could talk. But the reality
is we started talking about this years ago. I've had the good fortune, having
worked with Mr. Penske since 2007, first on the automotive side of things with
Aston Martin, and then when I was at FCA as the director of SRT and motor
sports. We were partners with Team Penske and won the NASCAR Cup Championship
in 2012, which was actually the first Cup Championship for team Penske in
NASCAR.
So last year, we sat down and he described the great work that they have been
doing here at IMS and with the IndyCar series. I talked about the foundational
work that I've been doing these past several years and how I would like to
now, the work I've been do you think is off the track, with schools,
educational partners, museums, working on curriculum to tie what we do at the
track to what kids are learning and to inspire them to pursue educational
pathways in STEM that could lead to robust career tracks.
When we sat down, I said that I would like to now bring it full circle and get
back to the track to promote gender equality. So with that, I'm proud to say
that Paretta Autosport will have a technical alliance with Team Penske, will
start with the 2021 Indy 500 with plans to grow from there.
I also reached out, soon after, to Simona de Silvestro, and learned quickly
that she was aligned with my goals, our goals. And with her remarkable talent
and experience here at Indy, it was an easy choice to invite her on board.
What's different here is this is a full program.
We will strive to incorporate more women into the team. I've always believed
that with aptitude, interest, and the right attitude, the rest can be learned.
We all started somewhere. We want Paretta Autosport to be the place to
welcome, train, and support professional growth in all facets of the team.
Eventually we hope it will be a team of women running the car, and that can
and will inspire others to become mechanics, to become engineers, to become
drivers, to become team owners. Racing is for all of us, and working together
we all win.
Before I hand it back to Dave, I need to thank a few people. First and
foremost, I want to thank Roger Penske, Mark Miles, and Jimmie McMillian for
their vision and commitment to IndyCar and the Race For Equality & Change.
To Bud Danker and Jonathan Gibson for their support in the business side to
help put this all together. Thank you to Doug Boles. You've always offered
support to me and this program and I thank you for that. And your tie matches
the color palette.
A special thank you to Chevrolet, Mark Reuss and Jim Campbell. They have
valued this mission from the start and I can't wait to hear our Chevy-powered
IndyCar power up for the first time at testing.
I want to also thank Porsche for allowing Simona to join us for the month of
May and more.
And one last thing, I'm sitting here, and that's my name right there, but I'm
forever grateful to Stacy, Christian, Paul, John, Ron, Linda, Heather, and
Barbara. You've helped me so much and I can't thank you enough. So it is my
name, but there's a lot of people standing behind me and with me today.
THE MODERATOR: Great. Awesome. We do have a shot of the car, if I'm not
mistaken. If we can go ahead and put that up again up on the monitors. Tell us
a little bit about that, Beth.
BETH PARETTA: Well, you see the logo. I have to say that the person that has
helped me with the graphics is my very best friend from my whole life, and she
did a lot of the work that you see, kind of with the branding, and that, we
always do a livery. In fairness, as we grow and add sponsors, that livery will
change. But that shows you a little bit of sort of the look and feel and
where, how we're starting out.
The 2013 Shell-Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston was the third and
final doubleheader of the 2013 IndyCar Series season. Simona de
Silvestro, coming off a fifth place at Baltimore, posted her best
finish [Podium @ P2 with Scott Dixon P1 & Justin Wilson @ P3] in
the KV Racing Technology-prepared [Chevrolet] car and was her IZOD
IndyCar Series high. “Finally. We’ve been waiting for this for a
long time," De Silvestro said. "It seemed like a pretty good car the
whole weekend. I qualified up there and then the race went
actually pretty good. Hopefully tomorrow we can even better it. (The
circuit is) definitely tough because you don’t have that much time
to relax. The straightaways are really bumpy so you really have to
be on top of the car every time. I think to finish P2 , I think you
want to do it again anytime.” Image Credit: #WachsServices
(2013)
THE MODERATOR: Awesome. Once again, joining us via Zoom, again, we say hello
to Simona de Silvestro.
Simona, another shot now at the Indy 500 in a much different way. How exciting
is this for you?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Oh, well, yeah, thank you. And, yeah, Hi from cold
Switzerland. For me, it's quite special to be back at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, especially virtually, and I can't wait to come during the month of
May.
I'm very happy, actually, that today is the day that I'm finally able to
announce that I'm joining Paretta Autosport. It's quite a special day. I think
it's something that I've worked for my entire life, to get a proper shot at
this race, and I think it's super exciting that it's finally happening. And
when Beth actually called me a few months ago and told me about this
opportunity, and I think literally an hour later, I was on a Zoom call with
Roger Penske and Bud Danker. It was quite surreal, that it all happened so
quickly, and for me to really come back to the Speedway with a constellation
like this, with the association with Team Penske, it's really, to be honest,
as a driver, a dream come true and I think it's something that is really
special.
I think it's going to be the best opportunity yet with everyone involved
believing in the same goals. So I think we can be really successful when we
come in May. And I really hope that along this journey we will inspire more
women to follow their dreams and also create some pretty cool opportunities
for them to join and for them to follow this pretty amazing journey.
I would really want to thank, actually, Beth, Roger Penske, Bud Danker, for
choosing me to steer this entry, and I know it will be successful. And also
from my part, I really have to thank Porsche for giving me the green light to
participate in this iconic race. So, yeah, I'm super excited, and, yeah, I
can't wait to actually be for real back on the starting grid soon enough.
THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Great stuff. Let's also bring in Jimmie
McMillian now. And it's certainly an important day, none more so than IndyCar
and IMS Race For Equality & Change that was announced last July.
Jimmie, what does this day mean?
JIMMIE MCMILLIAN: Thank you, Dave. First of all, I want to congratulate Beth,
and I want to congratulate Simona on this very important day. Just sitting
here, I can't help but stop smiling and feeling the buzz and the excitement.
We have always had women in our sport. We have had a long history of
successful drivers, nine women, who have raced at the Indianapolis 500. We
have had women who owned cars.
But I've also seen the disappointment from years that we have not had women
that competed and I can tell that you this is super exciting as I look out
amongst what I know and see every day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and
the NTT IndyCar Series, which is not just women in the sport, but leaders. We
are led by superstar phenomenal women every single day. It's one of the things
that I probably hear the most. When people come in the building they think is
a male-dominated support. I take orders from women all the time around here,
as many of us do, right, Doug? And so, I think that needs to be reflected on
the track and this is a powerful moment that matches our goals for the Race
For Equality & Change when we're talking about not just walking it, but
actually walking what we talk, living what we preach, and creating the
opportunity for people to actually be able to see something and know that they
can be it.
And that's what I think Beth and Paretta Autosport represents. We know that
what we did with Force Indy was create a pipeline for folks to come in as
engineers, as drivers, as an owner, but also in other areas, from HR to
marketing, to sales, to learn how to run and operate a team under the very
best in Roger Penske and under his tutelage and the tutelage of Tim Cindric
and the folks at Penske Motorsports.
We're going to create that same opportunity now for women in the sport with
Paretta Autosport. That's very important because once we get that pipeline
flowing, I think we won't be able to stop it. I'm looking forward to not only
seeing a team on the grid, but seeing the team compete. I think this sends a
message. When we see Simona go out and try to qualify, there will be a buzz,
there will be an excitement, there will be a part of all of us, whether you're
a man or a woman, that will want her to win, that will want her to be
successful because of what it represents. I have a mother, I have cousins, I
have a number of women in my life that I look up to and I know the strong
person they are, I know some of them can drive better than me, and I know some
-- I believe that Simona's going to prove that she can win the Indianapolis
500, and I'm going to be there cheering for her.
So this is a super special moment and I want to thank Roger Penske again. I
want to thank Bud Danker and john than and the entire team, Mark Miles, Doug
Boles. This Race For Equality & Change, this journey that we have all been
on has been made all the better by the fact that our leadership is 1000
percent supportive and energized and moving towards that every single day.
This is a real diversity initiative. This is not pretend or fake. This is
something we can all believe in and cheer for.
THE MODERATOR: Quick reminder for our reporters. We're going to take questions
here. Please head to the standing microphone to do that.
J. Douglas Boles, Roger Penske, Beth Paretta, & Jimmie
McMillian (L to R) at IMS to unveil the addition of Paretta
Autosport to the rarified paddocks of the IMS. Image Credit: Joe Skibrinski via NICS (2021)
First things first though, bring in Doug Boles. And of course, women have been
racing here since the great Janet Guthrie in 1977. To own a team certainly is
a different level. You can't underscore the importance of something like that.
J. DOUGLAS BOLES: No, you can't. And congratulations, Beth, again, and Simona.
You know, I sit here and I'm, like Jimmie, I have a huge smile on my face. I
love days like this when you get to be surrounded by really passionate people
who love our sport and in particular, passionate people who love our sport who
are trailblazing, and this is a trailblazing day and I'm really excited to be
part of it. Women have been involved at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as
Beth alluded to, for a long time. In fact, we have had an owner, female owner,
dating back to the '20s. And then the last 25 years, it's really been the
rule, not the exception, that a female's competed in the Indianapolis 500.
But this takes it to another level. Here we're talking about not just a
driver, but we're talking about a driver and owner, but we're not just talking
about a driver and owner. Beth's vision, and I think our vision, is this gives
folks an opportunity, women an opportunity to get involved in the sport beyond
the driver and beyond the owner piece and I can't wait to watch that come to
fruition.
As I sat here today, and even yesterday, thinking about this announcement this
morning, it's the beginning of a new year, it's an opportunity to reflect on
what happened last year, and anticipate what's coming up in the new year. A
lot of things have happened over the last year. Roger Penske took stewardship
of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on January 6th. Shortly thereafter, we had
an Xfinity car testing on our road course and we made a announcement that the
Pennzoil 150 was going to be held on the road course. That's turned into now
the Cup cars and the IndyCar weekend in August.
We talked about Force Indy announcement, which has been an awful lot of fun to
watch since last July. The Force Indy team now is testing, testing before
Christmas, they have tested after Christmas, getting ready to compete here at
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Beth and Jimmie both talked about this.
It's important for our fan base to grow it, that if we're going to be more
diverse as a fan base, we need to be more diverse as a series and as a race.
We want people to know that when they come to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
that they see people like them competing and owning cars here at the race, and
that's one of the really, really exciting things about this opportunity.
What I'm looking forward to this year is just that passion that you see from
Beth and you see from Jimmie, but that really starts with Roger Penske and the
entire Penske Entertainment organization. This is going to be an awful lot of
fun. I can't wait to watch you guys compete on the racetrack. I can't wait to
see Simona back here, our Rookie of the Year from 2010. Those of you that
followed the NTT IndyCar Series over the last several years, you're very
familiar with Simona de Silvestro. There is nobody better in a race car than
Simona. She's a fierce competitor, and with the right equipment, she can win
the Indianapolis 500.
THE MODERATOR: With that, we'll turn things over to the reporters that are in
person here at the Speedway. If have you a question, go ahead and make your
way over to the standing microphone located to the right.
FLASHBACK
- HVM's Simona de Silvestro has finished only three of nine races
this season and was black-flagged after 10 laps in the Indianapolis
500 because her Lotus/Judd powered DW12 was too slow. Image Credit:
Edmund Jenks (2012)
While we wait for that to happen. Simona, just back to you quickly. 2015 was
your last 500, how much have you been ready to get going again here at IMS?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Yeah, I'm really excited. You know, I've, the Indy 500
has always been the race that, if it was possible, that I wanted to do. And to
be honest, to come back, yeah, how we are now, with this team, with Beth
making this happen, I think it's really cool and I really think we have all
the ingredients to be super successful. And to be honest, I can't wait for the
next few months to go by so we can get started.
THE MODERATOR: The count down is on. There's no question about that. Let's go
ahead for questions.
Q. Congratulations, Beth. This is quite the script already and we await a huge
finale, if not this year, in the coming years, so great work.
In the beginning when you had this vision, how high of a mountain did it seem?
Bring us back to the early days of this goal.
BETH PARETTA: Yeah, it was quite a mountain. You have an idea you set forward,
and in fairness, it's definitely a story of just not giving up, not taking no
for an answer. Sometimes you have, back in 2016, so in '15, I announced the
intention to run in 2016 and after announcement set off on putting everything
together, and we actually were very, very close. I had an engine deal from
Chevrolet. I had a partner, a team partner, that we were going to run with. In
fairness, Roger and his team were offering some support on, some logistic
support, and ultimately the team that I was going to work with, the terms of
the deal changed, and so then I had to set out to then find somebody else to
work with and then look for different other equipment.
And it came down to the wire and it was four weeks before the Indy 500 and I
had to take the tough decision to pull the entry because it wasn't right. The
vehicle, the car that we had was not raceworthy, really. I mean, could we have
maybe put it together down to the wire? Maybe. But I wasn't willing to do that
because there's extra scrutiny on a program like this. Everybody's watching,
and you bear that responsibility.
Although I had to take that tough decision, that's what happens in racing. And
if you're doing it the right way, you make those tough decisions and make
those calls.
So once that was done, I took a little bit of time off and then really was
right back in it within six months on the educational side of things because
that really was the driver of: How do we tie what we do every day to create
this sort of pipeline of fans and make the most of it? It's such a wonderful
platform. Racing is applied STEM. It's STEM in action, so there's so many
things that we can do with it. And that's a thing that I'm sure many other
racing teams are finding, that's very appealing to partners. Sponsor partners
really like that connection and so that's what I was working on, sort of --
and the funny thing is, it's very, to put a car on a grid as a one-off, sure,
you can do that. It's not easy, but people can do that. But to build a program
takes a lot more time and I was more interested in a program that was
sustainable than an entry.
Q. A follow-up to that: Was there something, then, that made this click? Was
there something that just said, yes, now it's time, now is the time to do
this?
BETH PARETTA: Yeah, I mean, seeing the commitment from the Series and from
Roger and his team, it was, maybe we were early six years ago, because I had
conversations with many people, people, some people instantly got it. It
clicked. Some people, it didn't. It clicked with Roger from the beginning. It
clicked with Mark Miles. It clicked with everybody that's, honestly, in this
room.
But I think seeing the momentum last year, last year was such a difficult year
with everything, with COVID, so that kind of put a monkey wrench into a lot of
things for everybody. But when I saw these sort of announcements happening, it
was thinking, like, okay, maybe this is definitely the place where we would
fit best, and also, in fairness, be able to elevate the programs the other
programs that they have, like the announcement with Force Indy. These are all
real. It's, they're not a slogan. They're real change, so I think it was
really seeing that and seeing the momentum.
And in fairness too, these are the things that are visible, but when I sat
down and talked with Roger and the rest of the team, they're doing so much
here at IMS and throughout the Series that you don't see, that has to do with
diversity and equality, and they're very real things. And that should be
applauded too. So when you see that somebody's approaching something so
holistically and making, and having real action items, there's nothing better
than that.
Q. How would you describe the importance of inclusion to little boys and
little girls who are watching what you're doing right now?
BETH PARETTA: Well, I think, it's funny, I mean, I didn't grow up in a racing
family. I grew up as a racing fan and I could not have dreamed this for
myself. I'm at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway right now. I didn't grow up
with parents that took me here every May. But it's that idea that if you find
something that you are, that you love and that you work hard at, there are --
and maybe the result isn't a race team, but there's somewhere that you can
fit. There's somewhere for you. And from the very beginning, and yes, is, my
focus is on that sort of 10-year-old girl because you can affect a kid's
trajectory of what they want to be when they grow up from 10 to 12. And even
though I work, we'll have female engineers, the reality is young boys are
still going to get the same lesson. The girls will see that it's a female
engineer; the boys will get the lesson. So it's really for all kids.
But the idea of working hard and sort of following your passion can lead
really in amazing -- if you're open to the opportunity, your life can take
turns that you wouldn't have ever scripted for yourself and I think that's
sort of the end story here.
But I do, I have always had this idea of the opening ceremonies of the Indy
500 are some of the most, it's, the rich pageantry of the 500 is amazing. The
energy here, if you ever have the opportunity to be here in person, it's like
nothing else. There are 300,000 people here. There's just this energy. And
when you think about, so I grew up watching it on TV, right, and so there's
those iconic things that we all are familiar with and there's that lineup of
the starting grid and that when the teams are out there early on and there's
that sort of swooping crane shot and the idea of seeing a line of women with
matching uniforms, okay, you might say that's cool, but to a 10-year-old girl
watching that from home, it hits differently.
Q. I know it's early, but I'm sure you've talked to potential partners,
sponsors. What has been the response so far?
BETH PARETTA: We have had some amazing conversations already. Obviously, it's
a little tough before you announce because your conversations are a little bit
more brief, so we're grateful for today because now the cat is out of the bag.
But we have had some great conversations and we will announce sort of where
that's going. But yeah, it's already, already happening, which is great.
Q. This is absolutely fantastic news for you guys and for the sport in
general. How beneficial do you think it's going to be for you to have the
likes of Team Penske kind of behind you in terms of this entry with their kind
of success at Indy and that kind of thing?
BETH PARETTA: Well, they have won 18 times. It goes beyond just the technical
support. I mean, even just in the past few months just sort of, in fairness,
Mr. Penske has always been a bit of a mentor and I think a lot of people will
say that, those who know him. And he's been very generous with just ideas and
thoughts, and that is sort of that intangible stuff that I am extremely
grateful for.
But the technical partnership, to just be able to not come in completely cold
and have that, sort of that shared understanding of, and of course, it's great
for Indy, but as you expand, to understand how to approach races at other
tracks too. It's invaluable.
Q. First question, Beth, since you're going to be involved with Team Penske
will your shop initially be down here in North Carolina?
BETH PARETTA: That's a great question. Yes, we are starting out close to Team
Penske in North Carolina for the sake of logistics, yes.
Q. And also, the benefit of having, I mean, Simona's kind of been part of this
package for so long that you know that you could always depend on her when you
finally got this deal together, granted there were probably some obstacles you
had to overcome, but how valuable is that to know that she was on board from
the very beginning?
BETH PARETTA: Well, that makes it a lot, certainly a lot easier. It also helps
it when we're talking to partners because we can point to her experience here.
And in fairness, too, beyond IndyCar, she's been racing full-time in other
series and, again, as a factory Porsche driver. So she's certainly a very
accomplished driver behind the wheel, and so whenever have you that story to
tell it makes things a lot easier.
In fairness, too, like I say, the alignment to what we're doing here, that's
key. When you have the privilege to build a team, I always say that you're
lucky if you can find -- really the first goal is to find people who have sort
of the same approach to things, the same attitude, and that makes for winning
combinations. I think that as Simona and I have gotten to know each other, it
works really well, and I think that that's, that always, that will contribute
to our success on the track.
Q. A question for Simona. Welcome back. You've been out of site, but never out
of mind. You talk to a lot of the race fans every year around Indy 500 time.
And on social media and everywhere else when they talk about drivers that
could run Indy, your name is always one of the big names that's always talked
about. Just how important has that been to you, because you really made quite
an impression during your time that you did run over here full time.
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Yeah, it's quite special, and like you mentioned, I've
seen those Tweets about my name getting put in there and I think it feels
really special in the sense because that means people really saw what I was
able to do on the racetrack and I think that's pretty cool, for sure.
Maybe now it took a bit of time to come back, but I think 10 years ago when I
was there and kind of making my stride, I think I've grown quite a lot as a
driver, and especially IMS I think has really built me especially from my
character side as well. I've had lots of highs and pretty big lows at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
So I think to come back like this, I think it's something I think that is all
coming together. To get the right opportunity, I think this is the one, to be
honest. And yeah, I'm super excited and I think that I'm pretty grateful that
the fans are welcoming me back with open arms and hopefully we can put on a
really good show when we're on track out there.
Q. Question for Beth. Congratulations. Had a question, if you were to go all
the way back to like your Dodge SRT the marketing days of the racing program
and all of that, would you ever have thought that you would be here at IMS
announcing your own IndyCar team that will be racing in the Indy 500?
BETH PARETTA: Yes and no. I think that I'm a racing fan and I have been -- I
was that kid like in the grandstands -- and finding a place for myself in
racing is sort of always seemed to be where I would go, maybe what my destiny
would be. You talk to anybody that's known me for a long time and none of this
is surprising to them. They might have seen it even before I did.
But, yeah, I mean when I had my responsibility at FCA what's important there
is, although the racing was very high profile I also was working on the brand
side and running sort of the business and marketing for the performance brand
SRT.
And working for a car company I saw in realtime that there were, there was a
phenomenon that was happening where engineers were retiring at a faster rate
than they were being backfilled -- and regardless of gender. So there was a
critical need to get more engineers and such and people in technical careers
in the pipeline.
And so seeing that in realtime and then on the racing side being on the
business side of racing, I saw the business model as it has been and it's
evolved in a few different ways over the years, but realistically I saw that
in a lot of ways the business model needed some more, needed to evolve even
more and that partners, to have, in order to have long-term partners, you need
to have something very compelling and it's more than a sticker on the side of
a car.
We have gone through phases, we can all look at if you're race historians, we
all know how the business side has evolved and it looked very much like it
needed to evolve again. And partners were leaving, racing sponsors were
leaving the sport and how do you solve that.
And maybe I think, although I'm a racer, I'm also a business person at my core
and it was sort of like that business problem to solve, it was like a business
case. And I thought, okay, we need to do more with it, there is more here,
there is more content here, there are more stories to tell and they're very
interesting stories. I'm biased because I find them interesting, but I
thought, well if I find them interesting then maybe other people can too.
And by telling those stories and by then also connecting it to education, you
can then talk to a whole different category of sponsors that might not have
ever considered being part of the IndyCar grid or any race grid for that
matter.
So I think that the impetus behind it was, let's get more women involved and
let's do more with racing.
Q. And just a follow-up, so you have this season running the Indy 500, are
there plans to do more in 2022?
BETH PARETTA: Yeah, I mean I would like to, selfishly, I would like to see if
we could do even do another race or two this year, but it has to do with
scheduling and what sponsors may or may not want. But I know that there's
already interest from some to do a few more races even this year, so we'll
look at that.
But my hope is that we could maybe even run a full season next year. But
always pushing forward, but we'll see how it pans out.
Q. I had a question for Simona. Simona, congratulations this, is great news.
Would you say that this would be one of the biggest opportunities of your
life?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Well, you know I think I've been really lucky in my
career so far, especially now the last few years with getting good
opportunities. Also at the end of last year for me to join Porsche as a works
driver I think it's quite special, but I think for sure in my IndyCar career,
especially as a driver being associated with Team Penske, with having Beth
putting really this program together, I think it's, yeah, my best shot at it,
I would say.
I'm really excited about it and I think that throughout my career I worked
really hard to get to this point. I think that it's finally time that it's
here and, to be honest, I'm super excited that it's happening while I'm still
racing and I'm still as competitive as I can be.
So I can't wait and, yeah, you know, it's definitely all the stars are aligned
at the moment, so I'm really excited about it.
Q. Welcome to a first-time owner in the paddock, that's quite rarified air.
But from a culture standpoint, you bake a cake and all the ingredients are
important and you, one looks at this from a third person where I am out here
in Los Angeles and it looks like an absolutely wonderful looking cake. You've
got so many decades of dedicated and focused motor culture participation. You
mentioned, Beth, that you were hoping to get a race or two and of course I'm
out here near Long Beach and we didn't get to see any IndyCar out here on the
West Coast. When are we going to see cake by the ocean?
BETH PARETTA: Oh, I like what you did there. I love Long Beach, I have been
fortunate to be with teams that have raced at Long Beach many times. It's one
of my favorite races on the calendar. And I love that they, it's later in the
year this year, right? So kudos to the city of Long Beach because obviously
moving any city race is a, that's a mountain to climb in and of itself.
Q. Season finale as well.
BETH PARETTA: Yes. Yes. And in fairness, later in the season, timing might
work, but we'll push for that, believe me. I'll push for any race. I mean,
I'll race in a parking lot outside of a Kroger, I'll show up to.
Q. For Simona, of course cake by the ocean is one of your main
characteristics, having won at Long Beach Grand Prix. Now it's the Acura Long
Beach Grand Prix, but you won it when it was the Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix
and also you were Rookie of the Year in Indy 500. So how would you like to see
at least a minimum of two races this year?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Well, if you know me, you know as many times I can get
into a race car I will take the opportunity. I think this is just the
beginning of this program and I think right now I think we will really focus
on the 500 and, yeah, we never know what the future brings. Three years ago
would I have said that I was going to be back at the 500 so quickly? Maybe
not. So we never know what happens, but the thought is always here and me as a
driver I will always be ready for any opportunity that comes up.
Q. Well you were in an odd way a stand out with the Lotus effort and it was,
again, something that was ushered in as a first of and now you're on a second
wave of a first of and we look forward to seeing you out on the track with
such a great assortment of ingredients that will bring you to the track.
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Thank you.
Q. One question for both Beth, so people may be wondering, what kind of
ultimately led to Simona getting the ride and what do you see from her that
maybe others don't, for those who might be into the sport over the past few
years since she last ran in 2015?
BETH PARETTA: Sure, that's a great question, because you haven't seen her in a
couple of years. But if you look at her total combined experience at IMS, but
also, like I said, she, the broad experience she has in other series, she's
been racing full-time even though we haven't seen her here in some very
competitive series. Including NV 8 Super Cars against Team Penske and that,
they were also comfortable with her capabilities. And I think she's just a
great fit, she's done really well here and I think it's a really great
opportunity and we could have a shot to have some good results.
Like I said, honestly, the fact that it's a really good fit for the mission.
So beyond just behind the wheel, I think we're very aligned and that means a
lot to me.
Q. Simona, you brought it up earlier, that you feel more prepared, more
focused. What has the time period between 2015 to now made you better as far
as a competitor? Is this more or less being versatile or just more or less
getting the experience all across the world?
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO: Yeah, I think it is a lot of factors. I think I'm a bit
older as well. I think I see the picture a little bit differently and know as
well really what I need in the car to be quick and, yeah, for sure I think the
experience as well. I've been so lucky to be racing in so many different cars
at the end of the day and I think that that can help a lot. But I'm super
excited to get back into an IndyCar. I think from a driving style point of
view I think it's definitely so far the one that has fitted the best to me.
So, yeah, just getting to, getting the chance to get back into an IndyCar I
think I'm really happy about it.
And, yeah, I think I've grown. I think the time I've grown quite a lot, the
things that I've experienced are I think going to be really good for my future
and, yeah, I can't wait to get going.
THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you very much Kate. By the way, September 26th
is the date of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and I'm also interested in
cake right now, I don't know about you guys. But for now we're going to break
here, join us for a socially-distanced photo op at victory podium here at the
speed way. Thank you.
NIX ... the "cake by the ocean" with Simona de Silvestro for Paretta
Autosport.
2021 ADAC GT Masters calendar
14/16 May - Oschersleben, Germany 10/12 June - Red Bull
Ring, Austria 8/10 July - Zandvoort, Netherlands 5/7
August - Nürburgring, Germany 9/11 September - Lausitzring,
Germany 30 September/2 October - Sachsenring, Germany 21/23
October - Hockenheim, Germany
ENDS
TAGS:NTT INDYCAR SERIES, 2021, 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500, Acura
Grand Prix of Long Beach, Cake By The Ocean, Beth Paretta, Simona de
Silvestro, Chevrolet, Race For Equality & Change, Team Penske, The
EDJE
Top view of 5-Time IndyCar Series Champion Scott Dixon. Image Credit: NTT IndyCar Series (2020)
Decisions, Decisions - Does The Long Beach Grand Prix Become Cancelled, Or Not?
LET'S ... be clear, since almost every Democrat Political Party controlled city is busy trying to cancel every event and social gathering in sight, without looking into the realities of actual infection in the Wuhan Virus/Corona Virus/COVID-19 ...
... we are looking at the beginning of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season becoming in jeopardy ... more specifically, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach cancellation is rumored to being discussed throughout the halls of the City of Long Beach.
No matter the way these discussions go - this begins the argument on WHY not hold NTT IndyCar races on into the month of October? - no matter the reason - IndyCar could use a longer season.
The first major city to throw themselves on the sword, as it were, was Austin, Texas with their music and cultural festival South By Southwest SXSW. The Mayor is now regretting this decision because the citizens of the city have stocked up and are eating in out of a gripping fear over the action taken by the Mayor - the rest of the city is suffering due to a lack of commerce.
The streets are a ghost town and the Mayor is going on air and TV to urge the citizens to go out and enjoy life ... even though there is no SXSW.
Nice.
Cities holding events could take a more measured approach, recognizing that Corona Virus is less lethal than most all previous big scares where no cancelling actions were taken - H1N1 comes to mind (1,000 Americans died before the first emergency alarm was sounded and no travel restrictions were ever issued).
This was sent out via email (edited) from The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens:
The Huntington’s gardens and galleries remain open to visitors, but we are monitoring the situation closely. For the safety of everyone at The Huntington, we ask that you please: • Stay at home when sick and seek medical attention when needed. • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. • Cough into a tissue and immediately dispose of it. • Avoid close contact with people who are sick • Avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands • Avoid shaking hands and instead use an alternative greeting protocol. Thank you. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opens Sunday, March 15 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (3 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network). (ht: NICS)
EVENTS CANCELLATION NOTICE: Long Beach cancels all large scale events through April 2020 to prevent the spread of #COVID19LongBeach. Cancellation will affect @GPLongBeach, @BeachStreets and others.
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