The Trials Of The Indy T-Team Ten

Mario Dominguez and the Pacific Coast Motorsports crew during qualifications at Indy. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

The Trials Of The Indy T-Team Ten

To say the least, watching the developments of the drivers and teams that were able to transition (T-Team) to the Indy Racing League (IRL) and compete for the championship of the IndyCar Sreies (ICS) has been an exercise in hope spiced with a healthy dose of frustration.

To the fan who favored the former ChampCar Series and its history legacy to CART and the spirit of competition this form of racing and equipment provided through the years, the process has had its moments.

When the announcement for the merger was first announced back on February 21, 2008, the obvious hope for fans and teams alike was that all of the teams and drivers would just port over and plug-in to the IndyCar Series and all racing life would go on for the duration of the 2008 season. As the reality set in after about thirty days, ChampCar was lucky to end up with as many drivers and teams that have now ended up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to compete in the world’s largest staged racing spectacle.

Before the merge announcement of unification of ChampCar and IndyCar, the ChampCar Series was about to field 12 teams supporting the talents of 20 drivers in an 18 race event season. What remains going into the fourth race of the season, the Indianapolis 500 set to be held on May 25, 2008, are 6 teams supporting the talents of 10 drivers with one team and driver making this race its first of the 2008 ICS season (Pacific Coast Motorsports and Mario Dominguez).


The Indy T-Team Ten


Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHL)
Graham Rahal – No Sponsor (Charity, Hole-In-The-Wall-Camps)





Justin Wilson – McDonald’s







KV Racing Technology (KVRT)
Will Power – Aussie Vineyards





Oriol Servia – Plantronics







Dale Coyne Racing (DCR)
Bruno Junqueira – Z-Line





Mario Moraes – Sonny’s BBQ







Conquest Racing (CR)
Enrique Bernoldi – No Sponsor





Jaime Camara – No Sponsor







HVM - former Minardi USA (HVM)
EJ Viso – PDVSA (Citgo Distribution)







Pacific Coast Motorsports (PCM)
Mario Dominguez – Visit Mexico City





(spotter's guide images credit: indycar.com)

Leading up to the month of May has been a series of set backs and break throughs. Set backs included a slow transition of teams announcing their participation, a parts shortage on the aerodynamics packages for the Dallara chassis delivered to the T-Teams as reported by Graham Rahal and the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team during the run-up to the first race of the season at Homestead. Writer Robin Miller later confirmed that this parts shortage would effect the T-Teams only.

Many experts predicted that the T-Teams and drivers will be at such a disadvantage this 2008 season that no team or driver could expect to win (let alone place, or show) a race until about the sixth to tenth race of the season at the earliest. On the second race of the season, the very same Graham Rahal who could not field a car due to the availability of parts at Homestead, came back and won the race through the streets of Saint Petersburg. The race was hampered by rain, but this did not dampen the spirits of the ChampCar loyal having a breakthrough this soon into the season.

The third round featured the last time the ChampCar teams would be racing exclusively together at Long Beach. Due to scheduling and the quickness of the merger agreement, the IndyCar established teams would race at Twin Ring Motegi, Japan (Honda’s, the IndyCar Series engine supplier, home track) while the ChampCar teams raced in their equipment, the Panoz DP01, for IndyCar points. Highlights include being able to see Paul Tracy, Jimmy Vasser, Alex Figge, Frank Montagny, Roberto Moreno, Nelson Philippe, and Alex Tagliani (to mention a few drivers) turn laps in an American Open Wheel racing environment for the last time in the 2008 season.

Winners included, the LBGP fans, Will Power (1st Place), Frank Montagny (one and only ChampCar race and placed 2nd), Mario Dominguez (3rd Place) … and probably the biggest winner of all, Pacific Coast Motorsports. The only professional open wheel racing team located on the West coast was able to take a third place win by Mario Dominguez and put together a two year sponsorship deal with the “Visit Mexico City” tourism bureau and show up at Indianapolis for the month of May. Further, Mario was able to keep the points he earned with his third place finish at Long Beach and apply them to the rest of the ICS season.

The two weeks leading up to qualifications at Indy also has its moments for the T-Team Ten.

The fastest lap times from this group were fairly competitive, however, these are only one-lap lap times and qualifying requires four consecutive laps. Justin Wilson (224.123), Graham Rahal (224.033), Will Power (223.550), Oriol Servia (223.440), EJ Viso (222.643), Bruno Junqueira (222.390), Mario Moraes (221.475), Enrique Bernoldi (220.645). Graham Rahal brushed the wall a couple of times while drifting up out of the corners, Viso and Power had crashes but all three were able to repair and field their cars in the show.

Mario Dominguez and the Pacific Coast Motorsports team were assigned the garage spaces between 14-time Indy 500 race winner Penske Racing and Ganassi Racing, which owns the top two spots on the grid after the opening qualifying session last weekend. Team owner, Tyler Tadevic’s reaction to this fortunate garage draw, "We're the meat in an ‘oh-(expletive)’ sandwich."

Mario has suffered from a lack of speed and two crashes into a wall. The first crash came earlier in the week as he was exiting the pits … cold tires spun his car out and he hit the inside wall at low speed.

Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

The second crash happened just before the qualifying session today in warm-up practice. Since Pacific Coast Motorsports does not have a back-up car, a position most of the T-Teams are in being first time players in this series, they are hoping to be able to put the chassis back together and get it into the show. With only one spot open at the writing of this sentence and the team reporting that they have all of the parts they need, hope springs eternal.

Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

At ten minutes after Two in the afternoon L.A. time, the following T-Team drivers are in the show with 32 of the 33 positions filled:

POS. Driver (Speed), Team, Sponsor
13 Graham Rahal (222.531), NHL, No Sponsor
15 Bruno Junqueira (222.330), DCR, Z-Line
16 Justin Wilson (222.267), NHL, Mc Donald’s
23 Will Power (221.136), KVRT, Aussie Vineyards
25 Oriol Servia (220.767), KVRT, Plantronics
26 EJ Viso (220.356), HVM, PDVSA
28 Mario Moraes (219.716), DCR, Sonny’s BBQ
29 Enrique Bernoldi (219.422), CR, No Sponsor
30 Jaime Camara (219.345), CR, No Sponsor

Marty Roth, who's best finish at Indy was 26th and best start, 29th, lines up with his Black, un-sponsored car, at just a couple of minutes left in the session, and goes out and puts together four laps at 215.506 as the slowest car in the closed 33 car field. The weather is forecast to be spotty with rain and drizzle. If the weather bypasses the track, "Bump Day" will be just that for tomorrow, Sunday.

The drivers left wanting to make it into the field include Mario Dominguez and PCM ... still insisting that the car will be put back together and if the weather holds off, they can make it into the show. The fastest speed Mario Dominguez was able to achieve in practice - 220.597. Mario said in an interview in the PCM garage that the Angel that is part of the logo of his "Visit Mexico City" sponsored car is the Angel of Independence, and that this Angel will get them back out on the track and qualify for the 92nd Indy 500.

Columna de la Independencia" in Reforma financial district. Image Credit: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mario will have to duke it out with AJ Foyt IV (220.972), Tony George's Vision Racing, Eli Lily, and "Mad" Max Papis (221.358), Rubicon Racing, LifeLock. Max Papis crashed earlier today and was able to make a deal with Dreyer Reinbold Racing for Milka Duno’s 2007 car but the car needed to have modifications to the tub in order to have the car make it through technical inspection tomorrow … Team owner and Indy legend, Sam Schmidt has dubbed the car “Frankenstein”.

Dominguez is so popular in his homeland that Mexico City is installing more than 90 Jumbotron television screens at sporting venues and parks around the city just for the race.

Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

"This is not just a project of this team any more," Dominguez said. "This is the project of a country."

A final report has a potential of Jaques Lazier making a deal to field another teams back-up car ... it is said that anything can happen at Indy, and it usually does. No pressure.

Until tomorrow ...

... notes from The EDJE

In Utah, All Systems Are A Go

After a three-week break in the schedule, the American Le Mans Series returns to racing action this weekend with the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix presented by the Grand & Little America Hotels. Image Credit: The Race Forums

In Utah, All Systems Are A Go

Yesterday, all of the cars that are to compete in this weekend's Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix presented by The Grand and Little America Hotels (this event name really needs a couple of more words – d’ya think?) unloaded from their transports and prepared three days of intensive competition.

Among the combatants is a recognizable name, but one that hasn’t raced in about five years – Gil de Ferran. If rumors are to be believed, in the rush to become a team owner/driver in the American Le Mans Series and debut here at the Utah Grand Prix with teammate and transitioning ChampCar World Series driver, Simon Pagenaud, Gil forgot to apply for his racing “driver’s license” which would sanction him to compete. He was issued the license just yesterday.

"Let's see, wallet, car keys, glasses,...it seems like I'm still missing something." Did Gil de Ferran really actually have to apply for a new racing license after a 5-year layoff? That's the rumor in the paddock today. Caption & Image Credit: Marshall Pruett

We could see him (Gil de Ferran) unloading the transporter in the paddock at Miller Motosports Park now … Ok, teammate? CHECK!, LMP2 Accura? CHECK!, Tools? CHECK!, Tires? CHECK!, Keys? CHECK!, Wallet? CHECK!, License? D’oh! (ala, Homer Simpson).

Today, the mountains around Salt Lake City will echo with the sounds of ALMS engines as the cars practice, to qualify Saturday for a starting position, and race on Sunday in the third race of the season and the first race on a dedicated race course.

This excerpted from The Race Forums -

After two thrilling races in the streets of St. Petersburg and Long Beach, the American Le Mans Series heads back to a natural terrain road course this weekend at Miller Motorsports Park. The Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix presented by the Grand and Little America Hotels is shaping up to provide a new set of challenges to teams and drivers, as the outer course layout of the facility will be used for the first time.

The 3.048-mile, 15-turn perimeter circuit replaces the 4.5-mile, 24-turn layout that was used in the first two ALMS races at Miller. It eliminates the tight and twisty bits starting at the Turn 7 complex (Demon, Devil and Diablo), and cuts straight through to Turn 16 (First Attitude). A number of teams have run laps on the new layout, including all four Acuras, as well as Penske Racing and B-K Motorsports. And some drivers believe the new layout could make it the fastest track on the Series' calendar.

Adrian Fernandez in his Lowes livery ALMS machine. Image Credit: Thawley 2008 via The Race Forums

"For sure, it's very, very fast," Lowe's Fernandez Racing driver/co-owner Adrian Fernandez said of the Utah circuit. "There really aren't that many corners but they are very high-speed. There are lots of fourth, fifth and sixth-gear corners. The G loads that we produce around there are significant. They are even higher than Road America. I think it will be one of the tracks that will be a favorite of both drivers and fans because they like the speed."
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de Ferran Motorsports’ Panasonic-sponsored assault on the LMP2 class of the American Le Mans Series kicks off this weekend when former Indy 500 winner and two-time CART Champion Gil de Ferran joins forces with young French star Simon Pagenaud for the team’s debut at Miller Motorsports Park aboard their Acura Acura ARX-01b.

Gil de Ferran looking forward to his first race as a team owner/driver in his Panasonic livery LMP2 machine. Image Credit: The Race Forums

GIL DE FERRAN
“Everyone has put in a lot of hours in creating this team and it is great for all involved to see the fruits of our labors become a reality. We have already completed a test at Miller Motorsports Park and we are as prepared as we could have hoped for, considering the short life span of the team.

“For me, the weekend will be very emotionally charged but after five years out of the seat, it has been a bit like putting on an old comfortable pair of shoes – in a way this will be an exercise in trying to pretend that the last five years didn’t happen.

“I really have to thank all the team members, suppliers, HPD engineers who work on the Acura program and the guys from Panasonic who have made this all possible. We are all entering unchartered waters, but all the team, Simon and myself are really looking forward to the weekend.”

SIMON PAGENAUD
“I am really looking forward for my first race with the de Ferran Motorsport and Acura. I am amazed that we are about to go racing and six weeks ago I saw the workshop with nothing inside.

“Gil is a real professor. I am learning so much beside him and feel like the approach of my job is getting better and better everytime i talk with him.This week end will be my first endurance race. There are lots of details in that kind of racing and it is never easy to put everything together. Salt lake city is a beautiful track where you get to flirt with the limit of our Acura car a lot in all those fast corners. It is a high G s track with some banking, it makes the driving very interesting.”
Reference Here>>

The Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix presented by The Grand and Little America Hotels is set for Sunday, May 18 from Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. The green flag is scheduled for 1 p.m. MT with live television coverage on SPEED. Live radio coverage will be available on XM Satellite Radio Channel 144 and American Le Mans Radio at americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA’s Live Timing & Scoring.

UPDATE - Friday 5-16-2008 Practice:

At the end of the day’s practice, “rookie” team owner and new driver to the American Le Mans Series, Gil de Ferran, out paced all drivers on the track. Gil not only was the best in practice on the day, he was the best by nearly a half a second and .62mph ... a grand debut from a team that is barely two months old.

This mark can not be all that surprising from the driver that holds the all time speed recorded during a qualifying session. October 28, 2000: Gil de Ferran, during a closed track session, set the record first established by Mauricio Gugelmin with a blazing speed of 241.428 mph.

... notes from The EDJE

It’s The Open Road Challenge For ALMS Cars

A Penske Porsche RS Spyder leading a Dyson Porsche RS Spyder leading a Fernandez Lola B06/43-Acura leading a Cytosport Lola B06/10-AER at Mid-Ohio. Image Credit: SPYDERMAN360

It’s The Open Road Challenge For ALMS Cars

With the American Le Mans Series running in Utah this weekend, one wonders ... why doesn't the management of the American Le Mans Series plan to take in the Nevada Open Road Challenge along the way as a “Qualification” round?

If there ever was an event designed to take into account the uniqueness of the full-bodied racing automobiles of the American Le Mans Series classification of cars, it is this open road challenge timed racing event that is held two times a year through Central-East Nevada.

Drivers patiently wait in line for the tech inspection at Broadbent Park in Ely, Nevada for last September's 20th anniversary of the Silver State Classic Challenge open road speed rally. Image Credit: The Ely Times (2007)

Technically, the Nevada Open Road Challenge (May 15-18, 2008)/Silver State Classic Challenge (September 18-21, 2008) event is a rally format that includes a navigator along with the driver held on a 90 mile open stretch of Nevada Highway 318 between the towns of Lund and Hiko. The cars are run in classes at five mile per hour increments, from 95 mph to 180 mph, with the class determined by the vehicle's safety equipment, the driver's experience level and the driver/navigator comfort level.

There is also an Unlimited Division for very experienced drivers with full race-equipped cars. Vehicles are started at one minute intervals and 30 second intervals, beginning with the 150 mph class and working back to the 95 mph class. Once the last 95 mph class vehicle clears the course, the Unlimited Division and the higher speed brackets over 150 are run as the final group.

Image Credit: SSCC

This is where the ALMS could make an impact in the annuals of American racing (assuming that the organizers accomidate the ALMS with a basic rules change - driver only) ... have the ALMS cars line up and qualify for the upcoming race in Salt Lake City at the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix by driving the 90 miles from Lund, Nevada to Hiko, Nevada, and may the best time win its bracket. With a little planning, this idea would create some history and possibly capture a Guinness Book world record along the way.

Image Credit: SSCC

This excerpted from the Silver State Classic Challenge website –

Silver State Classic Challenge
A Brief History

The State of Nevada closes down 90 miles of Route 318 and more than 200 drivers from around the world converge on the little town of Ely in the central high desert of Nevada. Why do they come? To experience first-hand the adrenaline rush of driving flat-out on a public highway. Not just professional racers, but men and women from all walks of life, pursuing the Walter Mitty dream of speed, horsepower, and high performance. Yes, there’s a place for everyone in the Silver State Classic Challenge events.

UPDATE:
Video From 2008 Nevada Open Road Challenge
Car #339 1988 - Porsche 928 S4

As the Silver State Classic Challenge Series of Open Road Rally Events continues into the new millennium, we thought it might be interesting to trace the history of this unique American auto rally event. It began simply enough in 1988, as a showcase for vintage racing cars. Along with Ferrel Hansen, then President of the White Pine County Chamber of Commerce, the organizers received approval from the State of Nevada to close the highway based on the event’s potential for pumping money into the local economy. That left less than two months to organize the event, which meant getting the go-ahead from all three counties, formulating a traffic control plan, lining up the Nevada Highway Patrol to secure the highway, and arranging liability insurance of one million dollars. After Steve Waldman, one of the original organizers and then Marketing Director of the Showboat Hotel in Las Vegas, agreed to make the Showboat the official host property, everything was in place.

When the Silver State Classic Challenge debuted on Sunday, September 25, 1988, it was the first legal open-road rally of its kind in the U.S. in a half-century. In addition to vintage autos, it pulled in a mixed bag of late model, high performance vehicles and muscle cars. Among the 50 odd entries were six Ferraris, thirteen Porsches and four Corvettes. The oldest American car was a ’56 Dodge D500, which blew its engine after just twenty minutes into the event. Overall, three cars failed to finish, but fortunately nobody was injured. For the record, a red 1988 Ferrari Testarossa, driven by Jim Liautad, Jr. of Elgin, Illinois, which averaged 162.58 mph, clocked the fastest time.
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Thanks to favorable press in nationally known publications like “Motor Trend” and “Autoweek”, the next event drew over one hundred competitors, including a 19-year old phenomenon name R.J. Gottlieb blasted through the course at 197.99 mph, hitting speed in excess of 220mph, a record that has only recently been broken.

However, it was later determined that the course was 2 miles shorter than originally thought. Therefore, the old record was retired and a new mark of 186.73mph was set in the May, 1996 event by veteran open road participant, Kelly Seivers. Again in 1999 the course was remeasured by an independent civil engineering firm and found to still be about 2,000 feet short, and so that record was retired and the new Public Highway Land Speed Record was established after moving the Start Line to bring the course to exactly 90 miles in length.

The current record now stands at 207.7801 mph (334.3896 km/h) set by Chuck Shafer and his navigator Gary Bockman at the May 2000 event. Image Credit: SSCC
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The year 2001 was a year of big developments in the SSCC history. We were accepted into the Guinness World Book of Records for two records, Highest Speed On A Public Highway and the Fastest Road Rally.
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The organization’s many dedicated volunteers work hand-in-hand with the State of Nevada to boost travel and tourism in the region. Upcoming events will host the world’s top open-road drivers, names like Chuck Shafer, Rick Doria, Kim Baker, Todd Carpenter, Dave Golder and Tarik Ben Jabar, as they go for broke in their attempt to set new Public Highway Land Speed Records.

One thing’s for sure, in the words of Phil Henry; “We can count on these guys to come out with the fastest machines to ever set rubber on a public highway”.
Reference Here>>

... notes from The EDJE

The World Of Open-Wheel Racing Unveils A New Player

The new A1GP car – The 600bhp V8 is due to be given its first shakedown, by former grand prix driver, and A1GP commentator, John Watson on Friday, May 16, 2008. Image Credit: CAD drawing released by A1GP series organizers

The World Of Open-Wheel Racing Unveils A New Player

The world of open-wheel racing is expected to have a new platform on which to base the next generation of a racing series starting sometime around September 2008.

The new chassis and engine combination was designed by Farrari for the international team racing series, A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, and will have its first shakedown run later this week.

The 600bhp V8 is due to be given its first shakedown, by former grand prix driver, and A1GP commentator, John Watson on Friday, May 16, 2008.

About A1GP – from the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport website:

A1GP is the first opportunity in any area of motorsport for nations to compete on a level playing field. It is a series where technology and innovation are deliberately equalized, making success dependent on human bravery and pure driving skill. Team and driver combine to create a performance advantage and the winning nation raises its flag in celebration.

A1GP is more than just another motorsport phenomenon; it's an entirely new concept. Pitting driver against driver and country against country for the first time in history, A1GP brings together 22 nations, representing 80 per cent of the world's population, to compete as equals, without financial or technological advantage.

A1GP made the deal with Ferrari in October, 2007. Image Credit: Atlas F1 Bulletin Board

This excerpted from AutoSport News -

Series reveal first image of new car
By Steven English – autosport.com/news, Monday, May 12th 2008, 08:59 GMT

A1GP have revealed the first image of the new Ferrari-designed car.
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The chassis is based on the F1 world championship-winning Ferrari F2004, but incorporates features intended to to allow overtaking and close racing, as with the previous A1GP car.

The design of the chassis was overseen by Rory Byrne, who designed the F2004, and A1GP technical director John Travis.

A1GP chairman Tony Teixeira has been pleased by the progress of development with the new car, and hopes to unveil the new machine in the coming weeks.

"Everyone is very excited abut this project and it will be fantastic to see the new A1GP Ferrari turn a wheel for the first time," he said.

"We obviously still have a lot of work to do as this is just the first step in what will be an intense development and testing programme, but I'm very happy with the progress made so far. We're lucky to be able to use some well-known motor racing companies for certain areas of expertise.

"I'm pleased to say we're on schedule and we'll be announcing the date of the official unveiling of the car soon."
Reference Here>>

Go figure ... The Panoz DP01 has plenty of chassis available for teams to race at 750+bhp since the unification of AOWR ... even though the Panoz does not have the name cachet of Farrari, wouldn't this be a better option?

... notes from The EDJE

Rookies And Regulars Run Together, In Unification At INDY

The regulars showed their collective experience by topping the speed charts with occupying the top ten lap speeds posted. Graphic Credit: indycar.com PDF

Rookies And Regulars Run Together, In Unification At INDY

Within their first four to eleven laps, just after the 10:00am PDT start time of the official first day of Practice at Indy, the seasoned drivers who have been to the track and have raced in IndyCar Series for the last few years showed their stuff.

Tony Kanaan – 224.591 – 9 laps, Danica Patrick – 223.479 – 11 laps, Ryan Briscoe – 223.068 – 8 laps, Marco Andretti – 223.041 – 4 laps, Helio Castroneves – 222.893 – 7 laps ... all speed marks above the fastest mark set by the ChampCar transition team rookies with KV Racing Technology's Will Power at 222.267 after 154 laps of practice.

Two other rookies also posted better times than Power in the Rookie Orientation Program with Rahal Letterman Racing's Alex Lloyd - 223.033 after 106 laps and Andretti Green Racing's Hideki Mutoh - 222.600 after only 78 laps.

The biggest story from yesterday comes from Andretti Green Racing driver, nineteen year old Marco Andretti posting a lap speed average of 226.599 mph. This mark bests the 2007 pole qualifying speed set by Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves at 225.817 by nearly 8/10ths of a second.

The regulars showed their collective experience by topping the speed charts with occupying the top ten lap speeds posted. Will Power was able to improve his time and lock down eleventh at 223.550 mph.

Mario Dominguez and presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, share a moment ... each in the middle of their own campaigns. Image Credit: PCM (2008)

Mario Dominguez showed how difficult it is to get to speed on a new track, especially one as unique as Indy.

Day before yesterday on Day 2 of the Rookie Orientation Program, he progressively advanced his times on each lap - 142mph, 171mph, 189mph, 194mph, 199mph, 201.518mph, 204.435mph, 204.777mph – lap 13, 205.024 – lap 17, 205.828, and so on.

He finally posted a 214.358 and completed 48 laps on his first day, Monday.

Mario Dominguez in the #96 Visit Mexico City/Pacific Coast Motorsports Dallara taking first laps at speed on the IMS track. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Yesterday, he began to achieve more speed - Mario on the day: “Today we really spent the afternoon building up speed and finding the limits, step by step. Every lap I turn, I learn something.

Yesterday we had to get out there and pass our three phases so we didn’t have time to really focus on anything but that. So today was our first day finding limits and seeing what the car needs. We are fighting a loose condition, but we are working through it.

This racetrack is just phenomenal; it is completely different than any track I have ever run on. I am grateful I have so much oval experience because it helps considerably, but at the same time, this track is different than any other.”

He has completed 61 Laps and is at 30th on the speed charts at 218.306. At the EDJE, we believe that PCM will be able to figure out the set-ups because they really are one of the more competent truly new teams out there.

Today, the fourth day of trials and the third day Mario and the guys at PCM take to the track, the racers face the prospect of a 60% chance of rain. Rain expects to be a threat to practice sessions over the next two days.

A Midwest Month For Pacific Coast Motorsports

Gasoline Alley on a May afternoon. This is where Pacific Coast Motorsports and the rest of the Indy Racing League will be calling home for the month of May(wouldn’t be more appropriate to name the garage area “Corn-Row”? - the cars now race on ethanol biofuel ;- What? ... you never thought of this?). Image Credit: Ddrucki on Flickr

A Midwest Month For Pacific Coast Motorsports

The folks of twenty member traveling team of Pacific Coast Motorsports are beginning to get a feel for their new digs and they feel destined as they streach out in garages 25-27 for the balance of the month of May.

It is all pluses for the first time driver, sponsor and team to the race track that sports the famed “yard of bricks” for their rookie debut in the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500.

Pacific Coast Motorsports Dallara with its new "Visit Mexico City" livery in which "rookie" IndyCar Series driver Mario Dominguez expects to become the first driver born in Mexico to win an Indianapolis 500 sporting event in 92 tries. Image Credit: PCM (2008)

The Oxnard, California-based PCM squad received their two Dallara IndyCar’s just before the Champ Car finale at the Long Beach Grand Prix. Dominguez’s third place finish at Long Beach fueled his team for 15-hour work days the last two-weeks as they prepared for the Indy effort.

While this is the first time the Pacific Coast Motorsports organization has shown up to compete in the Indy 500, there is plenty of experience within the traveling squad. PCM Team Manager Michael Harvey will make his second start, Crew Chief Roy Wilkerson has 12 Indy 500 starts under his belt, while Car Chief Didier Francesia has seven starts with two third-place finishes, and a pole and Gearbox Specialist Chuck Miller has competed at the Speedway seven times.

Mario Dominguez is expected to cross the historic “yard of bricks” for the first time in his #96 Visit Mexico City/PCM Dallara tomorrow, Sunday, May 4th when he participates in the Rookie Orientation Program practice session from 12:00pm – 5:00 pm. The team will concentrate on a qualifying set-up throughout the first week of practice.

"Visit Mexico City" sponsorship colors worn by Mario Dominguez. Mario was named “Mexico City’s Official Driver” last fall 2007 by Mayor Marcello Ebrard. Image Credit: PCM (2008)

“This is a dream come true,” said Dominguez. “Competing in the Indy 500 has been a dream of mine as long as I can remember. I have to thank all of my guys who have been working crazy hours to get us here. Also to the IndyCar Series and the Mexico City Tourism Board for their encouragement and support. To be here is a great honor, now we have a lot of work to do to make sure we make the show.”

Pacific Coast Motorsports announced its IndyCar program last week in a press conference in Mexico City. The news was well received by 80 members of Mexico’s major media outlets. Mario was named “Mexico City’s Official Driver” last fall by Mayor Marcello Ebrard. At the press conference, the city announced they will place 92 jumbo-tron televisions throughout Mexico City, so Mario’s fans can watch him vie to become the ninth rookie and first Mexican driver to win the Indianapolis 500.

Five drivers from Mexico have previously competed at the Indy 500; Josele Garza, Bernard Jourdain, Michele Jourdain Jr, Hector Rebaque and most recently, Adrian Fernandez. Adrian Fernandez holds the highest finishing position by a Mexican driver in the History of the Indianapolis 500; he started sixth and finished seventh in 2004.

Eight rookies have won the Indy 500 … and largely because of the open-wheel racing unification agreement reached between ChampCar and IndyCar hardly a little over two months ago, 13 rookies have entered; all of them are expecting to become the ninth rookie in 92 years to win it all at the end of 500 miles and drink the milk of success from the traditional quart glass bottle!

At the EDJE, we are hoping that it is Mario’s white uniform that will be drenched from the overflow of that first ever victory swill … classic “White-On-White” is the order of the day for Pacific Coast Motorsports come the 25th day of May, 2008.
(ht: PCM Press Release)

… notes from The EDJE










UPDATE 5-4-2008:

At INDY, "Rookies" Get Their Day In The Sun

The #96 Visit Mexico City - Pacific Coast Motorsports Dallara getting updated with the proper wishbone suspension parts. Image Credit: PCM (2008)

Thirteen of the fourteen registered Rookies that hope to qualify and make it into the race come May 25 took to the "Brick Yard" for the first time.

Mario Dominguez was scheduled to make his rookie debut today in orientation, but some last minute details kept the Pacific Coast Motorsports squad from taking to the track for their first time.

"Once we rolled through tech, three of the four wishbones on the car were deemed unusable by the series. These are suspension pieces that we received with our car and we were not aware these parts are no longer being used," said team owner, Tyler Tadevic. "The guys have been working hard, we're back to being rookies again. We disseminating tons of information trying to catch up and we'll make sure Mario gets through his orientation tomorrow."

Mario discusses strategy with team member after the #96 Visit Mexico City/PCM Dallara has the updated wishbone parts installed. Mario and the rest of the PCM team feel upbeat about being able to get out onto the track for the very first time. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

The rest of the "Rookies", most of them driving for teams that transitioned from the ChampCar World Series with the unification agreement, posted respectable lap speeds with the cream of the crop circling the rectangle two and a half mile "oval" of upwards to the 220 mph range.

The biggest surprise of the day is how poorly the CCWS Championship Team of Newman/Haas/Lanigan did with their drivers Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson being eighth and ninth fastest for the day ... nearly two miles per hour off of the pace st by Will Power/KV Racing Technology and EJ Viso/HVM Racing.

Day One Rookie Orientation Program Speed-Chart - Image Credit: indycar.com PDF

More on the events of the day from IndyCar writer, Dave Lewandowski>>

... notes from The EDJE

UPDATE - May 6, 2008 - End Of Practice, Day One:

Rookies And Regulars Run Together

Mario Dominguez and presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, share a moment ... each in the middle of their own campaigns. Image Credit: PCM (2008)

It looks as though Mario has changed the color of his driving uniform ... it's yellow!

I wonder if the color change happened while he was in the cockpit as he was about to post a lap exceeding 200 mph in his first ever session at IMS (lap 11)?

He finally posted a 214.358 and completed 48 laps on his first day, Monday.

Mario Dominguez in the #96 Visit Mexico City/Pacific Coast Motorsports Dallara taking first laps at speed on the IMS track. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Yesterday, he began to achieve more speed - Mario on the day: “Today we really spent the afternoon building up speed and finding the limits, step by step. Every lap I turn, I learn something.

Yesterday we had to get out there and pass our three phases so we didn’t have time to really focus on anything but that. So today was our first day finding limits and seeing what the car needs. We are fighting a loose condition, but we are working through it.

This racetrack is just phenomenal; it is completely different than any track I have ever run on. I am grateful I have so much oval experience because it helps considerably, but at the same time, this track is different than any other.”

He has completed 61 Laps and is at 30th on the speed charts at 218.306. I believe that PCM will be able to figure out the set-ups because they really are one of the more competent new teams out there.

The biggest story from yesterday comes from Andretti Green Racing driver, ninteen year old Marco Andretti posting a lap speed average of 226.599 mph. This mark bests the 2007 pole qualifying speed set by Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves at 225.817 by nearly 8/10ths of a second.

Today, the fourth day of trials and the third day Mario and the guys at PCM take to the track, the racers face the prospect of a 60% chance of rain. Rain expects to be a threat to practice sessions over the next two days.

Gil de Ferran Brings Open-Wheel Spirit To ALMS

De Ferran Motorsports' debut in the American Le Mans Series is getting closer and closer each day. The newest member of the Acura Motorsports stable will make its highly anticipated first start at next week's Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix presented by the Grand and Little America Hotels. Image Credit: Acura Motorsports

Gil de Ferran Brings Open-Wheel Spirit To ALMS

The only thing constant in life is change … and this saying applies to the recent commitments made by stand-out open-wheel racing champion Gil de Ferran.

Still known for being the driver that posted the fastest qualifying lap ever recorded on a closed course at slightly over 242 mph, California Speedway; Gil wants to bring his brand of competition to the discipline of racing team management as a driver/owner.

A little over three months ago, Gil announced the formation of his own team, De Ferran Motorsports, which will campaign an Acura ARX-01b in the American Le Mans Series. De Ferran confirmed details of the program in Long Beach over Grand Prix weekend, naming Frenchman, and CCWS refugee, Simon Pagenaud as his co-driver and Panasonic as the car's primary sponsor.

Gil de Ferran will make his American Le Mans Series debut as a team owner and driver with Simon Pagenaud next week. Image Credit: ALMS website

The team will be making its race debut at the next round in Salt Lake City at the Larry H Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix presented by The Grand and Little America Hotels, May 16-18, 1PM MDT.

Unification in the open-wheel racing series has opened up additional opportunities for young good drivers that were not able to make the transition either because the team they were attached to couldn’t make it over to compete in the Indy Car Series, or due to the timing of the merger, just got caught out.

So where does one apply the unique talent and experience of driving really fast cars in competition and one does not have a ride at Indy? Why the American Le Mans Series, of course.

"These are really single-seaters with bodywork," Gil added. "They are high horsepower, high downforce cars. They're relatively light. The brakes have a very high capacity. For example at Sebring, we were pulling just over four Gs under braking through the hairpin, which is not dissimilar to what happens in an open-wheel car. To me, that's fascinating. To drive one of these cars quick is a huge challenge. And you can see it in the lap times. They are very close and sometimes faster than some open-wheel cars."

Here, at The EDJE, we will add the obvious ending tag to de Ferran’s statement … especially the IndyCar Series Dallara’s!

"It all came flooding back to me," de Ferran said of his first Acura test. "I ultimately had all those files stored up there and ready for retrieval." Image Credit: The Race Forums

This excerpted from The Race Forums -

De Ferran Motorsports gearing up for race debut
John Dagys, The Race Forums - 04-30-2008, 06:45 PM

Gil de Ferran has enjoyed a storied career behind the wheel of open-wheel machinery. But after retiring from driving in 2003, the two-time CART Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner sought a new challenge in sports car racing, also itching to get back in the cockpit.
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De Ferran's arrival adds yet another world-class name to the arsenal of stars that have made the transition to sports car racing. The likable Brazilian began racing in go-karts at age 14 before moving to England to race professionally. There, he won the British F3 Championship title in 1992 and was on the fast track to Formula One. De Ferran stepped into Paul Stewart Racing's Formula 3000 operation for two years. But in 1995, he moved to the U.S. to race in CART.

De Ferran claimed Rookie of the Year honors that year, winning his first of seven CART races. He also went on to claim two championships in his seven-year span in the series. De Ferran then moved full-time to the IRL IndyCar Series in 2002, following team owner Roger Penske. In his two seasons there, he pocketed five wins, including the 2003 Indianapolis 500 and his final IndyCar start at Texas Motor Speedway.

After spending one year in the announcer's booth helping call IndyCar races for ABC/ESPN, de Ferran moved back to Europe to serve as the sporting director for the BAR Honda F1 team. He held that position until 2007 before taking up his new challenge in the ALMS.
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"I was in the workshop last week and we had all our mechanics, engineers and technicians there.”, [said de Ferran]. We had more than 20 people working incredibly hard inside a facility, which didn’t exist a couple of months ago. The car was nearly finished, the new truck had arrived and it suddenly really hit me – wow, this is for real."
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De Ferran faces a unique situation in not only making sure the car is ready for action, but also confirming the team is up to par to contend in the highly competitive LMP2 category. With relatively short notice, De Ferran has assembled a high caliber organization, led by former Andretti Green team manager John Anderson. But there's still an unknown factor given much of the crew are new to the series' unique procedures and regulations.
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One of the new faces is Simon Pagenaud. While he may be a rookie to the ALMS, Pagenaud is no stranger to success. The 23-year-old Frenchman got his start in European karting series before making his mark in the open-wheel ranks. He competed in various Formula Renault championships, and then moved stateside in 2006 to compete in Champ Car Atlantics.

Pagenaud won the Atlantics championship in his rookie season and rocketed to the Champ Car World Series the following year. There, he picked up eight top-six finishes, driving for Derrick Walker's Team Australia squad. As 2008 dawned with a unified open-wheel series, Pagenaud opted to move to sports cars, joining de Ferran's squad.

"I am really delighted to get this opportunity," Pagenaud said. "It is not every day that a two-time CART Champion and Indy 500 winner calls and says he wants you to be his co-driver.
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At age 23, Pagenaud becomes the youngest driver in the four-team Acura squad. He joins the likes of Adrian Fernandez, Christian Fittipaldi, Bryan Herta and Scott Sharp as ex-open-wheel stars turned Acura ALMS racers.
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"I think it is going to be a fantastic combination with Gil," Pagenaud said. "His is the type of person who doesn’t do anything less than 100 percent, so I think it is going to be great."
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"It is really big picture objective, but we have to keep our eye on the ball and concentrate on the issues we will have to face," de Ferran said. "We'll navigate those waters carefully. The road to nirvana is not always in a straight line. To walk that road well, you really have to be paying a lot of attention on the day-to-day and concentrating on each decision you make." Image Credit: ALMS website

"My old friends at Walker Racing spoke very highly of him," de Ferran said. "Once I met Simon, I found him to be very a very impressive young man.
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Simon is also a very young guy and has already had some good results. Hopefully, however, he is yet to reach his full potential."

Another factor, as de Ferran mentioned, was age. At age 40, de Ferran knows he isn’t going to race forever and wants to develop a new crop of drivers that will grow with his team.

"As a team, we can develop together," de Ferran said. "For de Ferran Motorsports, it is also important to have some young talent on board. I am looking forward getting back behind the wheel but I won't be driving forever.
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Another new element both de Ferran and Pagenaud will face is the co-driver aspect. Compromise is often the name of the game when it comes to car setup in endurance racing.
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"I think it is going to be important for Gil and me to get used to the car and develop a set-up that suits us both," Pagenaud said. "We are going to have to try and not be too selfish. It is not just about our own performance – it is what we achieve together. It will be vital to develop a good consistent race car. This is more important than just the qualifying pace."
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While de Ferran said he doesn’t have any specific goals for the team's first year in the series, the Brazilian is eyeing long-term success down the road. de Ferran hopes the team's debut in Salt Lake City in two weeks will only be a small part of things to come.
Reference Here>>

... notes from The EDJE