INDY500 DW12 #poleday And #bumpday Weekend Trials

Ryan Briscoe, No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet, will lead the 33-car field to the green flag for the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500. With a four-lap average speed of 226.484 MPH and a time of 2:38.9514, Briscoe captured his career-first pole position for the Indy 500 and the 17th for Team Penske by the closest margin in the history of the race. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series

INDY500 DW12 #poleday And #bumpday Weekend Trials

What is a racing series without its unplanned moments of friction? Short answer? ... not interesting at all and this last weekend in the IZOD IndyCar Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) had its share of unplanned moments of friction.

During 2011 and many of the previous years at IMS during the qualifications process known as Pole Day and the following day known as Bump Day (new media Twitter communications hashtags #poleday and #bumpday), the unplanned friction centered around Series Management and Team relations. This year, the weekend was spiced up with the addition of integrating the nuances of a new racing platform formula that has the choice of three turbo-charged 2.2L engine power-plants - Chevrolet | Honda | Lotus .

View slideshow: INDY500 DW12 #poleday and #bumpday weekend trials

One of the biggest concerns, in fact, centered itself around the perceived lack of competitiveness and power developed by the Lotus engine. The cracks of this controversy began to show themselves amongst the four teams (HVM Racing/Dreyer & Reinblod Racing/Bryan Herta Autosport/Dragon Racing) and five drivers that had run the first three races of the season with mild moments of success. This mild success was not the result of having inexperienced and unsuccessful drivers piloting the new DW12 Dallara chassis with the Lotus engine (HVM's Simona de Silvestro - P3 in Atlantic Championship 2009 - DRR's Oriol Servia - P4 2011/11 top-10 finishes, BHA's Alex Tagliani - P11/6 top-10 finishes/2 poles, DR's Sebastien Bourdais - P1 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and DR's Katherine Legge - P3 in Atlantic Championship standings 2005  - the most winning driver being four-time Champ Car World Series champion Sebastien Bourdais).

Before the traditional activities that surround the month of May at IMS in the lead up to the INDY500, two teams (Dreyer & Reinblod Racing/Bryan Herta Autosport) lobbied series management and won release from their obligation to use the Lotus engine in their DW12's, in fact one team, Bryan Herta Autosport did not travel to the fourth race of the season at Sao Paulo, Brazil to prepare for the transition to the Honda engine. After Sao Paulo, Dreyer & Reinbold racing negotiated an alliance with Panther Racing to be supplied and supported with a Chevrolet engine which had them change their logo for the rest of the season to reflect the alliance.

During the first chance at getting practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Lotus had trouble delivering engines for Dragon Racing (while Dragon Racing launched a lawsuit to seek about 4.6 million dollars in damages due to the breach in their contract). The team missed out on six practice sessions and sought permission from the series to change to a different engine supplier. With permission granted, Dragon Racing was able to get Sebastien Bourdais and Kathrien Legge through Rookie Orientation on Thursday with Chevrolet engines.

In the meantime, in order to save some face, Lotus put their support behind a one-time team effort, Fan Force Racing to place 47 year-old Lotus driver/ambassador and former Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi on the track to qualify along side of the one remaining team of HVM Racing and Simona de Silvestro.

During the activities over the week-end to fill the traditional 33 places allowed for the INDY500 field, many speculated that their may not actually be 33 cars that could qualify for the field. If this were to happen, it would be the first time since 1947 and result in an embarrassment to the new formula of the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Other unplanned moments of friction came primarily through the process known as Bump Day. After the field of 33 cars is filled with qualifying runs, anyone who wishes to challenge to get into the field could present a car and post a time faster than the slowest qualified car and "Bump" the slowest car out of the field ... hence Bump Day.

Briscoe bested fellow Chevrolet IndyCar V-6 driver, James Hinchcliffe, No. 27 Team Go.Daddy.com Andretti Autosport Chevrolet, by .0023 of a second. Hinchcliffe’s qualifying run was 2:38.9537/226.481 mph. The difference is the equivalent of 9.168 inches. Here, James Hinchcliffe displays the gloves he wore for his inspired run - these driving gloves were worn by fellow Canadian and legendary IndyCar driver, Greg Moore. Image Credit: @hinchtown via Twitter

This on-site experience excerpted and edited from AP -

In The Pits: Drama _ of course! _ in IndyCar again
By: JENNA FRYER

One can't help but wonder, though, if there's been too much back-room politicking going on since Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened its gates May 10 to begin preparations for Sunday's race. Almost every day since has had some sort of controversy - many bordering on comical - and rumors have run rampant about everything from an alleged owner-led charge to oust CEO Randy Bernard and IndyCar supposedly blocking two teams from fielding cars on Sunday's bump-less Bump Day.

Then came the long list of penalties announced Sunday night, about 30 minutes after practice had concluded for a four-day off period.

IndyCar found 18 different infractions among 13 teams in pre-qualifying inspection, and track historian Donald Davidson believes the numbers were a one-day record for the series, though fines have never been consistently announced.

Few teams were immune and the entire front row was docked a total of $70,000 for five penalties split between pole-sitter Ryan Briscoe of Penske Racing, and Andretti Autosport teammates James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Briscoe, in Charlotte on Monday to promote the Indy 500, wasn't sure his Penske team had actually violated the brake rule that brought a $15,000 fine. Penske team president Tim Cindric confirmed on Twitter that Will Power's car indeed had unapproved brake pads, but claimed the team never would have sent Briscoe out with the same pads once Power's had been flagged.

Either way, Briscoe believed IndyCar - behind new race director Beaux Barfield and vice president of technology Will Phillips - had taken a huge step in levying so many fines.

"It's surprising because we haven't seen much of that in the past," Briscoe said. "But I think we are seeing a new guy in charge of the rules now, and maybe in the past, some things have been let past, and I think it's good that teams are being penalized for not abiding by the rules 100 percent. Rules are there to be followed, rules are made to be enforced and they should be."

That strong stance from the sanctioning body likely came as a shock to team owners - and it came during yet another stretch of off-track drama.
----
It left only two Lotus-powered cars in the field, and they've been so far off the pace that many are openly wondering if they should even be allowed in the race. It didn't help that 47-year-old former Formula One driver Jean Alesi, who has never before raced an oval, said he felt "unsafe" in the car and was "concerned" for his fellow competitors because it is so slow.

Rubens Barrichello, who spent 19 years in F1 before moving to IndyCar this season, believes Alesi is handicapped by his Lotus engine.

"It's been very unfortunate that the Lotus power is not up to the speed," Barrichello said. "If we do end up racing with that 10- or 15-mile (speed) difference, it could be a problem for both of the (Lotus drivers). I hope just that he has a safe race."

IndyCar needs Alesi and Simona de Silvestro in the race to avoid not having a full 33-car field for the first time since 1947, but it's possible that the two cars will be black-flagged for failing to maintain a reasonable speed.

There was disappointment Sunday when no team owner threw together a last-minute entry to try to bump one of the Lotus cars out of the field. Both Jay Howard and Pippa Mann indicated they were close to putting together deals, but couldn't get Chevrolet or Honda to give them an engine. That led to rumors it was IndyCar who halted the engines to protect Lotus - an allegation series officials vehemently denied.

Let's not forget the TurboGate saga, either, with Chevrolet losing two appeals trying to prevent Honda from using a new compressor cover on its turbocharger. The defeat has supposedly left powerhouse owner Roger Penske so infuriated he's refusing to speak to Bernard, but yet it's Penske who has a driver on the pole and two more starting on the second row.

Penske, who at least publicly has preached a message of unity and support of IndyCar leaders, goes into the 500 perfect on the season with five poles and four victories. Honda, meanwhile, had only one driver qualify inside the top 10.

So from the outside, it sure looks like a mess for IndyCar. But Bernard is fond of claiming "all press is good press," and if drama gets fans to tune into Sunday's race, then maybe IndyCar knows exactly what it is doing.
[Reference Here]

Here is how the field is set for the 98th running of the INDY500:

Pos  Driver               Team/Car                      Speed
 1.  Ryan Briscoe         Penske DW12-Chevy             226.484
 2.  James Hinchcliffe    Andretti DW12-Chevy           226.481
 3.  Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti DW12-Chevy           226.240

 4.  Marco Andretti       Andretti DW12-Chevy           225.456
 5.  Will Power           Penske DW12-Chevy             225.422
 6.  Helio Castroneves    Penske DW12-Chevy             225.172

 7.  Josef Newgarden      Fisher DW12-Honda             224.037
 8.  Tony Kanaan          KV DW12-Chevy                 224.751
 9.  EJ Viso              KV DW12-Chevy                 224.422

10.  Rubens Barrichello   KV DW12-Chevy                 224.264
11.  Alex Tagliani        Herta DW12-Honda              224.000
12.  Graham Rahal         Ganassi DW12-Honda            223.959

13.  Ana Beatriz          Andretti/Conquest DW12-Chevy  223.920
14.  Charlie Kimball      Ganassi DW12-Honda            223.868
15.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi DW12-Honda            223.684

16.  Dario Franchitti     Ganassi DW12-Honda            223.582
17.  James Jakes          Dale Coyne DW12-Honda         223.482
18.  JR Hildebrand        Panther DW12-Chevy            223.422

19.  Takuma Sato          Rahal DW12-Honda              223.392
20.  Townsend Bell        Schmidt DW12-Honda            223.134
21.  Justin Wilson        Dale Coyne DW12-Honda         222.929

22.  Michel Jourdain Jr   Rahal DW12-Honda              222.893
23.  Simon Pagenaud       Schmidt DW12-Honda            222.891
24.  Sebastian Saavedra   AFS/Andretti DW12-Chevy       222.811

25.  Sebastien Bourdais   Dragon DW12-Chevy             223.760
26.  Wade Cunningham      Foyt DW12-Honda               223.258
27.  Oriol Servia         Panther/DRR DW12-Chevy        222.393

28.  Ed Carpenter         Carpenter DW12-Chevy          222.324
29.  Mike Conway          Foyt DW12-Honda               222.319
30.  Katherine Legge      Dragon DW12-Chevy             221.624

31.  Bryan Clauson        Fisher DW12-Chevy             214.455
32.  Simona de Silvestro  HVM DW12-Lotus                214.393
33.  Jean Alesi           Fan Force DW12-Lotus          210.094
(ht: autosport)

Please be aware that the rule book has a provision that if cars do not maintain an adequate speed for safety reasons, they will be Black Flagged and removed from racing on the track. This rule is known as the 105% Rule.

@TheEDJE TWEETS from Bump Day:

If officials were to enforce the 105% rule 33rd qualifier today would need 215.1598mph avg or better, Clausen in at AVG: 214.455 #indycar #indy500

de Silvestro HVM Racing - 214.393 | Alesi Fan Force United - 210.094 Mak Field | 105% rule, 215.1598mph avg not in play on #bumpday #indycar #lotus #chevy #honda

AS for the former Lotus drivers - Bryan Herta Autosport benefited the best from the change by having Alex Tagliani qualify at P11.

Another @TheEDJE TWEET:

@BourdaisOnTrack safely in at P25 - 223.760 #bumpday would have been good enough for P15 on #poleday #indycar #indy500

... notes from The EDJE



** Article first seen as INDY500 DW12 #poleday And #bumpday Weekend Trials at Technorati **

Dragon Racing Set To Abandon Lotus For Indy500 - Developing On Twitter

Sebastien Bourdais takes the True Car sponsored #6 of Katherine Legge outfitted with the new Chevrolet turbo engine (and Logo) out for a spin during rookie orientation day at IMS. Image Credit: James Black via Twitter  

Dragon Racing Set To Abandon Lotus For Indy500 - Developing On Twitter

The concept of a group of truly competitive cars in a third engine offering (dubbed here as the "Lotus Legion") seems to be disappearing ... and fast. It was only a month ago when it appeared that Lotus/Judd could not supply enough engines for the Month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) and the run-up to the INDY500.

Bryan Herta Autosport and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing decided to stablize their sponsorship and racing efforts for the season by jumping to the other engine manufacturers - BHA with Chevy and DRR with a joint agreement with Panther Racing and Honda.

Over the last couple of days during practice at IMS, Dragon Racing, with their drivers ... four-time CCWS champion Sebastien Bourdais and Katherine Legge,  began to seek an alternative to being saddled with the lack of power, lack of engines, and the potential of shaky sponsorship wrapped up with the choice of the Lotus/Judd engine effort.

IndyCar Garage @IndyCarGarage
Per Cavin, Dragon has a 2nd Chevy engine ... would appear that Legge and Bourdais (assuming everything goes well) should be in the race

Lotus probably began to see the writing on the wall early on because they brought their driving/brand embassador, noted Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi, over from Europe to add an additional car to the frey along with primary Lotus partner, HVM Racing.

Colin Z. @WxTurtle
So assuming Alesi/Simona end up finding 211-212, we'll have same speed diff from 1-33 as '06. Not good, but not a 30 mph gap. #indycar

Additional Tweet thoughts on the plight of the Lotus/Judd effort for the INDY500:

Andy Miller @TheSpeedgeek
@PopOffValve If Lotuses are that slow in Race, they'll get black flagged before they get lapped a 2nd time. Done and done. No issue.

Paul Hensby @Paul11F1
@tonydizinno Its sad that Simona is stuck with Lotus. She (& Alesi) are far better than their times suggest. HVM should ditch Lotus #Indycar

True Car Dragon Racing driver, Katherine Legge, fields questions as to the future of Chevy-power being in the DW12's of Dragon Racing. Image Credit: IMS Radio via Twitter

This excerpted and edited from from INDYSTAR.com -

Indy 500: Dragon Racing finally hits the track at IMS
Written by Curt Cavin 9:12 AM CT, May. 17, 2012

Dragon Racing has finally made its season debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The No. 6 car driven by Sebastien Bourdais turned its first lap shortly after 8 a.m. this morning. Bourdais turned 21 laps in the first hour, a fastest lap of 205.116 mph.

The team has been mired in a legal dispute with Lotus, but it is transitioning to Chevrolet, the engine that powered today's laps.

Dragon also plans to field Katherine Legge in her Rookie Orientation Program effort. Bourdais drove her car.

As of 9 a.m., IndyCar had not released a statement saying Dragon had been permitted to switch engine manufacturers.

Permission is required by series rules.

Bourdais is taking a refresher course since he hasn't competed at IMS since the 2005 Indianapolis 500. That was his only 500. Legge is a true rookie at IMS, and her only oval-track race came in the 2006 Champ Car World Series season. She finished sixth at the race in Milwaukee.
[Reference Here]

Oriol Servia sits in his Panther Dreyer & Reinblod Honda-powered DW12 waiting for his turn to get out on the 2.5 mile rectangle shaped oval of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Lotus/Judd engine relationship is a long way back in the rear-view mirror. Image Credit: Panther DRR via Twitter 

This just in:

Dustin Long @dustinlong
#IndyCar approves engine change for Dragon Racing. Sebastian Bourdais & Katherine Legge will switch from Lotus to Chevrolet power.

Maybe the 2012 effort by Lotus and its original four-team partnership known here (at "... notes from The EDJE"/"Motorsports Unplugged") as the "Lotus Legion" needs to be changed to "Lotus Lesion"!

... notes from The EDJE



** Article first published as Dragon Racing Set To Abandon Lotus For Indy500 - Developing On Twitter on Technorati **

Patrick Dempsey Feels He Is Finally Ready For The Big Stage

Dempsy Racing's new second car getting ready for its debut in the ALMS LMp2 Class (work order on screen). This Lola/Judd-powered B12-80 will join the field entering the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón six-hour race event this weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Image Credit: John Dagys via Twitter (2012) 


Patrick Dempsey Feels He Is Finally Ready For The Big Stage

As with any good acting gig, an effort worth taking a part in takes preparation. Patrick Dempsey has been in preparation for this role all of his life ... the role of exotic race car team owner, car owner, and driver in the American Le Mans Series, North America's premier sports car racing series.

Dempsey is set to make his long-awaited debut in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón six-hour race event this weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The successful Hollywood film and television star ... and Dempsey Racing co-owner (with seven year business partner/driver, Joe Foster), is confirmed in the lineup for the team’s Lola-Judd prototype – part of the LMP2 field at the American Le Mans Monterey presented by Patrón.

The decision to enter the Mazda Raceway round comes after preparing to become a competent sports car driver for four years in the Grand Am series and most recently, a successful shakedown and initial three-day test of the prototype Lola-Judd on Michelin tires at Miller Motorsports Park outside Salt Lake City.

“It is nothing short of an awe-inspiring experience in every respect,” said Dempsey, who will be racing a prototype sports car for the first time. “It feels familiar but so much more intense - the braking, the acceleration, cornering and power, it is all on a much more dynamic level than the GT cars I have driven. It’s an amazing machine and it is incredible to even have the opportunity to race in a car like this at this level, and what better track to start with than Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This race will really be a continuation of our learning and testing process only this time in front of a bigger crowd. We should be able to accomplish much more development and familiarization during an endurance race.”

As lead driver and owner of Dempsey Racing, Patrick Dempsey enters the ALMS with a two car/two Class team. Dempsey is coming off of his fourth full season of GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT class competition in the No. 40 VISIT FLORIDA/ModSpace/Construct Corps/Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8 GT. Image Credit: Dempsey Racing

He is expected to share driving duties with his team co-owner Joe Foster and former ALMS Drayson Racing driver, Jonny Cocker. The addition of Cocker (Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Champion - 2005, British GT Championship - 2004) to the Dempsey Racing effort brings along a wealth of Lola car driving experience that Foster and Dempsy will benefit from. This will be much welcomed because it was only this March, Dempsey and Foster announced Dempsey Racing’s move into the LMP2 Class for a partial ALMS season in 2012. The team’s plans call for a full championship run in 2013 with the goal of an entry to the Le Mans 24 Hours in the near future, as well.

Dempsey Racing is a team effort in rare company by entering cars in two of the ALMS's four classes. Henri Richard, Duncan Ende and Ryan Lewis will drive the team’s #25 PC car – an ORECA FLM09 also on Michelin tires. Two other teams have cars in multiple ALMS classes: Muscle Milk Pickett Racing (P1 and PC) and Lotus Alex Job Racing (GT and GT Challenge)

The American Le Mans Monterey presented by Patrón is set for 1:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, May 12, from the 2.238-mile Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. ESPN2 airs the race at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 13. Live coverage is available starting at 4:15 p.m. ET on ESPN3.

The Series’ website offers additional content such as live in-car cameras, and timing and scoring for all users around the world. Viewers outside the U.S. can watch the Monterey round and all ALMS races live on ALMS.com.

This weekend, we almost can hear Patrick Dempsey say (under his breath/paraphrased) the famous quote from the movie, Sunset Blvd. ... a street not too far from where Dempsey resides - "Alright, Exotic Automobile Racing World, I'm ready for my close-up."

Dempsy Racing's #25 LMPC open-cockpit (left) and #27 LMP2 closed-cockpit cars in after Thursday's promoter Test ... all in one piece each! Image Credit: Dempsey Racing ‏ @GoDempseyRacing

Promoter Test Day UPDATE:

Patrick Dempsey, making his LMP2 debut in Dempsey Racing's new Lola B12/80 Judd. The actor/racer spun and high-sighted his Lola at the Corkscrew, which brought out one of two red flags.

Prior to Dempsey's minor incident, co-driver Jonny Cocker, making his return to the cockpit of a Lola-Judd, posted the fifth quickest time overall and third best in LMP2 with a time of 1:19.698.

Dempsey Racing's LMPC class open-cockpit ORECA FLM09 driven by Henri Richard, Duncan Ende, and Ryan Lewis ended up 11th out of thirty-four cars overall and 5th in class out of eight cars entered. Ryan Lewis is credited with the #25's best lap at 1:20.952.

Qualifications UPDATE (from a "Tweet"):

Jonny Cocker ‏ @jonny_cocker - P3 in class in Quali.. Not bad considering the car is only 2 weeks old! Well done @GoDempseyRacing Lots of work to do but we'll get there!!

This from ALMS.com - The Dempsey squad qualified third in class in its ALMS P2 debut. Jonny Cocker set a lap of 1:17.494 (103.967 mph) in the Lola-Judd he drives with Hollywood star and team co-owner Patrick Dempsey and team co-principal Joe Foster.

Reminder: The American Le Mans Monterey presented by Patrón is set for 1:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, May 12, from the 2.238-mile Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. ESPN2 airs the race at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 13. Live coverage is available starting at 4:15 p.m. ET on ESPN3.


... notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as Patrick Dempsey Feels He Is Finally Ready For The Big Stage on Technorati **

Mazda Road to Indy Holds Second Annual Oval Clinic

Bobby Rahal is currently talking to @Shelbilly @ZachVeach @SageKaram88 & @TMacRacing at #MazdaRoadtoIndy clinic! Image Credit: Andretti Autosport @FollowAndretti


Mazda Road to Indy Holds Second Annual Oval Clinic

This first Friday in the month of May events around the Indianapolis 500, the drivers involved in the MAZDA Road To Indy traveled to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) for the second annual MAZDA Road to Indy Oval Clinic, joining their fellow competitors in all three MAZDA ladder system series - the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear and Firestone Indy Lights.

Hosted by INDYCAR’s Director of Grassroots Initiatives Jason Penix and led by multiple driving champion and USF2000 driving coach Gerardo Bonilla, the clinic covers all aspects of oval racing with the intricacies supported by video footage exhibits.

Oval veterans participating in this year's panel of experts included Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team owner / former Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal, INDYCAR President of Competition Beaux Barfield, Performance Advisor / spokesman Johnny Unser, IZOD IndyCar Series driver / team owner Ed Carpenter, and former Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year / Elite Engines owner Steve Knapp. The participants receive training on the basics of oval racing, best practices of oval testing, working with spotters, how to prepare themselves physically for an oval race, safety, and how to approach oval event practice, qualifying and race day.

The drivers from all three open-wheel disciplines will have the opportunity to put these lessons to practice the very next day during a test at nearby Lucas Oil Raceway on Saturday, May 5. These young competitors, many of whom will be turning their first laps on an oval course, will have a combined five hours of testing on the short 0.686-mile track.

The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear drivers will be in serious preparation for the popular “Night Before the 500 races″ to be held on May 26 – 2012 Round 5 for both USF2000 competition (the only oval event on the series calendar) and Star Mazda Championship.

At the end of the month of May, all of these future Indianapolis 500 competitors will be honored at the inaugural Mazda Road to Indy Victory Celebration on May 27 at Sensu Restaurant and Nightclub in downtown Indianapolis.

Podium finishers of the Firestone Freedom 100 (Firestone Indy Lights race run at IMS) and "Night Before the 500 races" at Lucas Oil Raceway (USF2000/Star Mazda) will be recognized for their accomplishments at the event that follows the 96th Indianapolis 500. Roger Bailey, former executive director of Firestone Indy Lights, will be the guest of honor.

“The Victory Celebration will cap the exciting Month of May for the Mazda Road to Indy program, which includes the races and events surrounding the Indianapolis 500,” said Tony George Jr., director of Firestone Indy Lights. “It also allows everyone to congratulate Roger and reflect on his 50-plus-year career in motorsports.”

A painting of 2011 Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon, which motorsports artist Bill Patterson will produce during the event, will be auctioned – along with several prints - at the conclusion of the event.

... notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as Mazda Road to Indy Holds Second Annual Oval Clinic on Technorati **

A Rough And Tumble Round 4 Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 Presented By Nestle

Three in a row at Sao Paulo! Congrats @12WillPower! #saopauloindy twitpic.com/9fau1g - Image Credit Penske Racing via TWEET

A Rough And Tumble Round 4 Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 Presented By Nestle 

The morning of the fourth round in the IZOD IndyCar Series in Sao Paulo, Brazil started in having the DW12 IndyCars warm-up in light showers with the drivers finding dryer areas of the track to run and post the best times. When this happens in Sao Paulo, people begin to understand why this part of Brazil is known as the "Land Of Drizzle".

The start time was moved up about 15 minutes in order to account for the weather on the Anhembi temporary street circuit (the fourth street/road race course of the 2012 season), which has turned sunny, with the starting grid of the 26 car field to reflect this starting order:

Event: Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 - Round 4
Track: Sao Paulo Street Circuit 2.536 mile(s)
Report: Starting Line Up IZOD IndyCar Series - Tire Designation for Race April 29, 2012

SP -- Car -- Driver -- Name -- C/E/T -- Start Tire

1 12 Power, Will D/C/F Alternate
2 10 Franchitti, Dario D/H/F Alternate
3 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F Alternate
4 27 Hinchcliffe, James D/C/F Alternate
5 28 Hunter-Reay, Ryan D/C/F Primary
6 38 Rahal, Graham D/H/F Alternate

7 14 Conway, Mike D/H/F Alternate
8 67 Newgarden, Josef (R) D/H/F Alternate
9 2 Briscoe, Ryan D/C/F Alternate
10 26 Andretti, Marco D/C/F Primary
11 11 Kanaan, Tony D/C/F Alternate
12 8 Barrichello, Rubens D/C/F Alternate

13 5 Viso, EJ D/C/F Alternate
14 4 Hildebrand, JR D/C/F Primary
15 83 Kimball, Charlie D/H/F Alternate
16 77 Pagenaud, Simon (R) D/H/F Primary
17 19 Jakes, James D/H/F Primary
18 3 Castroneves, Helio D/C/F Primary
19 25 Beatriz, Ana D/C/F Primary
20 20 Carpenter, Ed D/C/F Alternate

21 78 de Silvestro, Simona D/L/F Primary
22 7 Bourdais, Sebastien D/L/F Primary
23 22 Servia, Oriol D/L/F Primary
24 6 Legge, Katherine (R) D/L/F Primary
25 15 Sato, Takuma D/H/F Primary
26 18 Wilson, Justin D/H/F Primary
(R) Rookie

Pursuant to Rule 14.14.6.4.1, Cars 4, 6, 7, 18 & 19 will start on Primary Tires.
(ht: IICS PDF Report)

NOTES: Qualifying lap times for the No. 18 Sonny’s BBQ car have been voided by INDYCAR following post-race technical inspection. Pursuant to Rule 14.4.13.3 of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series rulebook: As requested by INDYCAR each Car must run either the cameras or dummy equipment as supplied by BSI/INDYCAR.

Justin Wilson, who had qualified sixth in the Dale Coyne Racing car, will start from the rear.

 

Not exactly what you want to see between warmup and race, 2nd engine change in 12 hours! Ayayay! Our guys working hard. Image Credit: Oriol Servia via TWEET

Unapproved engine changes, which incur 10-grid spot penalties, were made to the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing car of Takuma Sato (did not participate in qualifying), the No. 7 Dragon Racing car of Sebastien Bourdais (qualified 19th), the No. 22 Lotus DRR car of Oriol Servia (qualified 24th) and the No. 6 TrueCar Dragon Racing car of Katherine Legge (carried over from Long Beach; qualified 25th).

 

GREEN Flag starts the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 -

Everyone gets off to a great start with Will Power maintaining the first position. On the first lap, Newgarden and Hinchcliffe battle hard with Newgarden taking the position.

End of the first lap saw Conway taking the position from Hinchcliffe and Dario Franchitti staying tight on Will Power's wing.

The long, nearly one-mile straight-away featured on this circuit really lets these new DW12's stretch their legs, so much so that during qualifications, Will Power, who won the two previous races here, set a new track record with a lap of 1 minute, 21.4045 seconds at about 3 minutes left in the Firestone Fast Six qualifications round.

At Lap 4 of 75 - The engine wars have been invigorated with the change to the turbo design on the Honda engines - the top six positions are Power-Chevy, Franchitti-Honda, Dixon-Honda, Newgarden-Honda, Rahal-Honda, and Conway-Honda!

Lap 7 of 75 - AJ Foyt's Mike Conway is all over Sarah Fisher Racing's Josef Newgarden to try at taking away the spot as KVRT's Tony Kanaan passes team-mate Rubens Barrichello.


Announcement Note: Bryan Herta Autosport stayed behind from the race in order to prepare for the INDY500. The team has left the Lotus Legion and will be running the Honda engine the rest of the season.

Pit Stops begin on Lap 10 of 75. Pagenaud is in early and has an adjustment to his front wing for more downforce.

Takuma Sato came into the pits too hot and incurs a drive through penalty ... needs a third wing replacement for the weekend.

Lap 13 of 75 - Justin Wilson is one of the big movers starting at the back of the field at P26 up to P18 - Drizzles are beginning to fall so those who waited may be able to have one less stop for rain tires.

Marco Andretti in the pits from P14 and takes on Firestone Reds - drops to P25.

TWEET - The EDJE @theedje -18 laps. 3 commercial breaks. 1 pre-taped segment. Missed passing and pits tops. Awful.

Lap 20 of 75 has Power leading the field by 3.2 seconds ahead of Franchitti, Rahal, Conway, Hunter-Reay, Briscoe, Viso, Barrichello, Carpenter, and the Lotus Dragon Racing of Bourdais.

The Lotus and team-mate to Bourdais at Dragon Racing, Katherine Legge, slaps the wall and damages the right rear of the car.

A wet spot has Ryan Briscoe bringing out the Yellow Flag while under pressure from Rahal.

Full Course Yellow Lap 23 of 75 - Castroneves at P8 is listed as the biggest mover up 10 positions from his start.

TWEET - Formula 1 @F1grid - Sonny's BBQ car has a gearbox clogged with cornbread problem. #IndyCar

TWEET - F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive - Under caution it's Power, Franchitti, Hunter-Reay, Dixon, Conway, Rahal, Pagenaud, Castroneves, Newgarden and Barrichello. #IndyCar

Lap 25 of 75 - Ryan Briscoe's DW12 is on the flatbed truck and is out of the race - storm clouds are gathering with the winds stepping up a notch.

A two stop strategy seems out of the question given the potential of rain and the timing mix of yellows the race is having.

GREEN Flag - Lap 26 of 75 Side-By-Side - Franchitti spins in turn #1 as he was tapped by Mike Conway - Franchitti's car is dead - Full Course Caution!

Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay was strong again (as he was in Round 3 in Long Beach) and kept toward to top of the running order all day during this very entertaining race. Image Credit: Marshall Pruett via SPEED


The shake-out has Power leading RHR, Dixon, Castroneves, Barrichello, Kanaan, Viso, Hildebrand, Hinchcliffe, and Sato round out the top 10. The cheers are going up around the track as the three favorite sons in the race are Helio-P4, Rubens-P5, and TK-P6 in the top 10.

Franchitti is able to get restarted, gets checked out in the pits, and rejoins the field.

Side-By-Side restart Lap 29 of 75 - Everyone gets through Turn 1 but several cars 4-6 collect themselves in Turn 3.de Silvestro taps Newgarden and causes a blockage - two cars are damaged and in the pits - Newgarden and Jakes.

Newgarden rejoins the race - the DW12 is a much stronger and resilient chassis and aero-package. Simona de Silvestro stalled on track.

Top six positions are Power, RHR, Dixon, Kanaan, Barrichello, and Viso. A favorite daughter Ana Beatriz occupies P7.

GREEN Flag on Lap 33 of 75. Everyone through Turn 1, 2, and 3. RHR is all over the back of Power but the string of cars seems stable.

TWEET - Donna Lingley @MissLingley - Finally, we're racing again. Double file restarts on street circuits don't work. #IndyCar

TWEET - Brian J. Wiggins @brian_wiggins - Aussie, American, New Zealander, Brazilian, Brazilian. #Diverse #IndyCar

Lap 37 - SeaBass goes off in the run-off area and needs assistance - a rough day for Lotus Dragon Racing.

Lap 38 - Crossed Flags signify that this race is official ... no matter what happens from now on, if the race is stopped, it counts.

Franchitti is on a charge as Franchitti passed Castroneves for P8. KVRT cars are P4, P5 and P6 (TK, Rubens, and Viso).

Lap 40 of 75 - Top 10 are Power (leading all laps) by 1.6 seconds over Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dixon, Kanaan, Rubens, Viso, Beatriz, Franchitti, Helio, and Sato with the biggest move of the day up 15 positions!

Tony Kanaan goes to the pits (last stop) so everyone moves up one. Franchitti giving fits to Beatriz and loosess a couple of positions. Castroneves has damage to his front wing but continues on after passing fellow country-person, Beatriz.

Lap 45 of 75 ... 30 laps to go:

TWEET - Allen Wedge @AllenWedge - ALmost all of the field is throwing down their fastest laps of the race right now #indycar

Franchitti has moved up plus 16 after restarting from the back of the field. Dario now running at P8. Team-mate Scott Dixon in the pits for his assumed last stop.

Dreyer and Reinblod's Lotus driven by Servia in for final pit-stop, comes out at P17 ... will be running Chevy for the rest of the season.

TWEET - AJFoytRacing @AJFoytRacing - How come Franchitti can improve 10 spots under yellow by ducking into pits before green & no one notices? #saopauloindy #indycar

Sounds like ... sour grapes?

TWEET - F1 Paddock @Formula1Paddock - Rubens Barrichello up to 5th now! #IndyCar

TWEET - Bruno Tarulli @BrunoTarulli34 - 50 vueltas cumplidas en Brasil! #IndyCar

Twenty Laps to go - Power by 2.6 seconds over RHR, Franchitti (oh, yes), Castroneves, and Sato. Pit-stops by leaders and Power has a great stop - Power on cold tires as Dixon takes the position away from Power in Turn 11.

Franchitti - good stop ... does Dixon need to come in?

Hichcliffe and Hildebrand battle with Manica taking the position. Ed Carpenter is running strong in P5 - very good.

Everyone is waiting on Dixon to see if he needs to come in.

15 laps to go and Castroneves goes off into runoff area and drops from lead to P7. The pit-stops continue as the order continues to change.

TWEET - Donna Lingley @MissLingley - Hmmmm, Brazilian tv director cuts away from Helio making a mistake. Helio is Brazilian. Useless! #IndyCar

TWEET - Magnificent Geoffrey @MagnificentGeof - Credit to the TV director, the coverage of this race has been outstanding(ly questionable) #IndyCar

TWEET - Christopher Estrada @estradawriting - Less than 20 laps to go here at #SaoPauloIndy. 9-Dixon leads 12-Power, 28-HunterReay, 5-Viso and 10-Franchitti. #IndyCar #SaoPauloIndy

Viso in the Pits - Good stop. Dixon has a 2.8 second lead but ... needs a splash of fuel?!

Great track action all race long - just great racing all around. Rahal takes P12 away from the Fuzzy's car of Ed Carpenter - big difference between Reds and Primary compound tires.

Josef Newgarden was racy throughout the event but his day came to an end when he got mixed up in a late race multi-car incident. Pictured here, he is followed by Brazilians Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan. Image Credit: Marshall Pruett via SPEED

TWEET - Ross Bynum @therossbynum - Newgarden with fastest lap in race so far...wow. #IndyCar #SaoPauloIndy @SFHRindy @SarahFisher

Lap 60 of 75 has Dixon by 3.1 seconds over Power, RHR, Dario, Helio, Rubens, Sato, Manica, Conway, and JR Hildebrand.

Carpenter spins - Full course caution - Pits currently closed - All cars on Lap 63 track behind caution car - Pits OPEN!

TWEET - Danielle Asphall @DannieAsphall - Man, I'm a ball of nerves right now. #IndyCar #saopauloindy

Scott Dixon in ... fuel ... and out in P13 which sets up a RESTART with Power, RHR, Dario Franchitti, and Helio Castroneves on the front two rows - WOW!!!!!

TWEET - F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive - Looks like a disaster for Dixon - he gambled on staying out but his lead has been destroyed now. #IndyCar

TWEET - IndyCar Mom @IndyCarMom - I have to say how bad I want @rubarrichello to win so we can gain some #F1 fans. #callmedesparate #willbegforfans #iloveindycar #IndyCar

TWEET - Tim Moran @golic_2004 - Another car hits the wall. Looks like Newgarden... Caution #Indycar

This is the 12th consecutive race that Power has led. Newgarden pulls into the pits - broken, out of the race.

TWEET  - Ivan Renko @Ivan_Renko - Is the IZOD #IndyCar Series called "Formula Indy" in Brazil? I kinda like it.

Lap 67 of 75 RESTART - GREEN  Flag - Side-By-Side - A bunch of cars get balled up in turn 2 - a ton of chassis are just a mess - Full Course Caution!!!

Eight cars involved - Conway hits the wall in Turn 2 as he runs out of room - A call for all of the flatbeds in Sao Paulo to come to the track is put out - RED ALERT In Red Corner!

TWEET  - Tom Rowell @senorsoupe - That restart is why we love banzai Takuma Sato! He seemed to use the force just to get his car slow enough to get through turn 1 #indycar

New top 10 are Power, Hunter-Reay, Sato, Franchitti, Castroneves, Hinchcliffe, Hildebrand, Kimball, Viso, and Barrichello.

The "Formula IndyCars" get all piled up when Mike Conway runs out of room running on the outside of turn 2 and crunches the wall. One car after another had their nose cones collect under the car in front of them until eight cars were stopped and unable to continue. Image Credit: Sini Salminen via TWEET

TWEET - Sini Salminen @SiniF1 - RT @lightmasf1: ooooops! #IndyCar twitpic.com/9fagpq

Lap 71 of 75 - TWEET - Chris Tansley @ChrisTansley - Does the safety car have enough fuel? #Indycar

TWEET  - Austin Brauser @austinbrauser - What are the odds? An 8 car pile up and EJ Viso is not involved! #indycar #saopauloindy

Lap 72 RESTART - GREEN Flag Side-By-Side - Sambadrome turn 1 everyone safely through - Power out positions RHR!

Sato in the mix - tracking RHR - Castroneves being chased by Dario Franchitti. Chevy, Chevy, Honda, Chevy, Honda in top five!

2 Laps to go - Will Power looks strong and may only be beaten if he makes a mistake - no drizzles, clear track, Paul Blevin waves the White Flag!

TWEET - Dan Takyi @D4NT4KY1 - Final lap now! Sato will be third! Sadly Rubens is only 10th after being 3rd at one stage #IndyCar

Helio Castroneves was the highest placing driver of the hometown contingent at P4. He was able to hold off Dario Franchitti and survive a practice crash and a couple of on-track incidents to come back to P2 in season championship points. Image Credit: Marshall Pruett via SPEED

Checkered Flag - Will Power Three-Peats the Sambadrome!!! Wins third race on the season - Dixon, nearest in points, drops positions.

TWEET - IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar - It's @12WillPower again! AAR's Hunter-Reay and RLR's Sato finish on podium, Sato's first one! #saopauloindy #indycar2012

TWEET - Matt White @MattW1986 - Good recovery from @dariofranchitti to 5th #indycar

TWEET  - Dave Furst @DaveFurst - If it's a non-oval, its Will Power. It'll be interesting to see how the #IndyCar dynamic changes during the month of May. #Indy500

TWEET - lookingspiffy @lookingspiffy - Good stuff from the #BrazilianMafia today. Most vexed by that last restart, though. #IndyCar

Will Power jumps off of the front nose of his Verizon Team Penske #12 - in interview says he is happy that it did not really rain on the race all day.

Ryan Hunter-Reay - "Will runs such a clean race. I tried to jump him but he was able to keep the position on the restart."

TAKU - "We had a nice race, really - I'm really excited for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing - Fantastic. We finally got a good result going into Indianapolis."

Helio Castroneves started in P20 and ends up P4 as the highest placing Brazilian! "In the end, Takuma made a kamikaze move and was able to hold until the end.

The Twitter, the people were supporting me saying nice things."

TWEET - NBC Sports @NBCSports - Will Power earns his third consecutive #indycar win, taking the Sao Paolo 300. See the stats here: scores.nbcsports.msnbc.com/nascar/leaderb… @IndyCar

Engine Wars Update: Chevy, Chevy, Honda, Chevy, Honda, Chevy, Chevy, Honda Chevy, and Chevy ... Lotus just misses out of a top 10 finish with Wix Filter Dreyer and Reibold Racing's Oriol Srevia posting up at P11 in this team's last race for Lotus this season (will be using Chevrolet-power in their DW12 for the balance of the season). The next closest running Lotus-powered DW12 was McAfee Dragon Racing's Sebastien Bourdais at P18.

It is now on to the season's first oval race at the "Greatest Spectacle In Racing" with the month of May's INDY500!

... notes from The EDJE




** Article first published as "A Rough And Tumble Round 4 Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 Presented By Nestle" at Technorati **

Will Power's First Celebration At The 38th Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach

Will Power gives a thumbs-up to lucky photographer, Myles Regan, as he celebrates his improbable and masterful second win at the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and the first win for the new Chevrolet-powered DW12 Dallara. Image Credit: Myles Regan (2012)

Will Power's First Celebration At The 38th Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach

This posting serves to clear the record as to when Verizon Team Penske's Will Power was first able to celebrate his second win on the temporary street course that has served as a race venue, now, for 38 years. Most people think that the celebration would not really begin until the car and driver arrive at Victory Circle where all of the credentialed photographers stake out a good position to capture the action on the provided riser. Today, this was not the case - EVIDENCE HERE.

At the end of the race, Helio Castroneves (Penske-Chevy) did a chrome-horn nudge with the front of his DW12 to rear of former F1 driver Rubens Barrichello (KVRT-Chevy) at the apex of the hairpin turn #11. Rubens spun and blocked Helio from going around Rubens car and Helio, in turn, blocked Justin Wilson (Dale Coyne-Honda) and both Helio and Justin ended up being stalled with their cars unable to pass thus shutting down the rest of the straight-away to the Start/Finish line. Penske's Ryan Briscoe, however, was able to sneak through before the orange-suited Holmatro IZOD IndyCar Series Safety Team were able to take over and straighten out the mess in the corner.

What happened next is the stuff of footnote legend - Will Power came up to the apex of turn #11 and was completely stopped.

Upon recognizing his plight ... and then in a move that showed he could no longer contain his excitement at winning his second Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach race (after three consecutive pole positions and no win), he unstrapped himself, got out of the car, and shared his celebration with fellow stuck drivers, the crowd in the bleachers closest to the turn, the crews that came out to clear the mess, and the photographers who were tucked in at the "island" apex shooting location.

One has to love the back story that not only did Chevy win the race and place a second car on the podium (Andtetti Autosport's James Hinchcliffe - "Mayor of Hinchtown"/"Manica") at P3 ... they took 7 of the top 10 places in the race after being penalized 10 positions to start the race. The closest Chevy on the grid at race start was Penske's Ryan Briscoe at P11.

At race end, two Chevy's get together and blocked the track to the final straight that led to the Start/Finish line. One would assume that Beaux Barfield, Director of Race Control had to "call" the race and sort out the finishing order due to the blockage.

Power gives a personal honor to the creators and race engineers of his Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet-powered twin-turbo DW12 Dallara as he bends over to suggest a kiss on the car through his helmet. Image Credit: Myles Regan (2012) 

Myles Regan of Regan Digital Images (regandigitalimages.com), being the professional he is, kept the camera clicking away in gang-shot mode and he shared a file that contains about 140 images or so that are just excellent and capture the whole incident ... even down to Will Power bending over his Verizon Penske Chevy and giving it a kiss through his helmet on the nose cowling that covers the suspension. The Video here shows the images Myles was able to capture in post-race turn #11 which are just priceless.

For the second time this month, Will Power came into an IZOD IndyCar Series race expecting nothing more than a top-five finish to secure valuable points in the championship.

But with two victories in the young season - starting from ninth at Barber and 12th at Long Beach - the hard-charging Aussie might be changing his outlook. Starting an IndyCar race from the pole position ... of which Power has 10 over the past 20 races, including one this year, might not be the automatic ticket to Victory Circle.

Having to start the race from the 12th position in the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 15 (due to a 10-grid position penalty assessed to all Chevrolet teams for unapproved engine changes), Power squeezed 31 laps from 18.5 gallons of fuel on the 1.968-mile street circuit while being chased down by former ChampCar World Series team-mate (Team Aussie), Simon Pagenaud, the final 15 laps. Will Power won by 0.8675 of a second.

"I could not believe it," said Power, who notched his 17th IZOD IndyCar Series victory. "You always believe that it is possible to win or get on the podium, but it was very unlikely, the fact that it was going to be a two‑stop race. But it was just amazing that Simon did three stops and I did two stops, like two different strategies and the result was similar. There was hardly any time between us as we crossed the finish line.

"It's just always a surprise in IndyCar, I think. You can never predict; you can never assume going into a race. You just have to be smart as it plays out.

"This was a very sweet victory because I've been on pole here in 2009, '10 and '11, and it just frustrated me that every year something would happen and I couldn't win. Once again this weekend, I'm starting 12th and I felt as though, 'That's impossible to win. I've got another bad year at Long Beach.

"But it was just a good race. I pushed hard all the time, no mistakes, great strategy, and just a great team effort again."

The team effort has led Will Power and Team Penske to the top of the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings by 24 points over team-mate Helio Castroneves heading to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where Power has won the past two years running.

Last year, after not converting the Long Beach pole into a podium (he finished 10th in the third race of the season), Power was seven points to the rear of Dario Franchitti. He wound up second in the standings - by 18 points, which included eight bonus points for a corresponding numbers of pole wins -- for the second consecutive year.

Power added that the team effort is spread across the organization, which has swept the three races (Castroneves winning the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg). The Long Beach IndyCar Series win was Team Penske's first since 2001, when Castroneves prevailed.

"I think it's just that they've been probably one of the best prepared with the new car," Power said. "We did a lot of miles (since manufacturer testing began in November). Chevy has worked very hard, and obviously our first hit of the year ‑‑ obviously the 10‑spot grid penalty was a precautionary thing and didn't affect us too badly.

"To me, it has been hard work. I think my guys feel very confident no matter where we start now that it's always possible."

A hand thrust through the air by former ChamCar World Series driver Will Power denotes the joy of winning (for the second time) the grand dame of all American open-wheel temporary street course races - the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Myles Regan (2012)

By The Numbers - Race #3 On The Streets Of Long Beach:
Some numbers to note following the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third of sixteen events planned for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season.

0 - Lotus-powered cars on the podium in the 2012 season.

1 - Wins at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach by a Chevy-powered DW12

2 - Wins by Will Power at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in a turbo-charged car -- one in a CCWS Panoz DP-01 and one in the Chevy-powered DW12.

3 - Drivers who have finished in the top 10 in each of the first three IZOD IndyCar Series events: Will Power, James Hinchcliffe and Simon Pagenaud.

5 - Different teams represented in the top five in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

7 - Different teams represented in the top 10 in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings.

9 - Lead changes in each of the first three race of the season. Percentage points increase in viewership on NBC Sports Network (formally Versus) over the same number of races in 2011.

11 - Positions gained from race start and consecutive races led by Will Power dating to 2011.

11.5 - Average starting position for Will Power in his two wins in 2012.

13 - Positions gained by James Hinchcliffe in securing P3 podium position standing with Simon Pagenaud - P2 and Will Power - P1.

15 - Positions gained by Tony Kanaan and JR Hildebrand in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, most of any drivers… Positions gained by Kanaan in IZOD IndyCar Series standings by finishing fourth at Long Beach as he advanced from 26th to 11th.

24 - Points separating Will Power (127) and Helio Castroneves in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings.

26 - Laps led by Simon Pagenaud -- nine more laps than he had led in his previous 20 Indy car starts.

184 - Consecutive IndyCar starts for Tony Kanaan dating to the 2001 CART race in Portland.

170,000+ - Fans who attended the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach event weekend, according to information released by the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, the event promoter.

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, winner Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach): "It's a great day for the Verizon Team Penske Chevy. We really didn't think it was possible to win from 12th place here because it was a two-stop race, but once again with (strategist) Tim (Cindric), Dave (Faustino), my engineer, and all the boys we overcame a 10-spot penalty." (About Pagenaud bump): "When Pagenaud hit my tire, I thought he should have had a penalty for that. So I was happy beating him because I was kind of angry at him for ruining another one of my races." (About Pagenaud closing in on the lead in the final laps): "They told me (Pagenaud) was coming and that I had a four-second gap and just needed to save as much (fuel) as I could and then I ran hard at the end, the last lap or two, and it was enough."

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports, finished second): "It was fantastic. The car was great from the beginning. The guys, they did a great job running. We're a one-car team operation, we don't have as much data as Penske or Ganassi, but I'm glad we're giving them a good run for their money. One more lap, man, I would have tried I tell you."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 Team GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, finished third): "The credit has got to go to Firestone. The tires that they bring here are letting us race, and it's mixing things up with different tire strategies. It was certainly exciting from where I was. I hope it was exciting for you guys in the stands, and thanks to all the fans that come out to the race because this is just one of the best events we go to all year bar none. The guys up in the stand were making all the right calls. I don't know, it's something about this race track that treats me well and I've been trying to get this first podium. We start in the front row and it doesn't happen.We start in the second row and it doesn't happen, and after Barber I said to myself, 'I bet $20 bucks my first podium comes in some bizarre circumstance where I start off in the teens,' and sure enough, here you go."

RUBENS BARRICHELLO (No. 8 BMC/ Embrase - KV Racing Technology Chevrolet, finished ninth): "Honestly I had a good race today. There were so many yellows the team used a strategy that had me saving fuel. Once we knew we were going to be short, I started to push hard. I would just like people to have more respect for each other on the track.   I was hit on every side of my car. .Apart from that, I enjoyed myself today.   To start so far back and finish in the top-10 again shows I am getting better and better, so hopefully I will have my best result two weeks from now in Brazil."

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, finished seventh): "We just were stuck in traffic all day long. It's a real shame because I think we had the quickest car out there and we just couldn't do anything with it. We had a bad pit stop, the first one, and that put us way behind and from there we couldn't go anywhere. It was just a really frustrating day."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Auto Club Team Penske Chevrolet): "We were just trying to finish and there were two cars in front of me and Rubens, and Rubens was being, I think, a bit cautious and stopped the car and he stopped too much—to the point that I obviously touched him. My intention was never to pass him, but we ended up blocking the track."

Thank you Helio, for creating (and Myles Regan for capturing) a special unscripted moment to make this 38th edition of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach one of the most entertaining in years ... with a post-race celebration worthy of the event-winning moment.

Next weekend catch race #4, the IZOD IndyCar Series Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle April 29, 2012: Streets of Sao Paulo. The race will be broadcast - on cable - live on NBC Sports Channel (formally Versus) at 11:00AM ET - SiriusXM Satellite Radio on Channel 94 - with Live Timing & Scoring from the web here - http://content.indycar.com/racecontrol - Also, follow the action at Twitter with the #hashtag - #saopauloindy - Sao Paulo Indy 300 (@IndyemSaoPaulo).

... notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as Will Power's First Celebration At The 38th Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach on Technorati **

Lotus Legion May Not Be At Full Strength At Indy500

With plenty to risk and little to gain by spending the money to race in Brazil, Bryan Herta and team co-owner Steve Newey will leave the Lotus Barracuda-BHA and Alex Tagliani's pit stall empty in Sao Paulo. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Lotus Legion May Not Be At Full Strength At Indy500

There is trouble in the teams that make up the DW12's outfitted with the Lotus/Judd engine and this real issue may show itself before the crown jewel race of the 2012 season.

Marshall Pruett of SPEED.com published an exclusive report highlighting the pressures of a sport that combines technology, competition, and advertising promotion as a history-making business enterprise.

Basically two of the four teams are so unhappy with the fact that Lotus, while not missing its commitment to field engines for races this season, has been really behind on the fulfillment of its commitment to meet the competitive demands of the series. Lotus Dragon Racing (LDR) did not have an engine to mount into one of their two cars (four-time ChampCar World Series Champion, Sebastien Bourdais) before the St. Petersburg race until the very evening before (Thursday) the first practice on Friday. Despite seeing some promising performance in the first two of three races from the four-time ChampCar World Series Champion, the overall performance and the timing of the delivery of engines does not allow any time for testing and this has effected all of the teams that are in the Lotus Legion - Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA), Lotus Dragon Racing (LDR), HVM Racing, and Lotus Dreyer Reinbold Racing (DRR).

This becomes a little like one of those what came first situations ... the chicken or the egg. Worse, is this situation even solvable?

No timely delivery equals no testing / no testing equals no performance results and feedback / no performance eventually leads to no advertisers to sponsor the car.

The main focus is beginning to place pressure on the decisions that need to be made by the series and the business viability of having a Lotus/Judd engine in a car when teams can not be assured of having engines to test and be competitive. Breach of contract filings from the teams in the Lotus Legion are being delivered to the manufacturer - where this goes, no one knows.

The IZOD IndyCar Series key person who will have to make a decision, and soon, on what to do next and avert a true mutiny within the Lotus Legion and a potential disaster is Will Phillips, IndyCar’s VP of Technology.

Katherine Legge of Marina Del Rey, CA based Dragon Racing. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

This excerpted and edited from SPEED.com -

INDYCAR: Tough Decisions Pending By The Series, Lotus, Its Teams
Lotus confirms in a SPEED.com exclusive that two of its teams have asked to switch manufacturers, but is it what the series needs and will it be allowed?
Marshall Pruett | Posted April 18, 2012

IndyCar fans have been treated to arguably the three best opening races in series history, but at the back of the grid, a much more serious—and far less pleasant—concern has finally reached its boiling point.

With three rounds completed, the bulk of the Lotus-powered teams have been mostly invisible in the final results, experiencing one gut-wrenching problem after another.
----
The conflict between Lotus and its teams reached a fever pitch when the marque informed its entrants that engines would not be made available for the April 4th test at Indianapolis, leaving Bryan Herta Autosport, Dragon Racing, HVM Racing and Lotus DRR in a very awkward position.

With the prospect of showing up to Indy next month with zero miles of testing on the Lotus engine around the 2.5-mile oval (not to mention teams starting IndyCar’s most important event with no laps of testing at the Brickyard on their Dallara DW12s), some of its teams have now filed breach of contract paperwork with the manufacturer.

A dispute between the manufacturer and those teams regarding the exact wording and obligations in their supply contracts has ensued, but the message being sent is clear: showing up late and unprepared for IndyCar’s Super Bowl is a surefire way to perform poorly, to possibly miss making the show and, when all is said and done, to kiss their sponsors goodbye.
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Asked what the best-case scenario would be to come out of the breach of contract notices, one owner said receiving permission from the series to switch to a different engine manufacturer was the ultimate goal.

Simona de Silvestro of Britain-based HVM Racing. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Will Phillips, INDYCAR’s VP of Technology, holds the authority to allow said changes, but declined to comment when asked if he would permit any of the Lotus teams to change manufacturers during the season.
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In a follow-up e-mail on Wednesday, Miodrag Kotur, Lotus’ Director of Motorsports Operations, confirmed that “We have also [have two teams], who would like to switch to another engine supplier, but it is still in discussion with us.”
----
To give some additional context to that scenario, the two Lotus teams would rather spend an additional $1 million to get a Chevy or Honda engine--which will have an increased engine pool size after Indy--and forfeit the money they’ve already paid to Lotus than to stay with their current supplier.
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In a half-hour interview just before Sunday's Long Beach Grand Prix, Kotur fired back at a variety of comments, accusations and questions regarding his employers.

“Since the beginning of the year, there’s a lot of rumors that Lotus is not doing well, that Lotus will not be around, that Lotus will not be at Indy, that Lotus is not able to make the engines…as far as I know we are here…we did not miss any races,” he said. “Obviously, we are a little bit behind from our competitors; we are working very hard with Judd to reach the same level [as] Honda and GM. It is not easy. Those guys are in the business since years at Indy, especially Honda. We are new, and start six months later. I don’t know why and from where these rumors are coming that we are in breach of contract. I would like to know where is the breach of the contract.”

After informing Kotur that the breach of contract issue was no longer a secret, and that missing the Indy test seemed to be the catalyst—the point of no return for some of his teams--he offered a more credible response.

“The teams obviously they complain about this test we haven’t done, but there is some reason--to be able to secure future races, we prefer to keep the engines and to work on them and to continue to develop the engines than to go to this test," he admitted. "Obviously, it would have been better [to be] there, but this is a decision we have made. And if you go through the contracts, there is nothing saying we have to participate in all the tests. If we had been told to be present at this test by INDYCAR because it was mandatory, we would have been present, but it was not.

“I am in motorsports [for many] years; obviously the more you are testing, the better it is. I don’t want to say we are confident going into Indy without testing on the oval, especially Indianapolis. Maybe if we went there [to the IMS test], maybe we would today have some struggles with the engine. It will be one month for us to have enough engines to be very comfortable, it will be a little bit problematic, but we aren’t in any way in breach of contract.”

Kotur also offered a blunt assessment of the teams Lotus is partnered with, and although it appears he forgot that Bryan Herta Autosport won its first race of 2011 (the Indy 500 with Dan Wheldon) and was running fourth (with Alex Tagliani at Las Vegas) when the second race was cancelled, the Yugoslavian’s sentiment was no less impactful.

Oriol Servia with Dreyer & Deinbold Racing has been one of the most competitive and consistant drivers over the last couple of years. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

“Herta, Dreyer, HVM…they cannot also expect to be at the front of the grid,” he said. “Even last year, they were not at the front of the grid. You find the same people at front, Penske and Ganassi. So we not only have to work on the engine, we have to work on the car. And also to work with [Lotus’ teams] on the car. We ask them, ‘Where can we help you?’ I don’t want to say that in one month things will change completely, but slowly, we have improved. By the end of the year, the gap will be completely closed.”

Being on the receiving end of complaints from his teams and criticism from the media was an obvious source of frustration for Kotur and his colleagues.
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With a limited number of engines to offer its teams (eight total powerplants for five cars through Long Beach), engines have been sent back to EDL’s base in England between races for inspection, making it hard for teams to conduct private tests on their own.
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Provided it comes to fruition, Kotur expects Lotus’ engine pool to nearly double next month.

“We will for sure have more engines for Indy,” he said. “We will need them. It’s a long race, and we will have [practice] before the race. We will have fresh engines for the race. Our plan is to have more or less five additional engines for the race.”
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“I think it will be resolved in a few weeks, but we are committed to motorsport,” Kotur said of the nearly completed sale of Lotus. “We in fact want to invest more in the engine program and that is under discussion in the factory. You have to invest if you want to reach a certain level in motorsport. You have to spend it properly. If you see in Formula One, Toyota was spending the most and they didn’t reach the target. Obviously you need money, but you also need time. You need time, you need people and you need money.”

To Lotus’ credit, it appears to be interested in appeasing the two disgruntled teams, but it may be a case of too little, too late.
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With the financial health of the two teams serving as the greatest concern, reducing Lotus’ engine supply burden could actually help the manufacturer to solve its problems and to become more competitive at a faster rate.

Stretched painfully thin at the moment, Lotus comes out ahead with a reduced car count, and if Chevy or Honda is capable of adding an extra lease apiece, the two teams can reassure their sponsors that sticking with them—and the series—is a worthwhile venture.

On the other hand, Lotus, (at least judging by some of Kotur’s statements and his general demeanor in our interview), seems interested in ramping up its efforts, so maybe it would be better for all involved to stick together.
[Reference Here]

Lotus may have bit off more than it can chew in delivering on a plan for competitive success. As little as this Lotus’ Director of Motorsports Operations, Miodrag Kotur thinks of the driving capabilities of Sebastien Bourdais and Oriol Servia ... the best solution may be a quick decesion by Will Phillips, INDYCAR’s VP of Technology to have Dragon Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing jump to the other engine manufacturers and let the dust settle before the teams meet to engage the process of being in the field of 33 cars to start the “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

As it stands, (Lotus) Team Barracuda-BHA and Alex Tagliani have decided to skip competing in Round 4/Brazil citing its recent results, and the desire to prepare to defend its win at the Indy 500.
 

IndyCar's Lotus Legion becomes less by two out of five - gone are Bryan Herta Autosports and Dreyer Reinbold Racing. Side-by-side racing here at Long Beach looking for new engines are Alex Tagliani (L) and Oriol Servia. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

UPDATE:
Lotus Raises IndyCar Commitment
Lotus Press Release – 24 April 2012

When Lotus entered the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series, the regulatory requirement to supply multiple teams and the late timing of Lotus’ entry placed a significant restriction on the development programme. It was clear from the start that the 2012 season was going to be a huge challenge as Lotus debuted its IndyCar engine, but it was a challenge that Lotus was determined to meet.

Lotus was further hindered by unanticipated difficulties caused by the widely reported change of ownership and the subsequent restrictions on resources. To have achieved a top ten position under these circumstances is pretty impressive.

That said, Lotus has acknowledged that whilst the engine has demonstrated a lot of promise, minimal testing has resulted in reliability issues.

Having now had the experience and feedback from the first three races of the season, Lotus undertook a strategic review of its position to decide what course of action would be in the best interests of IndyCar and the teams it supports.

Following this review, Lotus is pleased to announce in cooperation with IndyCar that, whilst it remains fully committed to IndyCar in the long term, Lotus has taken the decision to reduce the number of cars it runs from five to three for the remainder of the season. As a consequence of this decision, Lotus has made offers to Bryan Herta Autosport LLC and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing LLC to end the agreements with them. Bryan Herta Autosport LLC will not participate in any further races as a Lotus team and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing LLC will race one more time in Brazil next weekend.

Going forward, Lotus is excited to be working closely with Lotus HVM Racing, the original partner team and Lotus Dragon Racing, who delivered Lotus’ best result so far this season. Lotus wishes Bryan Herta Autosport LLC and Dreyer & Reinbold LLC the very best of luck for the future.

Lotus also intends to continue to assist its engine supplier Engine Developments Limited (EDL) by providing additional resources and financial support to expedite the development program. The details of the arrangement are currently being finalised and the additional support should result in an increased engine performance for the rest of the season.

Claudio Berro, Director of Motorsport Group Lotus, said: “Lotus in IndyCar is like David versus Goliath. We are and always will be a niche British sports car company built for the few not the many. That said I’m delighted with our solution and I can assure everybody that the actions were taken after careful consideration and will assist in ensuring the brand’s high racing ambitions and the high expectations of the IndyCar community are realised.”

Randy Bernard, CEO IndyCar, commented: “IndyCar is committed to ensuring that our teams and manufacturers have a platform to remain competitive. We support Lotus’ decision and will assist Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Bryan Herta Autosport in securing engine support for the remainder of the season.”

ENDS

Truthfully … how in the HE-double toothpicks can Lotus say, as they did in the title of their presser, “Lotus Raises IndyCar Commitment” when they greatly reduce the talent (DRR’s Oriol Servia & BHA’s Alex Tagliani) and car count. This action suggests that they are backing away and limiting the chances of sharing testing information with the one very-proven driver they have left – four-time ChampCar World Series Champion (turbo-charged powered engines) Sebastien Bourdais (apologies to Katherine Legge and Simona De Silvestro).

... notes from The EDJE

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** Article first published as Lotus Legion May Not Be at Full Strength at Indy500 on Technorati **