Bumpy Baltimore Gets A Rubbing In With IndyCar & ALMS

Conquest Racing's Sebastian Saavedra occupied his time [during the initial event delay] with engineering and drivers meetings, tweeting, checking email and even working in a brief nap before being jostled by the bumps of the Pratt Street frontstretch in the No. 34 Bogota Es Mundial entry in front of tens of thousands of enthusiastic spectators. Caption & Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series


Bumpy Baltimore Gets A Rubbing In With IndyCar & ALMS

A group of downtown streets converted into a shiny new racing circuit will always have its start up problems. The first day warm-ups (as well as qualifying for the American Le Mans Series) with the two racing series competing in the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix were no different.

First off, the beginning to the schedule was moved off for about four hours due to last minute safety improvements to the fencing that defined the 2-mile, 12-turn track.

The reaction of many of the drivers overall, was quite positive ... for example, Will Power after posting the fastest time in Baltimore with a best lap time of 1 minute, 22.1739 seconds which translates to 89.411 mph, had a good time learning the course with a couple of non-damaging "offs".

Penske Racing's Will Power, needing to make up 26 points, sets fast lap during the first practice period at the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

"You are working the entire time and it is a pretty cool track," said Power, who won the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma five days earlier to tighten the championship points duel with front-runner Dario Franchitti to 26 behind. "They did a really good job creating the circuit. It takes a lot of commitment and there are several technical bits. It's bumpy and I think it will be a great race."

After a 75 minute warm-up and about a 90 minute break, the ALMS went out to set their positions for the start of their race on Saturday. The fastest qualifier overall was the Dyson Racing LMP1 Lola B09 86/Mazda shared by Guy Smith and Chris Dyson where Brit Guy Smith set his fourth class pole with a fast pace of 1 minute, 27.750 seconds (83.692 mph).

Guy Smith takes his Mazda LMP1 to the streets of Baltimore. Image Credit: ALMS

“I think the people of Baltimore have done a great job with the circuit and gave us as much track time as they could,” said Smith, who will drive with Chris Dyson. “With a new circuit, there are always teething problems. But they gave us a great track. It's bumpy and it’s demanding, but that’s what street courses are all about.”

In the GT Class, BMW Team RLL was once again at the top of the charts with the #55 BMW M3 GT of Bill Auberlin and Dirk Werner with Werner posting a fast lap of 1 minute 31.362 seconds (80.834 mph) ... the team car to the season points leading #56 BMW M3 GT of Joey Hand and Dirk Muller.

Dirk Werner gets his wheels to bounce over the temporary curbing that defines the track on the streets of Baltimore. Image Credit: ALMS

“It's amazing to have a pole this year,” said Werner. “The car is really fantastic; it has been this whole season - especially our car. We have had a lot of close calls this year [in qualifying] but we never got that pole. The team is very competitive with drivers who can be quick. So to be here at the new track, is really great.

“After free practice going into qualifying we looked at the data from the sessions and looked who had the best turns and speeds so we could learn a lot in a few short minutes,” Werner continued. “You could see how from the short time we've been on track we keep getting faster. We could actually be going faster at the end of the race than we are right now. It shows how great our team is and finding the settings for the street circuit. (The tires) are really holding up over the long drives.”

Top shot of the Dyson Racing #16-LMP1 Lola B09 86/Mazda. Image Credit: ALMS

Based on comments made by many of the drivers of both series, this Baltimore street venue drives like St. Pete with a crowd more like the festival atmosphere imparted by the grand-daddy of all American street races at Long Beach. Not a bad review for a near Washington D.C. venue.

The American Le Mans Series Baltimore Grand Prix is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 3. The race will air on ABC, Sunday, Sept. 4 at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT) and be shown live in the U.S. on ESPN3 or americanlemans.com outside the U.S. Live coverage also will be available on Rogers Sportsnet One in Canada and MotorsTV in Europe.

The IZOD IndyCar Series Baltimore Grand Prix - Baltimore, MD Streets of Baltimore - Qualifications, 6:00 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT) Saturday, Sept. 3 on Versus / Race, 2:00 (11 a.m. PT) p.m. ET Sunday, Sept 4 on Versus with both broadcast on www.indycar.com - multimedia timing & scoring with concurrent radio broadcast.

... notes from The EDJE

MAZDASPEED Motorsports Starts To Crown 2011 Supported Series Season Champions

Driving the Juncos Racing TrueCar sponsored Star Mazda, the Californian rookie, 16-year-old Gustavo Menezes participated in what was probably the best on-track battle of the day at the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear race during the recently held Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (more). Image Credit: juncosracing.com/MAZDASPEED Motorsports


MAZDASPEED Motorsports Starts To Crown 2011 Supported Series Season Champions

The inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix kicks off six straight weeks of season finales for over 200 Mazda racers ranging from SCCA and NASA club racers to professional teams in Grand-Am and ALMS. There will be over 50 individual races at nine different tracks at ten different events.

As the seasons conclude, Mazda is leading the manufacturers’ points championships in ALMS LMP1, Grand-Am GT, and Continental Tire ST. Mazda racers are leading the ALMS drivers championship, and within reach of the Grand-Am GT drivers championship.

As a part of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Ladder and the Mazda Road to Indy, Mazda will be crowning champions in the Star Mazda Championship, USF2000 Championship, Skip Barber Nationals, and Playboy MX-5 Cup. These drivers will be promoted to the next level in 2012 with Mazda support.

Club racing is the heart and soul of Mazda, and the two biggest annual events for club racers takes place at two of the classic tracks – The NASA Championship at Mid-Ohio and the SCCA Runoffs at Road America.

John Doonan, Motorsports Director, Mazda North American Operations, noted that “The 2011 season has been non-stop since January with the Rolex 24 at Daytona, but September will bring out the best in our racers as they aim to finish on a high note. The fact that we have the potential to score three manufacturers championships is a testament to the amazing teamwork and dedication of all of our teams, drivers, and partners. Going head-to-head with some of the top brands in the world shows that Mazda can produce world class cars for both the racetrack and the street.”

September 2-4 Baltimore Grand Prix

American Le Mans Series Presented by Patron

Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda – FINALE

Also:

SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup @ Brainerd International Raceway

September 10-11 NASA National Championships @ Mid-Ohio

400+ club racers in over two dozen classes

Also:

BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda @ Autobahn Country Club

September 16-18 ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey @ Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

American Le Mans Series Presented by Patron

Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear – FINALE

September 16-17 Grand-Am & Continental Tire FINALES @ Mid-Ohio

September 23-25 48th Annual SCCA Runoffs @ Road America

600+ club racers in over two dozen classes

Sept 28 – Oct 1 Petit Le Mans @ Road Atlanta

American Le Mans Series Presented by Patron – FINALE

SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup – FINALE

Pirelli World Challenge - FINALE

October 6-8 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda FINALE @ Lime Rock

October 7-8 Formula D – FINALE @ Toyota Speedway

... notes from The EDJE

[Article first published as MAZDASPEED Motorsports Starts to Crown 2011 Supported Series Season Champions on Technorati]

Toyota Motorsport GmbH Successful At Electric Vehicle Timed Speed Record

The TMG EV P001 electric vehicle next to its new electric lap record time at the Nürburgring Nordschleife [ctrl-click image to launch video of speed record run]. Image Credit: Toyota Motorsport GmbH

Toyota Motorsport GmbH Successful At Electric Vehicle Timed Speed Record

Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) has set a new lap record for an electric vehicle (EV) at the legendary 20.8km Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany.

The TMG EV P001, with 100% electric powertrain and Jochen Krumbach at the wheel, set a new lap record of 7mins 47.794secs to beat the previous lap record, which stood at 9mins 1.338secs, by a very substantial margin.

The TMG EV P001 electric vehicle on its way to setting a new lap record for electric vehicles at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Image Credit: Toyota Motorsport GmbH

Using two electric motors, the TMG electric powertrain has a top speed of 260km/h (161.556509981707 miles per hour) which combined with 800Nm of torque to achieve impressive speeds on the extremely challenging Nordschleife track, which includes significant elevation changes and lengthy flat-out sections.

TMG’s target, prior to the 29 August record run, was to become the first electric vehicle break the eight-minute barrier and this was achieved comfortably on a day when the notoriously changeable Nürburgring weather stayed fine, although track temperatures were relatively low.

The TMG EV P001 electric vehicle photo shot before its lap record attempt at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Image Credit: Toyota Motorsport GmbH

Such performance shows TMG’s electric powertrain is ideal to power any future single-make electric motorsport series and TMG will begin commercial sales of this technology in 2012. TMG continues to advance its electric vehicle capability for motorsport applications with in-house development of the electric powertrain and ongoing investigations into alternative chassis solutions.

The future of alternative powertrain racing (non-petro/non-liquid fuel) is at hand ... but, to what end?

... notes from The EDJE

Will Power's Rally In The Valley - IZOD IndyCar Series Race 14 of 18

Penske Racing teammates (Power, Castroneves, and Briscoe) hold the line against the rest of the field during the double-file start of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Image Credit: Richard Dowdy via IZOD IndyCar Series


Will Power's Rally In The Valley - IZOD IndyCar Series Race 14 of 18

From the command of "Drivers, start your engines" and the audio of "Row 1, Hot" - "Row 2, Hot" - "Row 3, Hot" - and etc. one felt that this was the race that would keep the 2011 points race alive as the sound of the Honda engines echoed throughout the Sonoma valley. Power, at 46 points down to Dario Franchitti, had to win and keep the Target Chip Ganassi drivers (Franchitti and Dixon) as far down in the order that was legally possible. Qualifications gave a blessing to Will and the rest of the Penske Racing team with a 1-2-3 starting position with Helio Castroneves, and Ryan Briscoe acting as protection to any erosion to the running order from the starting grid of the race.

From the very drop of the Green Flag starting the race, Ryan Briscoe kept the Red Target team cars behind both Will Power and Helio Castroneves which allowed Power to pull comfortably away.

All went smoothly through to the first round of pitstops by the leaders with eight cars opting to come in earlier for a change of sequence. On lap 5 of 75, Tony Kanaan running back at P25, was the first to opt for a change to Red tires and a change in pit sequence followed by Takuma Sato, JR Hildebrand, Simon Pagenaud, Charlie Kimball Danica Patrick, and Vitor Meira.

First, Mike Conway from P7 on Lap 22 of 75 began the process with Tagliani, who had just been passed by Graham Rahal due to poor handling in on Lap 23. Hinchcliff, Ryan Hunter-Raey, Helio Castroneves on LAP 25.

Lap 26 has Dixon taking on primary Black tires. Next on Lap 26 Power comes into the pits, leaving Briscoe leading until Lap 28.

Briscoe comes out in sequence with all three Penske Racing cars holding station at 1-2-3 keeping Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon behind. This may seem boreing to some, but clean and precise racing to a strategy toward a championship is just that ... predictable and boreing. Gotta' love it if ya' like a tight season points race.

Top 10 after 32 laps of 75 sees Power, Castroneves, Briscoe, Franchitti, Dixon, Pantano, Hinchcliffe, Viso, Bourdais, and Rahal.

On TV, Robin Miller reports that there are about 130,000 people in attendance as opposed to about 30,000 sitting in the stands at the last race (oval) in Loudon, New Hampshire.

Fan stands are full of people who traveled to the middle of nowhere to see a premiere open-wheel race for season championship points. Image Credit: Shawn Gritzmacher via IZOD IndyCar Series

Robin asked Randy Bernard, CEO of IZOD IndyCar Series, if Sonoma was on the schedule for next year and Randy reported that the schedule has not been finalized and that the people who run Infineon Raceway have not committed to the race fee as yet.

Lap 39, Tony Kanaan stalls out on pit lane and appears to have an engine stuck at full throttle. KV Racing Technology's Kanaan retires from the race.

TWEET - Fieldof33 Paul Dalbey
Thank God for side-by-side. If hate to miss watching the sand grow.

TWEET - pressdog Bill Zahren
Nailed it. "@spikerogan: @99forever You could make nachos from scratch and not miss a thing. By scratch I mean from growing the corn. lol"

Lap 45 of 75 has Will Power on the radio complaining about lapped traffic not clearing out of the way. It has him braking at odd times and kicking up some blue tire smoke.

All of the drivers are looking to get back on REDS again on the next pit sequence. Oriol Servia takes on a set and fuel on lap 47 - good to go all the way to the end.

Before this next round of stops, P1 Power leads P4 Franchitti by about 32 seconds. Castroneves pits on Lap 49 ... Dixon in for REDS ... 25 laps to go and more stops with side-by-side passing in the pits.

Lap 50 Will Power comes in with little traffic to contend with ... comes out ahead of Castroneves and all is right in the Penske world with Briscoe leading.

All top 10 drivers complete pit stops and are good to the end - Lap 53 P1 to P10 are Power, Castroneves, Briscoe, Franchitti, Dixon, Pantano, Hinchcliffe, Bourdais, Viso and Rahal.

TWEET - SBPopOffValve Mr. Pop Off Valve
Wally Dallenbach says (correctly) that Sonoma is a blast to drive. Doesn't make it any easier on the spectators.

TWEET - Fieldof33 Paul Dalbey
@SBPopOffValve I believe the Sr Official has discretion to mandate Power pull over, let Castroneves by, and drive rest of race 1 handed.

Lap 56 Marco Andretti brushes JR Hildebrand's rear tire causing a rear flat for the driver from the Sonoma area.

TWEET - AllenWedge Allen Wedge
Can't wait for the eventual Panther Racing press release saying JR got Marco'd

TWEET - PantherRacing Panther Racing
Marco & Hildebrand make contact for the second consecutive year @InfineonRaceway .... looked like that was on Marco to me. But I'm biased.

TWEET - toomuchracing Pat W
They want to bring Belle Isle back... that's even worse for IndyCar. I liked the ALMS there though

TWEET - 99forever Steph@MoreFrontWing
Interesting. TK refutes Cavin's story and says he's not signed at KV. #indycar

Ten laps remain and it is still Power, Castroneves, Briscoe, Franchitti, Dixon, Pantano, Hinchcliffe, Bourdais, Rahal, and Viso.

YELLOW Flag - Ho-Pin Tung slides out of control and into a tire wall - look out for a crazy restart as the cars get bunched up. Power looses about a 20 second cushion to the YELLOW Flag full course caution.

TWEET - IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series
Full course Yellow for incident in Turn 9 involving #88 Ho-Pin Tung cot.ag/d3QLxP

Restart cones are clearly defined and Power looses an advantage as to surprising the rest of the drivers as to when he will apply the fuel peddle to take off on the GREEN Flag.

Penske is sitting at 1-2-3 so, to be frank, who knows what Will Power is talking about.

TWEET - IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series
Back to Green @InfineonRaceway. cot.ag/d3QLxP

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN LAP 70 - Will Power gets the advantage and everyone comes back into station. Franchitti baubles and Dixon holds everyone else off.

TWEET - shagers Shane Rogers
Double file restarts are the best thing for these mickey mouse road courses. Drivers hate them, but they are awesome.

TWEET - SBPopOffValve Mr. Pop Off Valve
SATO DOES NOT RESPECT HIS BRAKES.

Saavedra and Conway get together and up the dirt bank on the last lap pushing hard for position.

Top 10 with four laps to go - Power, Castroneves, Briscoe, Franchitti, Dixon, Pantano, Bourdais, Hinchcliffe, Rahal, and Viso.

Verizon Penske Racing's Will Power takes the Checkered Flag at Infineon Raceway, Sears Point, in the Sonoma Valley. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

Will Power gets maximum points and wins the race. This will be his 5th win of the season and the most by any driver this season. Gains 20 points on the event and moves from being 46 points to 26 points down with only four races to go in the season.

TWEET - toomuchracing Pat W
Chequered. Snoozefest. Power and his teammates held station for the duration, followed by Dario and Dixon.

TWEET - racintoday Jim Pedley
Power Cruises At Infineon bit.ly/rhPlBs #indycar

TWEET - toomuchracing Pat W
Great drive by Pantano to take 6th in Wilson's car after not racing these cars for 6 years (and only then he did two starts).

TWEET - FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport
Checkered flag at @InfineonRaceway. Ryan 11, Mike 17, Danica 21, Marco 24.

TWEET -in dy44 Matt Archuleta
Ckrd Power Helio Briscoe Dario Dixon Pantano Bourdais Hinch Rahal Viso RHR Servia Plowman Ana Saavedra Pagenaud Conway Sato Jakes Tagliani

Will Power jumps once again into the wall of confetti at the winner's podium. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

TWEET - JamieLittleESPN Jamie Little
Penske sweeps the podium at Sonoma and Sweeps the @NASCAR and @IndyCar this weekend!

Post race interview has Power saying, "It was just a perfect race. This one is pretty important. I have been unbelievably motivated after a few bad races this season. I knew that Verizon Team Penske was better than this as a team and we came here with a good set-up, finished strong and we are on the right track now ... Verizon baby, we are back on top now!"

Fingers Up - Will Power was fined $30,000 for a gesture not too dis-similar to this gesture. That's right, Will was fined about $15,000 a finger when he showed his initial displeasure toward Brian Barnhart and the folks at Race Control at the decision to restart the race at Loudon, New Hampshire. At least Power has the sense of humor to mimic his fine-able action of a couple of weeks ago. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

Next up, a shiny, brand new temporary street course in Baltimore will have all teams searching for what will work. Penske had the "special sauce" here at Infineon Raceway but will they be able to maintain the edge and keep Dario and the Target Chip Ganassi racing team at bay. Thank God that hurricane Irene decided to show up on the East coast this week so everything remains on track for the season.

... notes from The EDJE


[Article first published as Will Power's Rally In The Valley - IZOD IndyCar Series Race 14 of 18 on Technorati]

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma Qualifications - Penske's Day At Sears Point

Penske Racing's Will Power as he navigates his way around the corners of Infineon Raceway while achieving his sixth PEAK Performance Pole Award of the season. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma Qualifications - Penske's Day At Sears Point

Qualifications for Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma by Team Penske, and in particular - Will Power, the session result could not have been planned any better. If Power has any hope of gaining points back on series points leader, Dario Franchitti, he needed to get the pole position and get as many places between himself and Dario to give any cushion at all.

Well, Team Penske came through with superior car preparation and an amazing performance put in by Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe to capture P2 and P3 on the grid in front of Franchitti for the race. For Dario's part, he did the best he could to maintain the first starting position behind Team Penske, leading Will Power going into this weekend by 46 points with only five races remaining (Road/Street cources at Sonoma, Baltimore, and Twin Ring Motegi followed by two oval courses in Kentucky and Las Vegas).

In earning his sixth PEAK Performance Pole Award of the season, combined with Franchitti starting fourth in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, Power gains one point in the season championship to bring the pre-race season points deficit to 45.

Will Power smokes 'em up in capturing the pole position in qualifying at Sonoma. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

"Qualifying is very important here," said Power, who recorded a quick lap of 1 minute, 18.6017 seconds on the 2.303-mile, 12-turn road course in the Firestone Fast Six. "A Penske 1-2-3 is good, and we have two guys between the Target cars. This qualifying session was as perfect as it could go. We were able to put a perfect lap together that was mistake-free and hit all of the sectors and that was the key to posting the quickest lap.

"[The championship] is going to come down to who is going to make the least amount of mistakes," continued Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car. "Dario still has a reasonable lead, but that could turn around in one weekend. Obviously, if we have a bad weekend and he is 70 points ahead with four weekends to go it will be tough ... near impossible.

"We need to execute this weekend and just keep finishing ahead of Dario. It's as simple as that."
(quotes ht: indycar.com)

Will Power accepts the Peak Pole Award for the second time in as many years. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

Fact remains, if Will Power believes he has any chance at all, he needs to be the best at Road/Street courses and the Oval courses the balance of the season to prove he deserves to become a first time champion.

With the top 10 cars covered by only a half of a second on a 2.52 mile 12 turn road course in qualifications, the proving begins here at Infineon Raceway, Sears Point in Sonoma, California.

Pos -- Driver -- Team -- Time -- Gap
1. Will Power Penske 1m18.602s (Q4)
2. Helio Castroneves Penske 1m19.092s (Q4) + 0.490s
3. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1m19.111s (Q4) + 0.505s
4. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 1m19.164s (Q4) + 0.545s
5. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1m19.389s (Q4) + 0.788s
6. James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas 1m19.545s (Q4) + 0.853s

7. Mike Conway Andretti 1m18.939s (Q3) + 0.337s
8. Sebastien Bourdais Dale Coyne 1m18.971s (Q3) + 0.370s
9. Ernesto Viso KV 1m19.072s (Q3) + 0.471s
10. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold 1m19.110s (Q3) + 0.508s
11. Giorgio Pantano Dreyer & Reinbold 1m19.241s (Q3) + 0.640s
12. Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 1m19.803s (Q3) + 1.202s

13. Graham Rahal Ganassi 1m19.331s (Q2) + 0.729s
14. Marco Andretti Andretti 1m19.378s (Q2) + 0.770s
15. Martin Plowman AFS/Sam Schmidt 1m19.379s (Q1) + 0.776s
16. Takuma Sato KV 1m19.384s (Q1) + 0.719s
17. James Jakes (Dale Coyne) 1m19.474s (Q1) + 0.873s
18. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas 1m19.396s (Q1) + 0.739s
19. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 1m19.640s (Q1) + 1.039s
20. JR Hildebrand Panther 1m19.465s (Q1) + 0.864s
21. Tony Kanaan KV 1m19.727s (Q1) + 1.125s
22. Simon Pagenaud Dreyer & Reinbold 1m19.564s (Q1) + 0.962s
23. Sebastian Saavedra Conquest 1m19.752s (Q1) + 1.150s
24. Ho-Pin Tung Sam Schmidt Dragon 1m19.589s (Q1) + 0.988s
25. Danica Patrick Andretti 1m19.785s (Q1) + 1.184s
26. Charlie Kimball Ganassi 1m19.835s (Q1) + 1.233s
27. Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher 1m20.627s (Q1) + 2.713s
28. Vitor Meira Foyt 1m20.121s (Q1) + 1.837s
(chart ht: autosport.com)

The race will be broadcast Sunday Aug. 28 on VERSUS at 4 pm ET and IMS Radio.

... notes from The EDJE


[Article first published as Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma Qualifications - Penske's Day at Sears Point on Technorati]

And It Begins - The 61st Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

The Tour is a drive and show, car show that takes place from The Lodge at Pebble Beach to downtown Carmel so that fans can get a hint of what will be on display along the 18th Green at Pebble Beach. The Tour starts Thursday morning of Auto Week on the Monterey Peninsula and officially begins the first activity at Pebble Beach for the Concours d'Elegance.

Over 20 Ferrari 250 GTOs will be exhibited on Sunday. Ferraris are revered the world over for being among the finest, fastest and most exotic sports cars ever conceived, and the Ferrari 250 GTO is considered by many to be the greatest Ferrari ever manufactured.



The display of Ferrari 250 GTOs on the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the birth of this model, more than twenty of these exclusive sports racing cars will take to the 18th fairway show field of the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on Sunday, August 21.

... notes from The EDJE

Loudon Loop The Loop And Decisions For The Good Of The Game

Graham Rahal and Mike Conway come together before completeing one lap at the MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225. Image Credit: Bret Kelley via IZOD IndyCar Series

Loudon Loop The Loop And Decisions For The Good Of The Game

Race 13 of 18 at the paperclip "oval" in New Hampshire looked to be like a phone it in affair through warm-ups and qualifications, all of the way to the drop of the Green Flag!

Dario Franchitti - in his new Nikon liveried Dallara from Target Chip Ganassi gained an extra point for capturing the pole position, bringing his IndyCar Series (ICS) championship points lead over his closest rival, Will Power, to 64 with every expectation of greatly increasing the season points lead by the end of the day. Will could only muster a P13 in qualifications and that put him way down in a very racy field.

Other notable drivers in the MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 grid have positions 2-10 filled with Oriol Servia - Newman/Haas, Tony Kanaan - KVRT-Lotus, James Hinchcliff - Newman/Haas, Ryan Hunter-Reay - Andretti Autosport, Ryan Briscoe - Penske Racing, Takuma Sato - KVRT-Lotus, Helio Castroneves - Penske Racing, and Charlie Kimball - Ganassi Racing.

The quick reading on this stacking is that if everyone stayed out of trouble, it would be a long way to get up front on a tight one mile oval especially when last year's oval track champion (Franchitti) was out in front.

It was at this point a proposed title of most any posting would read - "Franchitti Closes Door On Challengers At New Hampshire Motor Speedway's Paper-Clip".

The loop the loop action began very early at the very beginning of the race when Service Central Ganassi Racing's Graham Rahal car took a spin and was out aided by Andretti Autosport's Mike Conway in the first lap (pictured above). This was notable because Graham was consistently one of the top two or three fastest cars all weekend in practice and pre-race warm-up but had to start from P23 due to a bauble and save during qualifications.

With this chance of a great car and driver looking to make some noise ... out of the running so early, it set the tone of the race that would end up having as many Yellow Flag cautions as maybe Toronto ... with almost as many retirements between the top drivers as anyone could expect.

Helio Castroneves spins on lap 6 bringing out another Yellow Flag caution.

By Lap 18 of 225, Franchitti was already catching up to the back of the field to begin to lap cars. First there was the Swiss Miss, Simona de Silvestra, then Ed Carpenter, Sebasttian Saavedra, and Ana Beatriz.

The march by Dario continued through to Lap 42 and the leaders are stretching it out with the top five being Franchitti, Servia, Hinchcliff, Hunter-Reay, and Sato. with Dario approaching Will Power and may lap him in about 6 laps.

Lap 48 has Hinchcliff pass Servia for P2. and Danica Patrick breaks into the top 10.

Lap 52 of 225 has Dario setting up just behind Will Power with only 20 car-lengths separating them. The skies are threatening to rain ... this might be a factor.

On Lap 55, the pole-sitter passes Will Power in P12 and puts him one lap down. Bye bye to Will Power's possible challenge to Dario Franchitti's repeat as ICS Champion for 2011.

Nikon liveried car of Dario Franchitti. Image Credit: Bret Kelley via IZOD IndyCar Series

Dario continues his charge in a dominating fashion through the pitstops around Lap 73 with a very fast and clean in and out until a Yellow Flag Caution for rain on Lap 76. At the time of the Yellow, the rain is very light.

Field reset with the top 10 on Lap 80 being Franchitti, Sato, Servia, RHR, Hinchcliff, Briscoe, Dixon, Hildebrand, Patrick, and Kanaan.

The drivers lapped around the track as the light rain passed by until Green Flag Restart on Lap. Scheckter and Kanaan get together with Kanaan's KVRT-Lotus flipping upside-down after hitting the tires lining the inside wall. Kanaan is OK.

Tony Kanaan goes upside-down in his GEICO KV Racing Technology-Lotus Dallara. Image Credit: LAT Photo USA via IZOD IndyCar Series

Marco Andretti was squeezed by Scheckter from the outside lane, breaks Andretti's suspension and this sets up the incident with Kanaan bringing out the fourth caution Yellow Flag period. Also, at Lap 113, the race is official due to passing the halfway point.

Lap 118 of 225 Green Flag Restart has Dario taken out by Takuma Sato with a tire tap spin sending Dario's black with yellow lettering car into the pitlane wall, and this causes a flat tire on Sato's car. Will Power escapes the accordion effect and gets his lap back. Fifth Caution.

Hummmmmmmm, spoke a little early. The top ten are reset as Ryan Hunter-Reay (RHR), Servia, Dixon, Hinchcliff, Briscoe, Patrick, Power Sato, Kimball (1lap down), and Viso.

Will Power, after being one lap down and as many as about 90 points down in the championship fight with Dario, is on the lead lap looking to take back some points against Dario's retirement.

By Lap 166 sees Dixon on pit in, with Will Power inheriting the lead.

Lap 167 sees Briscoe in the pits, Power will need to come in for fuel if the race goes the distance.

Lap 173 top 10 - Power, Sato, RHR, Servia, Dixon, Hnichcliff, Patrick, Briscoe, Carpenter, and Lloyd.

Power in the pits for fuel on Lap 178 and the rain drops begin to show up. Short fuel fill, new tires, Sato gets the lead.

RHR in turn 3 at Loudon New Hampshire. Image Credit: Bret Kelley via IZOD IndyCar Series

Top 10 reset on Lap 180 as Sato, RHR, Servia, Dixon, Hinchcliff, Power Patrick, Briscoe, Carpenter, and Kimball.

Rain still misting and not really posing a threat. Sato may need to pit for fuel on Lap 188. Carpenter in and comes out in P13.

Sato comes into the pits on Lap 190 of 225, comes out in P7. Top 5 are RHR, Servia, Dixon, Hinchcliff, and ... Power!

Ryan Hunter-Reay passes E.J. Viso. If this lead holds, RHR is on track to take his first oval win in the ICS on Lap 202.

Caution Flag out on Lap 206 due to rain ... a light rain based on complaints from RHR not being able to see out of his visor. If I were him I would have complained as soon as I took the lead!

Lap 208 the rain is almost a heavy sprinkle.

The signal is given from the flag stand that there will be one lap to go for a restart on Lap 215 ... a nine lap shoot out!

On Lap 216 - Green Flag is called off ... next Lap will restart.

Green, Green, Green! Lap 217, side-by-side eight laps remain. Will Power, Danica Patrick, Takuma Sato, spin ... with Power backing into the wall. RHR looses the lead, Michael Andretti was yelling at the officials on the fact the track was too wet!

The race is placed in a Red Flag situation - The restart will be disputed. Will Power was hit from behind when the cars were checking up on the Patrick spin. Will Power caught on camera freaking out on the officials.

As it stands on the track with the Red Flag out, the top five is set with Ryan Hunter-Reay, Oriol Servia, Scott Dixon, James Hinchcliff, and Danica Patrick ... WOW, with five laps to go.

In an interview, Will Power begged the race officials NOT to restart the race on Lap 217 and said that Barnhart should be removed because he makes radical decisions like this restart again and again. The TV played the radio communications of RHR saying that a restart is STUPID!

Checkered flag is flown from the flag stand and the race ends after much discussion.

RHR wins but stated that the restart was a wrong move on Race Control's part.

Brian Barnhart decides that the race should not have been re-started and insists that Race Control did not receive any communications from the race teams.

Race Red Flagged - Action Stopped. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

The order will be set as they were at Lap 215:

Pos - Driver - Team - Time/Gap
1. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 1h58m01.5843s
2. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas + 0.2361s
3. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 1.4839s
4. James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas + 2.1750s
5. Will Power Penske + 2.8250s
6. Danica Patrick Andretti + 3.6173s
7. Takuma Sato KV + 4.1174s
8. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 1 lap
9. Charlie Kimball Ganassi + 2 laps
10. Vitor Meira Foyt + 3 laps
11. Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher + 3 laps
12. EJ Viso KV + 3 laps
13. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne + 4 laps
14. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold + 5 laps
15. Sebastian Saavedra Conquest + 5 laps
16. Simona de Silvestro HVM + 6 laps
17. Helio Castroneves Penske + 13 laps

Retirements:

James Jakes Dale Coyne 176 laps
Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 137 laps
Dario Franchitti Ganassi 118 laps
JR Hildebrand Panther 118 laps
Tony Kanaan KV 109 laps
Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold 109 laps
Marco Andretti Andretti 109 laps
Mike Conway Andretti 0 laps
Graham Rahal Ganassi 0 laps
(ht: chart via autosport.com)

In the post race interviews, Scott Dixon not totally happy with the changes in decision making on this issue ... Danica Patrick was also not happy that Race Control decided to Go Green but still apologizes for swinging her car out-of-control.

The race is called on Lap 220 of 225 with the official order to be that of Lap 215 before the Green Flag was thrown ... for the good of the game.

Will Power advances to being 47 points down from a race start of -64 points and still alive with only five races to go. Scott Dixon sitting third in points at -73 and only -26 to catch Power.

The next race (14 0f 18)scheduled to take place in two weeks is clear across the country at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA. Sonoma, North of San Francisco, is known for its In-N-Out Burger stop on the way to the track, elevation changes, many tight corners, and wheel rubbing action.

... notes from The EDJE


[Article first published as Loudon Loop The Loop and Decisions for the Good of the Game on Technorati]