Tag: Andretti Autosport

Andretti Autosport Rebrands as Andretti Global

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Editor’s note-Beginning with the 2024 season, Andretti Autosport will be known as Andretti Global, as the release below explains. My thought- The new name takes away from what the company does as a racing enterprise. Andretti global could be any worldwide corporation- an investment firm, a real estate development firm, a legal office-but Andretti Autosport defines what they do. Anyway, congratulations to the Andretti group on another step forward in their many racing ventures.

Here is the announcement:

09.05.23

Andretti Autosport to Rebrand as Andretti Global

—INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 5, 2023) – Andretti Autosport, a Championship-winning motorsports organization, today announced a major rebranding initiative that will see the international organization adopt the branding of Andretti Global, the identity previously named as the parent company to the U.S.-based race team.

As a brand that is built on a foundation of racing excellence, the new Andretti Global name will unite all aspects of the organization under a single identity, more closely aligning with the team’s already-established legacy. Andretti Global currently operates in eight motorsports platforms racing across six continents with an appetite to expand its worldwide footprint into other major motorsports series.

Along with the name change, the current Andretti Autosport shield will be replaced with the Andretti Global logo. As each of the 2024 racing seasons get underway, fans can look forward to a new digital experience from the most trusted name in motorsports with the rebrand additionally bringing a new structure to the team’s social media presence.

Andretti Formula E will be the first of the Andretti Global teams to take on the new branding as the reigning Drivers’ World Championship team kicks off Season 10 with testing in October.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, ANDRETTI GLOBAL

“I’m proud of what Andretti Autosport has accomplished over the years, and all the memories that have come with so many special moments. Just as proud as I am of our past, I’m equally excited about our future. As we continue to expand and build a global racing institution, our goal is to be engrained in the culture of our fans, teams and partners. This rebrand is a major milestone in our team’s journey, but we are only getting started. We are determined to achieve success and confident that there are big things in store for Andretti Global.”

DAN TOWRISS, PARTNER, ANDRETTI GLOBAL

“The words Andretti and motorsports are synonymous, and I’m impressed and excited by the worldwide fanbase and reach of the Andretti name. I’m proud to be working with Michael and his team to build that name and legacy into an even stronger brand that reflects our ambitions and values. We are committed to excellence, and I believe our work will benefit our fans and partners around the globe.”

Ericsson Joins Andretti Autosport for 2024

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One piece of the 2024 Indycar grid is in place. The release from Andretti Autosport:

INDIANAPOLIS (August 23, 2023) – Andretti Autosport announced today that Marcus Ericsson will join the team’s 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver lineup alongside confirmed teammates Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood.  

The Indianapolis 500 Champion will take on his sixth season of NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition in 2024 looking to add to his four race wins and 10 podiums. In addition to his INDYCAR success, Ericsson raced for five seasons in the FIA Formula One World Championship, has claimed Championships in both British Formula BMW and Japanese F3 and has race starts in both British F3 and Formula 2 (formerly GP2).  

The race-winning Swede heads into the final three races of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in sixth place in the Championship standings with a win at the season opener in St. Petersburg and three podiums, including an impressive runner-up finish at the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500. 

More information on Ericsson’s 2024 entry, including car number and partners, will be provided at a later time.  

MICHAEL ANDRETTI, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT 

“Like everyone else, we have paid close attention to Marcus’ success in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and have been impressed with how quickly he proved that he belonged with the frontrunners in what is arguably the most competitive INDYCAR field ever. It’s no secret that we want to win races and Championships and to do that we need drivers like Marcus who have that natural talent and determined drive. We are excited for the winning mindset that Marcus brings to the table and I’m eager to see what next season has in store for us.”  

MARCUS ERICSSON, DRIVER, ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT 

“I’m very happy and proud to be joining Andretti Autosport next season. Andretti is one of the mist legendary names in motorsports, so it is definitely a dream come true for me to join this team. I want to thank Michael and Dan [Towriss] for putting their trust in me and I can’t wait to get to know everyone in the organization. It’s a very exciting new chapter in my career and I’m really looking forward to getting to work achieving our goals together. Exciting times are ahead and I’m thankful for this opportunity.” 

Herta Livery Stokes the Throwback Flames Again

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Of the many attempts Indycar teams have made at throwback liveries, today’s unveiling of Colton Herta’s livery for Laguna Seca is the best I have seen. The scheme reflects the livery hat his father Bryan used in 1998 when he won one his two races at the historic track. Colton also has won twice at Laguna Seca.

As soon as the video released this morning, talk of a throwback race heated up.

Colton Herta’s livery for the season finale.
Bryan Herta on his way to victory at Laguna Seca

Why does this particular tribute livery strike such a chord with fans? I think it’s the faithfulness of the design. The chevrons in place of the Shell logo, which Andretti terams can’t use, is a nice touch which visually gives the illusion matching the original.

The A. J. Foyt livery in the Indianapolis 500 which J. R. Hildebrand drove a couple of years ago came as close to the original as I had seen before today. It is difficult to put a front engine roadster livery on a rear engine car. Now that there is a large inventory of classic rear engine cars, a throwback race is more possible.

I can think of no track better suited for this race than Milwaukee. A classic track deserves classic liveries. That is assuming the mile track returns to the schedule in 2024 or beyond. This afternoon Gateway offered their venue as host for a race with throwback liveries.

Several pieces would need to come together for such an event to happen. Current sponsors would have to be on board. What if a team used to have a competing brand as sponsor? Of course, a track would have to be willing to host the race, broadcast partners need to be okay with it, and we need 100% buy in from all teams.

I know Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing, and Andretti Autosport would have no problem coming up with vintage liveries just from their own past.

It would be great to see a Bowes Seal fast or Noc-Out Hose Clamp car. maybe that’s going a bit too far back.

Kirkwood- Homework and Calculated Moves for a Successful Race

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A relaxed Kyle Kirkwood talks about the 500

Kyle Kirkwood.studies past5 races to watch what other drivers did and how situations developed. He watches past 500s just from the aeoscreen era since those are the nones relevant to him.

Races before the aeroscreen ‘”…takes up a little too much of your time…,” he said during today’s media availability.

Kirkwood, inhis first year with Andretti Autosport, thinks the amount of passing on Sunday will depend on the weathe rather than the downforce.

“”This place is more weather dependent than downforce dependent. if the weather is cool and it’s crisp, and it’s cl;oudy and thentrack temperaturestays down the racing will be great. But if it gets hot you’re not going to seea lot of passing regardles of the downforce,” he said.

Kirkwood said The 500 is a”very calculated race.”

“I feel like if you push too hard to try and get something done.. it ususally doesn’t work out for you.”

“Four, five, six cars ahead, and you’re planning your passes off that, rather than just the guythat’s directly in front of you.”

Kirkwood feels he has a good race car and was disappointed in not making the Fast 12. He is stilloptimistic starting from 14th.

Long Beach- Quick Thoughts on a Most Satisfying Race

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Indycar photo by Joe Skibinski

First, congratulations to Kyle Kirkwood on his first Indycar win. Kirkwood has won at every open wheel level. Once he starts winning, he doen’t seem to be able to srop. Indycar is a tougher place to win constantly, but I look for him to get at least one more win this season.

Kirkwood’s first win came in his 20th Indycar race, but his third in a compoetitive ride. As I wrote yesterday that his pole win was just a matter of time, so is this first victory.

The Start

Long Beach is not known for great starts, but today;’s was a particularly bad one. Perhaps Indycar could start single fileon the front stretch, or they could start on I believe it is Pine Street where the cars have room and time to line up.

Pato O’Ward was accused of jumping the start, but my first impression was he was not the only one.

Pato’s Bad Day

It was not the best day for Pato O’Ward, who started the race as the points leader. He was fortunate to only fall to second place. His incident with Dixon, which I thought was similar to the mclaughlin/Grosjean collision in St. Pete, might have warranted a penalty. O’Ward’s spin later in the race, which effectively ended his day. was an unenforced penalty.

O’Ward showed good sportmanship letting the leaders by when he didn’t have to late in the race.

Strategy Hurts Newgarden

Josrf’s Newgarden’s strategy seemed to pay off as he grabbed the lead on lap 22. The yellow for Scott Dixon on lap 20 hurt his long range plan. He ended up ninth, having to save fuel the last stint.

Kirkwood stayed out one more lap before his last stop, and got enough of an edge to get out front.

Notes

This was a very good race. Contenders fell back for various reasons, different pit strategies had different outcomes, some not expected, the race ended with a three way battle for the win, with jus two seconds separating the top three at the checkered flag.

There were some great duels throughout the pack. Colton Herta and Alex Palou had a terrific battle for position during the race.

The Rahal Letterman lanigan team had a respectable showing today, finishing 12th, 13th, and 14th. Graham Rahal led the team, followed byJack Harvey and Christian Lundgaard.

Andretti Autosport finished 1, 2 and 4 today. The team has won both street course poles, and they had a shot at winning at St.Pete. They have figured out the street circuits.

No one should be questioning Michael Andretti’s move of Bryan Herta as Kirkwood’s strategist. Herta is the perfect person to work with a young driver,. He coached Alexander rossi to the Indianapolis 500 victory in 2016, and helped Colton to several wins. The Herta/Kirkwood combination could be a title contender by next year.

Grosjean Sees Stronger Season for Himself, Andretti

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Romain Grosjean came away from the Spring Training tests at The Thermal Club optimistic about the upcoming NTT Indycar season. I spoke with at the St. Pete track build, where the driver of the number 28 DH car for Andretti Autosport represented the series.

He enjoyed his time with Lamborghini at Daytona, but is now fully focused on having his best Indycar season.

About Thermal Club, Grosjean found it “different or better than what we expected really. The facility was amazing , the track was actually pretty good for testing so we actually learned a fair bit of stuff from the two days of of testing.”

Grosjean at Long Beach last year. He finished second.

Grosjean said the team left California ahead of where they were at this point in 2022.

“We have a better baseline that we had last year,” Grosjean said. “We have one more test in Sebring before coming here. We’re going to work on our street setup. Last year we were quite competitive. We should have won Long Beach, almost had the pole in Nashville, so we know on street courses we’re pretty good.”

The team’s dynamic is “pretty good I like Kirkwood andColton as well as Devlin. We’re good, we’ve got a good team. I’m excited to get the season going.”

Grosjean hopes to score his first Indycar win in 2023, but admits it is going to be tough with 27 cars.

Kirkwood Leads Final Test

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Photo from @FollowAndretti

Kyle Kirkwood led the fourth test session at The Thermal Club this afternoon. Kirkwood finished second, third, and first in the three sessions he ran. His team needed to change a clutch yesterday afternoon, and Kirkwood missed the second round. Kirkwood’s time of 1:38.8279 was the third fastest overall for the two days.

Kirkwood spoke about his excitement to be with Andretti this season.

“My entire goal last year was to take a car that everyone knows
is usually mid pack or towards the back and put it up front.
That was always a goal of mine. That was exciting for me.
It’s also exciting to be in a fast car and be fast in a fast car.
There’s benefits to both. I’m just as excited as I was last
year, to be honest. I’m definitely leaving this place in a happier spot than most
of the events last year.”

The Spring Training event at The Thermal Club seems to have been a big hit with the drivers, but they expressed doubts about holding a race there. Kirkwood thinks it would be a lot like Barber, with few passing opportunities..

Results:

Herta Sweeps Day 1 as Times Drop in Session 2

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Colton Herta posted the fast time in the afternoon session of Indycar’s open test in California. His teammate Kyle Kirkwood, second in the morning round, did not participate in the second session. The team was replacing the clutch on the 27 Auto Nation Honda.

13 cars cracked the 100 second mark.

The results:

Tomorrow’s schedule is similar to today’s. Session 3 begins at noon Eastern time.

Herta Quickest in Session 1

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Photo from @FollowAndretti

Colton Herta led an Andretti 1-2 in the opening test session of 2023 at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California. Kyle Kirkwood was second in his Andretti Autosport debut Herta had the only lap under one minute,forty seconds.

From photos and videos I have seen, the track looks beautiful and the mountain backdrop provides a spectacular setting.

The results:

Session 2 began at 4:30 Eastern time and runs until 7:30.