Tag: Grand Prix of Portland

Updated: Bourdais Nips Power in Practice 2

thepitwindow

Sebastien Bourdais recorded the fastest lap in Practice 2, setting the quick time with about five minutes to go in the session. Will Power had set the fast time with about 20 minutes left in the practice. Bourdais’ lap was 57.923 seconds. He bettered Power quick time by 0.0289 seconds.

After Bourdais’s fast lap, he went off track in turn 11 and slid gently into the tire barrier. There just two minutes remaining in the session. The red flag ended the practice period.

Felix Rosenqvist led the majority of the afternoon. Colton Herta was fourth after leading morning practice.

wp-15672054811937822588216392732412.jpg
Colton Herta set the fastest time of the day in this morning’s practice. Photo: Kyle McInnes

Teams are preparing for the put stop practice session, a 30 minute period.

Notes

Another great Friday crowd is on hand at Portland. This event has been embraced by the fans here.

If as much dust is kicked up tomorrow during qualifying as has been put on the track today, it will be an interesting qualifying session.

Times were faster in session one. Most teams didn’t go to the red tires this afternoon until there were less than 10 minutes left.

I hope we see more of the Oberto livery on Marco Andretti’s car next year.  It’s the best livery that car uses.

In the warmup/pit stop practice session, Ryan Hunter-Reay had the best lap at 58.2729.

Indycar’s final practice is tomorrow at 2 pm Eastern and qualifying is at 6 pm Eastern.

Back later with a wrap up of the entire day.

Herta Quickest in Practice 1

thepitwindow

Colton Herta ran the fastest lap in Practice 1 for the Grand Prix of Portland as preparations for the NTT Indycar Series 16th round got underway. Herta’s 57.4293 second circuit beat out Alexander Rossi by 0.1245 seconds.  Andretti Autosport had all four cars in the top ten. Herta’s Harding Steinbrenner team has a technical alliance with Andretti.

Points leader Josef Newgarden finished the session in fourth place.  Newgarden was the only Chevrolet car in the top ten. Penske teammates Will Power and Simon Pagenaud were 11th and 12th. Conor Daly, filling in for Marcus Ericsson at Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, was 23rd.

The session was green the entire time, although there were a few off road excursions. Graham Rahal went off course in turn 11 near the end of the session but got back on track. Several drivers missed turn 1 and needed to take the chicane penalty.

James Hinchcliffe spun just past turn two near the end of the session. The car kept running and he continued. Max Chilton and Simon Pagenaud had a near collision as Chilton exited the pits. It appeared he didn’t see Pagenaud coming.

IMG_7314
James Hinchcliffe gets going again after his turn 2 spin
IMG_7315
Josef Newgarden heads for the smoke cloud left by Hinchcliffe

The next practice session is at 5:40 Eastern time followed by a 30 minute pit stop practice at 6:40 Eastern.

Good Morning from Portland

thepitwindow2 Comments

I finally arrived in Portland after nearly 11 hours of travel time. I felt as if I was taking a trip to Europe. My body clock is still adjusting.  The track opens soon and I will be there covering all Indycar sessions this weekend. Today’s schedule in Eastern time:

Practice 1- 1:50-2:35

Practice 2- 5:40-6:25

Pit Stop Practice  6:40

Yesterday’s big news was about Conor Daly replacing Marcus Ericsson in the number 7 Arrow Schmidt Peterson car this weekend. Ericsson has been a reserve driver for Alfa Romeo all season. This situation was always a possibility.

ASPM will be the third team Daly has driven for in 2019. Including the finale at Laguna Seca, Daly will have participated in eight races this season. He has a chance to finish 20th in points with just eight races. I really hope this year’s efforts lead to his landing a full time ride next year.

Charlie Kimball returns in the number 23 Carlin car.  Portland is an addition to Kimball’s announced five race schedule.

I’ll be back after the first practice session. All of today’s track action is on NBC Gold.

 

Portland Preview- Can Newgarden Clinch?

thepitwindow

And then there were two. It’s hard to believe Sunday will be the next to last race of the NTT Indycar Series. Portland International Raceway hosts the race for the second consecutive year after a successful return in 2018.  CART race on the island track from 1984 until 2003. Champ Car then sanctioned the event for four more years. Indycar returned last year ending an eleven year absence.

There have been some close finishes at Portland. Mark Blundell beat Gil De Ferran by 0.027 seconds in 1997. Mario Andretti beat son Michael to the line when the younger Andretti ran out of fuel in the last corner. Most of the time, however, the victories have been decisive. Al Unser, Jr. beat Geoff Brabham by 39.61 seconds in 1984.

Takuma Sato, winner of last week’s thriller at World Wide Technology Raceway, won last year’s Grand Prix of Portland by taking advantage of a caution period to move into the lead. His 20th starting position was the farthest back a driver has won from at this track.

While one eye will be on the race itself, the other one will be looking at the championship. Josef Newgarden leads Simon Pagenaud by 38 points and Alexander Rossi by 46. I think it will take two very bad races by Newgarden for him to lose the title. Portland is Rossi’s last chance to go into the finale at Laguna Seca with any hope of capturing the title. Pagenaud has been lurking all year and took over second place last weekend. I wouldn’t count him out. Both Pagenaud and Rossi need help from Newgarden, however, and I don’t see Josef cooperating.

Portland’s festival curves have been the sight of many first lap incidents. Lastyear a five car pileup nearly cost Scott Dixon the title. He somehow got the car refired and after some repairs in the pits, he wen. t on to a fifth place finish. The flat course has some other areas to be wary of. Turn 11 can be tricky.

In 24 Indycar races at Portland, only four drivers have won the race from the pole. In 2018, Will Power won the pole, but a gearbox issue put him seven laps down and he fished 21st. Power is not having the best of seasons this year. Although he has a win and three poles, which would be a great season for many drivers, this year’s results are far below his typical season.

Rossi needs to win this race and i think he will.  Newgarden and Pagenaud could be having their own battle.  They are too good to ruin each other’s races. One of the issues I have with the double points in the finale is that it can widen the gap between contenders more than it can bring them closer. The points difference between points is wider, giving the points leader an advantage. As close as the points chase usually is going into the finale, double points in my opinion have never been a necessary thing to make a closer title fight.

Portland Spotter’s Guide

https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/90591962/posts/2394022689

I will be on site in Portland with updates after each session and will also keep you posted on the Road to Indy championships.

Notes

Per Adam Stern, the 202 schedule could be released at the end of the week.  It appears Pocono will not return.  My thoughts on that when the announcement is official.

Who would have thought that there would be a season where Sato would have more wins than Will Power has?

Indycar now has two last laps to incorporate into next year’s commercials- the final lap at Mid Ohio and last Saturday night’s run off turn 4 to the checkered flag. I’m hoping for another promo worthy finish on Sunday.

Charlie Kimball has added Portland to his original five race schedule. He was originally sitting out this week and just running the finale in three weeks.

Reminder: The race is on NBC. The big network. You might need to make sure your DVR is set to record the correct channel.

Richmond Returns

As reported yesterday, Adam stern tweeted that Richmond Raceway will be on the 2020 NTT Indycar Series schedule. The 3/4 mile D shaped oval will be the shortest oval on the schedule. Iowa is 7/8 of a mile. I’m not sure how I feel about two short tracks of nearly identical length. It takes away some of the series’ diversity.

Late Breaking News

There are reports that Marcus Ericsson will be in Spa with Alfa Romeo this weekend instead of racing for Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Conor Daly will drive the 7 car at Portland.

There seem to be conflicting reports about whether Ericsson is driving or there in his reserve role. In any case this is a huge opportunity for Daly. ASPM will be the third team Daly will have driven for this season.

The statement from ASPM: