Tag: Long Beach grand prix

Rossi Stars in Amazing Race Again

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It was a home game for Alexander Rossi and he won convincingly. Rossi led 71 of the 85 laps in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and never faced a serious challenge for the lead. He pitted ahead of the mid race caution that caught out two of his biggest challengers, Sebastien Bourdais and Scott Dixon. Rossi drove a perfect race, blasting ahead on restarts and executing flawless pit stops. While he was breezing along, there was quite a bit of drama behind him.

In turn 1 Graham Rahal bumped Simon Pagenaud, knocking him out of the race. Rahal served a drive through penalty but fought back to finish fifth.  Bourdais and Dixon engaged in a great battle for second. Bourdais made one of the greatest passes I’ve ever seen, darting between Dixon and backmarker Matheus Leist. Race control deemed the move illegal as Bourdais’s right side tires crossed the line marking the pit exit lane. Officials ordered him to relinquish the spot to Dixon. He did- for about half a lap.

Josef Newgarden went to a three stop strategy, which didn’t work out for him. He finished seventh. Teammate Will Power had the last shot at stealing the victory from Rossi on the last restart but could only get within 0.71 of a second at one point. Power had twice as many push to pass seconds as Rossi when the race resumed, but burned it quickly and still couldn’t catch him.

It was another good street race with the new aerokit. There was passing and strategy. the yellows fell at times that made for an entertaining event. The first two street races have been so good I’m tempted to make a return to Belle Isle this year.

Notes

Rossi has been on the podium all three races this year and four of the last five races. He has two wins and two thirds.

Robert Wickens, the star of the previous two races, struggled most of the weekend and had a gearbox issue. he finished 22nd.

Andretti Autosport had a great day with Zach Veach coming in fourth in just his third race and Marco Andretti getting his second top 10 of the season. Veach nearly caught Ed Jones for third after the final restart.

The only down part for the team was Ryan Hunter-Reay’s awful day. He got clipped by Dixon in turn 1 at the start, later had a flat tire, and then got stuck in the hairpin traffic jam that also ruined Bourdais’s comeback. He ended up 20th.

Tony Kanaan had his second straight top 10.

Is Matheus Leist in over his head? He seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time all day, interfering with the leaders. He has been the least impressive driver in the field this year.

500 Field at 35

Two announcements this week brought the field for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 to 35.

The worst kept secret in the paddock became official when J. R. Hildebrand got the ride in the second Dreyer and Reinbold car.

James Davison, who filled in last year for Bourdais in the 500, will drive a third car for A. J. Foyt Racing with sponsorship from David Byrd.

I’m planning a series on past Bump Days beginning the first week in May. I will highlight some of the more memorable moments of bumping.

The Long Beach Winding Road

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Just two races into what has been an entertaining Indycar season to date, we have seen a great mix of new names and familiar names. It’s hard to believe Alexander Rossi is only in his third year in Indycar. We’ve heard Robert Wickens’ name so much it’s hard to remember he is a rookie in this series. I think we will once again be hearing those two names, along with the names of some veterans we haven’t heard from much yet this year at Long Beach this weekend.

While a pair of races don’t create a trend, there are some things forming a consistent pattern. Wickens is a darn good driver. Rossi has quickly learned the tracks and has fully embraced Indycar. In  2016, no one would have been shocked if he didn’t come back in 2017. But then the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 happened, and Indycar had a new star.

We can also see strength from the smaller teams which appears to be sustainable over the long run. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan have had two strong weekends and that should continue in California. While neither may have the season champion driver, they will be in contention for a long time. These teams will be more than spoilers.

Long Beach is the second longest running event on the Indycar schedule. This will be the 35th Indycar race on the streets.  There has been a race at Long Beach since 1975, when Brian Redman won the Formula 5000 race. The following year F1 began an eight year run. In 1984 CART took over and Indycar in some form has raced in Long Beach ever since.

Sebastien Bourdais is one of several current drivers who have won here. Bourdais has three victories, and Will Power has two. Takuma Sato, James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Simon Pagenaud also have won.  Can the young guns overcome all the experience on this narrow track?

We know the new cars race better than the Honda/Chevy kit versions, but will that make for a better race? I don’t expect the kind of show we saw at St. Pete. Long Beach doesn’t have a long wide runway for a front stretch. Passing will rely on mistakes, tire degradation, and pit strategy. There have been some dramatic races here as well as some parades.

Who will win? Alexander Rossi should pull into Victory Circle this time. He was in a position to win last year before engine failure knocked him  out of the race. With the win, Rossi will take the points lead to Barber next weekend. Wickens will have another strong race, but might miss the podium.  Oh, some of the veterans might make a splash as well.

Back Monday with a recap. The race is on NBCSN at 4:30 pm ET Sunday.

 

Photo: Ryan Hunter-Reay  pit stop in Phoenix last Saturday.   Photo by Mike Silver

 

Quick Thoughts on Phoenix

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Josef Newgarden won. Alexander Rossi was the star. Robert Wickens continues to impress. Passing and the racing was better. The finish was great. The crowd was small.

IndyCar’s first short oval test of the UAK 18 had mixed results. There was more passing, but it wasn’t always easy. Leader Sebastien Bourdais needed several laps to lap the last car in the opening stint. The beginning of the race looked like it was going to be a repeat of first two races here. After the first of two caution flags, Alexander Rossi gave the fans something to hold their interest. A lap down following his drive through penalty for hitting of his crewman, Rossi was determined to unlap himself. He sliced through the field, eventually regaining his lap on the track. He had the fastest car all night. Rossi even led some laps before finishing third. Until the final restart, most drivers st a he’d single file, saving g tires. It made me almost wish for a fuel saving race..

Newgarden, who took fresh tires during the yellow, roared to the front and passed rookie Robert Wickens with two laps to go.

Takeaways

Despite the new aero package, passing was still difficult. The tire degradation didn’t help create as much passing as hoped.

Robert Wickens  had another great race was again leading with two laps left. He will get that first win before Indy.

Alexander Rossi’s second straight podium puts him in a great position to fight all season long for the title.

Will IndyCar return to Phoenix? I think the race, which was the best of the three in this set, was good enough to warrant a return. I’m concerned that IndyCar left without a renewal. Both sides sound like they’re interested. Attendance was said to be slightly better.

Sebastien Bourdais’s day got off to a bad start and kept getting worse. He cannot afford another race like that this early in the season.

Why did the last caution take so long? I understand wanting to sweep the track, but no one was using that part of the track anyway.

Race control deserves credit for its judicious use of the yellow. They could have thrown three more but didn’t. Teams might need to adjust strategy to not expect as many cautions this year.

Back Friday with my Long Beach preview.

 

 

 

IndyCar’s Very Good Day

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The day began with the announcement that Michael Shank Racing has become Meyer Shank Racing. Jim Meyer l, CEO of Sirius XM, is joining the team as a partner. This is a huge boost the to MSR. The deal is for all of MSR operations and might help speed up the timeline to make the IndyCar team full time. As of now Jack Harvey is still scheduled for just six races. It’s another big step in this year of IndyCar resurgence.

Qualifying for tonight’s Desert Diamond West Valley Grand Prix continued the drama from St. Pete. At one point rookies were 1 through 4 on the pylon. Simon Pagenaud went out 13th  and took first place. The next eleven drivers could not beat his 188..148 mph average. Sebastian Bourdais, the last driver on track, snatched the pole with a 188.539 speed. This is the second consecutive race where a Penske car has lost the pole to the last car on track. It is just the second lifetime pole for Dale Coyne Racing and the 34th career pole for Bourdais.

Night practice didn’t help provide clues to whether passing will be better in the race. Faster cars easily got by slower cars, but I didn’t see many cars running equal speed attempt to pass each other. The qualifying speeds, lower than those of the last two years, indicate drivers are lifting. The increased difficulty driving these cars was not as dramatic as at St. Pete, but turn 2 could get a thumping or two tonight.

A Word about Bourdais

We are watching a legend perform in Sebastien Bourdais. A four time CART champion, winner of 37 races and 34 poles, he continues to exceed at an age when most drivers are starting to slow down. Add in his remarkably quick recovery from his horrific accident at Indianapolis last May, you have the ingredients of a legend. We need to appreciate him while he is still driving.

Back with a race wrap up Sunday or Monday.

Phoenix- Double Edged Test for Indycar.

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Above: A. J. Foyt on his way to winning the inaugural race at Phoenix in 1964.

A classic track and the new aerokit  come together Saturday night, testing Indycar on two fronts. USAC began racing at Phoenix in 1964. The track was a staple on the circuit through 1978,  hosting two races, one in the spring, and one in the fall. There was no spring race in 1973.  CART held races from 1979 off and on through 1995. The current Indycar series raced at Phoenix from 1996-2005, then returned in 2016.

Will this new car make for a  better race and will that lead to better attendance? Those two questions  may decide if Phoenix remains on the schedule. Attendance in 2016 was low, and the race didn’t help the crowd grow last year.  The original deal ends after this race. The last two races at Phoenix ISM Raceway were rather dull affairs. Scott Dixon won in 2016 after first Helio Castroneves and then Juan Pablo Montoya had tire issues. The leaders had difficulty lapping the slower cars. Last year, the leaders had the same problem passing cars. Simon Pagenaud won after inheriting the lead from  the way the cautions fell. Once he got to the lead, he was not going to be passed. Phoenix has never allowed much passing. It has always been a one groove track, but I remember some great races there.

The new aerokit creates less downforce and should lead to more tire degradation. This combination should lead to more passing late in a tire stint. Depending on when the caution periods occur, we could see a great show. Where last year many races were  about fuel management, the game this year could be tire management. I much prefer tire math over fuel math.

Late word is a second groove will be rubbered in, perhaps before each session, to allow for more passing opportunities. Indycar must not be sure that the new aero package will work.  This is a gimmicky fix to the problem. I know the race needs to be good, but I’d like it to be naturally good.  Added horsepower for all races might help, for instance.

From the open test in Phoenix before the season began, it looked like the cars could run closer together. Whether they can pass remains to be seen. Rahal Letterman Lanigan had the fastest team with Takuma Sato. Will they be quick this time as well? Team Penske has dominated the last two years here, winning the pole both years and the race last year. Look for another strong showing from them.  Matheus Leist was quick in the test, but spun four times in the final session. He is quick, but needs to manage his speed to have success. How will Robert Wickens do in his first oval race?

A team I wouldn’t count out this weekend is Andretti Autosport. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi had strong showings in St. Pete. Marco Andretti also was competitive. Zach Veach had some early issues but was the highest finishing rookie. If Hunter-Reay’s car is working right, watch out for him to contend late in the race.

My fearless predictions: I think Ryan Hunter-Reay returns to Victory Lane this week.

Bonus prediction: Graham Rahal heads to Long Beach as the points leader.

Watch for updates from Phoenix Friday and Saturday on twitter (@tutorindie) and a brief post or two in this space.

 

 

 

Formula 1 Opener Validates Indycar’s Forward Direction

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Yesterday’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, the season opener for the premier international open wheel series, provided a lot of validation for the positive steps Indycar has taken lately. F1 has done two things poorly that Indyccar has done correctly. First, the halo. Yikes! Second, the US television situation.  The messenger is definitely the problem there.

The halo, a bar attached around the front of the cockpit, was rushed into service this year. It may deflect some flying debris, but Indycar’s windscreen, which is still undergoing testing, makes a lot more sense. The halo ruins the esthetic of the cars. At some angles it makes them look WEC prototypes. It intrudes in the on board camera shots. Does the driver have that same obstructed view? If so, that may negate any safety benefit the device is supposed to provide. Another issue I noticed during the pre-race- when a crew member was strapping a driver in the car this morning, he had to bend over the halo to tighten the belts. He looked very uncomfortable doing his job. I would not be surprised if the crew members who did he belt tightening don’t all have sore ribs today.

Indycar is taking their time testing the windscreen. Since the first on track test at Phoenix, they are evaluating the feedback from Scott Dixon, and plan to test on track at a road and street course before putting it on the cars next year.  Formula 1 seemed in a hurry to get the halos on the cars this season. I think it would have been in their best interest to evaluate  it longer.

The US television rights for Formula 1 are no longer in the very capable hands of NBC. Instead, ESPN is carrying the Sky Sports feed from the UK.  Why a network that doesn’t care about motorsports received the right to do this is beyond me. First, Sky Sports airs the races commercial free. ESPN does not run programming that way, so ads were inserted into the commercial free broadcast. Many were side by side, but they were in a break at the restart and the return from breaks offered no review of anything that may have been missed. I don’t see why Sky should have to alter their practices for ESPN. ESPN needs to figure out a way to have all the ads pre and post race.

As far as the Sky Sports broadcast, I liked their presentation and the graphics. Paul di Resta is difficult to understand with his heavy Scottish accent, and the announcers were sometimes not keeping up with the track action. There was some good tracking of the battles going on, and in this race, there were many.

Indycar’s new TV deal with NBC next year, as I and others have said, is a huge boost for the series. NBC’ s coverage and promotion should help exposure grow considerably. Formula 1 in the US has always been a small niche within the small motorsports niche, and it will likely shrink more with this broadcast arrangement.

The race itself was better than most Formula 1 races. There was a lead change for the win, and some good battles throughout the field, including a fight  for the lead. The problem is, there are maybe three F1 races a year that are considered good, and one has already been spent in Round 1.

The next race is Bahrain on April 8, the morning after the Indycar race in Phoenix. If the Phoenix race is as good as anticipated, the side by side  race comparison can only help Indycar further. By the way, Phoenix will be on NBCSN. The tv side might look better also.

A Great Boost for Indycar- The NBC Deal

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Yesterday the announcement everyone knew about became official. Beginning in 2019, NBC will be the exclusive television home of Indycar. Eight races will be on NBC proper, with the remaining races on NBCSN. The Indianapolis 500, of course, will be one of the eight. The others will be announced later.  I will venture some guesses in a bit. This deal is a huge boost to the series. Indycar is at last on a network that seems to care about it and produces a great race broadcast. I like most parts of the agreement.

Another component to the deal is streaming. I am not a techno whiz, but here is what I understand. Some practices and qualifying sessions which are not televised will be on the NBCSports app or NBC.com. MRTI races will be on NBC Gold, a paid subscription app. My understanding is that Indy qualifying will be shown live on television. I hope that’s the case.

NBC will include the Indianapolis 500 in its “Championship Season” promotion along with other major events it covers like The Kentucky Derby  and the Tour de France.

ABC, which had shown Indycar races since 1956, and the 500 since 1965, had shown little interest in producing quality coverage of the 500 or the other races the past several years. It will be interesting to see how they run out the string. Will ABC make their last Indy 500 a great broadcast? Will they produce the same tepid show we’ve seen the last couple of years despite some incredible races?

Back to the NBC package. My main concern is Mazda Road to Indy races being on the pay app. This arrangement does not help help the up and coming drivers establish name recognition and hinders their ability to attract sponsors.  Indy Lights now has a large field one year and a small field the next. More Indycar teams need to run MRTI teams to keep this feeder system viable. Taking this series off broadcast television is not the way to go.

A positive is having a solid network broadcast package should help teams and the series attract sponsors. I could see a company signing on for the eight network races, which gives a team at least a half season of sponsorship, and perhaps lead to a full season deal.

Another advantage of the arrangement is better coordination with NBC’s NASCAR coverage. NBC covers the second half of the stock car season. Does that mean the eight Indycar races on NBC  will be front loaded?  It’s likely the two series will not be on against one another. Will one follow the other? If so, the series that doesn’t believe races should go overtime should be first to avoid bleeding into the next broadcast. Indycar can set the stage for NASCAR.

My guesses for the eight races on NBC are St. Pete, Phoenix, Indy, Road America, Iowa, Pocono, Mid-Ohio, and the season finale. This schedule showcases the diversity of tracks the series runs, and it includes the season opener and the finale. It might provide the impetus to move Iowa to a Saturday night race and move the finale to Gateway.

Overall, I am very excited with this television deal. The next step is a new series title sponsor for 2019. This broadcast package may help that process move more quickly.

 

 

 

Sebring Recap= Mixed Day for Indycar Drivers; ABC out?

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Cool nights and very hot days made the 66th 12 hour race at Sebring an endurance contest for the fans as well as the drivers. It turned out to be a great race with some late drama as usual. The final two and a half hours had some great battles for the lead. At one point after dark, both the Prototype and GTLM classes had three way fights for the lead. IMSA’s restart procedure in which the cars line up in groups helped. It made for exciting action.

Indycar drivers had a mixed day with a couple class podiums, some major disappointments, and some midpack finishes. Ryan Hunter-Reay was the top finisher with a second place overall in the Wayne Taylor car co-driven by Jordan Taylor and Renger Van Der Zande. Former Indycar driver Mike Conway  joined Hunter-Reay on the podium in the third place entry for Action Express. He teamed with Felipe Nasr and Eric Curran.

Other Indycar related finishes:

The Penske team did not fare well, retiring early in the contest. The car of Juan Pablo Montoya and Simon Pagenaud finished 40th overall. Helio Castroneves and Graham Rahal dropped out first in 41st place. In general, the number 7 of Castroneves, Rahal, and Ricky Taylor has been the faster of the two. Taylor qualified third.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Ford GTLM machines did slightly better. Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, and Richard Westbrook finished 4th in class and 13th overall. Sebastien Bourdais dropped out in 39th place, last in class.

Car 55 with Spencer Pigot led late and was in contention for the win. On a pit stop with 41 minutes left, the car would not restart. They finished a lap down, 6th overall.

The best story of the weekend was Michael Shank Racing’s car 93. A brake failure and heavy wall contact in Thursday evening practice destroyed the car. The crew worked tirelessly to make repairsr and presented the car for Saturday’s pre-race warmup. From starting in last place the trio of Lawson Aschenbach, Mario Farnbacher, and Justin Marks led some laps and eventually finished seventh in class.

Next year Sebring will be interesting. After IMSA runs the traditional 12 hour race, the WEC will have its own 12 hour race about 90 minutes later, beginning at midnight. This sounds like a logistical nightmare to me. Exchanging pit equipment, podium ceremonies, pre-race for WEC, all in less than 90 minutes might make for a more interesting show than the race. The response from the fans will be interesting as well. I talked to several fans at the track about it. Most are not sure how this will work. There is a lot of skepticism about this idea.

ABC Out of Indycar?

A tweet sent out Saturday by a weatherman in Macon, Georgia, said that 2018 will be ABC’s final year covering the Verizon Indycar Series. The tweet was taken down and Mark Miles said it was a little premature. If true, it means that NBC will be the sole carrier for Indycar next year.

ABC has covered the Indianapolis 500 for 50 years. Since their new deal with Indycar that split the races between ABC and NBCSN, their coverage has been rather weak. There is no chemistry in the booth, they seem to always have the wrong camera shot on screen, and worse, it seems like they care very little about their product. Even their 500 broadcasts, which should be one of their crown jewels, has not been great.

I will have more to say after an official announcement. I’m thinking it will come just before or during the Phoenix race weekend.

Servia Enters the 500

There was an announcement that slipped through the cracks St. Petersburg race weekend. Veteran Oriol Servia will enter the 500 in a car in the Rahal Letterman Lanigan stable run by Scuderia Corsa. Corsa has an association with Ferrari and runs sportscar programs in the US and Europe. I don’t see any interest beyond the 500. It’s nice to have some more international flavor to the race.

A New Car That Works; A Repeat Champion

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The victory may have gone to Sebastien Bourdais for the second year in a row, but the winner at St. Pete was Robert Wickens.  After a brilliant run to grab the pole on Saturday, Wickens drove an excellent race, leading 69 laps and had the race well in hand. Alexander Rossi pursued him relentlessly all day, but couldn’t quite get to him.

Two late cautions put Wickens’ lead in jeopardy. The last one set up a restart with just two laps to go. Oddly, the lights on the pace car did not go out signaling a restart. Was Wickens unaware the green was coming? Rossi pounced at the flag. He pulled alongside Wickens in turn one. Wickens had put his car in a good defensive spot. Rossi going inside but he put his right side wheels on the curb, causing a collision with Wickens. Rossi recovered to finish third, while Wickens could not continue. It was a tough ending to what had been a great day for the rookie.

I don’t blame Rossi for going for the win. That’s what racers do. He did put his car in a bad spot to maintain control and cost another driver the race. No driver had gone on the curb all weekend. A little background, though. In Friday afternoon’s practice Rossi once waited until the apex of the turn to brake and kept the car under control. Perhaps he as trying this move out. However, he didn’t have his wheels on the curb. So I put the blame n Rossi for the incident. He usually doesn’t make mistakes like that.

The race overall was great. After a caution filled first 40 laps, things settled down to some excellent racing. Wickens and Rossi battled for first all day, and there were battles for positions in the top 10 constantly. Sometimes on street course the cars can get strung out so far you never see two cars at once. That wasn’t the case yesterday. It was an outstanding way to start the season.

Notes

I haven’t seen the ABC broadcast yet, but I’m not hearing many compliments about it.

Scott Dixon had an awful weekend with his qualifying mistake and his collision with Sato in the race. His avoidable contact penalty was compounded with a pit violation. Despite all that he still managed a 6th place finish.

One thing I noticed about the new cars- I realize how easy the old cars were to drive. These cars are a handful. We are going to find out who the really skilled drivers are this year. Bring on that extra horsepower.

Last is becoming the place to start at St. Pete. Bourdais won from last place in 2017 and Graham Rahal fought through some early issues to finish second this time around.

It took me awhile to get it through my head that Helio Castroneves wasn’t in the Hitachi car. Then I realized it couldn’t be him because the car had the number 1 on it.

The fans in the turn 1 grandstand rose as one and gave Robert Wickens a long loud ovation when he got out of his car after the incident with Rossi.

Entry to the track was smoother this year. Security has streamlined their procedures. They could use a no bag line, though.

As an event St. Pete continues to grow. There was more signage downtown on the street and in stores. Newspaper advertising was more extensive including front page wrap around on Thursday.