Racing

New Canadian series promises international quality competition

January 20, 2021 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

Motorsport, like just about every business/activity/hobby/sport/whatever, has been in a bit of a state of flux since March 2020, as the world figures out how to deal with the challenges presented by operating during a global pandemic.

That doesn’t mean that those behind the scenes are just hanging out on the couch swilling PBR and downing Doritos like the government wants us to do.

There are those who are so passionate about the health of motorsport that they are, in between snacks, are laying the foundation for the future of racing. Chris Bye from FEL Enterprises is one of those guys.

Bye’s business FEL is known for hosting top flight events for auto manufacturers, but his passion is racing. So much so that he spends an inordinate amount of time working with up and coming drivers, who have their eye on a career as Canada’s next international superstar.

We are arguably in a modern golden age of motorsport, when a significant number of auto manufacturers are building true turn-key race cars. Cars that the aspirational racing team can buy and go racing without doing anything beyond choosing their own suspension settings. Perhaps even more exciting is that those aspirational teams have the opportunity to prove their mettle against actual factory run racing teams.

Pages: 1 2

Rally Film with Michael Fassbender

May 13, 2020 by ponycargirl 1 Comment

While rallies and racing seasons are postponed and cancelled north to south, east to west, some gems are coming out to give us a much-needed fix. Famous for Band of Brothers, 12 Years a Slave, and X-Men, actor Michael Fassbender is releasing a film in three parts via the VERO social network. Fassbender was invited to be Ireland’s Rally of the Lakes ambassador in 2019 for its 40th anniversary where he was filmed driving the stages. The actor is no stranger behind the wheel having raced and 460bhp Porsche 911 in the Porsche Sports Cup Germany at Hockenheim and Nürburgring.

The first episode launched April 12 shows the lead up to the rally and his first recce with co-driver Barry Goodman. Directed by Mario Conte, the second and third episodes will be launched Tuesday May 19 and Tuesday May 26, respectively.

See the full Part One episode here.

Film credits: Director and Editor: Marco Conte. Camera: Niall Foley. Camera and Grade: Oliver

Hegarty. Sound: Neil Horner

Car crew credits: Owner: Gary McPhillips, Support Team: Cathal Sheridan, Francis McPhillips,

Dessie Keenan, ‘Mad’ Mick Maloney

Indy 500 Postponed

March 26, 2020 by ponycargirl 1 Comment

PRESS RELEASE:

INDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, March 26, 2020 – The Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridgehas been rescheduled for Sunday, Aug. 23 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials from INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) announced today. The 104th edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” will air live on NBC, with the official green flag time to be announced at a later date.

The GMR Grand Prix will transition to Saturday, July 4 on the IMS road course as part of a historic double-header featuring the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and NASCAR. This first-of-its-kind racing event also will be televised by NBC on Independence Day.

The Indianapolis 500 was originally scheduled for Sunday, May 24, in its traditional spot on the calendar during Memorial Day weekend. The GMR Grand Prix was scheduled to be run on Saturday, May 9.

“The Month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is my favorite time of year, and like our fans, I am disappointed that we have had to reschedule the Indianapolis 500,” Roger Penskesaid. “However, the health and safety of our event participants and spectators is our top priority, and we believe that postponing the event is the responsible decision with the conditions and restrictions we are facing. We will continue to focus on ways we can enhance the customer experience in the months ahead, and I’m confident we will welcome fans with a transformed facility and a global spectacle when we run the world’s greatest race.”

“Memorial Day weekend has always provided Indianapolis 500 fans an opportunity to honor the men and women who have fought and sacrificed for our nation’s freedom,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said. “This August, we’ll also have a unique and powerful opportunity to honor the contributions and heroism of the doctors, nurses, first responders and National Guard members serving on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. We’re grateful for the patience of our fans as we’ve navigated this situation, and we extend our thanks to NBC for its terrific partnership and diligent work to maximize broadcast coverage with this new schedule.”

On-track action in August will begin at IMS with practice sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 12-13, followed by Fast Friday on Aug. 14 and Indianapolis 500 Qualifications on Saturday and Sunday Aug. 15-16. Each day of qualifications will be televised on NBC, providing more network coverage of qualifications for fans than in 2019. A full broadcast schedule will be released soon.

The following week’s schedule will begin with hot pit-stop practice sessions on Thursday, Aug. 20 and include Indy Lights practice and qualifying. The Indy Lights Freedom 100 race, a significantly expanded Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge and final Indianapolis 500 practice will take place on Friday, Aug. 21 as part of Miller Lite Carb Day, followed by the public drivers’ meeting and full-field autograph session on Saturday, Aug. 22 as part of Legends Day presented by Firestone.

As a result of the schedule changes at IMS, the INDYCAR races scheduled for Aug. 16 and Aug. 22 have been rescheduled. The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio is now scheduled for Aug. 9, and the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway is now scheduled for Aug. 30. An updated 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar is available at this linkand can also be found at the bottom of this release.

GMR Grand Prix Makes Historic Move

The GMR Grand Prix will take the green flag Saturday, July 4, before the first NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the IMS road course – the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard. The unique holiday racing lineup will mark the first time that the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will compete at the same track on the same weekend as both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Immediately following the live telecast of the GMR Grand Prix on July 4, NBC will air the first NASCAR race on the IMS road course with the Xfinity Series cars in action at the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard.

“For very good reason, this historic pairing will be circled on the calendar of every motorsports fan,” Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles said. “We appreciate our friends at NASCAR for their flexibility and support in this matter and will work with them on a memorable, exciting weekend of racing action.”

Tickets already purchased for the Indianapolis 500, GMR Grand Prix and associated on-track days such as Miller Lite Carb Day and Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying Weekend will be valid on the rescheduled dates. Individuals already in possession of those tickets should use them for entry. To learn more about the adjusted on-track schedule, review customer FAQ’s and submit questions, fans can visit www.ims.com/COVID19.

Important Indy 500 Race Weekend Concert Update

All concerts scheduled for the original Race Weekend in May have been canceled. This includes REO Speedwagon and Styx on Friday, May 22, Luke Bryan on Saturday, May 23 and Martin Garrix on Sunday, May 24.

This decision was made to provide the maximum flexibility possible to complete the Indianapolis 500 by Sunday, Aug. 23 and provide room for any contingency plans necessary. IMS appreciates the understanding of fans and regrets that the COVID-19 situation has caused the cancellation of these events.

Fans who made concert-specific purchases will be able to access a credit for any IMS event, including the Indy 500, or choose to receive a refund. IMS concert customers will receive further communication on how to exercise their ticketing options.

Enhanced Health and Safety Measures at IMS

IMS and INDYCAR officials will continue to work closely with local, state and federal health representatives to ensure a safe and healthy experience for spectators. Enhanced measures that will be in place once activity resumes at IMS include:

•Increasing housekeeping staff at the track to elevate frequency of cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces

•Using cleaning products that meet current EPA and CDC guidelines for registered disinfectants to be used against COVID-19

•Educating all employees on CDC prevention guidance, including proper handwashing technique and requesting that all vendors communicate strict hygiene protocol to staff

•Increasing public hand-sanitizing stations in high-traffic areas, containing sanitizer that meets or exceeds the CDC standard for alcohol content

•Reducing required hand-to-hand interactions between customers and staff at concession areas and other key IMS locations

Updated 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Schedule

Saturday, May 30

Streets of Detroit Race 1

Sunday, May 31

Streets of Detroit Race 2

Saturday, June 6

Texas Motor Speedway

Sunday, June 21

Road America

Saturday, June 27

Richmond Raceway

Saturday, July 4

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

Sunday, July 12

Streets of Toronto

Saturday, July 18

Iowa Speedway

Sunday, Aug. 9

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Sunday, Aug. 23

Indianapolis 500 Mile Race

Sunday, Aug. 30

World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway

Sunday, Sept. 13

Portland International Raceway

Sunday, Sept. 20

WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca

TBD Expected Finale

Streets of St. Petersburg

F1 and INDYCAR Launch Virtual Racing Series

March 21, 2020 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

It started in the wake of Formula E suspending its season for two months, then Formula 1 cancelling the Australian Grand Prix because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jean-Eric Vergne (JEV), the two-time ABB FIA Formula E Champion, posted a modest proposal on social media and tagged other drivers: “To all my fellow friends racing drivers who won’t race in the next 2 months: should we create an online championship and race?” A day later, JEV posted a graphic with the tag “Not the AUS GP” – Real F1 Drivers vs. Top Gamers. The first driver announce was McLaren Driver Lando Norris, then former McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne (currently with the Mercedes Formula e team), along with Mercedes development driver and former Formula E driver Esteban Gutierrez and more curiously, Thibault Courtois (goalkeeper for Real Madrid) following suit. Veloce Esports, JEV’s sponsor, would be host of the live event on their YouTube channel and Twitch March 15, 2020.

Thanks to Instagram’s logarithms that always show me things I would actually want to see 17 hours after they have happened, I missed the livestream but the entire event can be watched here. I’ll admit to being a complete stranger to Esports – gaming is not my thing, so on the outset I was surprised at the level of detail, including race stewards behind the fence and nervous team engineers in the pit garage. The 29-lap the e-race had some exciting moments, though there was a strange glitch at the race start when the light went green but the cars just sat on the grid for several seconds. Missing is the onboard banter (which seems to be in a separate video), the excitement of real-life pit-stops, and the general drama of F1 and its various personalties, but the after-race interviews and banter tries to make up for that. And hey, Williams finished in the points, hopefully a good omen for the 2020 season when real racing finally gets started. Of the real drivers, Lando Norris finished 6th after working his way up from a start at 19th, Gutierrez finished 10th after a DQ in qualifying when his system crashed, and Vandoorne came in 15th. Nineteen year old Hungarian esports driver Dani Bereznay won both pole and the race. His comments afterwards echo all of our sentiments, I think: “…I’m a huge Formula 1 fan myself as well, so I just want to see the real teams and cars and guys racing out there as soon as possible, but at least from this negative we did some kind of positive results a the end of the day…”

Team roster for Not The AUS GP:
Mercedes: Stoffel Vandoorne – Esteban Gutierrez
Red Bull: Tiametmarduk – Veloce Hyperz
Toro Rosso: Super GT – Jimmy Broadbent
McLaren: Lando Norris – WillNE
Alfa Romeo: Dani Bereznay – James Baldwin
Racing Point: James Doherty – Thibaut Courtois
Williams: Sacha Fenestraz – Tom Martinez
HAAS: Louis Delétraz – Ryan Tveter
Renault: Jarno Opmeer – Simon Weigang

Early on March 20 Formula 1 announced its own F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series to be broadcast on Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch and Facebook channels. The first e-race will be the Bahrain Virtual Grand Prix 8pm GMT Sunday, March 22. Not surprisingly these races will not have actual championship points for the drivers. The Virtual Grand Prix is a separate event from the Not The BAH GP, which will be at 6pm GMT on the Veloce Esports channel. Both events will announce the competitors soon, but it’s safe to say that the F1 version will have more current F1 drivers, and the Veloce version will have a different variety of drivers (including Williams’ Nick Lafiti) and e-sports champs.

With the racing season from regional tracks to prominent series like F1 postponed and cancelled globally, it’s not surprising that INDYCAR and NASCAR would also take a cue from the success of this hastily organized Veloce e-race. Hours after the F1 announcement, INDYCAR sent out a press release announcing the first race of the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge on Saturday March 28, 2020 at 4pm EST. The IndyCar virtual racing will start out with six races to be streamed live on indycar.com as well as YouTube, Facebook Live, and Twitch for the next six Saturdays. The actual venue will be voted on by fans and the winner will be interviewed on Instagram afterwards by Katie Hargitt. The entry list will be announced in the coming week. (Read the full press release here.) NASCAR is launching the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series for fans Sunday, March 22, 1:30pm EST, limited to FS1 and the FOX Sports app. The race will feature NASCAR notables such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace and more at iRacing virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Lemonade from lemons; this could be a fun diversion while we are all practicing social distancing and hoping the best for friends and family.

2019 ABC Supply 500 – More Racing, More Controversy

August 21, 2019 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

Rain and more rain was predicted for the 2019 ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway, but the dark clouds weren’t just in the sky. The specter of Robert Wicken’s 2018 horrific crash into the fence at Turn 2 lurked overhead as NTT IndyCar Series teams set up in the paddocks and welcomed race fans for the weekend. The 2.5 mile (4.023 km) Tricky Triangle seems to have its own micro climate with weather unlike anywhere else in Pennsylvania. Saturday’s first practice was scuttled when low cloud cover prevented the MediVac from flying to the track, then a torrential downpour quashed Qualifying. A two-hour practice session was scheduled for the afternoon once the track was dried. Championship points determined the starting grid, putting Josef Newgarden in pole position followed by Alexander Rossi, Simon Pagenaud, Scott Dixon, and Will Power. A hopeful Tony Kanaan had the fastest lap in qualifying, a blistering 216.354 mph.

There was hope for Sunday’s race – more rain wasn’t predicted until late afternoon, giving the drivers just enough time to finish the 200 laps before thunderstorms were supposed to blow through. The race didn’t stick to plan, though, and after the safety car pulled away and the racing started, it was deja-vu “all over again”. Three deep in the corner in the first lap, Takuma Sato pulled forward on the high side of the turn and clipped Rossi, who then went into Ryan Hunter-Reay on the low side. Sato careened into the wall collecting Felix Rosenqvist, whose race car eerily rode along the wall but fortunately avoided barreling into the fence. James Hinchcliffe – who can’t seem to catch a break at Pocono, and was also involved in last year’s Turn 2 crash along with Sato – hit the wall while trying to avoid the crash. Sato’s #30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan car turned upside down and was on fire, but he walked away after extracted. All except Rosenqvist were cleared by medical fairly quickly; Rosenqvist was alert and walking but went to hospital as a precaution. A 45-minute red flag delayed the race while the fence was once again repaired in Turn 2. Hinch returned to the race after being cleared. Despite the severe penalties for repairing the cars under caution, Rossi’s team fixed the car and re-entered the pit on Lap 75, and Hunter-Reay followed soon after.

Pagenaud snagged the lead early on, then his Team Penske mate Will Power took the lead in Lap 48, jockeying for the lead several more times during the race. By Lap 115, Power was in the lead followed by Dixon and Pagenaud. They would stay the top three until a full course yellow came out on Lap 126, quickly followed by a red flag to return to the pits because of lightning in the distance. The race was soon called and Power declared the winner as fans evacuated the stands. As the trophies were awarded in the cramped media center sans champagne and confetti, the violent storm arrived to unleash a barrage of hail.

While originally contrite about the crash, Sato holds firm that he didn’t turn into Rossi as he shot forward. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing issued a rare statement supporting his insistence that on the cockpit camera footage, he didn’t move his hands to turn. Rossi begs to differ, and the debate continues. The controversy over the crash was immediate on social media. Robert Wickens tweeted, “How many times do we have to go through the same situation before we can all accept that an IndyCar should not race at Pocono. It’s just a toxic relationship and maybe it’s time to consider a divorce. I’m very relieved (to my knowledge) that everyone is okay from that scary crash.” Sage Karam also tweeted, “Glad to see everyone is ok. Never a good feeling when you see something like that especially when it’s your brothers. Think the answer is clear that we should not be here. In my opinion that question was answered awhile ago.”

Commenters weighed in in various forums echoing Wickens’ sentiment, even calling for a suspension or full ban on Sato from the sport. However, the response from the three winners in the post-race press conference was a bit more measured. Regarding the actual crash, Power said. “Looking at that replay, I don’t know what happened there, whether Sato got a seam or something, but man – you just can’t do that. The seams down the back there, like you’ll see cars move around a lot. And maybe that’s what happened. Being three wide is pretty tough, going in there and getting close because it’ll move half a foot, it moves six inches either way when you’re on them. It sucked too to see it in Turn 2 on the first lap, I feel bad for the guys that were taken out that were in the championship too, especially for Rossi. But man, you just gotta respect these places, you do, in every situation, you can’t screw around much.”

Regarding the question on whether INDYCAR should continue racing at Pocono, Dixon weighed in saying, “Honestly, I feel bad for Pocono, the group of people here work extremely hard… some of the race was fantastic, it’s getting some really good momentum and hopefully it does continue, but (it’s) down to weather and some mistakes that happened on track that honestly could happen anywhere… I think the drivers in a lot of situations could do a better job to help that situation. Honestly, I hope we come back and I want to say a big thank you to everyone here at Pocono, the fans and everyone that comes out because it’s definitely a tough place. Will can tell you how rewarding it is to win here because it is so difficult to get it right.” Power continued, “I agree, it’s a great oval for us. Obviously it’s an unfortunate accident that, like Scott said, could happen anywhere, they kind of got a bad rap for that. But the crowd’s up 15% every year we come back so it’s getting better… It’s a good race track, man, it’s a good track for racing and I really hope we come back, I do… it’s hard to find good ovals these days that suit our cars.” Pagenaud added, “…it is a fun track to drive on, and really unfortunate because we’re close to New York, it’s a great market for IndyCar… And personally I love superspeedways, I think it’s been a bad – exactly what they said, a bad set of circumstances – and obviously when you’re travelling at such high speed a crash is a big crash. Hopefully we can come back and keep working with the people at Pocono, as a driver I really enjoy coming here.” INDYCAR at this time has not announced whether or not they will renew at Pocono for 2020.

An Inside Look at Monster Energy AMA Supercross

May 2, 2019 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

Over the past decade, Monster Energy AMA Supercross has seen a welcome rise in attendance and popularity. The ever-evolving series has changed quite a bit from the days of Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael to an increasingly data-driven sport with exclusive factory team trainers producing elite athletes. Much like their four-wheel motorsport brethren, factory riders train full-time on and off the track, giving them a distinct advantage over privateers while narrowing the competitive gap to fractions of a second between teams. I had the opportunity before Round 16 at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to talk to some of the riders, managers, trainers, and Carmichael himself about what goes on behind the scenes to ensure success.

Potential riders are often spotted at amateur races. Interested teams will back a candidate as young as 12 or 13 with sponsorship, even bringing them to train alongside signed riders. “What we do is we bring them to the group and they’re around these guys, training with these guys, involved with their program… maybe not to as high a level… time-wise, maybe not on the bike as much… but it’s getting them used to that. Riding with these guys during the week is the biggest thing, I think, because they see that, they kind of have that carrot they’re always chasing… that’s always bringing them closer and closer,” said Wil Hahn, Star Racing/Yamaha Racing team manager and former pro rider. “We might not have a kid sign when they’re on the 60’s or 80’s, but we’re trying to help them.”

Training to track time ratio is around 50/50. Gareth Swanepoel, the trainer (and also a former rider) for the Yamaha team said that while the training depends on each rider’s needs, during the racing season they’ll ride three times a week, two bike rides a week, two days of gym, plus active recovery days with lights rides, running, yoga, or other stretching. This all evolved in the sport when Ricky Carmichael, looking to gain an edge over physically bigger riders in the 450SX class, hired a trainer. “He took it to a whole new level of training, so now, everyone has to train because he was beating everyone so bad, everyone had to start training to keep up with him,” commented Jeremy Albrecht, JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing Team Manager. “Everyone follows what the top guy is doing, so when he started training like that, then the next guy does it, and now everyone does it.”

In training, moto-specific LitPRO as well as GPS combined with On-bike data loggers capable of pulling in up to 12 data points gather information from the motor and shocks that is downloaded after completion then linked to video. Teams then use propriety software pinpoint mechanical performance then adjust as needed after practice or a heat. As an example, “We’re able to measure how much suspension’s used in corners and whoops and obstacles and if [a rider] comes in and says, ‘Hey, my bike’s really soft’, we can look… on the computers to kind of say, ‘Well, you didn’t use all your travel’”, said Yamaha Supercross/Motocross Supervisor Jim Perry in the paddock on Saturday. “So if he says one thing, we’re able to look at the data and say, ‘Maybe that isn’t what you’re feeling’… then our suspension engineers and chassis engineers can analyze that and make some changes.” Unlike many of the automotive racing series, communication between the rider and team is verboten during the actual race. Instead, riders rely on communication with their mechanic and a white board.

All of this data gathering and training comes together at the starting gate – staying calm, keeping the heart rate low combined with muscle memory to get out of the gate as quickly as possible when it drops. Getting a good position on the track, ahead of the field, is key. In an informal meeting with H.E.P. Motorsports 450cc riders Kyle Chisholm, Alex Ray, and Adam Enticknap on media day, Ray told us “The only that’s going through your mind is you want a good start, you want to start up front, because if you’re in the middle or in the back, it creates more risk… you have more people, everyone’s bunched up in a group, you don’t know what all these other people are doing, if you’re up front, you sort of have control over the race.”

During racing season, meetings are on Monday, ride and train during the week, travel, practice on Friday, race on Saturday, travel on Sunday… meetings, train, race, repeat.

A quick primer: In Monster Energy AMA Supercross, there are two classes – the 250SX bikes are the “Lites”, the younger riders’ development series. This class is subdivided into East and West regions for the entire season until the Las Vegas championship, where 22 riders race in the East/West Showdown over 15 minutes plus one lap. The 450SX is the top level of the Supercross series and race nationally, where the main even features 22 riders racing for 20 minutes plus one lap. Each division goes through qualifying on the day before the finals, and the 40 fastest riders advance to the race day events. On race day, both classes have two heats of 20 riders each, and the top nine advance to the main event. Everyone else has one more chance in the Last Chance Qualifier, and the top four LCQ finishers round out the 22 final competitors. The bikes are all from six manufacturers – Honda, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki, and Yamaha. The dirt track, like its rallycross counterpart, has a series of obstacles; small, waist-high bumps called “whoops”, a table top, a rhythm section with no drummer but larger jumps of varying size and interval, and the ultimate finish-line jump assuring a spectacular airborne end to the race.

The 2019 season has seen its share of crazy weather, most notably torrential rain in San Diego and snow in Denver before the race. New Jersey was no exception; the track was covered for rain on Friday, scuttling the opportunity to practice for many of the riders. The track wasn’t too much of a mess for a cold but sunny race day, though looking at my clogged sneaker treads after a track walk, there was a lot of packed mud. In the 250SX class, Chase Sexton won the race, with Mitchell Oldenburg and Justin Cooper in second and third. Going into the 450SX finals, Cooper Webb was the points leader. After an exciting race with several overtakes and mistakes by the riders in front, Cooper Webb ultimately triumphed with Zach Osborne and Eli Tomac in second and third.

The Las Vegas Championship where the 250 East and West divisions race and a new 2019 450SX champion will be crowned takes place Saturday, May 4^th. Check your local listings for viewing times and channels.

NYIAS in PHOTOS: Race Cars

April 22, 2019 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

While there was a curious lack of rally cars on the show floor of the 2019 New York International Auto Show, there were still a few race cars to drool over.

ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway

August 23, 2018 by ponycargirl 1 Comment

After the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, five drivers had solid chances for the 2018 championship: four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champions Scott Dixon leading in points with Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden, Will Power, and Ryan Hunter-Reay in chase. Before the tenth lap of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono, a shocking shunt on Turn 2 sent rookie Robert Wickens flying into the fence with only the car’s tub landing back on the track, bringing out the red flag and ending the race for the five drivers involved, including Hunter-Reay. Wickens was airlifted to hospital after Takuma Sato, Pietro Fittipaldi, Hunter-Reay, and Schmidt Peterson Motorsport team mate James Hinchcliffe were evaluated by medical staff and cleared.

How to even write about the race after that? Its importance pales in comparison to the health of the 29 year old driver hanging in the balance. At the time of publishing, Wickens has undergone spinal surgery, placing titanium rods and screws to stabilize a thoracic spinal fracture. Other injuries include a pulmonary contusion and fractures to his lower legs and right arm.

Pennsylvania has been getting a lot of rain. So much rain, in fact, there have been destructive floods in the Pocono region. The rain didn’t spare INDYCAR the weekend; a light drizzle started at the end of afternoon qualifications. Verizon Team Penske Chevy driver Will Power’s qualifying run averaged 219.511 mph winning him his 53rd career INDYCAR pole, tying with A.J. Foyt for second and picking up a bonus point for being the fastest on the track. Then came a downpour, and the last practice was cancelled. Crucial in hindsight, perhaps, as Pocono isn’t called the Tricky Triangle for nothing; the 2.5 mile track’s three turns are modeled after turns at other famous tracks paired with long straightaways. Turn 2’s 9 degree banking after Indianapolis Motor Speedway is said to be the fastest. INDYCAR has been back at the family-friendly Pocono Raceway since 2013 after a 23-year absence, and at the start of the ABC Supply 500 weekend the series announced they will be back for 2019.

More overnight showers left the track wet and the paddocks plagued with puddles. The morning of race day, all that could be heard was the track blowers drying the track, but the tarmac finally dried and was approved for racing. All of Team Penske took the front row – Will Power had pole with Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi, Hunter-Reay, Simon Pagenaud and Wickens rounding out the first three rows on the starting grid. Prior to driver introductions, spectators were treated to a parade of classic race cars. Country singer Lee Greenwood took the stage to sing the national anthem, the grid was cleared, and everyone waited for the drivers to start their engines.

As the safety car peeled off into the pits for the green flag, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Spencer Pigot in the 21 car and Graham Rahal’s #15 RLL Racing turned each other around at the back of the pack – and the first yellow flag of the day. After racing resumed, Alexander Rossi passed Will Power to take the lead.

Under Lap 8’s red flag, the cars headed to the pits, and drivers were allowed to leave the cars. There was an instant pall over the Tricky Triangle, punctuated by the occasional roar of an engine revving to keep the cars ready to race. The track crew removed debris and repaired an entire section of the catch fence, while other drivers on the ground were interviewed and the crowd was updated when more news was released on the driver’s conditions. After nearly two hours, the track was once again ready for racing, though unapproved work on their cars during the red flag got drivers Graham Rahal and Spencer Pigot each a two-lap penalty.

For the remaining 192 laps, there seemed to be a concerted effort by all drivers to keep the rest of the race free of further incident. Will Power passed Rossi and briefly took the lead in leap 137, but Rossi passed him again and maintained the lead for the rest of the race. Power took the second spot on the podium, and Scott Dixon worked his way up to third from 13th on the grid.

Going into Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline at Gateway Motorsports Park in St. Louis, Missouri, there are now only 29 points between leader Scott Dixon and ABC Supply 500 winner Alexander Rossi. Newgarden is 36 points behind Rossi with 464 season points, and Power is in fourth with 449 points.

: Will Power in qualifying

: Mario Andretti and Dick Vermeil

: the track

: Rossi wins

: Will Power

: Pitting during race

: Takuma Sato

: WP leaving pits

: Last practice cancelled

: Starting grid

: Fan

: Marco Andretti

: Dark clouds over Turn 3

: The race resumes after nearly 2-hour red flag

: Scott Dixon

: Double seater rides

: Putting car to bed for the night

: Simon Pagenaud

: Waiting

: Mario Andretti

: Safety car as race restarts

: What Turn 4?

: Tony Kanaan

: Scott Dixon

: Rossi wins

: Rossi on podium

: Handing champagne to the team

: Champagne spray

New Racing Series Added to Global Rallycross

December 6, 2017 by ponycargirl 1 Comment

Red Bull GRC announced a new racing series in partnership with Polars RZR to start in 2018. Taking place on the same race days with Supercars and GRC Lites, the USAC-sanctioned category will first and foremost bring more side-by-side racing action to the ever-evolving series, as well as add more opportunity for drivers to get behind the wheel.

“Polaris is the ideal partner for us to work with as we develop this new entry point class for young drivers to enter the sport of rallycross,” said Red Bull GRC CEO Colin Dyne. “They are a high performance, dynamic brand that will bring more racing excitement to our fans, and will further expand our unique presence in the world of racing.”

The past several years have seen many regional rallies add off-road vehicles to the competitive mix, bringing more participants as well as spectators. Their popularity is growing wildly, and it will be interesting to see how Global Rallycross integrates the new series under the GRC umbrella with the current performance-enhanced road cars. As of yet, the actual vehicle hasn’t been released – we have to wait until January to see. Perhaps all will be revealed at North American International Auto Show in Detroit?

New England Forest Rally 2017

July 30, 2017 by ponycargirl 1 Comment

The New England Forest Rally (NEFR) is the fifth of six rallies on the American Rally Association (ARA) in the organization’s first year. As in previous years, the stages are run over two days on forest roads from Bethel, Maine and Errol, New Hampshire. Started in 1991, previous winners include Patrick Richard/Nathalie Richard, Travis Pastrana/Christian Edstrom, Antoine L’Estage/Nathalie Richard, Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino, and David Higgins/Craig Drew.

With a list of 45 entries, the first two stages of the rally kicked off at Concord Pond after Parc Expose at Sunday River Resort, and the race of attrition began. After service and Stage 3, Stage 4 was cancelled; first there was a bit of miscommunication about an injury to Robbie Durant, Travis Pastrana’s co-driver, but after it was resolved communication was lost and the stage was cancelled. Durant suffered an impacted spine and couldn’t continue after Stage 4, then Pastrana put in a formal request to switch co-drivers. Rule books were consulted, and the race steward approved Pastrana continuing the rally on Saturday with a new co-driver. An available, licensed co-driver was found in Greg Dorman, also SRT USA’s Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator. An unusual situation to say the least, but ultimately within the rules.

Saturday started off dramatically when car 111 – Luis Teixeira and Kadence Verge – had an off requiring medical attention and Stage 5 was cancelled. Laughlin O’Sullivan and Scott Putnam had an off on Stage 8 – Sturtevant Long and had to leave the stage with the car on the back of a tow. By the end of Stage 12, both Pastrana and Higgins had damaged right rear suspension, but both were repaired enough in service to continue to the final stage on North Road.

Pastrana won overall with Dorman, Higgins and Drew in second, and Jeff Seehorn and Karen Jankowski in third in only their second time competing at NEFR. Pastrana, ever the sportsman and good-guy, jumped off the podium after the champagne spray and gave his trophy to a young girl in front. Completely speechless, he told the girl to come back next year and he would autograph the trophy for her.

Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey drove an all new Ford Focus RS rally car to first place in Production 4WD, and frequent regional competitors Alvin Fong and William Machin had their first ARA national podium in second in the 2006 Mitsubshi Evo 9. Sumit Panjabi and Matt James rounded out the podium in 3rd.

Clinching the Open 2WD Championship was Ryan Millen and co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino in the Toyota RAV4.

There was a noticeable increase in spectators since 2015, boding well for rally in North America. NEFR efforts have paid off and the VIP bus has gone from a bus ride on a school bus to a spectator areas on a couple of stages to a VIP experience offering food and drink in addition to the transportation.

ARA has one more rally in its 2017 – Ojibwe Forests Rally August 25-26. While there were some growing pains with the controversy over Pastrana’s co-driver switch and questions over Higgins’ car being underweight at the end of NEFR, the non-profit organization is addressing the issues for future rallies.

…and still no mooses.