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Indy 500 Postponed

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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

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F1 and INDYCAR Launch Virtual Racing Series

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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.

Jean-Eric Vergne, 2018 NYC EPRIX

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. 

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2019 ABC Supply 500 – More Racing, More Controversy

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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.

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An Inside Look at Monster Energy AMA Supercross

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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 4th. Check your local listings for viewing times and channels.

 

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NYIAS in PHOTOS: Race Cars

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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.

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ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway

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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. 

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New Racing Series Added to Global Rallycross

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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?

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New England Forest Rally 2017

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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.

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The First Ever New York City ePrix

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The Chairman of the Board sings that if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. Formula e certainly has made it by doing something no other racing series has, and that is successfully hold a closed-course street race within New York City. And Gotham certainly rolled out the figurative red carpet for the Qualcomm New York City ePrix – a ribbon cutting to open the track, Sir Richard Branson [Virgin Racing] turning on the lights to the Empire State Building, and Alejandro Agag – Founder and CEO – ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange with first season champion Nelson Piquet Jr. Yet to really make an impression on jaded New Yorkers, the weekend of racing would be a double-header – rounds 9 and 10 on the Formula e calendar.

Formula e in New York City 2017

In a conference call with the media before race weekend, Agag and team owner Michael Andretti talked about how the race finally came together for New York City. The series pointedly holds races in cities to promote electric cars and sustainable technology, and the logistics of finding a site in NYC proved itself to be difficult between subways, traffic, accessibility, and power supply. Agag explained, “We go to places where cars are really a problem”. Location after location was looked at, including Liberty State Park across the river in New Jersey, “But we wanted it in New York City, not New Jersey,” said Agag. When the daughter of a New York City official was impressed after coincidentally attending a race in Paris, they suddenly had an enthusiastic ally in city government to ultimately find the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal site. Located in Red Hook with an incredible view of the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan, the temporary track was set up on on the terminal roads with the terminal itself being used for the exclusive VIP club as well as the media center.

Formula e in New York City 2017

Agag is not shy about Formula e’s agenda. Formula e is like every other series in that the impetus to be in motorsport is still race on Sunday, sell on Monday. “We wanted to on the ground floor of new technology,” said Michael Andretti of his team’s involvement, “You’ll see the tech on the road in 10 years. Competition pushes everyone to push the tech further, faster.”  Sustainability is just as important as the tech; the race cars are zero emission vehicles, and the Michelin tires specially engineered for Formula e cars are recycled after the race. (Sorry, trophy hunters, no autographed tires for you.) The e-Village next to the race has a dj with booths touting solar panels, electric cars, and autonomous car tech. Incorporating digital technology in innovative ways helps to draw tech-savvy viewers from outside of the usual motorsport crowd –  new for season three is  “Fan Boost”, a way for fans to vote for their favorite driver through a phone app. On race day, the three drivers with the most votes can use the extra surge of power strategically during the race – blurring the lines a bit between gaming and live racing.

Formula e in New York City 2017

Many people comment that the races must be boring because the cars are so quiet – and hearing roaring engines is one of the cool things about racing, right? Well sure, but the cars are louder than you may think. Granted, there is no constant roar; you hear the TIE fighter like whoosh about twenty seconds before the car appears. The upside is that the tire squealing is much more apparent, and every tight turn sounds like it must be a crash because every bump is heard – but it’s just the usual racing and rubbing. Yet Formula e is still dogged by the perception that it is not “real racing,” especially because in its current format, driver switch cars halfway through. Seeing it in person dispels that myth – the races are pretty cool to watch, with cars reaching speeds of 140 mph and as much bumping as any other series. One security guard started laughing during the practice session, saying, “This is crazy!” Translated from New Yorker, it means “This is really cool.” Spotted  over the weekend was Leonoardo DiCaprio, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, and even Magnus Walker checking out the races.

So – to the races! Fortunately, the sun came out after a rain-soaked practice Friday. The circuit was very similar to the narrow Hong Kong circuit with tight chicanes. The current leader, Sebastiaen Buemi, was unfortunately racing in WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring the same weekend as the NYC ePrix. Taking his place on the Renault e.dams team was Pierre Gasly. Its’ Mahindra Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist’s first season with Formula e, and he was one to watch as placed third in his second race. Alex Lynn, standing in for Jose Maria Lopez on the DS Virgin Racing team, grabbed pole position in his first race in the series. Ultimately, Techeetah drivers Stephane Sarrazin and Jean-Eric Vergne placed 3rd and 2nd, respectively, and DS Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird took the win.

Formula e in New York City 2017

Round 10 on Sunday was a sweltering hot day. Sam Bird took P1. Yellow flags came out several times as cars kept hitting the wall at Turn 5. Mahindra racing claimed two positions on the podium – Nick Heidfeld and Felix Rosenqvist, and once again, Sam Bird was in the number one spot on the podium for DS Virgin Racing.

Formula e in New York City 2017

The future of the series looks brighter than a recyclable fluorescent bulb – with Volvo’s recent announcement that they will soon only manufacture electric cars exclusively, it will be interesting to see what manufacturers will join Jaguar, Renault, Mahindra, BMW…

The final two races of the season will be in Montreal, Canada – another double header July 29 and 30, 2007.

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9 questions to answer before buying your first track car

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More than half of the twenty-some thousand track cars in the United States are powered by Mazda engines. Is a Mazda the right car for you? These questions will help determine the best track day car for you.

Once upon a time, starting out in motorsport was difficult. At the entry level, you could take part in an autocross, a low speed event in a parking lot. Good fun, but not fast enough for many adrenaline junkies. To get onto an actual race track involved going to school, getting a racing license, buying or renting a race car and then actually going racing. Lapping days as we know them today did not really exist.

Part of that was because the cars really weren’t very safe and neither were the race tracks. Today’s cars are safer, more reliable and definitely perform to a much higher level. Likewise, most tracks in North America have evolved so that they are more friendly (as in safer) for lapping day type events.

My cousin John, a one time Supercross racer who was known for his crash-tacular style, recently made a return to motocross action after three decades away. Today’s bikes jump higher, farther and faster than they did back in the day and when Cousin John hit the dirt this time, his body was quick to point out that he is no longer a spring chicken. The speed bug has bitten again however, and John is determined to feed it, but has decided to come over to the dark side and do it on four wheels, with a roll cage. The inevitable question has arisen: “What kind of car should I start with?”

Over on the Grassroots Motorsports forums, the answer to every question is “Miata”. While I don’t disagree at all, I myself don’t fit in most Miata race cars and I suspect that my cousin (we haven’t been face to face in years) wouldn’t be at home in one either. Rather than start throwing out potential ideas, I have put together a series of questions for him so we can narrow down the field a bit.

  1. Roughly what sort of budget parameters are we looking at? The conversation has to start here. There is no point in looking at ex-Chumpcar entries if you are willing to spend six figures on your first car. Let’s start with some basic idea of how much we are going to spend.
  2. Are you planning to drive the car on the street or will it be track only? If you have the space to store a dedicated track car, a tow vehicle and are willing to buy and store a trailer, then your options open up greatly.
  3. What is your own physical shape? If you are a round guy like me, or a very tall guy, you should plan accordingly. There are lots of great track day options out there that I simply do not fit in, because I am too fat. No NASCAR style road course cars in my future. Likewise, as much as I love the Ariel Atom, it just isn’t comfortable for more than a dozen or so laps.
  4. How fast do you think you want to go? For some people, fast isn’t really that fast. For someone like my cousin, who has experience with speed, fast is likely going to mean FAST.
  5. What type of track is your “home” track? Is it tight and twisty or is it a high speed monster? Having a track day car that suits the place you are starting out will flatten out your learning curve a bit.
  6. What do participants at your local track drive at lapping days? Sure, it is fun to stand out from the crowd, but if everyone drives Mustangs and you show up with a Camaro, you will notice the difference. That is not to say that you won’t be welcomed with open arms, but you might not meet anyone who knows your specific car well enough to answer any questions you have along the way. You might also become the target of some friendly ribbing every now and then.
  7.  Do you have any aspirations or expectations that you might move on from lapping into competition? If you have unlimited budget, then this may not be so much of an issue, but if you are scraping together your shekels to buy a track ready car, you might want to find out if there is a class that it fits into at your local venue. This will make the transition that much easier.
  8. Do you enjoy wrenching on your own car or would you prefer to just show up and drive? For some people, there is just as much fun in building and maintaining a car as there is in driving it. That is cool, but others have no interest in that aspect and would rather just strap in and go. Those guys might be more inclined to drive a newer, production based car that is turn key, or have a local shop look after the car and bring it to the track for you. That is another budget consideration.
  9. What kind of cars do you actually like? While Miata may be the answer to just about every question, the roadster platform might not fit the bill if you are addicted to the angry rumble of a big, hairy muscle car. Yes, I know that you can shoehorn an LS into a Miata, but that might not be an optimal choice for a first time track toy.

 

Answer these questions as honestly as you can and list them in the comments below, so we can begin the decision process!

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