Motorsports

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

A Few Words With Reigning Indy 500 Champion Takuma Sato

May 25, 2018 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

On Sunday May 27, 2018, the Indy 500 will be raced for the 102^ndtime. When the dust settled on Bump Day, the 33 drivers that qualified wasn’t a surprise but the two that didn’t make it was definitely a disappointing shock. Pippa Mann in the #63 Dayle Coyne Racing kept losing speed, and James Hinchcliffe had issues as well and neither made the cut. Ultimately Hinchcliffe announced Thursday that all options were exhausted, ending all chances to race on Sunday – and will no doubt affect his current #5 position in championship points. Danica Patrick, in her final race before retirement, rounded out the top nine at 9^thon the starting grid.

In the week leading up to the 2018 Indy 500, drivers traveled to different cities to publicize the race. Reigning champion Takuma Sato visited New York City where he was toasted by the Japanese Ambassador and talked with the media. I was able to chat with Sato, an all-around nice guy and consummate sportsman, for a couple minutes and ask him about the exciting last five laps of his win, what winning the race means to him, and what the competition in this year’s race looks like.

PCG: In last year’s Indy 500, I couldn’t breathe in those last five laps before you took the checkered flag. Can you speak to how important it was to you to win and take the [Borg-Warner] trophy to Japan?

Sato: Well, as I said on the stage here it was just an unbelievable experience and was really the significant moment in my life and it just feels amazing really and every single aspect was a huge experience for me. And like you said, yes, bringing the trophy to Japan is one of amazing story because not only my ambition but also for the entire Indycar and all winners in 83 years of history they’ve never done it in our strategy. So I think a lot of people’s commitment showing a lot of people’s appreciation is really truly showing that it is happening and I don’t know how to say, but it is just a dream come true.

So the last five laps was very touch-go move because for me… So 10 laps to go and Max Chilton, another driver leading the race and he by himself is really fast, so… I mean could overtake him but it was really risky because he was so fast. And I was just trying to figure out how I can overtake him as well as how I could protect him as well. So I was learning on quite a few laps. And Helio Castroneves charging me and he overtook me, impressive move in turn 3 on outside. When I saw it I knew that Helio is doing the same thing to Max. So instead of chasing Helio I basically let him do it. And in fact, he overtook him two laps later and then he lost momentum – so Max lost momentum – that’s the time I could overtake him. Now it’s between Helio and I, right. So I could wait until last lap to overtake Helio, however if I do so, what if there is a yellow comes in, right? And that means I will be finishing in second before I challenge, and I didn’t want to make that happen. However, if I overtook with three laps to go he will re-overtake me and that would be the end of the story. So I was thinking, how do we do it? And five laps to me is the magic number. Because I overtake him, see how many laps he can take to come back and attempt, whether it was first lap or second lap, or third lap. And the only thing I didn’t know was whether he couldn’t or didn’t. If he didn’t that would be a problem because that means he could be out of sequence. However when I saw him make an attempt three laps later I overtook him which is two laps to and by that time I realized if I could hold the pace I could win because by the time I pull away he takes another two laps to come back which is checkered flag. So to me either way the five laps to go when I lead I can do very… how to you say in English?

PCG: Strategic?

Sato: Noooo… Flexible! Can be very flexible in any circumstance. So that’s the way I saw it. And it became as I saw it. And obviously this is a rare case because usually the reality doesn’t go to the way you planned it. But – that was the day I got so much luck, so much environment, physically I have a very fast car, and mentally I was so relaxed and strong and I was able to compete on the highest level with the guy I could trust one hundred percent because Helio Castroneves is the guy to beat for Indy 500 so I was very happy in that moment.

PCG: In this Indy 500, you will be racing with five previous winners. Are you looking forward to a really competitive race?

Sato: Yes! I’m really looking forward to it, in fact it’s going to be a really tough challenge, honestly speaking, of course, nothing is impossible so I will try my best but looking at the circumstances it will be extremely tough to do the race but I think it will be great. Obviously, Alexander Rossi, and Helio Castroneves, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Scott Dixon and myself… who else, I don’t know, but it can be anybody else. So I think it’s going to be a great show for sure and any of the result I think I will accept, however, hopefully I wish we can have a big smile after the race, yes.

PCG: After some of the issues in practice, are you feeling more confident going into Friday’s practice?

Sato: I think the honest answer is yes and no. Physically and mentally myself I am ready to take action, of course. The car, unfortunately we had some issues, we have some struggles, but I think the engineers work so hard and squeeze out the last one percent of speed for Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2 showing a huge step forward so I believe we can build a car as competitive as possible to check the things on the fly on Carb Day and if that’s the case, I think a 16 spread has no meaning. I can move up and I can compete for the win and that’s what I want to do.

PCG: Thank you for your time and good luck!

: Sato being interviews

: Sato with the Japanese Ambassador

: Champagne toast

Red Bull Global Rallycross 2018 Season Announced

January 4, 2018 by ponycargirl 2 Comments

Red Bull Global Rallycross has announced its 2018 calendar with four scheduled double headers and some new cities – including New Orleans, Louisiana. The final race has taken place in Long Beach, California the past several years; there will still be a race in Los Angeles in July, but in keeping with the “Global” part of the series, the final will be in Europe. The exact location has yet to be announced. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be a race in Canada this season; the closest to the east of Canada will be in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In fact, that is the only East Coast race at all so far. There is a double header in June with no location indicated. The full calendar:

Round 1: Louisville, KY (May 19-20)
Rounds 2-3: To be announced (June 9-10)*
Round 4: New Orleans, LA (June 23-24)
Round 5: Los Angeles, CA (July 7-8)
Rounds 6-7: Indianapolis, IN (August 11-12)*
Rounds 8-9: Atlantic City, NJ (August 25-26)*
Round 10: Seattle, WA (September 15-16)
Rounds 11-12: Europe (October 27-28)*
*indicates doubleheader

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.

The First Ever New York City ePrix

July 20, 2017 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

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.

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

: Formula e in New York City 2017

GRC Makes a Bet on Atlantic City

September 4, 2016 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

“…It’s going to be slamming banging, you’re gonna see the most exciting racing you’ve ever seen in your life. And if you’ve got ADD, it is the sport for you. It’s action-packed every turn, I have a hard time, like, taking it all in…” —Bucky Lasek

With that, Red Bull Global Rallycross arrived in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the first time with a Friday evening parade of race cars on the famed Boardwalk. After the cars drove past Bally’s and Caesar’s, they lined up for a GRC-style Parc Expose in Kennedy Plaza for a public press conference and autograph signing.

While Ford is still the dominant automaker in Supercars with five Fiestas driven by Steve Arpin, Brian Deegan, Austin Dyne, Nelson Piquet Jr., and Patrik Sandell, both Honda and Subaru upped the ante in the gambling town by adding a third car. Honda brought in Kevin Eriksson for their third OMSE Civic alongside Sebastian Eriksson and Joni Wiman; Kevin has competed in GRC Lites and currently competes in the FIA World Rallycross series in a Ford Fiesta. Subaru invited Australian rally driver Chris Atkinson to try his hand at rallycross in the #55 WRX STI with GRC regulars Bucky Lasek and Sverre Isachsen. Tanner Foust and Scott Speed rounded out the field in VW Beetles.

Being an itinerant series, the practice day always comes with its share of challenges – for example the wooden plank jump that caused delays in Detroit in 2015. In Atlantic City the course was on the tarmac of Bader Field, an aging municipal airport named after a Prohibition-Era mayor, and the racing cars created some potholes large enough to create flying chunks of the cement, warranting the postponement of a few heats to the following day. The stands were unusually packed for a practice day, being a Saturday, so GRC kept fans happy by adding a few rounds of door-to-door racing by the “Fastest Six.”

The Atlantic City course was also the longest course this year, measuring 1.102 miles. So long, in fact, that the usual Supercar final had to be cut down to eight laps from the usual ten, and the GRC Lites final down to six laps so the cars wouldn’t run out of gas. After Saturday’s qualifying, Scott Speed came out in front with pole position.

Sunday was bright and sunny for the finals, without the stiff breezes that blew the dirt around on Saturday. In the semi-final, Foust and Piquet Jr. tangled a bit, calling for a restart – moving the schedule around a bit. In order to maintain the live broadcast of the Supercar finals, the Lites finals ended up taking place after Supercars. The Supercars final did not disappoint, with teammates Foust and Speed jockeying for first, Speed ultimately staying in front for the win. On the last lap, Sandell took the Joker lap to take second, and Deegan sped past Arpin and a limping Foust for the third spot on the podium. Foust had a tire puncture for the last two laps, while Subaru teammates Bucky Lasek and Chris Atkinson suffered complete blow-outs.

In an earlier heat, Sandra Hultgren ended up rolling over after the first turn. She quickly got back onto the track in following heats. Alex Keyes won his first race on his last race of the season, with Oliver Eriksson and Miki Weckstrom in second and third, respectively.

Red Bull GRC goes to Seattle for the next race September 17, 2016.

Red Bull GRC – DC

August 3, 2016 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

Marking the start of the second half of the Red Bull Global Rallycross season, the series set up camp in Washington D.C. for the third year in a row. The clockwise track was once again constructed in the parking lot of RFK Stadium, embedded with crumbling chicane from the 2002’s ALMS Cadillac Grand Prix. The .899 mile track ran clockwise this year with ten turns, the Joker lap, dirt section, and the signature table jump right before the finish line. Not only is Washington DC a veritable swamp in the summer time, but DC was in the middle of the heat wave with thunderstorms threatening for race day.

Supercars speculation was high going into DC:. Nelson Piquet Jr., last year’s winner, was re-joining the SH Rallycross/DRR after finishing his second Formula E season. Patrik Sandell won in 2014 and was looking for the top spot on the podium, with two podiums already in 2016. Tanner Foust arrived in DC the stiffest competition with three wins under his belt and a podium in Dallas from the first half of the season. Scott Speed, with one win and three total podiums in 2016, also arrived fresh off a win at MCAS New River; but then Steve Arpin was raring to go in his second year with Chip Ganassi Racing (and his first win in GRC this year), and his teammate Brian Deegan having taken three podiums in 2016. OMSE Honda driver Sebastian Eriksson had three podiums in the first half of the season as well, and to put a bit more gas on the fire, Subaru Rally Team USA was arriving fresh for their first race of the year.

A Thursday evening thunderstorm did nothing to quell the humidity. While it left puddles all over the track and the paddocks, the dirt hazard and jump managed to be dry enough to form great plumes of dust during afternoon practice and evening heats, with Foust and Speed won Friday’s heats.

Friday’s most urgent race was between GRC semifinals and fast-approaching rain clouds – and the rain won. After the heats and semi-finals, the rain started. After about a half hour of downpours, the weather finally moved on – and the formerly dusty track was now covered in mud and puddles for the LCQ and main event. In other words – real rally conditions!

Scott Speed won pole position for the final, and the LCQ was indeed a mud fest with Steve Arpin winning. Speed and Sandell stayed in front for the whole final, while Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan fought for third place. Foust pulled of a pass in the final lap for third place.

Rookie GRC Lites driver Cabot Bigham took his first win (after two podiums in the season’s first half), with Oliver Ericsson taking the other two podium spots. After competing in her first Red Bull Global Rallycross Lites race last year in Las Vegas, Sandra Hultgren (Olsbergs MSE X Forces) returned for her first 2016 race, finishing eighth.

Check Red Bull TV for replays of the DC event, or to watch the upcoming race in New Jersey August 28.

Jeff Ward is SH Rallycross’s New GRC Driver

May 3, 2016 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

With the Bull Global Rallycross season opener fast approaching May 21-22 in Phoenix, Arizona, silly season has become serious. Today Jeff Ward and SH Rallycross announced that he will be driving the #07 Ford Fiesta ST sponsored by MET-Rx in eight races in 2016. In previous GRC seasons, the #07 car was piloted by Nelson Piquet Jr. While at publication time we haven’t heard anything official from Piquet, the natural assumption is that he will be concentrating his efforts in the nascent Formula e series as he is gone from the Red Bull GRC website roster. However, Ward brings a formidable competitive edge to rallycross, including seven AMA motocross championship wins and an Indycar win in 2002 at Texas Motor Speedway. He competed at the Daytona double header and Washington DC in 2015, filling in for Brian Deegan.

Jeff Ward

Patrik Sandell has signed on for a second year with Bryan Herta Rallysport. Also piloting a Ford Fiesta ST, this will be the Swede’s fourth year competing in GRC. He had one win in Detroit in 2015 and four podium finishes.

Detroit 2015

Sandell, Washington DC 2015

There are a few more newcomers to Lites:

15 year-old Cole Keatts will compete on the OMSE team with a background in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series and the JR2 Kart championship
Cabot Bigham joined Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, coming to GRC from FCC Pro Formula Mazda
Travis Pecoy and Christian Brooks join AF Racing
Jackie Heinricher is noticeably back off the roster, concentrating on driving a Lamborghini in the Super Trofeo series – leaving Collete Davis the sole female competitor.

Rallycross Silly Season is Almost Over – Almost

April 8, 2016 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

There are still some highlighted rows on my rallycross spreadsheet meaning that there are still some Silly Season shenanigans to report. Red Bull Global Rallycross still has some time before the first race in Phoenix, Arizona May 21-22, and there could yet be a surprise or two in Supercars based on off-handed comments on social media. What is definite:

As revealed at New York International Auto Show, OMSE teammates Joni Wiman and Sebastian Eriksson will switch from Ford Fiestas to Honda Civics
CORE Autosport will assemble a team of two GRC LITES drivers yet to be announced

The first FIA World RX is coming up April 15 in Montelegre, Portugal. The Supercar entry list has solidified with a few last-minute changes:

Liam Doran has switched to MINI with JRM Racing
Rene Munnich and Reinis Nitiss also have new rides for 2016 – Seat Ibiza RX
Timmy Hansen will compete with Team Peugeot-Hansen driving a Peugeot 208 WRX

Full Supercar entry list for Montelegre:

No	Driver	Nat.	Competitor	Nat.	Car
1	Petter SOLBERG	NOR	Petter Solberg World RX Team	SWE	Citröen DS3
3	Johan KRISTOFFERSSON	SWE	Volkswagen RX Sweden	SWE	Volkswagen Polo
4	Robin LARSSON	SWE	Robin Larsson	SWE	Audi A1
5	Mattias EKSTRÖM	SWE	EKS	SWE	Audi S1
6	Janis BAUMANIS	LVA	World RX Team Austria	AUT	Ford Fiesta
7	Timur TIMERZYANOV	RUS	World RX Team Austria	AUT	Ford Fiesta
9	Sébastien LOEB	FRA	Team Peugeot-Hansen	SWE	Peugeot 208
13	Andreas BAKKERUD	NOR	Hoonigan Racing Division	USA	Ford Focus RS
15	Reinis NITISS	LVA	ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport	DEU	Seat Ibiza
17	Davy JEANNEY	FRA	Peugeot-Hansen Academy	SWE	Peugeot 208
21	Timmy HANSEN	SWE	Team Peugeot-Hansen	SWE	Peugeot 208
31	Max PUCHER	AUT	World RX Team Austria	AUT	Ford Fiesta
33	Liam DORAN	GBR	JRM World Rallycross Team	GBR	BMW Mini
41	Joaquim SANTOS	PRT	Bompiso Racing Team	PRT	Ford Focus
43	Ken BLOCK	USA	Hoonigan Racing Division	USA	Ford Focus RS
56	Bohdan LUDWICZAK	POL	Bohdan Ludwiczak	POL	Mitsubishi Lancer
57	Toomas HEIKKINEN	FIN	EKS	SWE	Audi S1
68	Niclas GRÖNHOLM	FIN	OlsbergsMSE	SWE	Ford Fiesta ST
71	Kevin HANSEN	SWE	Peugeot-Hansen Academy	SWE	Peugeot 208
77	René MÜNNICH	DEU	ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport	DEU	Seat Ibiza
87	Jean-Baptiste DUBOURG	FRA	Jean-Baptiste Dubourg	FRA	Citröen DS3
92	Anton MARKLUND	SWE	Volkswagen RX Sweden	SWE	Volkswagen Polo
96	Kevin ERIKSSON	SWE	OlsbergsMSE	SWE	Ford Fiesta ST

The Race Cars at the New York Auto Show

March 30, 2016 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

In progress now until Sunday April 3, the New York International Auto Show is chock full of current models, recently launched prototypes, supercars, classic cars, and the latest in alternative fuel and transportation. Plus – race cars: the striped and halo-ed eye candy that is the object of the admiring glances of many attendees. There were several new reveals in racing at NYIAS. The first to be revealed was Honda’s Civic to be driven in Red Bull Global Rallycross by OMSE teammates Joni Wiman and Sebastian Eriksson. While it was on the show floor for the media days, it sadly disappeared before the show opened to the public. Honda does have the 2015 Rahal Dallara Honda IndyCar on view.

Perhaps the most stunning, however, was the Acura NSX GT3 twin-turbo V6. We should hopefully start seeing it in the wild in 2017 racing in Pirelli World Challenge and Blancpain Endurance Series. The NSX is on the show floor for the entire show, as is the Acura TLX GT race car.

Ryan Millen’s RAV4 rally car was also on the floor with the trucks during media days, but Toyota pulled a bait & switch. There is a RAV4 with Millen’s livery, but it’s clearly a factory model, sans roll cage, SPARCO seats, and all of the other gear of the real deal. Still, if you go on the public days, you can squint and pretend. Toyota is the host with the most, though, with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Camrys on the main show floor, and the pace car for Watkin’s Glen.