So where to even begin this week? Okay, for starters—penalties for open and frank views. The IZOD IndyCar Series has had a well documented problem in Race Control—it is run by a bumbling buffoon. Brian Barnhart ( TGBB for Robin Miller fans), has done just an awful job at his role this season. His right-hand man (Tony Cotman) has had some questions of his integrity with the O2 debacle in the Firestone Indy Lights Series earlier this year. What has been consistent in 2011 is not the rules enforcement during…
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The latest news from the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, and USF2000!
IndyLights: Jensen MotorSport Adds Serious Engineering Muscle
Jensen MotorSport has already been showing some strength in the latter half of this season, but now they’ve grabbed another gear and are shooting for significant improvement. Today, the team announced the hiring of veteran GP2 engineer Raul Prados! Mr. Prados’ experiences includes working with top-shelf European open-wheel such as Carlin and iSport, and he engineered the winning car in the 2010 GP2 Asia series. Most of all, I love Mr. Prados’ comments and optimism in regards to open-wheel racing in North America: “This is an exciting new chapter of…
Read MoreOP-Ed – Does INDYCAR’s “Faux-vertaking” Rule Encourage Avoidable Contact?
Comparing the number of accidents in Formula 1 and other open-wheel series and in IndyCar in the past couple of years has me wondering if the INDYCAR overtaking rule (faux-vertaking as @MikeOpenPaddock would call it) doesn’t in fact encourage avoidable contact rather than discouraging it. There has been a lot of talk about INDYCAR’s overtaking rule on road and street courses that demands that a driver leave open the inside line in approach to a corner, and usually not in happy tones. This rule comes from Tony Cotman and the…
Read MoreIndyLights – Rusty Mitchell, Horses, and Horsepower
A curious thing crossed my virtual desk here at OpenPaddock this week, a press release. …no, that’s not especially unusual, but its content sure was. Normally, teams and drivers issue a release previewing their thoughts and expectations for the upcoming event, but this was a bit more than the simple “we hope to roll off the transport fast and win” type of hype and blase quotes. This was a nice little background piece on Rusty Mitchell, with whom we spoke prior to his running the Firestone Freedom 100 back in…
Read MoreInside The Helmet – 2011 Star Mazda Champion Tristan Vautier
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe spoke with Tristan Vautier, driver of the #5 JDC MotorSport Cecibon/Circuit du Laquais/Fontanels/Red Line Oil Mazda and the 2011 Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear Drivers’ Champion. Tristan describes his early ventures in motorsports driving in various Formula Renault series in Europe before coming to the Star Mazda Championship in 2010. He also walks us through his amazing and dominating 2011 championship-winning season. We even sneak in a little bit of rally goodness!
Read MoreIndyCar – Thoughts on the 2012 Dallara Aerodynamics
We’ve now seen the new 2012 car in both its road course trim and its oval trim. The road course package was tested at Mid-Ohio last month the Monday after the race there. This past Tuesday, test driver Dan Wheldon shook the car down in its oval trim at the Iowa Speedway. Perhaps it would be better to call it its short oval trim, as the car was still fitted with a multi-element front and rear wing and looks very much like the road course package used at Mid-Ohio. Regardless,…
Read MoreIndyLights – Jensen Motorsports Wins Firestone Image Award
Jensen Motorsports has had a tough 2011 in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. Their primary driver, Canadian David Ostella, has had the pace to bring home a quality finish for the team, but it seems that they’ve been caught out all too often by mechanical gremlins or just plain being at the wrong place at the wrong time and being taken out by a competitor as happened at Toronto. Their second driver, Oliver Webb, also promises to have good pace and the team should be in a position to score…
Read MoreStar Mazda – Team Pelfrey and Tristan Vautier Win Championships at Laguna Seca
It was Championship Weekend for the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. As we has mentioned previously, JDC MotorSport’s Tristan Vautier had only to show up in Monterrey to win the championship. As soon as the green flag fell, Tristan was officially the 2011 Star Mazda Drivers’ Champion and will receive a scholarship to compete in the Firestone Indy Lights series in 2012, and presumably drive for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. As is common amongst any champion, the key to Tristan’s success was not just…
Read MoreInside The Helmet – 2011 USF2000 Champ Petri Suvanto
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe had the opportunity to chat with Petri Suvanto the 2011 Champion of the Cooper Tires Presents the US F2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda. Petri, who is already back in his native Finland, drove the Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing’s #3 Viseko Van Diemen-Mazda with remarkable consistency all season long, and secured the championship in the penultimate race of the season, Race #1 on the Streets of Baltimore. Petri tells us about how the Mazda Road to Indy program drew him to…
Read MoreSpike Day: IndyCar race in China–Awful idea, Mexico City–Awesome idea
So as we have recently learned, there is a 90% likelihood the IZOD IndyCar Series will be racing in China during the 2012 season. The upcoming race at Motegi will be the final time the IZOD IndyCar Series will visit Japan for some time. While I will be the first to admit, Twin Ring Motegi was not a very good oval track layout—Japan is a fan base who deserve more respect. From the early days of the “IRL” to today, Japanese makes have supplied engines for teams in the IZOD…
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