The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear is going to have a hard time of it for their race on Sunday. The drivers qualified on Thursday afternoon and will have to wait until Sunday before their race. On Race Day morning, they will get a 15-min warm-up which is just long enough to check for fluid leaks and not much else. The conditions between when they practiced and qualified on Thursday certainly won’t be any where near the same as they will be on Sunday when temperatures are to be…
Read MoreFeatured – My Impressions of Barber
So day one is in the books for the trip out to Barber Motorsports Park, so I figured i would offer some impressions as it is my first time here. I usually spend the first day of any track experience just scoping out the area and getting a feel for the facility. The only word that comes to mind when talking Barber is WOW. Words cannot truly describe the beauty of this facility. Who would have thought that buried deep in the heart of NASCAR country, there would be a…
Read MoreIndy Hump Day Report: Sweet Home Alabama Edition
Bia out for Barber: Wednesday morning Ipiranga/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing officially announced that Ana “Bia” Beatriz will not be racing this Sunday at Barber. The 26 year old Brazilian fractured her scaphoid bone (wrist) on the fifth lap at St. Pete, in turn five when she made contact with Graham Rahal. Bia went on to still finish 14th with the wrist injury. Last Tuesday she had surgery to assist in her speedy recovery. For Barber former Champ Car driver; 26 year old Simon Pagenaud, the reigning LMP1 champion from ALMS…
Read MoreEpisode 83 – Openpaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadReal easy show this week as we struggle for things to talk about. Run time is 63 minutes. Taking it easy on everybody after the two and a half hour Goliath shows we posted back to back! Sit back and enjoy as Shaun and Mike run down the week in motorsport news!
Read MoreMazda Road to Indy – Barber Preview
Sorry for the lack of a MRTI Weekly Update this past weekend, but there really hasn’t been much happening. I’m sure that I could have found something to blather on about, I usually can. Just ask my students! #rimshot But seriously, its been pretty quiet since the three races on the Streets of St. Petersburg. There was no on-track action this past weekend, and there were no new driver announcements, so the news and PR feeds have been pretty quiet. This coming weekend, however, is the second round for both…
Read MoreIt’s About the Content, Not the Medium: The ALMS Gamble
Readying for Long Beach, the brain trust at ALMS are still wringing their collective hands over the negative fan backlash and media criticism of the ABC-ESPN3.com Sebring coverage. Even some of the teams are questioning the series organizer. After all, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. They, the ALMS, hyped their new ABC-ESPN Network package and world-wide, live coverage of their races via the web as groundbreaking. They were venturing into an exciting new digital medium, with a major network partner and opportunities to tap a fresh audience…
Read MoreOP-Ed – Standing vs. Flying Starts
If you listened to this last week’s episode of the Openpaddock.net Podcast, you will know there was intense debate between the crew on standing and flying starts. I was all for implementing a standing start for the IZOD IndyCar Series, while my partners in crime were against it. I was also having the same debate with Mr. Dalbey from More Front Wing. The only other person that I have read who agrees with my stand is Robin Miller. That is a small victory though because he said he could go…
Read MorePescarlo Team Wins Le Castellet 6 Hours
The LMP1 Pescarlo Team of Emmanuel Collard, Christophe Tinseau and Julien Jousse win the opening round of the Le Mans Series in the Le Castellet 6 Hours at Paul Ricard. The Pescarlo-Judd started last on the grid following a technical infraction after qualifying second Saturday. It was the first race for Team Principal Henri Pescarlo’s team after being away from racing for a year. Rebellion Racing’s Lola B10/60 Toyota of Andrea Belicchi and Jean-Christophe Boullion finished second, a lap down. The Greaves Motorsport Zytek Z11SN-Nissan of Ojjeh, Chalandon and Kimber-Smith…
Read MoreRebellion Racing Lola on Pole for LMS Paul Ricard
Neel Jani put the Rebellion Racing Lola B10/60 Toyota on pole for Sunday’s 6-Hours of Le Castellet at Paul Ricard for round one of the Le Mans Series. The TDS Racing Oreca 03 Nissan took top honors in LMP2 class. GTE-Pro field did not disappoint. AF Corse’s Gimmi Bruni repeated his Sebring pole, this time in AF’s Ferrari 458. Bruni’s pole was more dramatic as the car barely made qualifying following a serious crash earlier. Four out of the top five GTE positions were claimed by Ferrari 458’s. Tomas Enge split the…
Read MoreInside the Helmet – Peter Dempsey
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe were fortunate enough to have a wonderful conversation with the winningest driver in the history of the Star Mazda Championship, scoring a total of 9 wins over the 2008 and 2009 season, Peter Dempsey. Dempsey now drives the #36 Pulse/Microbiology car for O2 Racing Technology in the Firestone Indy Lights series. Last weekend in his first race, he led the first 11 laps of the race, and finished on the podium in P3. In our interview, Peter talks with us about his early…
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