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- Indi Lajt tim Junkos Rejsing koji je debitovao 2017. na Indi 500 najavljuje ucesce na 4 trke sezone 2018. (ukljucujuci Indi 500 i VN Indijanapolisa) sa aktuelnim Indi Lajt sampionom Kajlom Kajzerom za volanom.

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Tracy on SPM's new 'Team Canada'
Thursday, 19 October 2017
By Marshall Pruett / Images by IndyCar, Boyd, Levitt/LAT & Pruett




The last Canadian to win an IndyCar championship did so carrying the colors and support of Player's as part of its premier showcase for domestic open-wheel talent.

 

Paul Tracy's 2003 CART title for Team Player's, aka Forsythe Racing, was captured with French-Canadian teammate Patrick Carpentier in the sister Lola B02/00-Cosworth (pictured below), and Quebecois Alex Tagliani competing for Rocketsports Racing. Together, the trio also helped Canada to win CART's 2003 Nation's Cup.



Although CART's successor, the Verizon IndyCar Series, lacks a separate championship for the best collective performances by nation, there's every reason to believe its new #TeamCanada entry from Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with James Hinchcliffe and Robert Wickens will move the red and white maple leaf flag closer to the top of the Drivers' standings in 2018 and beyond.

Sprinkle in the possibility of having Montreal's promising Zachary Claman De Melo – who made his IndyCar debut at Sonoma with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – involved to some degree next year, and the series could find itself where young talent, new drivers, and an established star have rekindled some of the Canadian momentum that was lost when Champ Car folded.

A fervent supporter of SPM's #TeamCanada move, Tracy says the potential has always existed for Hinchcliffe and Wickens to carry the torch for their homeland in IndyCar.

"Both Hinch and Wickens were in the Forsythe camp when I was there and I watched them come up through karting. I've seen their careers take off and saw they had tremendous potential," the West Hill native told RACER. "Hinch chose to focus on America and became a winner at every stage, and the doors never opened here for Wickens the same way.

"I think he was too young; he was 16 competing in Atlantics and just didn't get the kind of looks that Hinch did and so he went off to Europe. And now that he's back, he's here with a lot of success that's come from being a factory DTM driver for Mercedes and frankly, it's a big jump to go IndyCar racing, but he's joining [SPM] with a ton of experience as a professional. They can, I think, do a lot for Canadian drivers in IndyCar."



If there's one team-based concern for Tracy, it's the lack of equal results generated by SPM's second Honda-powered entry in recent years. Although Hinchcliffe has won a pair of races since joining the Sam Schmidt- and Ric Peterson-owned team in 2015, the sister entry piloted by a steady rotation of new faces has rarely looked like it was capable of securing consistent, front-running finishes.

Although the changes aren't complete, it's believed Schmidt, Peterson, and SPM general manager Piers Phillips have recruited a few new staff members with championship-winning pedigrees to fill some of the experiential voids that were identified.

"That's a big question for me, and it's a tough decision for Wickens to make knowing that the second car there hasn't been very competitive most of the time," Tracy added. "If I'm Wickens, I'm hoping Sam and Ric are going to do whatever they have to so they can put two truly competitive cars on track. Otherwise, if they don't, they're wasting the kid's talent and time."

Provided Canadian fans are able to celebrate the success of both SPM drivers, and Claman De Melo, if he's able to find a seat, Tracy is confident that some degree of increased support – like he and the other Player's drivers felt – will follow in the years to come.



From his perspective, the responsibility for any growth, however, will fall to those in charge of selling and distributing the #TeamCanada message at home.

"I would hope they make an impact in Canada like we once had, because these are guys who can win races and have a lot of personality to go with it," he said. "But don't forget that when the Player's program was going, there was heavy promotion throughout Canada – advertising all over the place, big promotion by the tracks we raced at, and it wasn't just the driver's responsibility to make the races popular.

"I think these guys can do a lot to help IndyCar grow more in Canada, but not as much as the track promoters, not as much as a bigger and better Canadian TV package that would enthusiastically bring the races to everyone. Since I retired, I don't think they've done as good of a job in those areas. And if they don't get behind this, get behind these guys now when it's so easy, it will be a big loss of an opportunity that doesn't come around very often."

Edited by Rad-oh-yeah?, 20 October 2017 - 16:09.

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- Sezona 2018. ce biti poslednja u kojoj ce mobilna telefonija Verajzon biti generalni sponzor Indikar serije.

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Verizon IndyCar Series CEO Mark Miles met with a group of reporters at Circuit of The Americas on Saturday during the United States Grand Prix and was asked where the championship stands on introducing the custom aeroscreen it has in development.

"We think greater head protection is important," he said. "We're working on it. It won't be a Halo, it will be some form of windscreen that I guess we haven't put out for you to see yet but we're making good progress on something that I think won't really alter the look of our car. Drivers will be able to see through it, over it, so I think it's different approaches to try and address the same important issues."

Where Formula 1 has made a hard commitment to outfitting all of its entries with halo devices starting in 2018, IndyCar has gone from making hard statements regarding the implementation of its aeroscreen to softer, less committal language. Based on his answers at COTA, it would appear aeroscreens will indeed be coming to the spec Dallara DW12 chassis used by the entire IndyCar field.

"As soon as it's ready – it could be next year," he said of its introduction. "It isn't going to be in March, but it could be during the season. We've been working on it for a long time."

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Dixon, Hinchcliffe impressed after 2018 aero test
Monday, 23 October 2017
By Marshall Pruett / Image courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway




Honda tasked four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon and front-runner James Hinchcliffe with providing feedback during its Manufacturers' test at Texas Motor Speedway on Monday. The 1.5-mile high-banked oval was the first of its kind for Honda and its Chip Ganassi Racing and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teams with the new UAK18 bodywork.

"The biggest thing of all of us is that they've done it in a way to make the car perform better – it should be better in traffic," said Dixon (pictured). "It should be much more predictable – a little easier to follow in traffic. In hindsight, we should get some damn good racing."

Prior to the Texas test, Honda had gathered data on the short Iowa oval and at the big Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which made the trip to Texas with the universal aero kit rather important.

"I think Scott and I were both pretty impressed with it out of the box," Hinchcliffe added. "It does all the things a racecar should do and not a whole lot of what a racecar shouldn't do. Unfortunately, it has been something we've dealt with in the past couple of years with the aero kit. I'm excited to finally get some miles on it and keep learning."

Chevy and Honda will continue to conduct Manufacturers' tests during the offseason while IndyCar teams await the arrival of their UAK18 bodywork in late November. Once IndyCar's private testing blackout is lifted on Jan. 8, teams will be free to turn their first laps outside of any Chevy- or Honda-related tests they've conducted on behalf of both brands.

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Kako stoje stvari - idemo u Meksiko!
 

RACER has learned a date at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, current site of FIA Formula 1, Formula E and World Endurance Championship events, is scheduled for the weekend of August 3-5, which would fall directly after the Mid-Ohio IndyCar weekend. Following Mexico, teams would have a short break until the Pocono round on August 19.

It's believed all of the agreements are in place, and have been for some time, and only the sourcing of a primary sponsor for the event is slowing its formal confirmation.

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- Jos uvek se trazi drugi vozac za ekipu Fojta, u jednom bolidu potvrdjen je veteran Toni Kanan, za drugi bolid je konacno zvanicno potvrdjeno da nece voziti ni Munjoz ni Dejli, dakle bice kompletna promena vozacke postave u odnosu na sezonu 2017. Kao glavni kandidat istice se Indi Lajt vozac Mateus Lajst, Kananov zemljak Brazilac, cetvrti u Indi Lajt sampionatu 2017. za Karlin (dugo vodio u poretku, pred sam kraj sezone imao par udesa i odustajanja), sampion britanske F3 za 2016.

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Although changes to IndyCar’s push-to-pass boost this year were well received and are likely to be retained for 2018, the system may be deemed unnecessary beyond that, according to president of competition Jay Frye.

For 2017, IndyCar drivers were given a total time allowance of turbo overboost per race, instead of a total number of uses per race.

On road and street courses, the Chevrolet and Honda 2.2-liter V6 engines run 1.5-bar turbo boost as standard, but have an extra “push-to-pass” (P2P) boost of 1.65-bar, increasing output by around 60hp. At St Petersburg, Detroit and Sonoma, drivers had a P2P boost allotment of 150 seconds, while other road and street races offered 200 seconds.

“That seemed to be well received by the drivers and so for 2018 we’re going to follow up with them, and see if they still perceive it as being the best approach,” Frye told Motorsport.com. “Certainly we didn’t hear a lot of negativity about it so my assumption was that it worked like they wanted it to.

“But from what I’ve read of the new kit in our tests and in manufacturer tests, the drivers say the car feels like it has more horsepower because of the drag reduction. It feels different already. So do we need push-to-pass going forward?

“Certainly we have it in 2018 – which configuration is still to be determined, but I don’t anticipate a change. But in 2019 and ’20, it may not be needed.

“Up to now it has enhanced the show and the entertainment, it’s been something for the broadcasters to talk about, and some fans are interested in it. But if we get to the point where we have more horsepower overall and we have these cars that are much quicker in a straight line because of reduced drag, is push-to-pass still necessary? Or is it something we should still use because of the nuances it creates over the course of an event?

“I don’t know. But it’s nice to have options.”

Although push-to-pass on ovals was under consideration, Frye said that idea was now shelved, nor did he anticipate oval boost reaching road/streetcourse levels. Currently the Borg-Warner turbos run at 1.3-bar for Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Texas and Pocono, and 1.4-bar for Phoenix, Iowa and Gateway.

“We don’t anticipate any changes to horsepower on short ovals,” he said. “Being restricted on the engine rules – engines have to do 2500 miles, remember – you need to be cautious on things like that.

“So increasing the oval boost has never been brought up because it seems to be working fine right now. The races are good – and should be better with the new car – and the engines are reliable.”

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- Veliko iznenadjenje na trzistu vozaca, u Ganasijevom bolidu #10 u kome je vec bio vidjen Brendon Hartli vozice najbolji ruki sezone 2017. Ed Dzons! Dzons je svojim voznjama pokazao da zasluzuje mesto na Indikar gridu, svi su ocekivali produzetak saradnje sa Kojnom a eto on avanzovao u jedan od timova Velike Trojke!

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Newgarden wants F1 shot in future
Wednesday, 25 October 2017
By Chris Medland / Image by Gavin Baker/LAT



 
2017 IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden has revealed he wants to do a season in Formula 1 in the future.

Newgarden secured his maiden IndyCar championship this year in his first season with Penske, which also saw him compete against Fernando Alonso in the Indy 500. While Newgarden sees himself as holding one of the best possible IndyCar seats, he admits he'd like to follow Alonso's lead and try multiple categories of racing, including F1.

"I've got to understand where I am at," Newgarden told ESPN.com while at the F1 race at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. "I'm in the best situation I could ever possibly dream of in the American side.

"With IndyCar, with American racing, you can't beat Team Penske. Even on a global scale, they are arguably one of the greatest motorsport teams in all of history. You look at that and you say, 'Well, I'm in a phenomenal position.' The IndyCar series, to me, is a really great one now it's on the up, it's got great competition, but absolutely, Formula 1, I'd love to try it.

"I'm a bit like Fernando in a way that he wants to try all different disciplines. He wants to be well-rounded, and I agree with that a lot. I'd love to try every form of motorsport, sports cars, NASCAR. I love IndyCar and want to continue doing that, but also I'd love to do Formula 1.
 
"It was a dream of mine when I was younger to do multiple forms of open-wheel racing, IndyCar and Formula 1. If it was something that I could dip my hand into, I would be all for it. If the right opportunity came about and we could make it happen, I'd want to try it."

If an opportunity in F1 were to come up, the 26-year-old admits he would prefer to take on the challenge during the coming years before a hopeful return to IndyCar later in his career.

"I think you've got to look at it in terms of years. I'm still young enough where it's possible to go do that. If you hopefully make it to 40, 42 in motorsports ... when you're 26 there's still time to move around a bit right now. I would definitely be open to moving over to here and this side of the world for a little bit, but my end goal would probably be to come back to IndyCar if that happened.

"You never know how these things shake out. For me, I'm focused on IndyCar and working for Team Penske. That's my gig, and I'm very happy with it. But if something could be worked out in Formula 1, I would absolutely look at it and try to make it happen."

The last American to race in F1 was Alexander Rossi, who took part in five races for Manor at the end of the 2015 season.

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- Karlos Munjoz koji je izvisio za mesto u timu EjDzej Fojta kaze da nece traziti angazman u nekoj od preostalih ekipa nego da planira da karijeru nastavi u IMSA prototipovima. No, i dalje je zainteresovan za Indi 500 gde je uvek imao dobre nastupe, sa dva druga mesta iz 5 pokusaja.

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IndyCar avoiding F1 regulation mistakes - Miles
Thursday, 26 October 2017
By Chris Medland / Image by IMS Photo



 
IndyCar CEO Mark Miles says the series has looked at Formula 1's regulations to ensure it does not design a car that has an adverse effect on racing.

2017 has seen new aerodynamic regulations introduced in F1, with increased downforce levels resulting in faster lap times. However, with the wider cars also being more sensitive to dirty air when following another car, overtaking has become more difficult.

IndyCar's next generation of car features less downforce, and when asked by RACER if the series monitors how F1's changes are working out, Miles replied: "Yeah, we do, and Jay [Frye] has been talking technically.
 
"It's so interesting. I was just told that a front wing – it was a McLaren conversation – is a quarter of a million pounds I think. Then times six for that. Maybe that's high but it's what I was just told. You're kidding me?! Ours is $6,500! It's almost embarrassing but I don't buy it... What are you getting for it?

"So we're trying to be sensible about the value and creating great racing. It isn't going to be technically where Formula 1 is, without a doubt, but we like that you don't know who's going to win it when it starts and we like where we are competitively in terms of what happens on the track."

And Miles says the main priorities for IndyCar were to design a good-looking car that also improved the on-track action, even if it has less aerodynamic performance than its predecessor.

"From my perspective it looks like a retro racecar. I was talking to Juan Pablo Montoya and he's driven it and he's convinced it will be a significant improvement in the racing, which we thought was pretty good already. So we're excited about that.

"It's got less total downforce, he likes it because he thinks it prefers the better racer, which champions love. Longer braking zones, less air coming off the back, so it means it should be an improvement to what we thought was good racing already.

"Actually it was almost equal parts aesthetics and performance. Jay would tell you that they almost designed it backwards knowing that they were going to get the performance and it had to improved, but a very strong view of what it needed to look like. Get a lot of that stuff off the top of the car – I'm still thinking aesthetic – a lot of new cars in the States are more retro looking, especially kind of muscle cars.

"So I think that was a big driver of it, and then make sure it improves the racing. We thought that getting the downforce under the car and off the top would help with that, which looks to be true. We've tested it at least four times with a couple of drivers, soon all the teams will be getting the parts and we'll see more then."

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Better drafting, passing with 2018 car, Dixon predicts
Monday, 30 October 2017
By Marshall Pruett / Images by IMS Photo




IndyCar fans have heard plenty about the bodywork changes for 2018 that are designed to reduce turbulence coming off the cars in order to make passing easier, and as more tests are completed, deeper insights come forth from inside the cockpit.

Strapped inside a Dallara DW12 with the new UAK18 bodywork at tracks ranging from Sebring to Texas to Indianapolis, four-time champion Scott Dixon says changes to the physical experience of following cars in 2017 and 2018 aero trim have been remarkable.

"The biggest difference driving it is it's more consistent when you're behind a car," the Chip Ganassi Racing driver told RACER. "Driving in the wake of another car is much better and there's a lot less buffeting."



IndyCar's call to move a significant amount of the DW12's downforce production from the top of the car with drag-producing wings to the underside of the car has created the favorable experience Dixon describes.

"How the 2017 car was, there was a lot of buffeting, a ton of air moving around, and that's been greatly improved," he said. "Like at Texas, it felt like you could pull up and get a pass done on the same straight instead of pulling out at the end right as you're about to turn in together. It was significantly better when you're in the tow. It's more predictable, and the air itself has settled down.

"The changes to the car have done a lot to the consistency of the air you're hitting when you follow a car. With the old aero kits, it was hitting you at all kinds of angles and moved the car around a good bit; it wasn't just buffeting your head, but the front of the car as a whole moved, which could make it nervous when you got close and wanted to try a pass. The way it is now, the front of the car is more settled when you're behind someone and there isn't that worry about losing it if you get too close."



It's also worth noting the drag improvements test drivers have reported is only part of the equation. The ability to attempt more passes comes as a result of increased chassis stability and a vacuum phenomenon that pulls cars forward.

"It felt like the way the car sucked up was bigger than what we had in the past, but we'll need to get more cars with the 2018 bodywork together on track to see how much change there is," Dixon continued.

"Only following one car, which has been the situation so far, isn't enough to tell you exactly what it will be like. But it did feel like it accelerated a lot quicker when you're in the wake of a car. It's pretty cool, man. The challenges we've had up to now were because of aero limitations. I think we've gotten rid of a lot of them with his universal kit, and that's only going to help the racing."

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IndyCar silly season update for October 30
Monday, 30 October 2017
By Marshall Pruett / Images by Levitt/LAT, LePage/LAT & IMS Photo




After being sequestered for five weeks while filming the CBS reality-adventure show The Amazing Race, Conor Daly returned home to find he was out of a job at A.J. Foyt Racing. Brendon Hartley's deal to drive for Chip Ganassi was done at least two months ago, but all that changed behind closed doors and as a result, Dale Coyne Racing's Ed Jones was handed the opportunity of his lifetime.

The three directional changes for Daly, Hartley, and Jones have lit the fire beneath a dying silly season, and with Ed Carpenter Racing continuing its search for a road and street course solution in the No. 20 Chevy, we have a few veteran teams looking to plug the remaining holes in the field.

Starting with Daly, there are two no-brainer drives that come to mind with Jones' former No. 19 DCR Honda and ECR's No. 20. Or so it might appear.



Daly's first go-round with DCR in 2016 (pictured above) was made possible by the sponsorship delivered in a partnership struck between the Byrd brothers and Coyne. Without the Byrds, who blanketed the car in sponsors big and small, Daly would not have landed with DCR. If he's going to return and drive alongside Sebastien Bourdais, a new round of financial support will be required.

With Jones leaving DCR's nest, along with the sponsorship and mild family support headed to CGR – not to mention the loss of the one-time $1 million prize he brought to DCR after winning the Indy Lights championship – Coyne is experiencing a funding void with Jones' departure.

Coyne continues to bankroll most of the team with the profits generated by his various non-racing businesses which, at least in 2017, is amazingly generous and incredibly rare. But there's no getting around the fact that some funding is sought with the second DCR car to help cover everything from buying spare parts to commissioning engineering projects aimed at making the team faster. Knowing this, it might help explain a portion of why the kindly Coyne bristled over losing Jones to Ganassi.

Daly will face the same obstacle while trying to slot himself into ECR's No. 20. The car's former road and street course driver, Spencer Pigot, was required to bring sponsorship to complete the deal, and like the Coyne vacancy, Daly would need to satisfy ECR's bottom line. With both teams, corporate backing is the key to getting Daly off the unemployment line.

A few rumblings early this week suggest some money could be headed into a Conor Daly sponsorship account, and we've also heard Honda would be quite interested in having him back after losing the Hoosier to Foyt's Chevy operation last year. If Daly can find between $1-2 million, Coyne can make use of a $1 million Leaders Circle stipend from IndyCar, and Honda help with an inexpensive engine lease, that path to a DCR reunion becomes more likely. It's unclear whether Chevy holds Daly in the same regard, or if the Bowtie would work on his behalf to make the ECR ride possible.



Just as Daly is presently limited by his lack of wealth and personal sponsors, DCR and ECR could find themselves in an unfavorable position while seeking IndyCar's magical unicorn – the funded star or star-in-the-making. If Daly is unable to find sponsors in a reasonable timeframe, where would DCR or ECR look for suitable candidates?

Could a pair of Russians in ex-Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver Mikhail Aleshin, who carries a moderate amount of funding from SMP Racing, or former Red Bull/Toro Rosso Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat – provided he can attract new backing – have a chance with either team?

There are a number of young drivers looking to move up, mostly from the Indy Lights series, and carrying partial budgets, but would their inexperience or limited funding interest Carpenter or Coyne? It makes a budgeted Daly the perfect candidate, but the clock is ticking, and who knows how long the doors will remain open at both teams. His former teammate Carlos Munoz would also appear to worth serious consideration, but his stock plummeted at Foyt as his chassis setup skills were called into question. The Colombian has gone so far as to state his belief that an Indy-only ride is the most reasonable expectation to have next season.

Elsewhere in the existing paddock, more sources have told RACER that A.J. Foyt Racing will confirm an all-Brazilian line-up with 2016 British F3 champion Matheus Leist, who won three Indy Lights races for Trevor Carlin's team last season, as teammate to Tony Kanaan, who replaced Munoz in the No. 14 Chevy.

Leist's funding, which is said to come from Brazilian TV outlets, would ensure the series has a fresh young talent to follow after Helio Castroneves' full-time IndyCar career ended at Sonoma. Provided reigning Pro Mazda champion Victor Franzoni can follow Leist's example and win in Indy Lights next year, Brazil could have a pair of future stars to carry the torch for Helio and TK.

Closing on CGR and Jones, RACER's Will Buxton and Chris Medland confirmed the team and the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula 1 squad did business to free Brendon Hartley from his 2018 IndyCar contract. Beyond supporting what was reported in September, it also raised the question of how much money changed hands to tear up the contract.



In light of the need for corporate sponsorship on Scott Dixon's No. 9 Honda, which lost backing from Target at the end of 2016, it will be interesting to see whether a straight wire transfer settled the deal, or if freeing Hartley took so "long," as STR team principal Franz Tost said, because the payment was negotiated in the form of sponsorship from STR owner Red Bull. Either way, CGR wins and profits from signing a driver who never raced the No. 10 Honda that has been taken by Jones.

Among 2017's full-time entries, DCR and ECR hold the only known openings available to pursue. At least one of the eight full-timers is known to be considering the addition of a new entry in 2018, and along with the growing list of incoming entrants, those teams will be saved for the next silly season installment.

And let's close with full marks to CGR for keeping the Jones signing completely under wraps. An air-tight maneuver like that is rare in IndyCar; respect to both sides for keeping a lid on the process.