1097 replies to this topic

[Arnold Schwarzenegger]

A gde je Ganasi i na kojim motorima ce oni biti?

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Ne testiraju svi zajedno, Ganasi je testirao prosle nedelje kad penski nije.

Koriste Hondine motore.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

INDYCAR: Spring Training Notebook
With a break in the testing action, SPEED's Marshall Pruett and Robin Miller catch up with the latest news going on in the IndyCar paddock.
SPEED Staff | Posted March 07, 2012


Insurance Is Back, by Robin Miller

By the time you pay for all the components that make the 2012 Dallara DW12 go around the track, a team is looking at roughly $525,000. On top of that, the new car has no spares or interchangeable parts of note from years gone by, except for the wheels.

That’s why Steve Chassey believes he’s got a nice safety net.

The former Indy car driver has put together an insurance package for all the IndyCar teams through Wells Fargo and Lloyd’s of London.

"We haven’t had any insurance for Indy cars in a long time because they used the same cars year after year and there were lots of pieces available,’’ said Chassey, who works for Wells Fargo Special Risks Inc. and handled race car insurance with Acordia before that.

"But now everything is new and nothing is interchangeable and it’s a good time to have insurance.’’

The prices might seem a little steep ($225,000 premium with a $450,000 deductible per car) until you consider what a crash can cost.

"In the late ‘90s, the average oval crash was $175,000 while the road and street course crashes averaged between $40,000 and $65,000,’’ continued Chassey, who excelled in USAC midgets and sprints in the ‘70s and ‘80s. "And teams averaged about four incidents per year.

"You never totally destroy a car in a crash but you can eat up $450,000 pretty quick nowadays and if you use up $450,000 in that first crash, then you’ve got $700,000 worth of coverage for the next crash.

"We don’t insure stock cars or sprints or midgets because they don’t cost enough but Indy cars are still pretty pricey.’’

It was an upheld battle to even get Lloyd’s of London to underwrite the new policy because of the previous pounding it took in CART, IRL and Champ Car with $50,000 deductibles.

"We’ve got to prove to the underwriters the program can be successful,’’ said Chassey. "And I’m meeting with all the team owners this week to show them this is something that could be quite beneficial.

"The teams may freak when they see the $450,00 number but if they go through their budget for the last three years and see what they had in the line item for crash damage and then look at what they actually paid for repair parts, I think it will make sense to them.’’


Enter The Dragon, by Marshall Pruett

The only real mystery of the week so far at Spring Training has been the circumstances behind Dragon Racing's failure to take part in the test.

Its cars have been in the paddock the entire time, have gone through technical inspection and its drivers--Sebastien Bourdais and Katherine Legge--have been present, but the one item needed to make the cars go round has been missing in action.

SPEED.com has heard from series sources that issues stemming from a need for financial transactions to take place between both parties were resolved on Monday, which led to Lotus instructing Engine Developments Limited, makers of the 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6, to release an engine from its factory.

Shipping from England, the engine arrived in Florida at 4:20 p.m. this afternoon, and Lotus Indy project manager Olivier Picquenot told SPEED.com he hoped the motor would clear customs and arrive at the track before 10 p.m.

Provided the engine clears, the Dragon team will need to do a complete engine and engine kit installation--an extremely long procedure to do in the field--starting late tonight, which leaves a bit of a question mark as to exactly when the team will hit the track.

Legge, who has been out of a racing car for almost a year, is expected to drive when the car is ready.

Buried in the minutiae of the Dragon/Lotus engine supply situation is the fact that apparently only one lease has been paid for, leaving the status and timing of the second car's on-track appearance in question as well.


Bia Testing With Andretti, by Marshall Pruett

The one promising full-time driver from last season without a ride appears to have something brewing with Andretti Autosport.

Brazil's Ana Beatriz, who struggled through a tough rookie season with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, has been linked recently with Panther Racing, Michael Shank Racing, and now, after being spotted making a seat at in James hinchcliffe's car at Andretti Autosport, looks to be ready to at least test for the Michael Andretti-owned team.

Whether that will turn into a longer commitment, or is nothing more than a one-off test is unknown at this point.


MISC

• Having received its first engine from Chevrolet three days ago, Ed Carpenter Racing spent the better part of two days in transit to Sebring and will fire up the twin-turbo V6 for the first time today. Bryan Herta Autosport and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing were also preparing to start their engines for the first time.

• Sebastien Saavedra, as the team announced on Tuesday, will contest the full Firestone Indy Lights Series championship for Andretti Autosport and AFS Racing, and will join the team for the Indy 500.

• Mouser Electronics will be Tony Kanaan's primary sponsor at Long Beach, Texas, Sonoma and China, and will join GEICO as co-primary sponsor for the Indy 500. Mouser supported Ho-Pin Tung and Dragon Racing during his limited IndyCar appearances last season.

• Between this week's Spring Training at Sebring and next week's 12 Hours of Sebring ALMS/WEC event, Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports' Simon Pagenaud will fly back to France to contest the Rallye De La Vienna meaning that the Frenchman will have driven an Indy car, a rally car and an LMP1 prototype in the span of a week...

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Thursday Sebring Spring Training Report
Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon rockets to the top of the charts during the Thursday morning session, posting a 51.79-second lap.
Marshall Pruett | Posted March 08, 2012


Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon shot to the top of the charts on only his sixth lap during the Thursday morning session, posting a 51.79-second tour of the 10-turn, 1.7-mile Sebring facility in his Honda-powered Dallara DW12.

"It felt good right out of the box," the Kiwi told SPEED.com. "I looked down at my dash and though there was an error, honestly, because it came pretty easy. It was a good first morning for the Target team, but with the heat coming up, I think the track's gonna get greasy this afternoon."

The fastest lap from the Monday-Tuesday test went to Team Penske's Helio Castroneves at a 52.14.

Mike Conway, who was quick in recent testing at Sebring, trailed Dixon by almost a second, turning a 52.61-second lap. Ganassi's Graham Rahal was close behind with a 52.67, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan's Takuma Sato ran fourth with a 52.68, making it a Honda 1-2-3-4.

Panther Racing's JR Hildebrand was the fastest amongst the Chevrolet teams present, turning a 52.874 in fifth, and KV Racing's Rubens Barrichello, whose engine went off song just as the session concluded, ran sixth with a 52.879, only .004 behind the young American.

Barrichello needed just seven laps to post his best time, and completed only 16 laps after getting a late start to the session.

Ganassi's Charlie Kimball was the first in the 53-second range, posting a 53.31 as he dealt with brakes that felt like they were grabbing too much. KV's EJ Viso had the only off during the morning, damaging the nose on his car and halting the session as corner marshals put the tire barriers back in place. Viso returned with a new, unpainted nose to complete the session. His best lap was a 53.49.

Reigning IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti had a slow morning, turning only five laps with a best of 53.53, which was good enough for ninth.

Franchitti, a right-foot braker, had been waiting for Dallara to produce a pedal assembly to allow right-foot braking. That kit arrived while he was in St. Petersburg doing series media duties on Wednesday, meaning the Ganassi team had to burn valuable time Thursday morning fitting the Scot to the car and to set the pedals to his liking. Once he got out, an undisclosed issue halted his session early, but the team is expected to be out in the afternoon.

A somewhat frustrated Tony Kanaan ran 10th with a 53.62-second lap in his KV Racing car, and Oriol Servia was the first of the Lotus runners in his Dreyer & Reinbold car, posting a 54.09 for 11th-fastest.

Alex Tagliani turned the first laps for Bryan Herta Autosport's new Lotus-powered car, setting a best of 54.41, Ana Beatriz, driving James Hinchcliffe's Andretti Autosport as part of a one-day test, turned a 54.46 and Ed Carpenter, making his team's series debut, fought a misfire all morning, turning an unrepresentative 58.08 in his Chevrolet-powered car.

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing's Josef Newgarden also turned laps in his Honda-powered car, but his timing transponder was not functioning properly and did not generate lap times.

Good news came from the Dragon Racing camp, as driver Katherine Legge was getting suited with the expectation of turning her first laps in their Lotus-powered car just after lunch.

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                      Time      Gap
 1.  Scott Dixon         Ganassi DW12-Honda            51.9674s
 2.  Dario Franchitti    Ganassi DW12-Honda            52.1401s  + 0.1727s
 3.  Rubens Barrichello  KV DW12-Chevrolet             52.2228s  + 0.2554s
 4.  Mike Conway         Foyt DW12-Honda               52.2230s  + 0.2556s
 5.  Takuma Sato         Rahal DW12-Honda              52.4111s  + 0.4437s
 6.  Graham Rahal        Ganassi DW12-Honda            52.4956s  + 0.5282s
 7.  EJ Viso             KV DW12-Chevrolet             52.6317s  + 0.6643s
 8.  JR Hildebrand       Panther DW12-Chevrolet        52.6868s  + 0.7194s
 9.  Charlie Kimball     Ganassi DW12-Honda            52.9339s  + 0.9665s
10.  Tony Kanaan         KV DW12-Chevrolet             53.2012s  + 1.2338s
11.  Josef Newgarden     Fisher DW12-Honda             52.2013s  + 1.2339s
12.  Oriol Servia        Dreyer & Reinbold DW12-Lotus  53.3479s  + 1.3805s
13.  Ana Beatriz         Andretti DW12-Chevrolet       54.1478s  + 2.1804s
14.  Katherine Legge     Dragon DW12-Lotus             54.5918s  + 2.6244s
15.  Ed Carpenter        Carpenter DW12-Chevrolet      54.6490s  + 2.6816s
16.  Alex Tagliani       BHA DW12-Lotus                56.0766s  + 4.1092s

Edited by Rad-oh-yeah?, 09 March 2012 - 10:04.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

IndyCar: Bernard assures Lotus teams that engines will be available; other media day notes
By: Brant James on March 7, 2012


Izod IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard met with Lotus officials on Tuesday and said he was assured that every team with a signed contract and a deposit credited would have at least one engine by the season opener. Quantity has been an issue for Lotus as Honda and Chevrolet have been focusing on quality for weeks.

Sébastien Bourdais's Dragon Racing car didn't have a Lotus engine for him Monday or Tuesday, costing him two test days. Oriol Servia said he expects, or at least hopes, to be ready to take his Dreyer & Reinbold car onto the Sebring International Raceway course for spring training on Thursday. He used words like “hope” and “faith” in describing both the availability and performance of the mercurial Lotus, odd choices for both a driver and a mechanical engineer such as himself.

“The next two days will tell me at least where we stand,” said Servia, who has been able to participate in just two of the expected 10 to 15 test days this preseason. He is scheduled to test at Barber Motorsports Park next week, he said.

Servia said he believes it is possible for Lotus to recoup the time lost to Chevrolet and Honda.

“I think it is possible,” he said. “I just think you need to make sure every lap counts in terms of data. Where the engine stands right now, I don't know.”

The fence issue at Texas revisited

Oriol Servia, one of the more measured yet refreshingly outspoken members of the IndyCar driver lineup, said the dispute between the series and Texas Motor Speedway over its fencing should be understood as a two-part equation.

The pack racing prevalent on such high-banked 1.5-mile ovals, he said, should be eliminated from the series entirely. Texas, he said, could become a safer venue--it is scheduled to host a June 9 event--by reconfiguring its fence posts to the outside of the mesh.

The questioning of his facility has drawn the public ire of track president Eddie Gossage, who claims that engineering studies support his track's setup. Las Vegas and Texas are both owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc.

Servia buttressed his point by noting that boxing stanchions and high guard-rails supports are situated on the outside of the ropes and guard rails, respectively.

“My biggest issue is how the fence is built in those tracks,” he said. “I am not a fence engineer. I just know if I can avoid hitting a post or a pole I'd rather slide through the wires before I hit a pole. [Las Vegas and Texas] are the only ones I believe on the planet that are built that way. So I just cannot help myself but to not like it.

“We've had many races there without having issues, but every time a car has hit the fence there it has been horrible, and that's why because you hit the pole no matter where you go up in the fence. You end up in a pole because they stick out. That's my issue, nothing else. Pack racing can be solved. And it is a little bit in our hands to be taking care of each other. Though I believe it doesn't matter if it's the first 10 laps or the last 10. We are going to try and win it as drivers and it's up to the series to make it difficult for us to be in a pack.”

Simon says he's busy

Simon Pagenaud is scheduled to participate in the Rallye De La Vienna near his hometown of Poitiers, France, this weekend, then return to Sebring on Monday for the 12 Hours of Sebring American Le Mans Series for Pickett Racing race on March 17. He'll start for Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports in the IndyCar season opener on March 25. Pagenaud is the 2010 ALMS P1 champion.

Diversity of regimen, he said, keeps his mind fresh for his full-time IndyCar gig.

“I found that especially during the road-rally events it's going as fast as you can from point A to point B on the closed course and the roads are very narrow. You can find gravel. You can find dirt on the road when you don't expect it and you have to adapt,” he said. “And it's more of how you react in a situation and that anticipation you can find on the circuit. It actually really helps me adapt to how my tires get used up during a race, IndyCar for example.

“It's just so much better for my mind. It just helps me be so open-minded about anything. Don't try to overanalyze anything. Just drive.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Zbirna tabela obe grupe testiranja na Sebringu do sada:

Scott Dixon           Ganassi DW12-Honda             51.9674s
Dario Franchitti      Ganassi DW12-Honda             52.1401s
Helio Castroneves     Penske DW12-Chevrolet          52.1413s
Will Power            Penske DW12-Chevrolet          52.2059s
Ryan Briscoe          Penske DW12-Chevrolet          52.2072s
Rubens Barrichello    KV DW12-Chevrolet              52.2228s
Mike Conway           Foyt DW12-Honda                52.2230s
Ryan Hunter-Reay      Andretti DW12-Chevrolet        52.3466s
Takuma Sato           Rahal DW12-Honda               52.4111s
Simon Pagenaud        Schmidt DW12-Honda             52.4698s
Graham Rahal          Ganassi DW12-Honda             52.4956s
EJ Viso               KV DW12-Chevrolet              52.6317s
Justin Wilson         Coyne DW12-Honda               52.6537s
JR Hildebrand         Panther DW12-Chevrolet         52.6868s
James Jakes           Coyne DW12-Honda               52.8288s
James Hinchcliffe     Andretti DW12-Chevrolet        52.9125s
Charlie Kimball       Ganassi DW12-Honda             52.9339s
Marco Andretti        Andretti DW12-Chevrolet        52.9577s
Tony Kanaan           KV DW12-Chevrolet              53.2012s
Josef Newgarden       Fisher DW12-Honda              53.2013s
Simona de Silvestro   HVM DW12-Lotus                 53.2312s
Oriol Servia          Dreyer & Reinbold DW12-Lotus   53.3479s
Ana Beatriz           Andretti DW12-Chevrolet        54.1478s
Katherine Legge       Dragon DW12-Lotus              54.5918s
Ed Carpenter          Carpenter DW12-Chevrolet       54.6490s
Alex Tagliani         BHA DW12-Lotus                 56.0766s

- i sa novom sasijom, opet Ganasiji i Penskiji na celu. Prvi medju ostalima - Barikelo. Honda i Sevrolet deluju poravnati, Lotus nosi fenjer.

[Arnold Schwarzenegger]

Dobarrrrrr Rubens.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Barikelo:

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Friday Sebring Spring Training Report
Ganassi's Dario Franchitti is becoming more in-sync with his new Dallara DW12-Honda, posting the fastest time Friday morning with a 52.14-second lap.
Marshall Pruett | Posted March 09, 2012


Ganassi's Dario Franchitti is quickly becoming more in-sync with his new Dallara DW12-Honda, posting the fastest time Friday morning with a 52.14-second lap.

With his new right-foot brake pedal assembly in place, the four-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion says finding the last little bits of speed with the car is now possible.

"It's just learning and more learning," he told SPEED.com. "We're looking for those small bits of time that weren't there before with the old [brake pedal] setup. That's the main thing we're focused on at the moment."

One of Franchitti's new rivals, ex-Formula One man Rubens Barrichello, continues to lead the Chevrolet-powered KV Racing team on the time charts, posting a 52.16 to slightly trail the Scot.

Panther Racing's JR Hildebrand has crept up to the pace in testing at Sebring, and found more speed Friday morning, running third with a lap of 52.20 seconds in the sunny, 80-degree Florida weather.

Scott Dixon, Franchitti's teammate, set the fourth-fastest lap with a 52.22-second tour, followed by A.J. Foyt Racing's Mike Conway in fifth.

Conway's 52.38-second lap gave Honda a 1-2-4-5 in the morning session.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan's Takuma Sato made it 1-2-4-5-6 for Honda with a 52.384 (to Conway's .382), and KV's E.J. Viso went seventh with a 52.69-second lap.

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing's Josef Newgarden made steady improvement overnight, placing eighth on the team's second-ever day of running with the Dallara DW12-Honda with a lap of 52.83 seconds.

Ganassi's Charlie Kimball was slightly behind his fellow Firestone Indy Lights graduate with a 52.87-second lap in his Honda-powered entry, and Bryan Herta Autosport's Alex Tagliani closed out the top 10 with a 52.93-second lap, the first of the Lotus-engined cars.

Like the SFHR team, BHA is in its second day of testing with its car and ran a rather impressive lap to encourage the Lotus camp.

Lotus DRR's Oriol Servia was the first driver in the 53-second bracket, posting a 53.22-second lap and Graham Rahal, who has been towards the top at most tests during the off season, was back in 12th.

Sebastien Bourdais took over from Katherine Legge in Dragon Racing's Dallara DW12-Lotus on Friday morning, turning a 53.29-second lap.

Tony Kanaan's frustrating test continued as the 2004 IndyCar Series champion placed 14th with a 53.50.

Ed Carpenter rounded out the running order with a lap of 54.35 seconds.

IndyCar's Spring Training is set to conclude at the end of this afternoon's session.

Kombinovana vremena svih testiranja na Sebringu:

http://www.indycar.c...on combined.pdf

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Brazilska Indikar reprezentacija:

[Arnold Schwarzenegger]

Svi iste visine

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Zan Alezi se sprema za pohod na Indi 500:

[Arnold Schwarzenegger]

Nisam ga dugo gledao, kolko ima godina on?

edit: Radoje jel znas neki live stream gde mogu gledati kvalifikacije za Nationwide koje su upravo u toku?