616 replies to this topic

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

IndyCar tethering specific car pieces for 2016
Curt Cavin, curt.cavin@indystar.com
6:10 p.m. EST November 24, 2015


IndyCar will attempt to control dangerous flying debris with tethers.

Tethers will be used to keep specific pieces connected to the car during accidents like the one that killed Justin Wilson at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway on Aug. 23.

The nose cone of Sage Karam’s car broke loose and struck Wilson in the helmet. Wilson died the next day of a head wound.

In addition to the nose cone during superspeedway races, IndyCar will tether the rear beam wing and rear-wheel guards for all events in 2016. The tether is made of “high-tensile Zylon,” IndyCar said in a news release. Zylon is a high-performance, flame-resistant fiber.

The front wing main plane will be tethered for the three superspeedway races: the Indianapolis 500 and races at Pocono and Texas Motor Speedway.

By design, IndyCar pieces are designed to break apart to dissipate energy. But the bodywork kits new for the recently completed season came apart at a higher rate than in the past, and a spectator was struck at the season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Designers must balance the risk of the tethered debris striking the driver of the initial crash.

“It is a continual goal to improve safety for all the participants, fans and drivers alike,” IndyCar vice president of technology Will Phillips said in the release. “We also need to do this in a fashion that does not create more yellow-flag racing and try to prevent as much debris as possible.”

Also, a domed skid plate will be affixed to the underside of the chassis and rear wing flaps for the purpose of preventing cars from going airborne when turned backward at high speeds. The Chevrolets driven by Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden and Ed Carpenter got airborne during Indianapolis 500 practice. 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Phil Krueger never won a race or a championship, but he did win miles of respect at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1980s with his moxie.

After a big crash trying to make the show in 1981 in a nine-year-old car that left him with broken bones, Krueger suffered more injuries in 1984 at Michigan and it looked like he's never realize his dream of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

But, serving as his own chief mechanic, the determined Californian put an older car in the 1986 starting lineup and then came back in 1988 to qualify 15th fastest and finish eighth in a two-year-old March that was supposed to be a show car.

Krueger, who retired following another nasty accident in 1989, embodied the spirit of competition and was one of the great stories of perseverance at Indianapolis.

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

http://www.calgarysu...to-city-by-2017

 

Attempts to bring an IndyCar race to Calgary are in high gear, says a local motorsports enthusiast.

 

The promoters of bringing the Verizon IndyCar series to the city in September, 2017 say the venue should join Toronto on the circuit.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

- KVSH ce mozda spasti sa dva na samo jedan bolid za sezonu 2016. Koleti je napustio tim, a ako se ne pronadje zamena (sa dovoljno sponzorstva), ostace samo na Bordeu u bolidu #11.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

An open letter from the Wilson family
Thursday, 03 December 2015
IndyCar


Julia Wilson has posted the open letter shown below to well-wishers and the IndyCar community, which rallied around her family following the tragic death of her husband, Verizon IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson, on Aug. 24.

More than $600,000 were raised for the Wilson Children’s Fund to assist Justin’s widow, Julia, and their daughters Jane and Jessica. In addition, countless letters, posts and tweets to the family have helped comfort them.
 

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Decades before Chevrolet dominated the Verizon IndyCar Series with four consecutive Manufacturers' championships produced by its 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 engine, its 2.65-liter single-turbo V8 turned the tides on Cosworth in the latter portion of the 1980s.
 
Shown here uncovered outside a Team Penske transporter in 1988, the Chevy "A" Indy car engine helped the Bowtie to win 14 of 15 races and crown Penske's Danny Sullivan as the Drivers' champion.
 

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

- Metju Brabam potvrdjen za VN Indijanapolisa i Indi 500 u Sevrolet bolidu #61 za Tim Mari uz sponzorstvo PIRTEK. Ovim se dinastija Brabam pridruzuje Andretijima i Vukovicima kao jedine koje su dale tri generacije trkaca na Indi 500. Metjuov deda je naravno legendarni Dzek Brabam trostruki svetski sampion F1 sa 4 starta na Indi 500, njegov otac Dzef je startovao 10 puta iz 12 pokusaja (najbolji plasman 4. mesto 1983.).

 

 

Edited by Rad-oh-yeah?, 04 December 2015 - 16:32.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Rik Mirs je danas napunio 64 godine, mnogaja ljeta legendo!

 

 

Uz Fojta i Ala Ansera starijeg jedini cetvorostruki pobednik na Indi 500, uz Bobija Ansera jedini vozac koji je na Indiju pobedjivao u tri razlicite decenije, i rekorder po broju pol pozicija sa sest.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

O novinama na polju bezbednosti: http://www.racer.com...l=&limitstart=1

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

INDYCAR: Open seats are dwindling
Monday, 07 December 2015
Marshall Pruett / Images by LAT


IndyCar's silly season has slowed to an occasional chuckle. The powerhouse teams have set their rosters, and most of the teams chasing Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing, and Team Penske have also locked their drivers in for 2016.

Of the teams with seats to fill, all but one has their primary drivers in place. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports is expected to announce Mikhail Aleshin's return to the Honda-powered team with support from the Russian's backers at SMP Racing. The renamed KVSH Racing team has yet to confirm the resigning of Sebastien Bourdais for the No. 11 Chevy, but the Frenchman's signature on a contract is said to be forthcoming.

Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing has two confirmed drivers in place with Ed Carpenter set for another oval campaign in the No. 20 Chevy, and Josef Newgarden in the No. 67 Chevy, although Carpenter continues to work on procuring the budget to keep the No. 20 on track for the road and street courses with a third driver. Italy's Luca Filippi filled that role for CFH in 2015, and could return, according to Carpenter, but it isn't necessarily an automatic thing. If the No. 20 is locked in for a full season, Filippi, or a different driver could partner with the two-time Indy 500 polesitter.

Bryan Herta Autosport is usually among the last teams to confirm its driver, and we're told Gabby Chaves should be announced this month for his return to drive the No. 98 Honda. Barring a sudden cash windfall, BHA will remain a single-car program next year.

It leaves the CFH No. 20 road/street course seat (provided it materializes), the second KVSH seat (provided the team finds the right driver to fill it), and both Dale Coyne Racing entries as the obvious full- and part-time rides left in the paddock.

Carpenter has been inundated with inquires, and as he said this week, it's too early to say – good or bad – whether the No. 20 will be pressed into service for more than the five ovals on the schedule. This topic will likely remain open for a while, and with more than three months to go before the season opens in St. Petersburg, CFH has plenty of time to continue its budget hunt.

KVSH could, as team co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven recently told RACER, run as a single-car program, and it's worth noting that former Chip Ganassi Racing driver Sage Karam has been described as being in the team's "general hemisphere." Whether the team has any plans to run the 2013 Indy Lights champion at some point next season is unknown, but the team did confirm they've spoken with his manager.

The biggest source of current intrigue involves Dale Coyne's Honda-powered team, and the reported efforts by the Japanese manufacturer to increase the overall quality of the drivers representing the brand. DCR cycled seven drivers through both cars last season, with the best performance coming from Tristan Vautier at Detroit (fourth). Conor Daly, driving for SPM, also recorded his best result at Detroit (sixth), and impressed earlier in the year for Coyne on short notice at Long Beach. It's believed Daly (pictured, TOP) could now be in a position to lead the Illinois-based team next year.

Vautier confirmed he has not heard from the team, and DCR is said to be preparing to test Daly before the end of the month at Sebring. Based on Honda's fondness for the Hoosier, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the second-generation driver nominated as Coyne's lead driver. Honda has pressed its teams to retain or acquire talent to help earn its first IndyCar Manufacturers' title since Chevy joined the series in 2012, and with that initiative in mind, DCR might struggle to receive an engine supply for a second entry if another backmarker arrives with more cash than capabilities to offer.

Looking across the remaining vacancies, Coyne could have the likes of Indy Lights race winner Jack Harvey to consider for the second seat; Harvey hoped to stay with SPM, but that opportunity was taken by Aleshin. Max Chilton has also spoken with most teams about working together in 2016, although he's said to have half a budget to offer, which would limit his current options to smaller operations.

IndyCar's silly season isn't over, but it is surprisingly close to being completed by early December. Car counts are expected to be down next year thanks to two or three teams paring one car from their lineup, yet it wouldn't be entirely surprising to see an Andretti or Ganassi expand to four cars if the funding is solid. For the remaining deals waiting to be done, 95 days are left until practice starts for the opening round of the 2016 season.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

http://www.racer.com...h-line-in-sight
 

INDYCAR: Hinch's rehab finish line in sight
Tuesday, 08 December 2015
Marshall Pruett / Image by LAT


James Hinchcliffe isn't done with his recovery process after the scary crash that brought a premature end to his season, but the finish line is in sight.

The Canadian has been through numerous surgeries and an ongoing rehabilitation process since striking the Turn 3 wall at Indianapolis on May 18. He's all but lived at Jim Leo's PitFit training center in Indianapolis to restore lost muscle mass and cardio endurance, and with his physical recuperation almost complete, the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver says the hardest obstacle he's faced has been on the mental side.

"Definitely; the first day back in the gym you want to be right back where you were before the accident, so the difficult part has been the mental part and working myself up slowly to where I was," Hinchcliffe told RACER. "Managing that side has been hard, and it was also something that was new for me."

As a fit and able then-28-year-old, Hinchcliffe took pride in his physical preparation. Losing that strength and stamina while idling at home in the days and weeks that followed the crash was tough, but also reinforced his determination to get back into the cockpit of an Indy car.

"Being parked for so long was also a huge motivator," he continued. "I couldn't really do anything in the beginning, and I wasn't traveling for the races or sponsor appearances, and I'd come off a stretch of being able to do nothing, bored out of my skull, and then I'd challenge myself - I'd have these new goals to get back to where I was physically, and that was completely new for me.

"It was the first time in my career dealing with something like this, and with how far I'd fallen physically. You have to motivate yourself to get on the bike, get out running, and recapture who you are."

Hinchcliffe, who turned 29 last week, says the recovery process led to one revelation about his character, at least when it comes to fighting to overcome adversity.

"I re-learned that I'm stubborn, but I think that's to be expected of anybody in that situation," he said. "It was great to see the results, though. Seeing the results of the work to get your body where it belongs was huge for me, and I'm actually surprised at how easily it came back.

"It was good to see that first little bit of success, and then that led to more success, and it continued growing from there. Your body will recover on its own, but your head isn't quite as automatic. That's where the inner fight happens."

In Hinchcliffe's absence, Ryan Briscoe took over driving duties in the No. 5 ARROW Honda for the bulk of the season. Although he was restricted from traveling to the four races that followed Indy, Hinchcliffe returned midsummer to support SPM and Briscoe.

He only completed five races in his first year with SPM before the accident, and wasn't afforded a full year to gel with the team from inside the car, but from what he saw from Toronto to Sonoma, Briscoe and the team made great progress. And with a few recent tests of his own in the No. 5, Hinchcliffe expects the team to resume its winning ways once the season starts next March in St. Petersburg.

"The fact that I was able to travel to a bunch of races from Toronto on and sit in on the debriefs, see how the decisions were made, and could be up close instead of at home the rest of the year reading reports by email helped a lot," he said.

"Furthermore, I think that Ryan's driving style is very similar to mine, so development-wise, I don't think we'll have to undo what he did to suit me. Having seen to how they got to where they got, and how quick Ryan was, we should be in a good position.

"And the other thing is I was in the car for the very first test after the season ended, so everything going from there into next season will be from me and my engineer developing all the pieces we come up with, and from Honda, so we're ready to pick up where we left off at St. Pete."

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

- Mihail Aljosin potvrdjen u drugom bolidu SPM. Rus je debitovao 2014. godine i u svojoj ruki sezoni ostavio odlican utisak i brzo postao omiljen u padoku. Sezonu je zavrsio prerano nakon teskog udesa u kvalifikacijama za poslednju trku na Fontani, a 2015. je pauzirao zbog politickih komplikacija sa uvodjenjem sankcija Rusiji zbog cega je doslo do problema oko sponzorstva, tako da je u celoj sezoni odvezao samo jednu trku, i to na Sonomi. No, izgleda da su ti problemi sada prevazidjeni i on ce u 2016. voziti kompletnu sezonu u SPM bolidu #7 sa Hondinim motorom.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

- Navodno, sve je dogovoreno izmedju Konora Dejlija i Dejl Kojn Rejsinga za angazman za kompletu Indikar sezonu 2016, trebalo bi sutra (petak) da sve bude zvanicno potrvrdjeno.

 

- Prica se o mogucoj Indikar trci u Sociju u nekoj doglednoj buducnosti, navodno novac nije problem.

Edited by Rad-oh-yeah?, 10 December 2015 - 20:53.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=9x2gEFsf-rg

Edited by Rad-oh-yeah?, 11 December 2015 - 17:57.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

- Dejli potvrdjen za DCR; takodje, sprintkar as Brajan Klauson ce ove godine na Indi 500 nastupiti pod pokroviteljstvom DCR (do sada je nastupao za Saru Fiser i za KV).