Saturday, March 31, 2012

Penske, Power Quickest in IZOD INDYCAR Friday Session at Barber



A cloudy, wet weather greeted the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series drivers and teams for their first day at Barber Motorsports Park for Sunday‘s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Due to rain that intensified over the course of Friday, the fastest session for the 26 race cars around the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course occurred in the late morning.

The defending winner of the 2011 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama with a masterful flag-to-flag victory, Will Power kicked off one day at Barber Motorsports Park with the top time in overall Friday practice. Power’s lap time of 1 minute, 11.2886 seconds was faster than the times from in qualifying for the 2011 race. Power was 21/100ths of a second faster than his Penske Racing teammate and recent St Petersburg victor Helio Castroneves. “The Verizon No. 12 Chevy felt very good this morning before the rain.” said Will Power confident on his ability to repeat at Barber Motosports park. “We have tested here a lot and know the track very well and the set-up very well. We just made minor adjustments to the car because we basically know what we want.” said Power. With two of the three Team Penske Chevrolet entries at the front Friday, the third entry handled by Ryan Briscoe settled for 15th quickest among the IZOD INDYCAR Series racers.

While the presence of Team Penske at the top of IZOD INDYCAR result sheers is a trend early in the 2012 season, Friday’s remaining top-five fastest lap times threw a surprising curve ball into the year’s second race weekend for the open wheel stars. Recommitting to the IZOD INDYCAR Series schedule for the first time since 2008, the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team’s #15 car piloted by Takuma Sato grabbed the third fastest speed for day one. Both cars are powered by Honda engines. In 4th place in the combined practice results was series rookie of the year Simon contender Josef Newgarden driving for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing.

Considered to be the teams presenting best chances for challenging the Team Penske juggernaut into the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series season, Andretti Autosport and Chip Ganassi Racing both had race cars in the top-10 during Friday practice at Barber Motorsports Park. Andretti Autosports was led by the #26 car of Marco Andretti in 6th place in the first track session. Planning to mount a stronger race than the season opening effort at St Petersburg, defending IZOD INDYCAR series driver Dario Franchitti logged a 9th fastest time ahead of an affiliated #38 car driven by Graham Rahal.

Despite rather light track activity at Barber Motorsport Park, several IZOD INDYCAR Series drivers and teams desperate for testing took full advantage of Friday to acquaint themselves with their 2012 Dallaras. Setting the record for Friday laps was the former Formula 1 driver Rubens Barrichello for KV Racing Technology. Logging 34 laps, Barrichello was also fastest around the Barber Motorsports Park course recorded at 5th fastest amongst the practice times in both practices. “I have only done one test here, but it makes a huge difference compared to last weekend at St. Petersburg.” said Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello’s teammate and fellow Brazilian Tony Kanaan was 7th quick on Friday in the #11 car. First practice for the IZOD INDYCAR Series ended with Kanaan stopped on track after running out of fuel.

While Tony Kanaan’s event was not severe, the #18 of Justin Wilson did encounter a failure relating to his Honda powerplant driving his Dale Coyne Racing car. The Dale Coyne Racing team has been devoted to replacing a damaged fuel injector in order to preserve their potential grid position earned in Saturday’s qualifying. While Justin Wilson might be saved from loosing starting position, Oriol Servia will suffer the IZOD INDYCAR’s 10-grid spot penalty after the Lotus engine of his #22 car stopped in early in practice.

Simona de Silvestro completed the second-most laps over the course on Friday. In both sessions at Barber Motorsports Park, the #78 Lotus-powered race machine recorded 32 laps with the majority coming in the late morning practice. The Swiss driver’s fastest time was only 20th on the speed charts leading to desire that the remainder of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama weekend could turn the fortunes of de Silvestro and the HVM Racing team. Of the Lotus-powered Dallaras, Sebastien Bourdais recorded the fastest time around the 2.3-mile road course at 1 minute, 12.4818 seconds for Lotus Dragon Racing. With Bourdais in the #7 car for the Lotus Dragon Racing team, rookie teammate Katherine Legge ended the day at the bottom of the IZOD INDYCAR competitor’s time chart for Friday. Legge’s fastest time in the #6 car was more than five seconds off the speed of Will Power.

Could This Sketch be Chevrolet's Future NASCAR Contender?

Original sketch is created by Chris Nagy


After 5 years of the Impala name being engaged in stock car auto racing, Chevrolet's NASCAR plans will present a change to the after the 2012 season. Chevrolet announced earlier this month that the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup (and likely the Nationwide Series as well) would be running an all-new vehicle.

As the General Motors brand seeks their 34-time manufacturer championship in the still young 2012 season, the look of the Impala stock car's successor has not been publicly revealed as of yet. With General Motors promising the new NASCAR racing vehicle it will be based on an all-new production car, much of the speculation suggests the car will be a civilian version of the Chevrolet Caprice PPV sedan. An Australian based four-door equipped with V-6 and V-8 engines, the Caprice PPV was launched into the commercial market as an attempt to lure law enforcement agencies back to Chevrolet. While there has been no confirmation that the Chevrolet Caprice will return after a 16-year absence to showrooms, the mention of an all-new production car leaves few other options for a 2013 NASCAR stock car.

Attempting to articulate the anatomy of a Chevrolet Caprice PPV stock car, I have taken some time to sketch a hypothetical look of the 2013 NASCAR vehicle. Please accept for apologies on the crudeness of the sketch compared to other concept car renderings. Design is meant as a personal expression of a Chevrolet Caprice stock car.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Preview: 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Photo Credit: Dan Helrigel



The Notes and Know:

The Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg marked the first time that the Dallara DW12 was unleashed with the opening of the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR competition. This weekend, the brand new race car will roam the sweeping, twisty road course of Barber Motorsports Park. The visit to the 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park road course early in the season for the IZOD INDYCAR Series will be the third year in a row. Unlike the temporary St Petersburg street course, the race track of Barber Motorsports Park has already been lapped by the new race cars through a multi-day test session in 2012 IZOD INDYCAR pre-season.

After the first-ever event with the updated racing vehicles, the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series' return to a multi-engine formula appeared to have contributed to a higher than accustomed to rate of mechanical issues for some race competitors compared to season INDYCAR seasons. The elevation changes and the high-speed turns of Barber Motorsports Park will provide another unique test for the new Dallara open wheel race cars. In a contentious engine battle between Chevrolet, Honda and Lotus, Chevy has claimed the initial upper hand when Helio Castroneves guided a Penske-owned vehicle to victory at St Petersburg.

For fans, the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama should provide an interesting spectacle. All 26 cars that debuted in the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series opener will be present at Barber Motorsports Park. Will Power will be looking to defend his pole which led to a flag-to-flag victory at last year's Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.


Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, Alabama
Track Type: 17-turn road course
Track Distance: 2.38 Miles
Race Length: 90 laps/214.2 miles
Race Time: 2:00 PM Eastern

2011 Defending Race Winner: Will Power


IZOD INDYCAR Entry List


Car # Driver Driver Nationality Race Team Engine Supplier






1 2 Ryan Briscoe Australia Team Penske Chevrolet
2 3 Helio Castroneves Brazil Team Penske Chevrolet
3 4 JR Hildebrand United States Panther Racing Chevrolet
4 5 EJ Viso Venezuela KV Racing Technology Chevrolet
5 6 Katherine Legge England Lotus-Dragon Racing Lotus
6 7 Sebastien Bourdais France Lotus-Dragon Racing Lotus
7 8 Rubens Barrichello Brazil KV Racing Technology Chevrolet
8 9 Scott Dixon New Zealand Target/Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
9 10 Dario Franchitti Scotland Target/Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
10 11 Tony Kanaan Brazil KV Racing Technology Chevrolet
11 12 Will Power Australia Team Penske Chevrolet
12 14 Mike Conway England AJ Foyt Enterprises Honda
13 15 Takuma Sato Japan Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
14 18 Justin Wilson England Dale Coyne Racing Honda
15 19 James Jakes England Dale Coyne Racing Honda
16 20 Ed Carpenter United States Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
17 22 Oriol Servia Spain Lotus-Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Lotus
18 26 Marco Andretti United States Andretti Autosport Chevrolet
19 27 James Hinchcliffe Canada Andretti Autosport Chevrolet
20 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay United States Andretti Autosport Chevrolet
21 38 Graham Rahal United States Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
22 67 Josef Newgarden United States Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda
23 77 Smon Pagenaud France Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports Honda
24 78 Simona de Silvestro Switzerland Lotus-HVM Racing Lotus
25 83 Charlie Kimball United States Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
26 98 Alex Tagliani Canada Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Lotus

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Nissan DeltaWing Completes High-Profile Sebring Test

Photo Credit: Nissan

Ahead of the recently wrapped 2012 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the converted World War Two airport strip turned race track played host to a test for what is the subject for the revolutionary 'Project 56'. A prototype sports car racer, the DeltaWing turned its first public laps around the Sebring International Raceway on March 15th as part of the vehicle's training for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. Attracting a sizable crowd, the ultra-lightweight, highly distinctive prototype set for several laps under the momentum of a Nissan powerplant.

In a recently published YouTube clip posted by Nissan, the phrase "incubator for innovation" is an appropriate description for the DeltaWing 'Project 56' sports car racing development. As the race car lapped the Sebring road course, the Nissan DeltaWing's roughly one-half reduction in horsepower over traditional race vehicles coupled with the one-half drop in weight should potentially equate to lap times close to current prototype class cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship. While the Sebring test was mostly exploratory without any official track times, the Nissan DeltaWing showed stability and drivability many critics of the race car were not expecting to see on track. Along with reduced fuel economy, Nissan DeltaWing engineers express that the lighter race vehicle will apply less mechanical stress to components such as tires and brakes. This fact for the Nissan DeltaWing should present some drastically different servicing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Photo Credit: Nissan

Nissan interest in the DeltaWing 'Project 56' initiative stems beyond the race track. The Japanese auto company believes the principles being exercised through the Nissan DeltaWing race car research and development can benefit future production cars for the street. General Manager of Nissan Europe Darren Cox explains, "It's a fantastic project for Nissan." adding "All of the stuff we learn from this project we are going to be able to cross into road car development,".

Included below is the YouTube video log Nissan posted on the DeltaWing chassis being put through its paces at Sebring International Raceway.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Helio Heats Up St Petersburg in 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Opener

Photo Credit: Steve Swope for Penske Racing


A fixture on the early season of the IZOD INDYCAR Series since 2005, the 2012 edition of the St Petersburg street race had never received so much dedicated focus as it has when the brand new Dallara DW12 vehicles hit the 14-turn, 1.8-mile circuit. The first race for what will be the new look of the IZOD INDYCAR Series, the racing tour left 2011 mourning the loss of a two-time champion Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon. With many memorials setup around the temporary street course (including the naming of one stretch of street as 'Dan Wheldon Way'), the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg would be initiated by a green flag from Dan Wheldon's sister Holly.

Demonstrating true dominance early in the weekend, Chevrolet powerplants began to show some serious muscle early into the IZOD INDYCAR Series' first "Engine war" since 2005. Chevy-powered Team Penske #12 car of Will Power took pole while teammate Ryan Briscoe's #2 machine joined him on this monumental front row. As the top-5 in Saturday's qualifying were all Chevrolet powered Dallaras, the powerplants from Honda and Lotus would use 100 laps in Sunday's Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg as a chance to mount an offensive on the "Bowtie Brigade".
The first caution of the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series season was entered on lap 13 of the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg when the #6 Lotus-powered machine of Katherine Legge lost power on the frontstretch. Part of the Lotus-Dragon Racing team, Legge would return to the race competition only to later fall victim to her vehicle shutting down. Katherine Legge's #6 car ended parked near the exit of pit road but out of harm's way. A two-car team the second Dallara DW12 vehicle of Sebastien Bourdais would also encounter misfortune in his first event back to full-time competition in United States open wheel racing for 2012.

With Will Power handed early advantage at the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg by virtue of his pole win, the event was seemingly the Australian's race to lose. After leading the first 11 laps of the race, the #12 Team Penske car pitted early and lost touch with the front of the field. Initially surrendering the lead to teammate Ryan Briscoe, Will Power would be unable to contend with the front pack at any other point in the IZOD INDYCAR opener. "We just got shuffled back a bit there after the first pit stop and we just couldn't make up the ground we needed. It was very tough to pass." said Power who settled with a 7th place finish in the first IZOD INDYCAR Series event for 2012.


Photo Credit: Steve Swope for Penske Racing



Four laps following the completion of the Hond Grand Prix of St Petersburg's first caution period, the yellow flag was displayed once again when James Jakes nosed the #19 car into the turn 10 tire barrier.

Also during the second caution, Tony Kanaan slowed to a stop in his #11 Chevrolet-engined car for KV Racing Technology. An electrical voltage drop was recorded by the Brazilian driver commenting in post-race, "From Lap 1 I started to get the low voltage alarm. I don't know if, I think it was the alternator. I could tell it was the battery because my dash went blank, and with the electronic nowadays you cannot pull out of gear, if the dash is not working." Finishing so strong at the 2011 race as a first time outing for KV Racing Technology, Kanaan's 2012 St Petersburg race ended after just 21 laps. New car gremlins seemingly bit the KV Racing Tachnology car of former Formula 1 star Rubens Barrichello. While Barrichello completed all but two laps, the Brazilian's #8 car fuel meter issue contributed to the car running out of fuel. When the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg concluded, there was seven recorded mechanical problems in the final result. It appeared that new car blues had plagued the wide range of teams and even cars using all three engine companies.

In the early stage of second caution, the lead changed once again when Briscoe pitted. The #9 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing of Scott Dixon took over the race. After starting the race in 6th place, Scott Dixon (the highest-positioned Honda at the beginning of this event) would lead 37 laps on the day. Dixon's performance at the front was a major difference from the effectiveness of teammate and reigning IZOD INDYCAR champ Dario Franchitti. Stationed in the middle of the field for much of the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg, Franchitti fell to 13th place after running out of fuel on the last corner in the final lap. 
After a segment where the St Petersburg race was led by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's #15 car piloted by Takuma Sato, a crucial pass by the #3 car of Helio Castroneves on Scott Dixon set the Brazilian onto the course for his first win since 2010. Leading for 28 laps including the final 25, Castroneves' Team Penske car survived contact with the #20 car of Ed Carpenter to pull out a 5.5-second interval on Dixon to go on to victory at the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg. By winning, Helio Castroneves gives a Chevrolet engine it's first victory lane appearance sine Nashville of 2005. In post-race, Castroneves commented on his race saying "No question, these guys are awesome, Ryan (Briscoe) and Will (power), and for me it's a great Chevy-power group, it's been always consistent. It might not be the quickest, but I did say out loud, 'If I start in the top six, I'll win this race.' And we did it, we are here in Victory Circle."


Photo Credit: Steve Swope for Penske Racing



Shortly after taking the checkered flag, Helio Castroneves made a personal gesture to a fallen competitor when he brought his #3 Shell/Pennzoil-sponsored Team Penske car to a stop along turn 10. Climbing out of his race vehicle shortly after his IZOD INDYCAR race win, Castroneves leaped the fence along Dan Wheldon Way. Giving his former competitor a thoughtful salute, the emotional Brazilian driver talked about his impromptu tribute. "You can never question God's mysteries, and today for me, I ended up stopping [my car] on Turn 10, and honestly I did not plan it, it was just the way it happened, and there was the sign Dan Wheldon Way. So for me, and for all of us, the drivers and the fans, not having him here certainly we'll miss. But we've got to remember him as he lived, the way he lived, and continue to pray for his family." said Helio Castroneves.

With Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon finishing in the top-two spots in the debut event for the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series, the next two positions were dominated by Andretti Autosport cars using Chevy power. Ryan Hunter-Reay finished 3rd while James Hinchcliffe equalled his best ever series result with a 4th place run. Rounding out the top-five was the Penske entry driven by Ryan Briscoe.


Photo Credit: Steve Swope for Penske Racing



Other honourable mentions in the results of the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg reveals Simon Pagenaud as the highest finishing rookie contender with a fine 6th place with the #77 Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports car. Moving up 13 positions during the course of the 100-lap event to finish 9th, sophomore driver Charlie Kimball took part in a strong opening race with his Chip Ganassi Racing team. In 15th place, Canada's Alex Tagliani scored the highest final result for a Lotus-engined Dallara.

With Helio Castroneves putting a cherry on top of the sundae for Team Penske's delightful 2012 IZOD  INDYCAR start, the series leaves St Petersburg ready to take on Barber Motorsports Park.



2012 IZOD INDYCAR
Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg 
Race Results



1 3 Helio Castroneves Brazil Team Penske Chevrolet
2 9 Scott Dixon New Zealand Target/Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
3 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay United States Andretti Autosport Chevrolet
4 27 James Hinchcliffe Canada Andretti Autosport Chevrolet
5 2 Ryan Briscoe Australia Team Penske Chevrolet
6 77 Simon Pagenaud France Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports Honda
7 12 Will Power Australia Team Penske Chevrolet
8 5 EJ Viso Venezuela KV Racing Technology Chevrolet
9 83 Charlie Kimball United States Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
10 18 Justin Wilson England Dale Coyne Racing Honda
11 67 Josef Newgarden United States Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda
12 38 Graham Rahal United States Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
13 10 Dario Franchitti Scotland Target/Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
14 26 Marco Andretti United States Andretti Autosport Chevrolet
15 98 Alex Tagliani Canada Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Lotus
16 22 Oriol Servia Spain Lotus-Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Lotus
17 8 Rubens Barrichello Brazil KV Racing Technology Chevrolet
18 20 Ed Carpenter United States Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
19 4 JR Hildebrand United States Panther Racing Chevrolet
20 14 Mike Conway England AJ Foyt Enterprises Honda
21 7 Sebastien Bourdais France Lotus-Dragon Racing Lotus
22 15 Takuma Sato Japan Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
23 6 Katherine Legge England Lotus-Dragon Racing Lotus
24 78 Simona de Silvestro Switzerland Lotus-HVM Racing Lotus
25 11 Tony Kanaan Brazil KV Racing Technology Chevrolet
26 19 James Jakes England Dale Coyne Racing Honda

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Monsoon Conditions in Malaysia Sees Alonso Splash to F1 Victory

Photo Credit: Sauber Motorsport AG

 
Under the fanfare of an all-new Formula 1 season for 2012, the Australian Grand Prix was 58 laps on a perfectly dry race track. The McLaren Formula 1 team secured the first pole with Lewis Hamilton driving and winning with Jenson Button's entry for the new year event. Heading into the second grand prix of the 2012 season, the question for whether what was seen as at Albert Park would be the sign of things to come through this year's Formula 1 tour.

 
In qualifying for the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton continued the rocket start for the McLaren team taking pole. With his fellow teammate Jenson Button placing the McLaren-Mercedes beside him on the front row, Hamilton appeared ripe for picking a 2012 victory in the early season. What would throw the McLaren chances of an easy drive in the 56-lap event at Sepang International Circuit was a wet track. Starting the Malaysian Grand Prix, the starting field lined up predominately on intermediate Pirelli tires (only exception was the HRT F1 cars that elected for full wet weather rubber from the start). Complicating the decision for teams was the nearly dry sections of the Malaysian race track lead into heavily drenched areas of the circuit.

 

 
Photo Credit: Charles Coates/LAT Photographic

 

 
With the McLaren-Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button at the front, the 2012 Grand Prix of Malaysia went green. Despite aggressive jockeying for position at the start of the Malaysian Grand Prix, all Formula 1 cars travelled safely through the Sepang International Circuit's turn one unscathed. There was a major incident on the lap 1 of he Malaysian Grand Prix when the third place-starting Mercedes GP car of Micheal Schumacher was punted into a spin after contact with the Lotus-Renault of Romain Grosjean. Schumacher recovered quickly from the impact spinning his Mercedes F1 W03 back into the race just a few positions down. As for Grosjean, the French driver would retire his Lotus-Renault race car on the third lap of the grand prix concluding what is two early exits in his first races of 2012.

 
Instead of competing each other on track, race drivers and teams found themselves battling the elements of increasing rainfall. Several cars on the initial laps of the Malaysian Grand Prix were hydroplaning off the race track including the Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel. As many drivers reported that areas of the race track have turned into a lake, Formula 1 dispatched the Mercedes SLS AMG safety car and would red flag the event on lap 8 when the rain showers intensified. After more than a 50-minute delay where Formula 1 race cars waited on the Sepang International Circuit's grid, the Malaysian Grand Prix restarted under yellow. After a few laps behind the safety car, the competitors were once again set off under green.

 
Through a complex pattern of pit stops and tire strategy, Malaysia's 2012 Formula 1 event saw many surprise contenders emerge as front-runners. Opting to full wet Pirelli tires on the first lap of the Malaysian Grand Prix, the Sauber team pitted their Mexican driver Sergio Perez for what turn off to be a well-timed technical move for position. Able to take advantage of the wet weather tires on the Sepang International Circuit almost the entire full were running on intermediates, Perez gained a lot of track position that put the Sauber team car close to the lead pack. Up to third place before the red flag, the Sauber-Ferrari of Perez would lead lap 14. The 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix would be a career race Sergio Perez and the Sauber F1 team.

 
Photo Credit: Sauber Motorsport AG

 
While the Malaysian Grand Prix appeared to be a prime location for the McLaren F1 team to celebrate a second 2012 win, the complications of the wet race track and some serious mistakes proved costly for the British squad. Jenson Button collided with a HRT-Cosworth on track on lap 15. Requiring two additional pit stops more than the leader, Button's McLaren was relegated out of the top-10 points paying position for the Malaysian event. While the second McLaren of Lewis Hamilton endured to finish on the podium of the Malaysian Grand Prix, a chance at a win was discarded by a slightly later pit stop at the initial term of the Formula 1 race.

 
For what has been uncharacteristic struggle for the Red Bull Racing team so far in 2012, the Malaysian Grand Prix is continuing to show Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber off their stride that carried through the past two seasons. Incurring the deepest difficulty in the event was the Red Bull Racing team's reigning champion Sebastian Vettel. Losing radio communications early in the grand prix, Vettel was running as high as 4th in Malaysia until an incident with the slower HRT-Cosworth of Narain Karthikeyan. Lap 46 contact between the HRT car and the #1 Red Bull-Renault resulted in damage for which Sebastian Vettel was forced out of the points. Electing to continue on even with damage to his RB9 race car, Vettel finished deep in 11th place (the German driver's worst completed ace since the 2010 Belgium Grand Prix). Thanks to the late race usage of slick tires, Mark Webber emerged from the Malaysian Grand Prix with a better team outcome bringing his Red Bull-Renault came across the line in 4th place.

 
During the final stage of the Malaysian Grand Prix, it was the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso skating in the lead. With major concerns about the 2012 Ferrari race car following the Australian Formula 1 round, the rain falling through the race in Malaysia gave the two-time Formula 1 World Champion Alonso a fighting chance for victory. Sergio Perez with a Sauber powered by a Ferrari engine mounted a firm charge on Fernando Alonso's factory car. While Perez was able to catch Alonso, a mistake by the sophomore Sauber pilot resulted in overrunning a corner cutting a late battle among the Ferrari engines. "On the final stint, when I was on the hard tyre compound, my tyres had degraded quite a lot. It wasn’t easy and I went wide and touched a curb. I actually was lucky not to go off." said Alonso in post-race commenting on what would amount to a second-place finish.

 
Crossing the line with a 2.2-second advantage on Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso captured his 28th grand prix victory at Malaysia. While the pace of the latest Ferrari race car in dry weather will still be a question through 2012, the win at the Malaysian Grand Prix gave the Ferrari F2012 race car at least one victory this season thanks to the masterful Alonso drive.

 
While Sergio Perez celebrates his first Formula 1 podium, the Mexican driver could not think he let a victory slip away. “It is a great day for me. The team did a very good job and I feel very happy for them. It is a really nice feeling to have been on the podium here, but I think victory was also within reach." Joining the podium celebration was Lewis Hamilton who captured his second 3rd place result in 2012.

 
With Mark Webber placing 4th, 5th place was claimed by the surviving Lotus-Renault of Kimi Raikkonen. In the first two races returning to Formula 1, Raikkonen has acquired points in both grand prix events for 2012. Bruno Senna, Paul di Resta, Jean-Eric Vergne, Nico Hulkenburg and Michael Schumacher rounded off the top-10 for the Malaysian Grand Prix 

After two-straight weeks of Formula 1 racing, the race teams and drivers of the world's top open wheel series will next run the Grand Prix of China on April 15th. 

 
2012 Formula 1
Malaysian Grand Prix
Race Results

  1. 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
  2. 15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
  3. 4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
  4. 2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
  5. 9 Kami Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
  6. 19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
  7. 11 Paul di Resta Force India
  8. 17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
  9. 12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
  10. 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
  11. 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
  12. 16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
  13. 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
  14. 3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
  15. 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
  16. 21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
  17. 24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
  18. 20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
  19. 18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
  20. 25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
  21. 22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1
  22. 23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1
  23. 14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
  24. 10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault


 

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Will Power Puts Chevy Power onto St Petersburg Pole

Photo Credit: Steve Swope


Competing with their brand new Dallara chassis race cars, qualifying for the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg represented the a major milestone for teams and drivers of the IZOD INDYCAR Series. A chance to claim the honour and technical advantage of being the first driver to master the open wheel series' new specifications, the 2012 contenders of the IZOD INDYCAR Series looked forward to mount a strong offensive.

After the first qualifying session for the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series on the streets of St Petersburg, there is a sense of whatever old is new again as Team Penske's road warrior took pole position. Lapping the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street course at 1-minute, 1.3721-seconds, Power's #12 Penske Racing car was a little more than half a second faster than his pole-winning time in the 2011 St Petersburg event. "It's a good start. It's only the beginning of the weekend. We need to have a good strategy for the race and see what comes." said Power in post-race.

Will Power's pole with Chevrolet power for the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg was the first time since July of 2005 that the Bowtie brand would take an INDYCAR field to green. The start of the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg race for the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Season will also be the first in 18 years that a Chevrolet-badged engine powers the pole-sitter at a road course. Emerson Fittipaldi put a Roger Penske-owned car on the top starting spot at the Grand Prix of Monterey at the end of 1993.

For an all-Team Penske front row, Ryan Briscoe's #2 Dallara DW12 was little more than 2/10ths of a second slower than Will Power. A 2009 winner of the St Petersburg INDYCAR Series event, Briscoe's victory was one of four by Team Penske machines.

By using the first 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series qualifying session as a judge, it appears the brand new Chevrolet V-6 INDYCAR engine has promptly reached its performance zenith. Along with supplying power for the pole-winning Will Power's Penske Racing Dallara and his teammate Briscoe's car, seven of the top-10 in qualifying for the St Petersburg event were Bowtie-wearing entries. Also running Chevrolet engines, the second row for the Sunday street race will feature an Andretti Autosport duo. Drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay in 3rd and James Hinchcliffe in 4th separates the third Team Penske of Helio Castroneves from his front-row starting teammates.

French INDYCAR rookie Simon Pagenaud ushered the #77 Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports Honda-powered Dallara into the Firestone Fast Six. Ended up 6th fastest after qualifying, Pagenaud was the quickest Honda in the time trial session. However, the #77 will be assessed a 10-grid position penalty for an unapproved engine change during practice.

For what is likely Honda's top team, Target Chip Ganassi and the other Chip Ganassi Racing two-car organizations were based around the mid-pack in qualifying. Qualifying 7th, Scott Dixon will inherit 6th place on the grid from after Pagenaud's penalty. Reigning IZOD INDYCAR champion Dario Franchitti will begin his title defense in 9th place on Sunday. Admitting that the Target Chip Ganassi team missed the set-up in qualifying for the first 2012 event, Franchitti uttered in post-qualifying interview, "I don't think its by accident the Chevy guys were up there. We'll just keep our heads up and get the work done. We still have some tricks up our sleeve.". In the Chip Ganassi Racing #38, Granham Rahal was 11th fastest in practice disappointed with his effort on Saturday. Finally, sophomore IZOD INDYCAR Series Charlie Kimball had major struggles to end up 22nd in the time trials.

While Chevrolet and Honda engined cars appeared competitive, questions surround the Lotus engined drivers. The highest starting competitor to be running a Lotus-powered Dallara DW12 will be Alex Tagliani in 17th spot. Starting at the back of the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg is the two-car Lotus-Dragon Recing cars of Katherine Legge and Sebastien Bourdais. While the Lotus-powered INDYCAR teams for 2012 appear to show an engine that is off-pace, their customers consist largely of developing teams without the thick notebooks as the established teams running Chevrolet and Honda powerplant.

The premiere event for the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series season, the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg will be set to start at 12:30 PM Eastern time Sunday.


2012 IZOD INDYCAR
Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg
Streets of St Petersburg
Qualifying Results



1 12 Will Power Australia Team Penske Chevrolet
2 2 Ryan Briscoe Australia Team Penske Chevrolet
3 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay United States Andretti Autosport Chevrolet
4 27 James Hinchcliffe Canada Andretti Autosport Chevrolet
5 3 Helio Castroneves Brazil Team Penske Chevrolet
6 77 Simon Pagenaud France Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports Honda
7 9 Scott Dixon New Zealand Target/Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
8 26 Marco Andretti United States Andretti Autosport Chevrolet
9 11 Tony Kanaan Brazil KV Racing Technology Chevrolet
10 10 Dario Franchitti Scotland Target/Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
11 38 Graham Rahal United States Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
12 14 Mike Conway England AJ Foyt Enterprises Honda
13 5 EJ Viso Venezuela KV Racing Technology Chevrolet
14 8 Rubens Barrichello Brazil KV Racing Technology Chevrolet
15 15 Takuma Sato Japan Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
16 18 Justin Wilson England Dale Coyne Racing Honda
17 98 Alex Tagliani Canada Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Lotus
18 4 JR Hildebrand United States Panther Racing Chevrolet
19 67 Josef Newgarden United States Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda
20 19 James Jakes England Dale Coyne Racing Honda
21 78 Simona de Silvestro Switzerland Lotus-HVM Racing Lotus
22 83 Charlie Kimball United States Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
23 22 Oriol Servia Spain Lotus-Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Lotus
24 20 Ed Carpenter United States Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
25 6 Katherine Legge England Lotus-Dragon Racing Lotus
26 7 Sebastien Bourdais France Lotus-Dragon Racing Lotus

Hamilton Continues Early Season Hustle as Fastest in Malaysia Saturday

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

After the first round of the 2012 Formula 1 season in Australia, there were no longer any surprises between the grand prix teams. With Albert Park a memory (a most positive memory for the McLaren F1 team), focus has turned to the Sepang International Circuit where preparations to run the 56-lap Malaysian Grand Prix was centered on Saturday's qualifying.

Maintaining a perfect performance in 2012 Formula 1 qualifying, Lewis Hamilton flew to pole Saturday for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Taking the McLaren-Mercedes to the front of Sunday's race grid with a 1-minute, 36.219-second run in the Q3 qualifying session, Hamilton was 15/100ths of a second quicker than teammate Jenson Button. Opening the season big, the McLaren F1 team duo of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have stood on three podiums already in 2012.

The McLaren-Mercedes success came as a result of a successful battle against the full-factory Mercedes-Benz effort. Mercedes GP drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg were both impressive throughout qualifying around the 5.543-kilometer Sepang International Circuit. Schumacher was second-fastest in Q1 while Rosberg posted a third-quickest time in the Q2 session. When it came to the final Q3 session, Nico Rosberg struggled to an 8th place finish after locking up his Pirelli tires through the first turn. Posting a 1-minute, 36.461-second time in Q3, 7-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher soared to a third-place grid position (the highest qualifying spot for a Mercedes GP car since the team's formulation in 2010). Schumacher's first top-three qualifying effort since the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix, the driver of the Mercedes F1 W03 was understandably positive in the post-time trial interview. "It felt nice being in the qualifying press conference for the first time in over five years! What is obviously more important would be sitting here again tomorrow," said Schumacher.


Photo Credit: Mercedes GP


Only the second race in the 2012 Formula 1 season, assumptions of the Red Bull Racing organization would indicate the team has lost their qualifying pace that was pivotal to a 2011 driver and constructor championship. The Red Bull-Renault of Mark Webber qualified 4th place for Sunday's race at the Sepang International Circuit. Lotus-Renault driver Kimi Raikkonen equalled Webber's 1-minute, 36.461-second time but had to settle for 5th place due to the Red Bull-Renault registering his time first. Raikkonen will relinquish 5 grid positions Sunday for a gearbox change. This is the second event in a row where Mark Webber out-qualified his teammate Sebastian Vettel. The two-time Formula 1 champion and last year's Malaysian Grand Prix winner Vettel could only muster an 8th place on Sunday's race grid. In Australia, Vettel importantly finished in 2nd place after 58 laps.

Continuing their struggles shown in the Australia Grand Prix qualifying group, the Scuderia Ferrari team drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa have been unable to get a hold of the 2012 race car's tricky handling. Alonso's Ferrari made it into the Q1 session but could only mount a 9th fastest time on the Sepang International Circuit (Alonso will start 8th based on Raikkonen's penalty). Felipe Massa is starting in 12th place for Sunday's Formula 1 event. Massa's best finish in the Malaysian Grand Prix is 5th on three occasions.

The 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix will be a full grid Sunday of all 24 cars. Failing to make the field for the Australian Grand Prix, the HRT-Cosworth cars of Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan fared better in on the 5.543-mile Malaysian track.


2012 Formula 1
Malaysian Grand Prix
Qualifying Results

  1. 4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
  2. 3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
  3. 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
  4. 2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
  5. 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
  6. 10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
  7. 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
  8. 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
  9. 15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
  10. 9 Kami Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
  11. 18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
  12. 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
  13. 19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
  14. 11 Paul di Resta Force India
  15. 16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
  16. 12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
  17. 14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
  18. 17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
  19. 21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
  20. 24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
  21. 25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
  22. 22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1
  23. 23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1
  24. 20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault