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IndyCar
BRISCOE: Role Reversal
It’s a bit of a different feeling for us this year as Will and Dario will fight it out for the title there and I think it’s going to be very close.
Ryan Briscoe  | http://www.penskeracing.com  |  Posted September 27, 2010  
The Penske organization was behind Ryan Briscoe's championship bid this time last year, but in 2010, he and Helio Castroneves are supporting Will Power's efforts to take points away from Dario Franchitti. (LAT)
The trip to our race in Japan is an adventure in itself. I flew with Team Penske from Concord, NC to Washington Dulles Airport and then on to Narita, Japan. We left the Concord airport at 7:30 am on Wednesday, September 15 and it was 7:30 pm on Thursday, September 16 when I checked into my room at the Twin Ring Motegi Hotel. I guess that is why they say getting there is half the fun. We flew on the team jet from Concord to Washington and from there it was a “straight shot” to Japan. The flight was about 13 hours long. During that time I watched a few movies - Hoosiers, Prince of Persia and CopOut.ll and they were all pretty good. I also played some backgammon on my iPad, but I didn’t sleep at all!

While the trip itself is rather long, the destination is well worthwhile. I really like Japan. I admire the Japanese culture, their language and I especially love their food. This trip is unique in that all of the drivers and team owners stay at the same hotel (the one right there at the track), which allows us the opportunity to hang out together in the evening, relax and enjoy a good meal with each other. Strangely though, we ate Italian food every single night in the hotel restaurant.

The Japanese fans are quite possibly the most dedicated and intense race fans that I have ever seen. I admire their passion for our sport and it is truly amazing how zealous the fans can be in pursuing an autograph. Usually I am able to move around somewhat freely at the track with a few stops for autograph seekers here and there. At Motegi, all the drivers were mobbed every time we set foot in the paddock. It was amazing how many people wanted my autograph and the way the fans would surround me to get an autograph was almost overwhelming. Sometimes I would use the strategy of pushing Will (Power) or Helio (Castroneves) out first to then follow in a half-crouched sprint like an unseen ghost. It didn’t really work.

From a racing and driving standpoint, the track at Motegi is very unique. Motegi is an oval, but it is somewhat egg-shaped. Turns 1 and 2 have a long sweeping radius, whereas Turns 3 and 4 have a short tight radius. This means that Turns 1 and 2 are pretty much flat, yet you have to lift and even downshift sometimes going into Turns 3 and 4. I like driving this track because its unique characteristics provide a special type of driving challenge.

I went into this event with my usual expectation of producing a strong finish, but, I also felt an added bit of desire to bring home a good result due to the costly error I made leaving the pits in last year’s race.

The Team Penske car was pretty good right off the pallet – sounds strange to say, but you see the cars are shipped on pallets to overseas races. I was able to run competitive times during practice and I actually turned the fastest lap of the second practice session. We made just a couple little tweaks to our set-up going into qualifying and we definitely had a fast car. On my first lap I was surprised by how much the track had gripped up from the time of our last practice. Looking back on it, I could have easily pushed a lot harder and gone a bit faster. Still, earning a second-place starting spot and having Team Penske qualify 1-2-3 was great for our team. That was the second time this year that we have been able to accomplish that particular feat.

Race day turned out to be sunny and warm in Motegi – it was much hotter than I ever recall when racing in Japan. The fans came out in droves, which was great to see. I heard attendance was up like 30% - we might have Takuma Sato to thank mostly for that! Another great aspect of racing in Japan is that they put on a unique pre-race show. This year, the festivities included a very nice performance of traditional Japanese music and an incredible low-level fly-by that was provided courtesy of a Japanese Air Force F-2 fighter. The fly-by was noteworthy in that the Japanese aviation regulatory agency allows planes to fly much closer to the ground and the fans than any other place that I have been – you could just about look the pilot in the eye as he was flying over us!

The race itself was pretty good for Team Penske and a lot of fun for me as I duelled it out with (Dario) Franchitti over and over again. We were able to run comfortably up front for most of the race in the No. 6 car. I led 32 laps of the race and between Helio and I, we led all but 15 laps of the entire race. During long green flag runs the cars all seemed to run pretty much single-file and it was difficult to pass much at the front of the field. Some of the best racing of the day took place on restarts. There were five caution flags during the race and on the ensuing restarts there was quite a bit of dicing for position. I found that timing the use of our “push to pass” button properly was key to making effective passes during this race.

After the last caution of the race, I came out of the pits in third place. When the green flag flew I made a good run on Franchitti going into Turn 3, but he came down on me a bit and I had to back out of the throttle. That caused me to lose a lot of momentum and at that allowed Will to get by me. After that, I let Will go after Dario so they could battle it out to the finish and I was able to bring home a solid fourth-place result.

It ended up being a really good day for Team Penske, Helio won the race, Will left Japan still leading the championship standings and I scored a respectable top-five finish.

All three Team Penske cars are headed to Homestead-Miami Speedway to test this Monday before the race weekend. I am looking forward to the season finale at Homestead. It should be a great race.

Last year, the pressure was on us to perform as we were battling for the championship down to the last lap. It’s a bit of a different feeling for us this year as Will and Dario will fight it out for the title there and I think it’s going to be very close. I ran really well at Homestead last year and once again, I am hoping to finish my season off with a victory for the team. Of course we all want to see Will bring home the championship for Team Penske and I know he’s capable of doing it.

Thanks again for reading and I look forward to talking with you after the last race.
~Ryan

Briscoe began his racing career in 1993 at the age of 11 by competing in the Junior Yamaha Australian Championship, and he would go on to earn a Championship in the Series the following year. In 1997, Briscoe moved to Italy, providing a true turning point in his career. Over the course of the next several years, he competed in Europe in a variety of series' including Formula A, Formula 3, Formula 3000 and Formula Renault 2000. In 2002, he landed a role as a test and back-up driver for Panasonic Toyota Racing in Formula 1, which brought him the worldwide attention that eventually landed him his ride with Ganassi Racing in 2005.

After a horrific season-ending accident jeopardized his racing career, Ryan Briscoe made a triumphant return to racing full-time in the IndyCar Series in 2008. Driving for one of motorsports most legendary teams, Team Penske, the 27-year-old Australian proved himself a winner as he embraced the challenge and had a breakout season. In his first season with the Team, Briscoe earned three wins and three poles. Now in his third season with with the team, Briscoe has his focus set on earning the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series championship.

In his spare time, Briscoe is an avid fan of watersports. He enjoys waterskiing, wake boarding and wake surfing. He works out seven days a week employing a triathlete’s regimen of running, biking, swimming and weight training. He also enjoys golf and tennis. In addition to his native English language, Briscoe is also fluent in Italian. He is married and currently lives in Mooresville, NC.

Learn more about Ryan at www.RyanBriscoe.com and the Team Penske organization at PenskeRacing.com




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Ryan Briscoe

Penske Racing

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