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GRAND-AM
GRAND-AM: Q&A With Peter Baron
Starworks Motorsport team owner discusses big Indy win and late-race incident with Juan Pablo Montoya that took its sister Riley-Ford out of contention...
Starworks Motorsport team owner Peter Baron, right, celebrates with drivers Sebastien Bourdais and Alex Popow, who won the inaugural Brickyard Grand Prix. (Photo: John Dagys)
Following an action-packed and contact-heavy race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Starworks Motorsport's Sebastien Bourdais and Alex Popow broke through to take victory in the first-ever Brickyard Grand Prix, re-writing the history books for the Peter Baron-led squad.
With class wins in the Twelve Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans, both round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Starworks becomes the first team to have won at Sebring, Le Mans and Indianapolis all in the same year.
And not to be outdone, the team also took home the inaugural North American Endurance Championship, which concluded at the Brickyard last Friday.
SPEED.com caught up with Baron for his thoughts on his team's remarkable season thus far and the late-race incident involving Ryan Dalziel and Chip Ganassi Racing's Juan Pablo Montoya, which knocked Dalziel and co-driver Enzo Potolicchio out of the Daytona Prototype championship lead.
DAGYS: Is the win at Indy sinking in for you yet?
BARON: It was a great celebration. It's one of those things with this year that we've fortunately been able to learn how to appreciate all these wins. When you're kneeling over kissing the bricks, you know you've got to sit there and soak that one in. Because you don't get very many chances to do that one.
It's definitely sunk in and now we've got to figure out how we can keep it all going and finish the year on a high note.
DAGYS: How does it rank with class victories at Sebring and Le Mans, also achieved this year by the team?
BARON: Each one is different for its unique situation. Sebring was incredibly special because we got the car only moments before the race and didn't have much time to put it all together. Le Mans is special because it was a 24-hour race and over a quarter-million people there cheering you on and the whole environment and history of Le Mans makes that one special.
Everything Indy has, with over a 100-year history and doing anything there is on hallowed grounds as well. But I would say more-so it's the culmination of winning the NAEC is what made it so special. For us, it was the championship that was the icing on the cake.
DAGYS: While the No. 2 car won, the No. 8 Riley-Ford of Ryan Dalziel was caught up in a late-race incident with Juan Pablo Montoya. Have your thoughts changed on the incident at all from your initial post-race reaction?
BARON: We're still trying to work with GRAND-AM and find out how to fix that situation. The thing that Race Control didn't get sight of is that there was a [local] yellow and a stopped car in Turns 1 and 2 and Montoya never should have been there. That's our whole grievance. We're a bit puzzled why this is even a debate let alone taking this long.
From our opinion, Montoya passed under yellow. Not only is that a penalizable offense, but when you hit a car under yellow, that's where you'd be thrown on probation.
DAGYS: What do you think GRAND-AM could do with this situation?
BARON: I have no clue what GRAND-AM could do. The nice thing is that we have a new regime being put in place with [President and CEO] Ed Bennett and [Managing Director of Competition] Richard Buck. They were thrown into the deep end with this one where you have the team that was, at that point of the race, second in the championship, take out our car, which at that point of time was leading the championship, under yellow.
That's a tough situation. And going to fix it after the fact is even tougher. I have no idea what the right answer is, but we're going to have a hard time with this one unless they make it right.
DAGYS: What are the team’s GRAND-AM plans for the rest of the season?
BARON: Honestly, it's all up for grabs right now. Before we even worry about the next race, we have to get through this incident at Indy. Clearly, there was the yellow and clearly we were attempted to be passed and hit and knocked off the track and our race was ended under a yellow flag situation. And we need to get that rectified.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
With class wins in the Twelve Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans, both round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Starworks becomes the first team to have won at Sebring, Le Mans and Indianapolis all in the same year.
And not to be outdone, the team also took home the inaugural North American Endurance Championship, which concluded at the Brickyard last Friday.
SPEED.com caught up with Baron for his thoughts on his team's remarkable season thus far and the late-race incident involving Ryan Dalziel and Chip Ganassi Racing's Juan Pablo Montoya, which knocked Dalziel and co-driver Enzo Potolicchio out of the Daytona Prototype championship lead.
DAGYS: Is the win at Indy sinking in for you yet?
BARON: It was a great celebration. It's one of those things with this year that we've fortunately been able to learn how to appreciate all these wins. When you're kneeling over kissing the bricks, you know you've got to sit there and soak that one in. Because you don't get very many chances to do that one.
It's definitely sunk in and now we've got to figure out how we can keep it all going and finish the year on a high note.
DAGYS: How does it rank with class victories at Sebring and Le Mans, also achieved this year by the team?
BARON: Each one is different for its unique situation. Sebring was incredibly special because we got the car only moments before the race and didn't have much time to put it all together. Le Mans is special because it was a 24-hour race and over a quarter-million people there cheering you on and the whole environment and history of Le Mans makes that one special.
Everything Indy has, with over a 100-year history and doing anything there is on hallowed grounds as well. But I would say more-so it's the culmination of winning the NAEC is what made it so special. For us, it was the championship that was the icing on the cake.
DAGYS: While the No. 2 car won, the No. 8 Riley-Ford of Ryan Dalziel was caught up in a late-race incident with Juan Pablo Montoya. Have your thoughts changed on the incident at all from your initial post-race reaction?
BARON: We're still trying to work with GRAND-AM and find out how to fix that situation. The thing that Race Control didn't get sight of is that there was a [local] yellow and a stopped car in Turns 1 and 2 and Montoya never should have been there. That's our whole grievance. We're a bit puzzled why this is even a debate let alone taking this long.
From our opinion, Montoya passed under yellow. Not only is that a penalizable offense, but when you hit a car under yellow, that's where you'd be thrown on probation.
DAGYS: What do you think GRAND-AM could do with this situation?
BARON: I have no clue what GRAND-AM could do. The nice thing is that we have a new regime being put in place with [President and CEO] Ed Bennett and [Managing Director of Competition] Richard Buck. They were thrown into the deep end with this one where you have the team that was, at that point of the race, second in the championship, take out our car, which at that point of time was leading the championship, under yellow.
That's a tough situation. And going to fix it after the fact is even tougher. I have no idea what the right answer is, but we're going to have a hard time with this one unless they make it right.
DAGYS: What are the team’s GRAND-AM plans for the rest of the season?
BARON: Honestly, it's all up for grabs right now. Before we even worry about the next race, we have to get through this incident at Indy. Clearly, there was the yellow and clearly we were attempted to be passed and hit and knocked off the track and our race was ended under a yellow flag situation. And we need to get that rectified.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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