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Written by:
David Phillips
Senior writer, RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com/speedtv
Senior writer, RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com/speedtv
07/26/2008 - 10:42 AM
Edmonton, Alberta
Lots of empty space prompted some overdriving by the likes of Justin Wilson in qualifying. (LAT photo) ยป More Photos
CLEVELAND AND PIKES PEAK, ALL IN ONE
Today’s trackside report read a lot like yesterday’s. To wit, a succession of greens and yellows, caused by drivers overdoing it around the 1.973 mile circuit.
10:30 a.m. - GREEN. Group 1
10:38 a.m. - YELLOW. #33 Viso does a half spin in Turn 7 and stops in the middle of the track. He is restarted by the Delphi Safety Team and continues to pit lane.
10:41 a.m. - GREEN
10:47 a.m. - YELLOW. Tow-in for #18 Junqueira stopped on front straightaway.
10:51 a.m. - GREEN
11 a.m. - Checkered. Group 1. #15 Rice stops off course in Turn 10
11:04 a.m. - Green. Group 2
11:09 a.m. - YELLOW. #27 Mutoh makes contact with the tire barriers in Turn 7 with left rear of car
And so on . . .
Why the plethora of spins and yellows? Rick Mears and Will Power certainly had a plausible explanation: The Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit was new to 19 of the 27 drivers, and many of them were driving at 11/10ths because they had little to lose by spinning off at most points of the circuit, particularly the “road course” section from Turns Two to Six.
“Everybody’s trying hard and there’s nothing to hit,” he commented. “Most of the time all you’re going to do is take a ride through grass.”
Mears concurred, albeit in somewhat more detailed fashion.
“Most times when you’re learning a new track with walls and guardrails you take big jumps in performance right away; then as you get closer and closer to the limit you make smaller and smaller jumps, because if you go over the limit you pay a penalty. But with no walls or guardrails on that road course section, they’re still looking to make big jumps because there’s not a big downside to going off.”
Al Unser Jr. offered another perspective.
“For some of these drivers it’s the first time they’ve been on an airport track,” he said. “It’s so flat that you can’t pick up your reference points. The cones they put out help a little, but they’re hard to pick up (visually) and sometimes those cones get knocked down or even moved. When
“What really helped me there was my experience at Pikes Peak. There are some sections of the (hillclimb) that all look the same. And if you use things like rocks on the hillsides or trash barrels for reference points in practice, a lot of times on race day you can’t see ’em because the hills are covered with fans. So you have to take the time to find reference points that don’t move and that you’ll always be able to pick up, no matter what.”
DON’T FORGET THE TIRES
Although many of the drivers on the “transitional” teams had an edge on the IndyCar Series veterans in terms of experience at the City Centre Airport circuit, that was something of a mixed blessing because of the Firehawk tires supplied to the series this weekend. Recall that in Champ Car’s previous visits to Edmonton, drivers were afforded the choice of prime and alternate Bridgestone tires, with the alternates considerably “stickier” than the primary tires.
One school of thought suggested that some of the spins executed by the Edmonton “veterans” could be traced to the fact that they were used to racing here with stickier tires than those on offer this weekend.
It’s a theory Al Speyer, Bridgestone/Firestone motorsports director, didn’t wholeheartedly embrace. According to Speyer, the Firestone Firehawks supplied this weekend are considerably harder than the Bridgestone alternates of years gone by, but not all that much harder then their primary counterparts.
“Over the years Champ Car asked us to accentuate the performance difference between the alternate and primary tires,” he said. “That worked in two ways. Yes, we made the alternates softer, with more and more grip. But we also made the primary tires harder, with less and less grip. So while the Firestone Firehawks we have this weekend are harder than the Champ Car alternates, they’re not that much different from the primary tires we’ve used here the past couple of years.”
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