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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Power Fastest Friday At Baltimore
What was the best news from IndyCar's second practice session on Friday? Drivers kept between three and four wheels on the ground at all times.
What was the best news from IndyCar's second practice session on Friday? Drivers kept between three and four wheels on the ground at all times.
Friday's afternoon final practice session started 90 minutes late after the series waited for track builder NZR Consulting to grind down the cement ramp that helped to launch cars over the railroad tracks that cross the front straight. The Star Mazda series was sent out to sample the ground surface, but IndyCar chose to add in a pair of tire chicanes to slow the field down over the problematic section on the front stretch.
Once things got going, drivers had 30 minutes of track time--down from the hour that was originally scheduled.
“(The grinding) was a good effort," said INDYCAR Race Director Beaux Barfield. "They wanted to try it and I don’t blame them. From feedback I was getting from the teams with the grinding, I was very sure I was going to stick with my chicane program. The two together certainly look likes what we needed to get this race going.”
Barfield also spoke to the compressed Friday schedule and what drivers can look forward to on Saturday when NZR installs a pair of tall cement chicanes to replace the temporary tire solution.
“We lost some time today, but I think that was some good quality time at the end there. With the proper chicane that we will install tonight, that will make the track different enough that they’ll be able to go out and adapt to it pretty quickly and we’ll have a good productive session in the morning," he said. "So, no schedule changes. Tomorrow’s schedule will remain unchanged as far as I’m concerned. We will be out there late constructing the chicane tonight, but we have a good plan in place, much like we did when we brought the tires out. We will have to move some walls around to get some room to lay the asphalt in. The asphalt is on its way.
"It will be a slightly different chicane from last year because last year we had a three-curb chicane and this year it will be two and a layout identical to what the tires laid out just now. So we can go out and use the rubber laid down as a good guide for how we’re going to lay the curbs out. On a different note, but certainly related, the qualifying groups for (IZOD IndyCar Series) will be set based on tomorrow morning’s practice times. None of the times today counted to the separation of the groups."
Team Penske's Will Power, who claimed the pole and the win at Baltimore last year, paced Friday's activities, running a 1:21.01-second lap on his 14th and final tour to move to the top of the time sheets.
Power was pleased with the changes to the track between the aborted morning session and what he found in the afternoon.
“I think that was definitely the right thing to do," he said. "It completely fixed the problem we had over the train tracks. I think they will make a few more adjustments overnight, but, all-in-all the track is all good."
The Aussie told me earlier in the week that he was going to miss the technical corner complex leading up to the pits that had been ditched for 2012, but wasn't as disappointed as he expected to be.
“Yes, it definitely affects your rhythm through the five-six-seven (turns) complex," he explained. "That used to be a very nice flowing part of the track. But I think they might actually take one of the curbs out, and that is going to make things easier. It is what it is. It is the same for everyone. It is another street course that we have to learn to be quick at.”
Power ended the day .46 seconds faster than his friend and former Team Australia Champ Car teammate Simon Pagenaud.
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: Baltimore 2012
The Frenchman's morning flight grabbed the headlines at Baltimore, but in P2, Pagenaud got back down to business.
"I thought it was a lot of fun," he said. "I was throwing the car into the corner and [dealt] with it. It was a lot of fun. Railroad tracks are a lot of fun to deal with on the exit of the corner."
Pagenaud's opinion changed drastically after injuring his back when his No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton car crashed back to earth on the other side of the tracks.
I asked his engineer, Ben Bretzman, just how long Pagenaud was airborne this morning and how long his front tires were in the air and, incredibly, the No. 77 spent a half-second off the ground and covered 70 feet before landing.
Target Chip Ganassi's Scott Dixon followed Pagenaud in third, a whopping .7 seconds off Power, but felt his team had a solid direction to follow.
“We tried two very different setups on the Target car today," he said. "It didn't seem like we had much track time. The organizers and INDYCAR are doing everything they can with the chicane to put on a good race. They will get the chicane sorted out tonight and it will be the same for everyone tomorrow.”
KV Racing's Rubens Barrichello, fresh off a fourth-place finish at Sonoma, posted the fourth-fastest lap in P2.
“It was a pretty short day for someone trying to learn the track," he said. "However, from the word go I was okay with the setup of the car, so I was able to do fast lap times. We still have a lot of work to do to, but I am much happier now with the chicane that they added to stop the car launching.”
Friday's afternoon final practice session started 90 minutes late after the series waited for track builder NZR Consulting to grind down the cement ramp that helped to launch cars over the railroad tracks that cross the front straight. The Star Mazda series was sent out to sample the ground surface, but IndyCar chose to add in a pair of tire chicanes to slow the field down over the problematic section on the front stretch.
Once things got going, drivers had 30 minutes of track time--down from the hour that was originally scheduled.
“(The grinding) was a good effort," said INDYCAR Race Director Beaux Barfield. "They wanted to try it and I don’t blame them. From feedback I was getting from the teams with the grinding, I was very sure I was going to stick with my chicane program. The two together certainly look likes what we needed to get this race going.”
Barfield also spoke to the compressed Friday schedule and what drivers can look forward to on Saturday when NZR installs a pair of tall cement chicanes to replace the temporary tire solution.
“We lost some time today, but I think that was some good quality time at the end there. With the proper chicane that we will install tonight, that will make the track different enough that they’ll be able to go out and adapt to it pretty quickly and we’ll have a good productive session in the morning," he said. "So, no schedule changes. Tomorrow’s schedule will remain unchanged as far as I’m concerned. We will be out there late constructing the chicane tonight, but we have a good plan in place, much like we did when we brought the tires out. We will have to move some walls around to get some room to lay the asphalt in. The asphalt is on its way.
"It will be a slightly different chicane from last year because last year we had a three-curb chicane and this year it will be two and a layout identical to what the tires laid out just now. So we can go out and use the rubber laid down as a good guide for how we’re going to lay the curbs out. On a different note, but certainly related, the qualifying groups for (IZOD IndyCar Series) will be set based on tomorrow morning’s practice times. None of the times today counted to the separation of the groups."
Team Penske's Will Power, who claimed the pole and the win at Baltimore last year, paced Friday's activities, running a 1:21.01-second lap on his 14th and final tour to move to the top of the time sheets.
Power was pleased with the changes to the track between the aborted morning session and what he found in the afternoon.
“I think that was definitely the right thing to do," he said. "It completely fixed the problem we had over the train tracks. I think they will make a few more adjustments overnight, but, all-in-all the track is all good."
The Aussie told me earlier in the week that he was going to miss the technical corner complex leading up to the pits that had been ditched for 2012, but wasn't as disappointed as he expected to be.
“Yes, it definitely affects your rhythm through the five-six-seven (turns) complex," he explained. "That used to be a very nice flowing part of the track. But I think they might actually take one of the curbs out, and that is going to make things easier. It is what it is. It is the same for everyone. It is another street course that we have to learn to be quick at.”
Power ended the day .46 seconds faster than his friend and former Team Australia Champ Car teammate Simon Pagenaud.
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: Baltimore 2012
The Frenchman's morning flight grabbed the headlines at Baltimore, but in P2, Pagenaud got back down to business.
"I thought it was a lot of fun," he said. "I was throwing the car into the corner and [dealt] with it. It was a lot of fun. Railroad tracks are a lot of fun to deal with on the exit of the corner."
Pagenaud's opinion changed drastically after injuring his back when his No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton car crashed back to earth on the other side of the tracks.
I asked his engineer, Ben Bretzman, just how long Pagenaud was airborne this morning and how long his front tires were in the air and, incredibly, the No. 77 spent a half-second off the ground and covered 70 feet before landing.
Target Chip Ganassi's Scott Dixon followed Pagenaud in third, a whopping .7 seconds off Power, but felt his team had a solid direction to follow.
“We tried two very different setups on the Target car today," he said. "It didn't seem like we had much track time. The organizers and INDYCAR are doing everything they can with the chicane to put on a good race. They will get the chicane sorted out tonight and it will be the same for everyone tomorrow.”
KV Racing's Rubens Barrichello, fresh off a fourth-place finish at Sonoma, posted the fourth-fastest lap in P2.
“It was a pretty short day for someone trying to learn the track," he said. "However, from the word go I was okay with the setup of the car, so I was able to do fast lap times. We still have a lot of work to do to, but I am much happier now with the chicane that they added to stop the car launching.”
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