-
Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
IndyCar
MILLER: Help Or Heave Lotus At Indy?
There's some major hand wringing going on right now about Lotus, Bump Day and doing the right thing.
With some extra power, Lotus' Jean Alesi (and Simona de Silvestro) would be able to run at a safer speed during the 500-mile race. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
There is some major hand wringing going on right now at 16th & Georgetown and it revolves around Lotus, Bump Day and doing the right thing.
First and foremost is the third wheel in the engine competition. Lotus hasn’t spent the time or money that Honda and General Motors did and consequently it’s slower than Bobby Unser reaching for the check at dinner.
Simona de Silvestro and Jean Alesi are stuck at 205 mph and, judging by this week’s practice, that speed will get them lapped about every five minutes on May 27.
Alesi, an accomplished Formula One veteran who is driving for a team thrown together at the last minute by Tyce Carlson and Chris Williams, needed some extra boost and a big tow just to get over 210 mph and pass the final phase of his rookie test.
So what is the prudent thing to do? Give them more boost for the race, black flag them after a few laps, don’t do anything or throw a couple drivers into a Honda and a Chevy on Sunday and make sure Lotus is outside looking in at the 96th Indianapolis 500.
Here’s a quick straw vote from some of the major players.
``The last thing I want to see is INDYCAR become NASCAR,’’ said Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indy winner who co-owns the Honda-powered cars of Takuma Sato and Michel Jourdain Jr. “We don’t need equivalency formulas and if Lotus can’t get the job done, that’s their problem.’’
Oriol Servia, who spent the first four races of this season with a Lotus before Dreyer & Reinbold switched to Chevrolet, has plenty of empathy for the Lotus squads of Keith Wiggins and Carlson.
“I understand it’s probably not fair to the other manufacturers who invested a lot more money than Lotus but I would vote yes to giving them more power because it would make it safer,’’ said Servia. “We all thought with Lotus we might be a little behind but nobody signed up for this and it’s not fair for those two drivers.’’
A.J. Foyt was right to the point. “Absolutely not,’’ declared Indy’s first four-time winner. “This was an even playing field, you started from scratch and it was fair game. This place has always been about building a car or engine and you were stuck with it for the month so I don’t feel sorry for anybody.’’
Will Power, the hottest driver on the IZOD INDYCAR circuit with three consecutive victories, gave thumbs up to upping the Lotus boost. “I’ve come up on them and it’s a massive variation in speed so I think they should be given enough to get within a couple miles an hour of what we’re running. Either boost them up or don’t let them run.”
Derrick Walker, the longtime car owner who is managing Ed Carpenter’s team, wonders about the ramifications from a couple angles.
“I’m OK with giving them more boost but does this mean we would change the rules for everything from now on?’’ he asked. “It’s a dangerous road to go down but look at all the turmoil this has caused and I’m more worried about the teams.”
Dario Franchitti says he is of two minds on this subject.
“I feel bad for Simona and Jean, they’re both good drivers, and a part of me thinks we should give them something so they’re not a road block,” said the two-time Indy winner who is trying for a fourth straight IndyCar championship. “But the other part of me says the rules are in place and INDYCAR needs to stick to the rule book.”
First and foremost is the third wheel in the engine competition. Lotus hasn’t spent the time or money that Honda and General Motors did and consequently it’s slower than Bobby Unser reaching for the check at dinner.
Simona de Silvestro and Jean Alesi are stuck at 205 mph and, judging by this week’s practice, that speed will get them lapped about every five minutes on May 27.
Alesi, an accomplished Formula One veteran who is driving for a team thrown together at the last minute by Tyce Carlson and Chris Williams, needed some extra boost and a big tow just to get over 210 mph and pass the final phase of his rookie test.
So what is the prudent thing to do? Give them more boost for the race, black flag them after a few laps, don’t do anything or throw a couple drivers into a Honda and a Chevy on Sunday and make sure Lotus is outside looking in at the 96th Indianapolis 500.
Here’s a quick straw vote from some of the major players.
``The last thing I want to see is INDYCAR become NASCAR,’’ said Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indy winner who co-owns the Honda-powered cars of Takuma Sato and Michel Jourdain Jr. “We don’t need equivalency formulas and if Lotus can’t get the job done, that’s their problem.’’
Oriol Servia, who spent the first four races of this season with a Lotus before Dreyer & Reinbold switched to Chevrolet, has plenty of empathy for the Lotus squads of Keith Wiggins and Carlson.
“I understand it’s probably not fair to the other manufacturers who invested a lot more money than Lotus but I would vote yes to giving them more power because it would make it safer,’’ said Servia. “We all thought with Lotus we might be a little behind but nobody signed up for this and it’s not fair for those two drivers.’’
A.J. Foyt was right to the point. “Absolutely not,’’ declared Indy’s first four-time winner. “This was an even playing field, you started from scratch and it was fair game. This place has always been about building a car or engine and you were stuck with it for the month so I don’t feel sorry for anybody.’’
Will Power, the hottest driver on the IZOD INDYCAR circuit with three consecutive victories, gave thumbs up to upping the Lotus boost. “I’ve come up on them and it’s a massive variation in speed so I think they should be given enough to get within a couple miles an hour of what we’re running. Either boost them up or don’t let them run.”
Derrick Walker, the longtime car owner who is managing Ed Carpenter’s team, wonders about the ramifications from a couple angles.
“I’m OK with giving them more boost but does this mean we would change the rules for everything from now on?’’ he asked. “It’s a dangerous road to go down but look at all the turmoil this has caused and I’m more worried about the teams.”
Dario Franchitti says he is of two minds on this subject.
“I feel bad for Simona and Jean, they’re both good drivers, and a part of me thinks we should give them something so they’re not a road block,” said the two-time Indy winner who is trying for a fourth straight IndyCar championship. “But the other part of me says the rules are in place and INDYCAR needs to stick to the rule book.”
2013 INDY 500 Practice
LATEST HEADLINES: AUTO-RACING
-
INDYCAR: Miller's Mailbag, 5.23
It's time for SPEED.com's weekly IndyCar Q&A with Robin Miller's… -
INDYCAR: HIPPINO.com To Sponsor Kanaan At Detroit
Just a few weeks after announcing the KV Racing-SH Racing entry of… -
PHOTOS: Indy 500 Practice & Qualifying 2013
Enjoy a huge collection of photos from practice and qualifying while… -
LE MANS: BoP Adjustments For GTE Announced
GTE-Pro Aston Martins handed extra weight, larger restrictor for… -
LE MANS: Jim France Named LM24 Starter
GRAND-AM founder and NASCAR Vice Chairman to wave tri-colour flag… -
INDYCAR: 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh To Pace The Indy 500
Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, will drive the… -
MILLER: Dinner With Legends
It’s become an annual event and, as my pal and longtime Indy… - More News
