Honda Grand Prix Of St. Petersburg [Archive]

DanicaFan

20th March 2011, 21:35

Well, its finally here, the IndyCar season kicks off this week. I am so excited! My first IndyCar race thread of the year..

Race 1 of 17

Race - Honda Grand Prix Of St. Petersburg

Location - Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida

Date - Saturday, March 27th

Time & TV Schedule - 12:00PM Eastern -Green Flag -12:30PM Eastern -ABC

Course Type - 1.8 Mile Street Course

Distance - 100 Laps / 180 Miles

Practice Sessions - Friday, March 25th -10:15AM-11:15AM Eastern & 3:00PM-4:00PM Eastern / Saturday, March 26th - 10:10AM -11:10AM Eastern / Warm-Up Session - Sunday, March 27th -8:40AM-9:10AM Eastern

Qualifications - Saturday, March 26th -2:30PM -3:50PM Eastern

2010 Pole Sitter - Will Power - Lap Time -1:01.6026 / Speed -105.190

2010 Winner - Will Power

DanicaFan

20th March 2011, 21:40

Layout of the circuit..

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/DanicaRules/StPete2011.jpg

Mr. Mister

20th March 2011, 21:57

If they get over 26 entries, Danica fails to qualify. I guarantee it! It's her week! :p

DanicaFan

20th March 2011, 23:53

The date should say race ...Sunday, March 27th.

TURN3

21st March 2011, 00:18

The date should say race ...Sunday, March 27th.

Thanks for clarifying that. Otherwise the rest of us might have missed the race.

Anubis

21st March 2011, 00:36

Danica to win the race, as she's good on street circuits in some parallel universe somewhere. She'll then go on to solve the problems in Libya, bring democracy to Yemen and build a functioning nuclear fusion reactor. Or finish about 12th due to something obviously not her fault.

px400r

21st March 2011, 01:10

Leo Krupe

21st March 2011, 02:07

She'll set a track record in qualifying then go flag-to-flag to win!
And she'll have all three podium spots by herself!

px400r

21st March 2011, 11:14

And she'll have all three podium spots by herself!

Her legend continues to grow...

beachbum

21st March 2011, 13:05

Rules for reading Danica threads

#1 Don't read with a cup of coffee in you hand
#2 Have lots of paper towels
#3 Have a spare keyboard when #2 fails.

... and the "legend" continues.

beachbum

21st March 2011, 13:08

She'll then go on to solve the problems in Libya, bring democracy to Yemen and build a functioning nuclear fusion reactor.You forgot "world peace"

markabilly

21st March 2011, 14:05

you forgot the videos.....http://noolmusic.com/youtube/2010_super_bowl_tv_ads_select_your_favorite_danica _patrick_tv_commercial.php

SarahFan

21st March 2011, 15:14

Didn't she already win?!?!?!?

garyshell

21st March 2011, 15:35

SarahFan

21st March 2011, 15:51

And what's the problem with that Gary?

drewdawg727

21st March 2011, 17:23

Seems we have a full field now with the announcement of DCR's 2 drivers for this weekend...

...so why don't we all hop on over to the pick em thread and see if your race picks can out-do everyone else's!

Chris R

21st March 2011, 17:50

Let's not pre-emptively bash DanicaFan - other than his pick 'ems he has not gone crazy with how well Danica will do in this race - it is just a nice race thread with some useful info... Now, if the he starts telling everyone Danica will win by a lap, have at it, but right no this is just a race thread....

Anubis

21st March 2011, 20:43

In all fairness, for once, Danicafan dispensed with his usual delusional claims. (Well, other than the ones in his signature line anyway.) And now this thread about the race has become a bash Danica thread.

Gary

The mere fact that DF NOT making a delusional claim* is so noteworthy does rather sum up the issue many posters have with him, don't you think?

Anyway, the race. Taku to win!

*yet

bblocker68

21st March 2011, 21:11

Good to be racing again. Great way to start off the week with a bunch of announcements.
TK at KV, driving the #82 and Geico on the car. That was a surprise to me.
PT set for the 500, more to hopefully follow. The pic of the WIX sposored car looks badass!!
Townsend Bell for the 500.
Sebastien Bourdais and James Jakes in for DCR.
Sebastian Savedra in at Conquest, Pippa still working on her deal.
Hinch getting closer to the NHR deal. Hope he gets it after his great showing at Barber last week.

INDYCAR and F1 start this week, woooo!!

Let's get this started already!!!!

DanicaFan

22nd March 2011, 00:17

I had to..Im excited to see her in an open wheel car again.. :)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/DanicaRules/DP.jpg

FormerFF

22nd March 2011, 02:50

Good to see at least two posters actually said something about the race.

Me, I'm just off my endurance racing fix and am looking forward to a competitive OW semi-sprint race. Go Graham!

DBell

22nd March 2011, 04:06

I appreciate DanicaFan's race threads too. Makes it easy for me to set my DVR without having to search my guide for the time and channel.

If I were betting money, I'd take Power to repeat. But I'm thinking we may start the season with a shock win by somebody. Maybe Kanaan and Cannon working a little magic together?

Jeffrey Hayes

22nd March 2011, 11:20

I think it's Power's race to lose but the top 10 category is stronger than it's been in several years.

I'd like to see Hunter-Reay Open the season with a win.

maximilian

22nd March 2011, 14:23

Haven't seen an entry list yet... anybody? :)

DavePI2

22nd March 2011, 16:40

I'm waiting for the entry list also. Going off last year it should be posted on indycar.com sometime today. It will be interesting to see if their are more then 26 entries. It will certainly make qualifying more interesting. Don't suppose any certain fan favorites would get a hot car to make it through qualifying do you?

bblocker68

22nd March 2011, 18:19

Looking for my boy, WP to be strong as usual. All the Penske drivers fare pretty well here. It'll be interesting to see how Graham does and hopefully Hinch will be in the mix.

Will RHR or the other AA drivers beat Kanaan? What if somebody has to move over if they're being lapped???? Should be fun to watch, especially if it has to do with either Marco after his Racer blog, or Danica, who's had a few run-in's with Tony.

Bring it!!

harvick#1

22nd March 2011, 18:20

:rotflmao:

sorry just saw this thread and Beachbum, thats classic.

Power with an easy opening round win.

Dr. Krogshöj

22nd March 2011, 19:52

Hopefully Hinch will be in the mix.

It's doubtful as he is not on the entry list just posted at indycar.com. Neither is Carpenter with SFR. It looks like there will be 25 cars at St. Pete.

DanicaFan

22nd March 2011, 21:11

Here is the entry list for the race..

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/DanicaRules/stpeteentry.jpg

maximilian

22nd March 2011, 21:42

Aw, what a shame that Hinchcliffe isn't there after running so well in testing... :dozey:

beachbum

22nd March 2011, 22:16

It's doubtful as he is not on the entry list just posted at indycar.com. Neither is Carpenter with SFR. It looks like there will be 25 cars at St. Pete.SFR is replacing St Pete with Infineon later in the year.

TURN3

22nd March 2011, 23:54

Aw, what a shame that Hinchcliffe isn't there after running so well in testing... :dozey:

I thought the same thing. Would be nice to have him and Tracy there but sounds like they are both working hard to be at Barber or at least Long Beach.

DBell

23rd March 2011, 02:00

Aw, what a shame that Hinchcliffe isn't there after running so well in testing... :dozey:

I agree. It seems like Hinch is the is always the bridesmaid, never the bride when it comes to getting a ride in the big cars. It was that way when he was in Atlantics with Champ Car and it continues with Indycar. I was really hoping that NH would be able to give him his well deserved shot at proving himself in the top level.

ChicagocrewIRL

23rd March 2011, 14:34

Do we have standing starts this year ??? I know there was talk of it but did they actually go ahead green light it ?

DanicaFan

23rd March 2011, 16:29

Do we have standing starts this year ??? I know there was talk of it but did they actually go ahead green light it ?

No, there will be no standing starts this year, thank goodness.

Chris R

23rd March 2011, 16:34

No, there will be no standing starts this year, thank goodness.

I thought they were pretty cool when Champcar did them - not sure if the current spec IRL car lends itself to good standing starts - perhaps the next one will...

I thought the standing start opened the door to an entirely different kind of carnage - instead of the potential for a first turn fiasco you had the potential for start line fiasco/carnage... :p

I am thinking with the clear uptick in driver quality in the past season AND series stability (not a different set of drivers every 3 races and overall better teams and equipment) they ought to be able to do a good job with either start now....

Dr. Krogshöj

23rd March 2011, 17:02

I would keep the flying starts but the field should be lined up in a better way. The cars should be slower, closer to each other and in a proper two-by-two formation when the green flag flies.

DBell

23rd March 2011, 17:52

My 2 cents is that I hate flying starts on road courses. Inevitably, the front rows are taking off down the front straight while the middle and the back are negotiating a hairpin or slow corner. Trying to keep them bunched up until they are all on the straight will only lead to waved off starts and reforming for restarts. Not an ideal way to start a race. There was a lot of handringing before Champ Car finally went ahead with standing starts. It was one of the best moves CC ever made. The starts and opening laps were so much better and the fear of carnage proved false as there were fewer opening lap accidents after they started using standing starts.

ykiki

23rd March 2011, 19:19

Nothing irks me more than watching 6 -7 cars flying down the front stretch at Long Beach while the rest of the field is bunched up at the hairpin.

(...I take that back - I hated seeing the spread out starts of recent Indy 500s. Now that's a travesty. At least it sounds like it'll be addressed this year.)

harvick#1

23rd March 2011, 19:43

TURN3

23rd March 2011, 22:34

GRW1983

24th March 2011, 00:20

DBell

24th March 2011, 02:15

I have to agree with the introduction of standing starts for ALL road/street courses in 2012. It was a very welcome addition to ChampCar in 2007 & F1 have been doing it for 60 odd years without too many major mishaps, so I see no reason not to implement it in Indycar. By all means, use rolling starts on ovals, but it would make the road/street races a lot more exciting. And remember, it was Tony Cotman who implemented them in ChampCar in 2007 & he is in charge of the rules for IndyCar in 2012 if I remember correctly, so I for one would really like to see this happen.

I agree except I'm not sure if Tony has influence on those kind of rules. Tony is technical regulations. I think that type of rule falls under Barnhart's domain. However, if Randy thinks it would improve the show, then I'd bet he'd push for it and make it happen.

anthonyvop

24th March 2011, 03:33

all road courses should be standing starts, its fair to everyone, and gives some more exciting starts than flyers, of course a certain "fan" on here will dis-post this because his favorite driver cant do "standing starts".

flyers should only start when its a downpour

Forget standing starts. It isn't called the INDYcar series for nothing. If it ain't what they do at Indy it ain't happening. Everything revolves around Indy. Indy is the greatest and most popular race in the world(forget that it isn't even the most watched race that day) Everybody wants to race at Indy or they are retarded.

Pheww!...Glad to get a chance to blow off some steam....Now on to St. Pete!.....

vintage

24th March 2011, 04:45

uncommonsense52

24th March 2011, 16:46

Vopster is back from crapwagon.com!

I don't get the prevailing attitudes at crapwagon.com. I registered there, and was going to ask why so... bitter? But I think all that would do is get me flamed over there.

I miss champcar. I'm not thrilled at what American autosport has become in the last decade. But at the same time, the war is over. Indycar "won". Tony George has lost most of his power, and as long as he doesn't regain it, why continue to hate it? Why not try and help it become again what it was before the split?

I don't get the attitudes over there. This is the best we've got, let's work on making it better, not killing it further

Dr. Krogshöj

24th March 2011, 17:21

I don't get the prevailing attitudes at crapwagon.com. I registered there, and was going to ask why so... bitter? But I think all that would do is get me flamed over there.

I miss champcar. I'm not thrilled at what American autosport has become in the last decade. But at the same time, the war is over. Indycar "won". Tony George has lost most of his power, and as long as he doesn't regain it, why continue to hate it? Why not try and help it become again what it was before the split?

I don't get the attitudes over there. This is the best we've got, let's work on making it better, not killing it further

I would only visit that forum if I were a psychiatrist...

garyshell

24th March 2011, 17:52

I don't get the attitudes over there. This is the best we've got, let's work on making it better, not killing it further

Now you're just making Uncommon Sense. Folks like bugeyegomer, "the journalist" and others seem to enjoy peeing in other folks wheaties and will only be satisfied when Indycar no longer exists. They seen to suffer under this delusion that some white knight will come along and resurrect open wheel racing if that were to happen.

Gary

harvick#1

24th March 2011, 19:13

Forget standing starts. It isn't called the INDYcar series for nothing. If it ain't what they do at Indy it ain't happening. Everything revolves around Indy. Indy is the greatest and most popular race in the world(forget that it isn't even the most watched race that day) Everybody wants to race at Indy or they are retarded.

I highly doubt its the most popular anymore with the IRL being a spec series. times have changed, people go to Indy because its tradition, like why the Cubs always sellout even though they suck, people go just to be there and say they were at the 500. look at every race the IRL has outside of Indy and attendance is always poor.

I was talking to someone at Ferrari shop last saturday and his friend has worked on the IRL chassis' and he said they are an utter POS.

Chris R

24th March 2011, 19:30

I highly doubt its the most popular anymore with the IRL being a spec series. times have changed, people go to Indy because its tradition, like why the Cubs always sellout even though they suck, people go just to be there and say they were at the 500. look at every race the IRL has outside of Indy and attendance is always poor.

I was talking to someone at Ferrari shop last saturday and his friend has worked on the IRL chassis' and he said they are an utter POS.

Coming from Anthony, I suspect there was more than a little sarcasm in his statement (although there are plenty that still think the world revolves around Indy)....

As for the Ferrari guy - he may or may not be right - but when was the last time anyone in Europe in general and F-1 in specific ever gave us 'muricans credit for doing much of anything right... you gotta consider the source.... (that and if the guy works in F1, they are in another stratosphere from the IRL - everything in racing is a POS compared to an F1 car - and there is no shame in that -they spend waaayyy more $$ than the IRL does)

AndrettiFan

24th March 2011, 19:34

Let's Go Power, Let's Go

harvick#1

24th March 2011, 19:50

Coming from Anthony, I suspect there was more than a little sarcasm in his statement (although there are plenty that still think the world revolves around Indy)....

As for the Ferrari guy - he may or may not be right - but when was the last time anyone in Europe in general and F-1 in specific ever gave us 'muricans credit for doing much of anything right... you gotta consider the source.... (that and if the guy works in F1, they are in another stratosphere from the IRL - everything in racing is a POS compared to an F1 car - and there is no shame in that -they spend waaayyy more $$ than the IRL does)

no he didn't work for Ferrari F1 team, he worked with several old Champ Car teams, cant remember the names though, and was told he worked on the IRL chassis' he said alot of the old tubs that the IRL gave to the champ car teams were utter ****, and couldnt believe they were racing safe

anthonyvop

24th March 2011, 19:59

Coming from Anthony, I suspect there was more than a little sarcasm in his statement (although there are plenty that still think the world revolves around Indy)....

Sarcasm???? Moi????

Chris R

24th March 2011, 20:04

no he didn't work for Ferrari F1 team, he worked with several old Champ Car teams, cant remember the names though, and was told he worked on the IRL chassis' he said alot of the old tubs that the IRL gave to the champ car teams were utter ****, and couldnt believe they were racing safe

yeah, I had heard that from a number of different sources too - I thought you were referring to the general technology/quality of the IRL spec (which, while technology is not so cutting edge, I understand the general package to be well engineered and well built if not a little long in the tooth and certainly subject to wear, tear and abuse....)

So, I wonder what kind of shape the KV tubs are in after last year??? ;)

chuck34

24th March 2011, 21:02

no he didn't work for Ferrari F1 team, he worked with several old Champ Car teams, cant remember the names though, and was told he worked on the IRL chassis' he said alot of the old tubs that the IRL gave to the champ car teams were utter ****, and couldnt believe they were racing safe

Can't speak for the crash damage on the IRL chassis. But I did hear "through the grapevine" that the build quality of the DP-01 was utter ****. Every car is going to have it's good points and it's bad points. I'd say that a carbon tub that has been racing for going on a decade without too much design induced issues must be fairly good.

Mark Pedersen

24th March 2011, 22:19

its a great card for this weekends race - man this is going to be an epic season!!! look for the usual suspects to do well but i wouldn't rule out TK taking a win on a road course this year.

here we go - late for work Monday mornings again!!!!

Hoop-98

25th March 2011, 01:05

Eastern Time Schedule:

http://i56.tinypic.com/2s93ej4.jpg

garyshell

25th March 2011, 03:36

I was talking to someone at Ferrari shop last saturday and his friend has worked on the IRL chassis' and he said they are an utter POS.

I have a friend, who's sister's boyfriend's uncle's first cousin's pool boy knows a guy who says...

Gary

Hoop-98

25th March 2011, 03:45

I spent several days at Ferrari of Ft Lauderdale last week, to think these techs had a clue, had access to, or cared in the slightest about Dallara's is laughable.

Dallara is a well respected race car manufacturer and anyone who has actually spoken with team members will tell you it is a good product, but of course, no where near F1 standards.

The DP01 is the only CART/Champcar/Indycar since the turn of the century which had substantially lower build quality than Lola/Dallara.

You may disagree with Indycar designs, but Dallara quality is first class.

However I did read on a website something different :)

rh

beachbum

25th March 2011, 11:57

Who built the famous Ferrari 333 SP sports car? Dallara. Apparently the Ferrari factory was ok with the quality.

uncommonsense52

25th March 2011, 15:04

Loooooool they banned me.

http://www.crapwagon.com/forums/showthread.php?58002-quot-World-s-Fastest-Spring-Break-Party-quot-%28St.-Petersburg-GP%29...-is-it&p=1255155&viewfull=1#post1255155

Hoop-98

25th March 2011, 15:42

Rank Car Driver BLT
1 83 Charlie Kimball 1:07.140
2 7 Danica Patrick 1:07.771
3 17 Raphael Matos 1:07.773
4 22 Justin Wilson 1:08.656
5 4 JR Hildebrand 1:08.713
6 18 James Jakes 1:09.541
7 34 Sebastian Saavedra 1:09.761
8 24 Ana Beatriz 1:12.130
9 2 Oriol Servia 1:23.543
10 59 EJ Viso 1:26.092
11 26 Marco Andretti 0:00.000
12 82 Tony Kanaan 0:00.000
13 12 Will Power 0:00.000
14 3 Helio Castroneves 0:00.000
15 14 Vitor Meira 0:00.000
16 10 Dario Franchitti 0:00.000
17 6 Ryan Briscoe 0:00.000
18 38 Graham Rahal 0:00.000
19 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay 0:00.000
20 9 Scott Dixon 0:00.000
21 78 Simona de Silvestro 0:00.000
22 5 Takuma Sato 0:00.000
23 27 Mike Conway 0:00.000
24 19 Sebastien Bourdais 0:00.000
25 77 Alex Tagliani 0:00.000

Hoop-98

25th March 2011, 15:50

Rank Car Driver Diff. BLT
1 10 Dario Franchitti 1:04.768
2 27 Mike Conway 0.203 1:04.971
3 26 Marco Andretti 0.363 1:05.131
4 6 Ryan Briscoe 0.370 1:05.138
5 22 Justin Wilson 0.372 1:05.140
6 38 Graham Rahal 0.873 1:05.641
7 12 Will Power 0.949 1:05.717
8 5 Takuma Sato 0.979 1:05.747
9 14 Vitor Meira 1.051 1:05.819
10 83 Charlie Kimball 2.372 1:07.140
11 3 Helio Castroneves 2.539 1:07.307
12 7 Danica Patrick 2.551 1:07.319
13 4 JR Hildebrand 2.622 1:07.389
14 34 Sebastian Saavedra 2.702 1:07.470
15 18 James Jakes 2.826 1:07.594
16 17 Raphael Matos 3.005 1:07.773
17 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay 3.598 1:08.366
18 24 Ana Beatriz 3.854 1:08.622
19 78 Simona de Silvestro 6.847 1:11.615
20 2 Oriol Servia 18.775 1:23.543
21 59 EJ Viso 21.324 1:26.092
22 82 Tony Kanaan 0.019 29:00.959
23 9 Scott Dixon 0.000 0:00.000
24 19 Sebastien Bourdais -64.768 0:00.000
25 77 Alex Tagliani -67.140 0:00.000

DanicaFan

25th March 2011, 19:50

Practice Session 1 Results..

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/DanicaRules/session1results.jpg

DanicaFan

25th March 2011, 20:10

Practice Session 2 starting..

DanicaFan

25th March 2011, 20:17

Marco Andretti currently sitting in P1 during this 2nd session.

DanicaFan

25th March 2011, 20:23

Danica has improved considerably, up to P5!

DanicaFan

25th March 2011, 20:28

Caution Flag out due to incident with EJ Viso.

DanicaFan

25th March 2011, 21:03

Will Power at P1 during 2nd session.

DanicaFan

25th March 2011, 21:11

Here are your qualifying groups for tomorrow.

Group 1

#3 Helio Castroneves
#4 JR Hildebrand
#5 Takuma Sato
#7 Danica Patrick
#10 Dario Franchitti
#14 Vitor Meira
#22 Justin Wilson
#26 Marco Andretti
#38 Graham Rahal
#59 EJ Viso
#78 Simona De Silvestro
#83 Charlie Kimball
#02 Oriol Servia

Group 2

#6 Ryan Briscoe
#9 Scott Dixon
#12 Will Power
#17 Raphael Matos
#18 James Jakes
#19 Sebastien Bourdais
#24 Ana Beatriz
#27 Mike Conway
#28 Ryan Hunter-Reay
#34 Sebastian Saavedra
#77 Alex Tagliani
#82 Tony Kanaan

DanicaFan

25th March 2011, 21:40

Practice Session 2 Results..

Rank / Car# & Driver / Lap Time / Speed / Difference

1. #12 Will Power / 01:03.3759 / 102.247 / --
2. #10 Dario Franchitti / 01:03.5180 / 102.018 / 0.1421
3. #27 Mike Conway / 01:03.6660 / 101.781 / 0.2901
4. #6 Ryan Briscoe / 01:03.7214 / 101.693 / 0.3455
5. #9 Scott Dixon / 01:03.8734 / 101.451 / 0.4975
6. #3 Helio Castroneves / 01:03.9049 / 101.401 / 0.5290
7. #26 Marco Andretti / 01:04.0400 / 101.187 / 0.6641
8. #19 Sebastien Bourdais / 01:04.0672 / 101.144 / 0.6913
9. #82 Tony Kanaan / 01:04.0698 / 101.140 / 0.6939
10. #7 Danica Patrick / 01:04.1039 / 101.086 / 0.7280
11. #22 Justin Wilson / 01:04.1353 / 101.036 / 0.7594
12. #02 Oriol Servia / 01:04.1476 / 101.017 / 0.7717
13. #77 Alex Tagliani / 01:04.2355 / 100.879 / 0.8596
14. #34 Sebastian Saavedra / 01:04.2414 / 100.870 / 0.8655
15. #5 Takuma Sato / 01:04.2429 / 100.867 / 0.8670
16. #38 Graham Rahal / 01:04.3127 / 100.758 / 0.9368
17. #28 Ryan Hunter-Reay / 01:04.3313 / 100.729 / 0.9554
18. #17 Raphael Matos / 01:04.3873 / 100.641 / 1.0114
19. #83 Charlie Kimball / 01:04.4961 / 100.471 / 1.1202
20. #14 Vitor Meira / 01:04.9544 / 99.762 / 1.5785
21. #4 JR Hildebrand / 01:05.0510 / 99.614 / 1.6751
22. #59 EJ Viso / 01:05.0727 / 99.581 / 1.6968
23. #78 Simona De Silvestro / 01:05.1105 / 99.523 / 1.7346
24. #18 James Jakes / 01:05.6427 / 98.716 / 2.2668
25. #24 Ana Beatriz / 01:05.7036 / 98.625 / 2.3277

mousti

25th March 2011, 21:50

No stream or such will be available for qualify or the race? :( :/

Hoop-98

25th March 2011, 22:18

Full Results...

http://i56.tinypic.com/55ldua.jpg

DBell

26th March 2011, 05:18

No stream or such will be available for qualify or the race? :( :/

No, they took it away this year.

http://www.motorsportforums.com/forums/showthread.php?141562-Live-Streaming-of-Indycar-not-available-for-2011

Chamoo

26th March 2011, 06:36

Bea and Jakes better be careful come qualifying time. Based on P2 results, they are less than a second within the new 105% rule.

It seems like Ana is having some trouble getting used to the Dallara on the streets of St. Pete. Little different beast than the old FIL car.

Dr. Krogshöj

26th March 2011, 07:50

What's up with Viso crashing in both sessions?

Chris R

26th March 2011, 12:48

What's up with Viso crashing in both sessions?

Isn't that normal??

Mightyreds

26th March 2011, 13:16

Practice, practice, practice.

Mightyreds

26th March 2011, 13:27

Will Power 1st session 1.04.1825 2nd session 1.03.3759 - .8066
Sebastion Bourdais 1.05.2207 to 1.04.0672 - 1.1535
Tony Kanaan 1.04.8591 to 1.04.0698 - .7893
Graham Rahal 1.04.9983 to 1.04.0698 - .6856

Qualification was always a strength for Bourdais in Champ Car. Can't wait to see how much more he can improve the car.

Hoop-98

26th March 2011, 16:13

Practice 3 Viso is 3 for 3 crashes

Rank Car Driver Diff. BLT
1 12 Will Power 1:02.717
2 27 Mike Conway 0.344 1:03.061
3 3 Helio Castroneves 0.4492 1:03.166
4 6 Ryan Briscoe 0.4724 1:03.189
5 2 Oriol Servia 0.582 1:03.299
6 9 Scott Dixon 0.6037 1:03.320
7 82 Tony Kanaan 0.6821 1:03.399
8 38 Graham Rahal 0.8411 1:03.558
9 22 Justin Wilson 0.8675 1:03.584
10 5 Takuma Sato 0.8786 1:03.595
11 34 Sebastian Saavedra 0.9408 1:03.657
12 77 Alex Tagliani 0.9543 1:03.671
13 17 Raphael Matos 0.9564 1:03.673
14 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay 0.9736 1:03.690
15 26 Marco Andretti 1.0358 1:03.752
16 14 Vitor Meira 1.0594 1:03.776
17 7 Danica Patrick 1.1564 1:03.873
18 59 EJ Viso 1.3245 1:04.041
19 83 Charlie Kimball 1.367 1:04.084
20 4 JR Hildebrand 1.4957 1:04.212
21 78 Simona de Silvestro 1.5811 1:04.298
22 18 James Jakes 1.5854 1:04.302
23 19 Sebastien Bourdais 1.6449 1:04.362
24 24 Ana Beatriz 1.7715 1:04.488
25 10 Dario Franchitti 2.3028 1:05.019

"Will Power 1st session 1.04.1825 2nd session 1.03.3759 - .8066 1:02.717
Sebastion Bourdais 1.05.2207 to 1.04.0672 - 1.1535 1:04.362
Tony Kanaan 1.04.8591 to 1.04.0698 - .7893 1:03.399
Graham Rahal 1.04.9983 to 1.04.0698 - .6856 1:03.558

Qualification was always a strength for Bourdais in Champ Car. Can't wait to see how much more he can improve the car."

Mightyreds

26th March 2011, 16:47

Not so much. Any other problems beside Viso.

beachbum

26th March 2011, 16:55

Caution Flag out due to incident with EJ Viso.
:)

Need to put that on a tee-shirt. It is getting almost as famous as "and Andretti is slowing on the backstretch"

KV must be back to volume discounts from Dallara already.

TURN3

26th March 2011, 17:33

Are you guys serious? Did Viso really crash again?

Chris R

26th March 2011, 17:40

according to autosport it was a pretty good 3 corner bender.... I wonder if Viso might be parked for the good of the team/series this weekend..... unless his sponsorship is really good he is just a car wrecker and must be costing the team a bundle....

beachbum

26th March 2011, 17:59

Are you guys serious? Did Viso really crash again?3 practices - 3 crashes

harvick#1

26th March 2011, 18:07

how actually big were the shunts, a totally new car or just replace wings, etc...

but let him go for Qualies and the race, he might be the first driver ever to crash ever in every session :laugh:

DanicaFan

26th March 2011, 19:50

The 6 moving on from Group 1 are..

Dario Franchitti
Helio Castroneves
Justin Wilson
Marco Andretti
Takuma Sato
Graham Rahal

DanicaFan

26th March 2011, 20:05

The 6 moving from Group 2 are..

Will Power
Ryan Briscoe
Scott Dixon
Mike Conway
Tony Kanaan
Alex Tagliani

DanicaFan

26th March 2011, 20:14

Contact between the Sebastien boys... Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Saavedra make contact. Heavy damage to Saavedra's car.

DanicaFan

26th March 2011, 20:34

Will Power leading the 2nd session.

Alfa Fan

26th March 2011, 20:40

The 6 moving on from Group 1 are..

Dario Franchitti
Helio Castroneves
Justin Wilson
Marco Andretti
Takuma Sato
Graham Rahal

The 6 moving from Group 2 are..

Will Power
Ryan Briscoe
Scott Dixon
Mike Conway
Tony Kanaan
Alex Tagliani

Where's Danica?

DanicaFan

26th March 2011, 20:42

The Firestone Fast 6 are..

#6 Ryan Briscoe
#12 Will Power
#9 Scott Dixon
#10 Dario Franchitti
#22 Justin Wilson
#27 Mike Conway

DanicaFan

26th March 2011, 20:46

Where's Danica?

Unfortunately, she will be starting P19.. :(

Alfa Fan

26th March 2011, 20:46

Is Danica so good now she gets an automatic by into the final session?

AndrettiFan

26th March 2011, 20:49

Unfortunately, she will be starting P19.. :(

Where she usually starts. LOL

DanicaFan

26th March 2011, 20:52

Congratulations to Will Power for winning the pole.

TURN3

26th March 2011, 21:00

Where's Danica?

Watching the Firestone Fast 6 like one of our fellow members pointed out somewhere here. Lol!

Mightyreds

26th March 2011, 21:30

How did Danica compare to her less talented ride buying teammates?

DanicaFan

26th March 2011, 21:36

Here is the starting grid...

Starting Position / Car# & Driver / Lap Time / Speed

Row 1

#12 Will Power / 01:01.9625 / 104.579
#10 Dario Franchitti / 01:02.2953 / 104.021

Row 2

#9 Scott Dixon / 01:02.3975 / 103.850
#27 Mike Conway / 01:02.5306 / 103.629

Row 3

#6 Ryan Briscoe / 01:02.5744 / 103.557
#22 Justin Wilson / 01:02.7729 / 103.229

Row 4

#26 Marco Andretti / 01:02.6312 / 103.463
#82 Tony Kanaan / 01:02.7818 / 103.215

Row 5

#3 Helio Castroneves / 01:02.8204 / 103.151
#77 Alex Tagliani / 01:02.8225 / 103.148

Row 6

#5 Takuma Sato / 01:02.9312 / 102.970
#38 Graham Rahal / 01:03.0640 / 102.753

Row 7

#14 Vitor Meira / 01:03.1315 / 102.643
#28 Ryan Hunter-Reay / 01:03.1778 / 102.568

Row 8

#02 Oriol Servia / 01:03.2434 / 102.461
#17 Raphael Matos / 01:03.2594 / 102.435

Row 9

#78 Simona De Silvestro / 01:03.2724 / 102.414
#19 Sebastien Bourdais / 01:03.3188 / 102.339

Row 10

#7 Danica Patrick / 01:03.3764 / 102.246
#24 Ana Beatriz / 01:03.8036 / 101.562

Row 11

#59 EJ Viso / 01:03.4065 / 102.198
#18 James Jakes / 01:03.8854 / 101.432

Row 12

#83 Charlie Kimball / 01:03.5162 / 102.021
#34 Sebastian Saavedra / 01:03.9696 / 101.298

Row 13

#4 JR Hildebrand / 01:03.8256 / 101.527

mousti

26th March 2011, 21:57

No, they took it away this year.

http://www.motorsportforums.com/forums/showthread.php?141562-Live-Streaming-of-Indycar-not-available-for-2011
They don't want European fans it seem, :-/ . Have they got a good live timing feed or not? :)

Anubis

26th March 2011, 22:20

Nice work by Conway. The Danica story writes itself really, so not a great deal to say.

jimispeed

26th March 2011, 22:36

Pretty good selection of drivers this year so far! It would be nice to see PT and RD in the lineup though!

uncommonsense52

26th March 2011, 23:10

About the feeds: there's always the possibility it'll show up on one of the atdhe websites. Not exactly legal, but it might be there.

Hoop-98

26th March 2011, 23:23

Starting Line-up

http://i56.tinypic.com/x1jdw9.jpg
http://i55.tinypic.com/2zxum41.jpg

DBell

26th March 2011, 23:48

Congrats to Will, no question he is the quickest driver in the series.

What happened between Bourdais and Saavedra?

Autosport says this:

The group two session ended with a massive accident for Conquest's Sebastian Saavedra after the Colombian misunderstood a marshal's instruction and exited the pits into the path of Sebastien Bourdais' Dale Coyne car. Contact between the two sent Saavedra heavily into the wall, ruling out Conquest's primary chassis for the weekend. Both drivers were unhurt.

Speed says this;
Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Saavedra had a coming together in Turn 2 while Bourdais was exiting the pits, with the Frenchman suffering a bent right front suspension, while the Colombian rookie, at full speed, clipped Bourdais and hit hard, going nose-first into the cement barrier before spinning down the track and backing into the tire barriers. Both drivers were uninjured, but Saavedra's Conquest Racing entry suffered possibly terminal chassis damage.

Which was it?

DanicaFan

27th March 2011, 03:05

I already put the lline-up in Hoop, you are late again...lol

Hoop-98

27th March 2011, 03:14

I already put the lline-up in Hoop, you are late again...lol

A little more info (Hometown, sponsor, team etc) for those interested in that.

SoCalPVguy

27th March 2011, 06:33

Congratulations to Will Power for winning the pole.

Congratulation danica on your fine 19th place qualifying effort.
PS you're gonna have to explain to your BFF here how you didn't make the Top 6....
Oh well... maybe next time .............. NOT

Scotty G.

27th March 2011, 07:45

What happened between Bourdais and Saavedra?

Too many Sebastien's in one spot at the same time.

Sounded like the "The Quitter" wasn't paying attention or got the wrong info and pulled out in front of Bourdais. He apologized to Bourdais.

"TQ"s car is toast for the weekend and he will be in Pippa Mann's car (which was TQ's backup this weekend) for the race.

Speaking of crashers, how about Ernie Viso's weekend. He is in mid-season form already. 4 years in and still tearing up stuff. Gotta love ride buyers!

Its Will Power's race to lose. Nobody is close to him. Danica is back in the back with the rookies and Simona (who just got an engineer about 15 minutes ago). Solid run by the Nationwide star.

BTW, her Nationwide car figured out a way to only be one lap down at the finish today at California. Josh Wise, again, shows more in that car, then she does. Too bad he doesn't have long hair and a high voice. He might be a future NASCAR star too.

Dr. Krogshöj

27th March 2011, 11:11

Why is Saavedra called "The Quitter"? What happened to Hildebrand?

Dr. Krogshöj

27th March 2011, 12:01

A little more info (Hometown, sponsor, team etc) for those interested in that.

At least now we know that James Jakes is from Leeds, Alabama and Sebastian Saavedra is from Bogata, California. There are more Americans in the series than people think! :D

Hoop-98

27th March 2011, 16:02

lol, the web team is on the ball!

DanicaFan

27th March 2011, 17:07

Here are the results of this morning's warm-up session..

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/DanicaRules/stpetewarmup.jpg

DanicaFan

27th March 2011, 17:20

Sebastien Bourdais's car is too heavily damaged and will not be able to start this race.

TURN3

27th March 2011, 17:52

Sebastien Bourdais's car is too heavily damaged and will not be able to start this race.

Bourdais is 1 of 2 drivers in the world I absolutely cannot stand. With that, I was interested to see what he could do with Coyne's car and I'm actually sorry to be disappointed so far. I think as the year goes on, they'll get up to speed more. But, I can't help but notice what a shock it is for this in morning warm-up. Pretty big difference than the days at NHR dominating session after session.

BTW, good to see this type of post DF.

harvick#1

27th March 2011, 17:56

did EJ crash in warmups :p :

dot-niek

27th March 2011, 18:23

Any chance for a good live stream?

Dr. Krogshöj

27th March 2011, 18:25

Any chance for a good live stream?

Check out http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=108994&part=sports

TURN3

27th March 2011, 18:38

I like how the broadcast integrated historic video...but it makes you realize today's racing is what it used to be. Back then, it really really mattered and took some major balls.

dot-niek

27th March 2011, 18:56

Check out http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=108994&part=sports

Thanks, seems to work!

DanicaFan

27th March 2011, 18:57

It's Race Time!!

DanicaFan

27th March 2011, 19:57

Way too many cautions and these double file restarts are not good.

Alfa Fan

27th March 2011, 20:02

Way too many cautions and these double file restarts are not good.

Why? It means your girl can see the front this way. Talking of which she's just smacked into someone else lol

DanicaFan

27th March 2011, 20:11

Why? It means your girl can see the front this way. Talking of which she's just smacked into someone else lol

No, they are ridiculous on a street/road course and we are seeing proof of it today.

Alfa Fan

27th March 2011, 20:19

Simona is doing very well! So much for the girls aren't strong enough to race these cars on street circuits!

Anubis

27th March 2011, 20:33

What's the restart situation in ALMS, out of interest? Single or double?

DanicaFan

27th March 2011, 20:46

What's the restart situation in ALMS, out of interest? Single or double?

Not sure, I dont follow it.

DanicaFan

27th March 2011, 20:46

I just know these double file restarts dont belong on these road/street courses. I hope Randy realizes these cars dont have fenders...

Anubis

27th March 2011, 21:11

Taku in "getting to end of race without crashing" shocker! Decent result.

Few borderline blocking calls in the TK / Simona battle, so will be interesting to see if that is an issue. Be a shame to resolve it that way.

truefan72

27th March 2011, 21:12

nice result for Simone diSilvestre

and Kanaan did block her twice

DazzlaF1

27th March 2011, 21:14

RESULT

1. Dario Franchitti
2. Will Power
3. Tony Kanaan
4. Simona de Silvestro
5. Takuma Sato
6. Alex Tagliani
7. Raphael Matos
8. Vitor Meira
9. Oriol Servia
10. Justin Wilson
11. Danica Patrick
12. JR Hildebrand
13. Sebastian Saavedra (+ 2 Laps)
14. Ana Beatriz (+ 2 Laps)
15. James Jakes (+ 3 Laps)
16. Scott Dixon (+ 4 Laps)
17. Graham Rahal (+ 4 Laps)
18. Ryan briscoe (+ 5 Laps)
19. EJ VIso (+ 6 Laps)

DNF
20. Helio Castroneves
21. Ryan Hunter-Reay
22. Charlie Kimball
23. Mike Conway
24. Marco Andretti

DNS
25. Sebastien Bourdais

DanicaFan

27th March 2011, 21:14

Here are the final results..

1. #10 Dario Franchitti
2. #12 Will Power
3. #82 Tony Kanaan
4. #78 Simona De Silvestro
5. #5 Takuma Sato
6. #77 Alex Tagliani
7. #17 Raphael Matos
8. #14 Vitor Meira
9. #02 Oriol Servia
10. #22 Justin Wilson
11. #7 Danica Patrick
12. #4 JR Hildebrand
13. #34 Sebastian Saavedra
14. #24 Ana Beatriz
15. #18 James Jakes
16. #9 Scott Dixon
17. #38 Graham Rahal
18. #6 Ryan Briscoe
19. #59 EJ Viso
20. #3 Helio Castroneves
21. #28 Ryan Hunter-Reay
22. #83 Charlie Kimball
23. #27 Mike Conway
24. #26 Marco Andretti

DazzlaF1

27th March 2011, 21:16

nice result for Simone diSilvestre

and Kanaan did block her twice

I agree, she is by far the stand out performer this weekend, a quite awesome drive and like you say, she has a right to feel a bit angry with Kanaan with regard to blocking.

Special mention to Sato as well, a fine 5th place for him

DanicaFan

27th March 2011, 21:22

Danica and Hildebrand made contact at the end causing Hildebrand to turn around and Danica went on as well as Justin Wilson.

beachbum

27th March 2011, 22:12

nice result for Simone diSilvestre

and Kanaan did block her twiceI agree and disagree. Simona ran down both Power and TK, which is no easy task. Throughout the race, her lap times were almost always in the top 4. At the end, she really pushed TK hard lap after lap and almost made it work. Definitely a nice and well deserved result for her.

But is disagree that TK blocked. He may have taken a defensive line in the last turn a couple times, but the move mentioned by the idiot ABC announcer when TK went around the bump in the back section was not a block. Almost everyone was using that line - including Simona. The little move on the front straight could hardly be called a block as Simona really didn't even have to change her line.

This is after all racing, not a polite "after you" courtesy drive. TK is not obligated to make is easy to be passed, but my take is they both ran each other aggressively, but clean. Simona's crew kept telling her to be smart, and she was.

beachbum

27th March 2011, 22:16

Danica and Hildebrand made contact at the end causing Hildebrand to turn around and Danica went on as well as Justin Wilson.Thanks DF. I wondered what happened. The final results show Danica was moved back one position for avoidable contact.

DanicaFan

27th March 2011, 22:52

Thanks DF. I wondered what happened. The final results show Danica was moved back one position for avoidable contact.

You are welcome. Here are the final results after the Danica and Hildebrand contact..

1. #10 Dario Franchitti
2. #12 Will Power
3. #82 Tony Kanaan
4. #78 Simona De Silvestro
5. #5 Takuma Sato
6. #77 Alex Tagliani
7. #17 Raphael Matos
8. #14 Vitor Meira
9. #02 Oriol Servia
10. #22 Justin Wilson
11. #4 JR Hildebrand
12. #7 Danica Patrick
13. #34 Sebastian Saavedra
14. #24 Ana Beatriz
15. #18 James Jakes
16. #9 Scott Dixon
17. #38 Graham Rahal
18. #6 Ryan Briscoe
19. #59 EJ Viso
20. #3 Helio Castroneves
21. #28 Ryan Hunter-Reay
22. #83 Charlie Kimball
23. #27 Mike Conway
24. #26 Marco Andretti

DanicaFan

27th March 2011, 23:05

Once we got past all those cautions and restarts, it was a decent race.

ICWS

27th March 2011, 23:37

beachgirl

28th March 2011, 13:56

...We should be applauding and hoping that De Silvestro continues to get results like this throughout the year. For me, she is softening the blow that IndyCar is about to take when Danica leaves for NASCAR next year. De Silvestro serves as a good, even better, replacement as the best female racer in the series when Danica does leave. If De Silvestro had better equipment (such as Danica's car) she may've been able to hold on to a podium position in this race and perform well at the other tracks.

Actually, I think Simona will be a far better racer for NOT having Danica equipment. She is a true racer and will able to race around imperfections in her car during a race because she hasn't had superior equipment all her racing life. If you have superior equipment all the time (and I really don't want to hear how Danica's car didn't work at Indy), you don't really develop and learn. You have no idea how bad some equipment can be, and have to learn to drive what you've got in order to save your job. Whenever Danica's equipment is off at all, she is totally out to sea. If you look at all the top drivers, I don't think any of them started with a team at the top at the beginning of their Indy/Champ Car careers, with the notable exception of one.

banshee74

28th March 2011, 16:41

Some folks might view the criticism of Danica as anti-female....it is not. It is criticism of someone who can drive a race car, but not RACE it. Go back and look at all the restarts for St Pete. Compare Simona's driving with Danica's...you'll find Simona used the restarts to her advantage...step on the gas (keeps from getting overrun if you're near the front), go for the openings, and actually PASS someone with a competitive car. She popped out in second place, and had a great run all day.

Now watch Danica....near the rear....slow gas and acceleration....opening there, but too timid to take advantage. Almost comes to a stop several times. Racing is total control with moments of 200% aggression. Danica never exhibits this because she drives around thinking the car is supposed to take her to the front. She needs to learn hows to miss folks also...
not everyone drives to never impede #7. I recognize she is the big marketing draw, and the coverage caters to what in the end is a just a back marker racer (OH...forgot....off cycle pit stops and wins when everyone really racing pits for gas). We'll see how the coverage maybe shifts to a real racer if you're going to play the female angle. Simona is going to have a very good season, and actually pass competitive cars....not just move up through attrition.

Mightyreds

28th March 2011, 19:36

Simona will be considered the best female race car driver in the not too distant future. Unfortunately, it will be while she drives an F1 car.

anthonyvop

28th March 2011, 21:36

Simona will be considered the best female race car driver in the not too distant future. Unfortunately, it will be while she drives an F1 car.

No need to wait.....She already is the best "Current" female driver.

garyshell

28th March 2011, 23:20

No need to wait.....She already is the best "Current" female driver.

Agreed 100%. I think Mad Max Papis feels the same way too:

http://twitter.com/maxpapis/statuses/52329138106806272

A special good job to a youg lady with big BALLS @simdesilvestro (http://twitter.com/simdesilvestro) BRAVA it shows a lot ,keep mistake free all year long

Gary

FormerFF

29th March 2011, 04:31

What's the restart situation in ALMS, out of interest? Single or double?

ALMS restarts are single file. The sitch is a little different there, since the cars have fenders and there are multiple classes on the track.

Mightyreds

29th March 2011, 04:52

She certainly was on Sunday, but I think there should be a larger body of work before saying things like the best. Having said that, her star status will be build around her on track ability and personality, not the other way around.

I am evil Homer

29th March 2011, 11:25

Bravo Dario...perhaps the issue isn't the start it's the lack of driver skill:

[quote="Dario Franchitti"] I think you have to ask the guys further back in the pack what it was like and what the problem was, because there was obviously a problem.

Is the problem the double-file restart? Is it the late acceleration? Or, is it just people not paying attention? Not that they are not paying attention, but not respecting each other, just being crazy and going for gaps that aren't there. Which one is it]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90320

Mightyreds

29th March 2011, 15:00

Dario, the voice of reason.

Dr. Krogshöj

29th March 2011, 16:25

You know, even single file restarts would be more interesting than they used to be if the leader was always going as slowly before accelerating as they did on Sunday. If we go back to single file restarts, IndyCar should mandate a maximum speed that everyone would have to keep before the actual green signal.

DBell

29th March 2011, 16:46

ICWS

2nd April 2011, 09:18

Actually, I think Simona will be a far better racer for NOT having Danica equipment. She is a true racer and will able to race around imperfections in her car during a race because she hasn't had superior equipment all her racing life. If you have superior equipment all the time (and I really don't want to hear how Danica's car didn't work at Indy), you don't really develop and learn. You have no idea how bad some equipment can be, and have to learn to drive what you've got in order to save your job. Whenever Danica's equipment is off at all, she is totally out to sea. If you look at all the top drivers, I don't think any of them started with a team at the top at the beginning of their Indy/Champ Car careers, with the notable exception of one.

Good points...

I guess what I meant to say is if Simona, down the road, finds herself on a team like Andretti Autosport, which is superior to all the other teams except Penske's and Ganassi's, her results would be better than Danica's on average, both at ovals and road/street courses. Heck, should could be the first woman to win a race on an road/street course in IndyCar history if she was on a team like that... Plus, I don't think Simona would need the likes of Tony Kanaan to help set-up her car for her every race weekend due to the experience she already has from racing to the best of her ability and working out the kinks of a mid-pack/backmarker car like the one HVM Racing provides for her.

Simona's ability to work around the imperfections of her car and take full responsibility for her own "driver errors" are what will make her a better racer than Danica when it's all said and done... Also, I think everyone here (except DanicaFan) can agree that Simona is a much better role model for young female racers coming up in the ranks to look up to than Danica is/ever was.

beachbum

2nd April 2011, 12:46

Perhaps what is most significant about Simona's weekend came out in some reports after the race. It was reported before the event that HVM lost Michael Cannon to KV (he did "ok" with TK) and many worried HVM would struggle. They picked up Brent Harvey and in one day they clicked. She reported the car wasn't very good on Friday and yet was able to give the feedback to improve the car to be a contender for the win. The team has often mentioned her setup ability, and that was almost as impressive as the drive itself. Harvey came from Panther where they had very good oval setups, so this year might be very interesting.