Month: April 2015

Rain showers likely during qualifying and race

2015 Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana Weather

The chance of rain throughout the weekend never dips below 50%, according to RaceCastWx’s
forecast shown here. However, even though the track conditions may be wet, the temperature is in the lower 80’s for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Friday’s practice sessions will have to contend with up to an inch of rain and thunderstorms. The wind is relatively calm, 5-10 mph for most of the day. Teams will get good wet weather practice if they choose to run on Friday.

Saturday’s weather is pretty much the same as Friday’s. Cloud cover throughout most of the day and a chance of rain. This could make for some interesting qualifying results.

Sunday, race day, should bring some sun with it as the forecast calls for “mostly cloudy” and a 50% chance of rain. If it does start to precipitate during the race, it will be interesting to see how the teams and aero kits respond. We could start to see more modifications to aero kits to increase down-force if rain is expected during the race.

For a more detailed forecast and updates throughout the race weekend, follow Racecast Weather on Twitter.

Rahal looking to bring momentum to Louisiana

2015 Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana

Photo: Chris Jones

Graham Rahal, despite an eleventh place finish in St. Petersburg, says his team has a lot of momentum heading into the second round of the season.

Rahal was given a penalty for making contact with Charlie Kimball through turn ten on the streets of St. Petersburg, ending any hopes of a top five finish. He improved all weekend, qualifying 15th and leading the final warm up session before Sunday’s race.

“Even with an 11th-place result in St. Pete,” Rahal said, “we feel we had one of the best cars in the race and the team has a lot of momentum and can’t wait to get on track again. I really think that all signs are pointing to us being able to have a great year.”

“Our goal is to go to New Orleans and try to rack up as many points as we can, move ourselves up in the championship and kick off Long Beach and the rest of the season.”


Team Penske dominated the opening weekend of the year, finishing in four of the top five spots. Even so, Rahal said that “I think we are seeing that there are a lot of teams that are very, very close together. You certainly can’t slip up and in qualifying we slipped up a little bit and had our worst session of the weekend and that really hurt us.”

“We need to make sure we are on top of our game because there is no margin for error with the field as tight as it is. You have to be on it and that’s what makes the Verizon IndyCar Series so exciting right now.”


Indy grand prix of Louisiana track guide

2015 Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana



The series heads to New Orleans this week for the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana. Here’s a quick look at some of the key areas of the track the drivers will be facing on Sunday, courtesy of Scott Dixon.

Turns

“The section from Turns 1 through 6 is a lot of fun and there is another great section toward the end through Turns 10 through 14.”


High speed corners
“There are also high-speed corners and some tight hairpins as well. For the fans, the coolest part is that it’s quite flat, which for a driver sometimes is not the best thing, but visually it’s fantastic – from one spot you can see the whole track.”

Large braking zones
“There are big braking zones and long straights, so it’s kind of a combination of all the things that you need at a new track and one that spectators are going to love.”


Bumps
“I think we were one of the first INDYCAR teams to actually test at NOLA before the big test where everybody went. It was a little bumpy in some areas, but it has very long straights that are very fast.”

Honda allowed to reinforce aero kit after St. Pete debris

Daily Report

In the report: Honda have been given permission by IndyCar to reinforce their aero kit after the amount of debris generated at St. Pete.

IndyCar: Honda allowed to strengthen its Aero Kit (Fox Sports)
“Honda has been granted permission by INDYCAR to strengthen and reinforce parts of its kit.”

IndyCar: Chevy statement on engine penalty (Racer)
“We identified a batch of valve springs that, due to a process change at one of our suppliers, may fracture before the full mileage requirement.”


“The Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Chevrolet have over a century of history together and we’re delighted with the opportunity to continue that rich heritage.”


“Ferrari has undoubtedly made a step forward with its car in 2015, but others see the biggest gain in the area of the Italian marque’s power unit.”


IndyCar: Grand Prix of Louisiana gets ready to roll (The Advocate)

“I don’t see any reason we can’t have that level of success [as St. Petersburg] in New Orleans.”

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Car preservation is more critical this year – Hawksworth

Photo: John Cote

The opening round of the IndyCar season on the steets of St. Petersburg saw 22 of the 110 laps run under caution. Wing and body damage was prevalent throughout the day which turned the race into a battle of survival.

Jack Hawksworth acknowledged the need for drivers to change their style behind the wheel with the introduction of aero kits this year heading into the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana on Sunday. 


The Englishman said that “there is a lot of turbulence when following other cars in comparison to last year due to the new aerodynamic kits, plus the front wings are also a little more fragile.”

“I don’t think it’ll take long for the drivers to adjust,” continued Hawksworth, “but certainly the style of racing is going to change a little this year as car preservation is more critical than with the old DW12 aero kit.”


“I certainly don’t think you’ll see quite as much bumping and banging as we have seen in recent years because the front wing structure is just not as strong as previously,” Hawksworth said.


“Having said that, this is IndyCar racing and it is always furious, fast and aggressive. I think they’ll be a lot of action this weekend.”