Open Wheel Racing Chat 2013

[DolphinManatee]

Okay, I'm only posting a link to a WIRED article because someone on these boards said motor racing is not a sport.

[crashcarson15]

...and the Grand Prix of Indianapolis is official.

May 10, 2014.

Cant' wait.

[DolphinManatee]

Here is the planned circuit layout:

Compared to the MotoGP circuit:

[marble21]

The altered sections in the center look to make the circut more boring from its previous layout.

The addition of the chicane at the end though means there (hopefully) will not be a repeat of the Michelin tyre debacle.

[rvrdgsfn]

http://www.racer.com/chip-ganassi-racing-confirms-kanaan-and-chevrolet-engines-for-2014/article/314879/

Chip Ganassi Racing confirmed Friday in Houston that Tony Kanaan will drive for the team in the 2014 IndyCar Series. The widely anticipated announcement was followed shortly thereafter by an announcement that the team will switch from Honda to Chevrolet engines.

Kanaan will join Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Charlie Kimball to comprise a four-car lineup for 2014. The Brazilian's car will carry primary sponsorship from NTT Data.

Another Honda team is gone but we all know that Ganassi isn't Honda's bread & butter. That would be Sam Schmidt Racing with Simon Pagenaud.

[rvrdgsfn]

Bumping for Round 1 in Houston

1. Dixon

2. De Silvestro

3. WIlson

4. Pagenaud

5. Newgarden

6. Jakes

7. Rahal

8. Bourdais

9. Viso

10. Filiippi

Round 2 is tomorrow as well as Korea in F1. There are also rumors that Andretti is switching to Honda next season.

[crashcarson15]

The altered sections in the center look to make the circut more boring from its previous layout.

The addition of the chicane at the end though means there (hopefully) will not be a repeat of the Michelin tyre debacle.

The changes are supposed to make it easier to pass, I believe.

[RedRenesis]

Well, a truly fascinating race this morning.

Unfortunately not for anything that happened in first place

I'm really enjoying these thermal cameras FOM has been using the last few races. I've also got to give credit to the person in production that had the sense of humor to go to one live during a race mishap.

[rvrdgsfn]

Results from Korea...

1. Vettel

2. Raikkonen

3. Grosjean

4. Hulkeberg

5. Hamilton

6. Alonso

7. Rosberg

8. Button

9. Massa

10. Perez

Pirelli's were blown out & a fire truck was involved. Korea was a mess. All points to Japan next week & if Vettel wins, I think we can all say its over.

[waltere]

If Vettel wins with Alonso ninth or below, it IS all over.

[rvrdgsfn]

Houston 2.... Holy crud.... That was just an intense wreck, 13 people injured, 2 were sent to the hospital.

1. Power

2. Dixon

3. Hinchcliffe

4. Wilson

5. Bourdais

6. Pagenaud

7. Servia

8. Kimball

9. Conway

10. De Silvestro

Helio had some issues with his car and now Dixon is the points leader. It was a great race only to be overshadowed by the final lap. Next Saturday is the last race in Fontana.

[LAWeaver]

Bad news, Dario fans, but Franchitti suffered a concussion, a fractured ankle, and above all, a spinal fracture. I'm just glad to hear he didn't go to the big Grand Prix in the sky. Hoping he has a speedy recovery as well as the injured fans. I have yet to see the video, but this could have easily turned into a Dan Wheldon situation. That was the toughest thing I've ever watched live on TV.

[RyanB06]

http://eurosport.yahoo.com/news/formula-1-former-f1-driver-de-villota-found-064050515--f1.html

Maria de Villota, the former Marussia test driver who lost an eye in that horrible testing accident in England last July, passed away today in Spain. She was preparing for a media tour to promote her autobiography.

[rvrdgsfn]

Grand Prix of Japan results...

1. Vettel

2. Webber

3. Grosjean

4. Alonso

5. Raikkonen

6. Hulkenberg

7. Gutierrez

8. Rosberg

9. Button

10. Massa

Next stop India

[rvrdgsfn]

Bumping for some Indy Car News.... We got a schedule and a possible team switching engines manufacture...

March 30 – St. Petersburg

April 13 – Long Beach

April 26 – Barber Park (Saturday)

May 10 – IMS road course (Saturday)

May 17-18 – Indy 500 qualifying.

May 25 – Indianapolis 500

May 31-June 1 – Detroit double-header

June 7 – Texas (Saturday night)

June 28-29 – Houston double-header

July 6 – Pocono

July 12 – Iowa (Saturday night)

July 19-20 – Toronto double-header

August 3 – Mid-Ohio

August 17 – Milwaukee

August 24 – Sonoma

August 30 – Fontana (Saturday night)

No Brazil but hopefully in 2015, things will pick up.

http://www.racer.com/andretti-indycar-squad-set-for-honda-switch-hinchcliffes-return/article/316796/

RACER has learned Andretti Autosport is planning to announce its return to Honda next season during a press conference at Fontana's Auto Club Speedway on Friday.

It's also believed that Hinchcliffe, who had been talking with KV Racing, has elected to stay with Andretti and is close to having a new multi-year contract in place with the team. Provided the agreement is completed in time, the three-time race winner could also be announced at Fontana.

Good for Mayor Hinch.

UPDATE:

Honda's released what their engine will sound like.

http://youtu.be/431h20gvm3M

[rvrdgsfn]

Bumping for the IndyCar Finale in Fontana

1. Power

2. Carpenter

3. Kanann

4. Hinchcliffe

5. Dixon

6. Castroneves

7. Andretti

8. De Silvestro

9. Hunter-Reay

10. Kimball

Congrats to Scott Dixon, he came back & won it after a stellar season. A 3rd championship for the New Zealand native and a good end note with Honda & Ganassi. See you in 2014 IndyCar thanks for a great season.

Meanwhile, we also see an end to ALMS as they finished the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, end of an era. We shall see how USCR goes. I personally can't wait.

[waltere]

Toro Rosso have announced Ricciardo's replacement for next year. It's a 19 year old Russian from GP3 called Daniil Kvyat.

http://www.espn.co.uk/tororosso/motorsport/story/130951.html

[marble21]

Toro Rosso have announced Ricciardo's replacement for next year. It's a 19 year old Russian from GP3 called Daniil Kvyat.

http://www.espn.co.uk/tororosso/motorsport/story/130951.html

This is covered in the article posted but is worth mentioning that he has leapfrogged ahead of the driver many people considered would take the drive in Antonio Felix da Costa.

Apparently this is due to Kyvat performing well in test sessions as well as impressive GP3 results this year. Felix da Costa struggled in the Formula Renault series.

[rvrdgsfn]

I still say da Costa should be in that seat IMO but hey, maybe Kyvat is that good, I dunno though.

The two rumors that never died have resurfaced... Alonso going to McLaren

http://grandprix247.com/2013/10/21/have-alonso-and-magnussen-been-lined-up-to-drive-for-mclaren-in-2015/

A Danish newspaper has apparently got a glimpse of the future and spotted Kevin Magnussen and Fernando Alonso – in their crystal ball – at McLaren in 2015.

Magnussen, son of former Formula 1 driver Jan, wrapped up the Formula Renault 3.5 championship in Spain at the weekend.

http://grandprix247.com/2013/10/22/porsche-denies-latest-formula-1-return-rumours/

It’s that time of the year again when Porsche is – almost by tradition – linked to a return to Formula 1, which they have denied.

Exactly a year ago, the Volkswagen-linked carmaker denied that its sports car programme – to feature Mark Webber at the wheel in 2014 – was a mere warmup to Formula 1.

Alongside grand prix winner Webber, who has been poached directly from Formula 1′s World Champion team, Porsche has also been busily signing up Formula 1 personnel including Fritz Enzinger, Alex Hitzinger, Mike Krack and Urs Kuratle.

The Weissach facility has also been set up as a world-class motor sport factory complete with wind tunnel.

I dunno, I'm just saying if your using all that just for one WEC team along with hiring many Formula One personell & this keeps coming back over & over again... I'm just saying...

Sadly the Red Dragons may not show up for USCR when it starts

http://www.racer.com/gainscobob-stallings-racing-considering-hiatus/article/317235/

“Basically, what I need to do, given the cost I will incur, is decide whether or not 2014 will be a year of transition for the series that would be better for me to wait a year and see how it all plays out,” Stallings told RACER last weekend. “I want to see where the DP stacks up against the P2 cars and see what the series is really thinking about the success they hopefully have in balancing the DPs and P2s. The answer is I don't know what I'm going to do yet. I hope to make my decision by the end of [this] week whether we're going to run or not. It's certainly true we're re-evaluating.”

[marble21]

I still say da Costa should be in that seat IMO but hey, maybe Kyvat is that good, I dunno though.

I think the consensus is that Felix da Costa is a better driver now but Kyvat has the potential to be "great".

The two rumors that never died have resurfaced... Alonso going to McLaren

Button can't be there for much longer and Perez has not been what they expected, so this is perhaps not too far out of the question to think of for 2015.

It’s that time of the year again when Porsche is – almost by tradition – linked to a return to Formula 1, which they have denied.

The signs seem to be there, but there is no reason why they can't have done all of that simply to improve their endurance series cars. This is an instance where until I see a porsche f1 car physically on the grid then I will not fully believe it.