[IndyCar] #9 Hoe win je de Indy 500 niet?

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Op woensdag 9 november 2011 15:41 schreef Peterselieman het volgende:
opvallend dat Doornbos niet in het rijtje staat

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Fears regarding Lotus' ability to answer the bell as an engine supplier for 2012 have been put to rest, but the amount of time its teams will have to prepare for the season opener at St. Petersburg on March 25th is now a growing concern.

SPEED.com has learned that the first scheduled track test for the new John Judd-built 2.2-liter, twin-turbo V6 Lotus engine, originally set for December 13-15 at Sebring International Raceway in Florida, has now been moved to an undetermined date in January.

With the Chevrolet and Honda factories commencing their track testing programs in October with their respective partner teams in attendance, the disparity in learning curves between those factories and Lotus was always going to be hard to overcome.

But with Lotus facing an even smaller window of testing time--possibly as little as eight weeks between the first track test and the first race in late March—its teams could be at an even greater disadvantage.

Provided no issues are encountered during the engine's initial track tests, teams will be under increased pressure to develop unique setups that suit the Dallara-Lotus package.

With the Lotus engine expected to have a differences in center of gravity and power delivery, teams will need to tailor the Dallara's handling to the British powerplant once it arrives, and with its level of power still unknown, the amount of downforce teams will need to run in comparison to the other engine manufacturers must also be tested and verified.

Although the odds appear to be stacked against Lotus--at least in terms of fielding a competitive effort to start the 2012 season--the marque could have an ace in the hole.

Bryan Herta Autosport, winners of the 2011 Indy 500, conducted all of the Honda-powered 2012 Dallara track testing on behalf of the IZOD IndyCar Series, is believed to be close to signing on as an anchor team for Lotus.

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New IndyCar engine supplier Lotus Motorsport has confirmed that it has struck deals with Dreyer & Reinbold, Bryan Herta Autosport and HVM Racing for the 2012 season. The announcement came at the Los Angeles Auto Show, meaning all three teams will be using the new V6 twin turbo Lotus unit next year.

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Panther Racing has announced that J.R. Hildebrand will remain on-board for the 2012 and 2013 IndyCar seasons. The 2009 Indy Lights Champion and 2011 Indy 500 runner-up managed a selection of strong results this year, including fourth at Iowa.

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Sarah Fisher, owner of the IZOD IndyCar Series team by the same name, is the recipient of the Team Principal of the Year via voting in the Professional MotorSport World Expo Awards for 2011.

The event in Cologne, Germany, concluded Nov. 17 with awards presented in eight categories.

Sarah Fisher Racing earned its initial IZOD IndyCar Series victory -- at Kentucky Speedway with driver Ed Carpenter in October -- in its fourth season of competition. In forming the team in February 2008, Fisher became the series' first female owner/driver. She's also the youngest team owner in the series.

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After a season of non-stop controversy, including starting a race in the rain and a lack of consistency in applying on-track penalties, Brian Barnhart has finally been removed from Race Control in INDYCAR. SPEED can report that Barnhart will be offered to stay on the payroll as president of operations but will no longer have anything to do with the officiating or managing of IZOD IndyCar Series races.

INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard was unavailable for comment but indicated a few weeks ago that some major changes were forthcoming. In addition to removing Barnhart as chief steward and director of racing, Bernard is also replacing Terry Angstadt with Mark Koretzky, who served as director of business development for IndyCar in 2011. Angstadt had been president of the commercial division of the IndyCar Series since 2007. Barnhart and Angstadt were also the last major links to Tony George’s old Indy Racing League regime.

A former mechanic in CART for Roger Penske and Rick Galles who was named director of racing operations by George in 1997, Barnhart had been under fire from drivers, teams and fans the past couple seasons. From his insistence on spread-out, single-file starts at the Indianapolis 500 and other ovals to judgment calls that drew the ire of veteran drivers like Justin Wilson and Oriol Servia to starting a street race in Baltimore with safety trucks still on the track, Barnhart had lost all respect inside the paddock. And it all came crashing down last August at Loudon, N.H. when he ordered a restart while it was raining and a pileup ensued that caused major carnage and instant anger. Will Power, taken out in the accident, raised both middle fingers to Barnhart up in Race Control and declared: “This has got to be it. They cannot have this guy running the show. He makes such bad calls all the time.” Bernard fined Power and defended Barnhart at the time but knew a change had to be made for 2012 and beyond.

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Het meest succesvolle team uit de Champ Car periode zal niet langer deelnemen aan de IndyCar Series. Newman/Haas Racing heeft bekend gemaakt geen wagens in te schrijven voor 2012, wat het einde van het team betekent. Coureurs James Hinchcliffe en Oriol Servia moeten nu op zoek naar een nieuw team om volgend jaar deel te blijven nemen in de series. Geruchten dat Sebastien Bourdais terug zal keren bij het team waarmee hij viermaal kampioen werd worden daarmee ook te niet gedaan.

Teameigenaar Carl Haas gaf in het persbericht een korte verklaring: "Het economische klimaat maakt het niet langer mogelijk voor Newman/Haas Racing om deel te nemen in de open wheel racerij op dit moment."

[Het Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team viert de vierde titel van Bourdais] Het team werd in 1983 opgericht door acteur Paul Newman en voormalig coureur Carl Haas. Het won een aantal kampioenschappen in CART in de jaren 80 en 90, maar vooral de combinatie Sebastien Bourdais en Newman/Haas Racing in de Champ Car Series bleek niet te stoppen. Vanaf 2004 werd het team vier jaar op rij kampioen. Na de hereniging met de Indy Racing League ging het moeizamer met het team. In 2008 overleed Paul Newman. Zakenman Mike Lanigan was een tijd mede-eigenaar maar vertrok weer in 2010.

Volgends SpeedTV.com heeft het team de medewerkers laten weten dat zij tot eind december betaald worden en daarna de deuren zal sluiten.

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Op zondag 20 november 2011 19:42 schreef Migue het volgende:
Eerste de financiën op orde, dan biedt Newman/Haas Racing hem (en James Hinchcliffe) een contract aan. Komt echt wel goed, maar het is nu eenmaal de realiteit van een coureur zonder budget om zich ergens in te kopen.

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Reigning Indy Lights series champion Josef Newgarden is getting an Izod IndyCar Series ride for his 21st birthday. Sarah Fisher Racing on Wednesday confirmed that Newgarden will join the team for the 2012 season. Newgarden will drive the No. 67 car, a continuation of the program that won its first race in October with Ed Carpenter at the wheel at Kentucky Speedway.

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Op donderdag 8 december 2011 14:48 schreef Funzel het volgende:
Hmm Sarah Fisher Racing. Vraag me dan meteen af of hij wel een volledig seizoen gaat rijden. Zou voor zijn ontwikkeling wel beter zijn.

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Frenchman Simon Pagenaud will be the driver of the Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM) Honda-powered Dallara in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series, team owner Sam Schmidt announced today during a press conference in Indianapolis. SSM team manager Rob Edwards and Pagenaud joined Schmidt at the press conference in the Indiana Convention Center during the International Motorsports Industry Show in downtown Indianapolis, just five miles from the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Pagenaud, 27, brings a wealth of experience driving several types of high-horsepower cars in his career. In 2011 alone, he was a factory Honda driver in the 12 Hours of Sebring and a factory Peugeot driver in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 24, finishing second in both events. In addition to the sports car racing he did, Pagenaud also raced V8 Supercars, Rally cars and had three IndyCar Series starts in 2011 filling in for injured drivers Ana Beatriz (Barber Motorsports Park), Justin Wilson (Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course) and Simona de Silvestro (Infineon Raceway).

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IndyCar keert in 2012 niet terug op de Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hoewel de uitkomsten van het onderzoek naar het noodlottige ongeval die het leven van Dan Wheldon claimde, is dit al afgesproken. Om onder het contract uit te komen is Randy Bernard een afkoopsom overeengekomen met eigenaar van de oval Bruton Smith. Er wordt wel gekeken naar of de serie in 2013 veilig terug kan keren, maar dat zal niet besloten worden voor er getest is met de nieuwe IndyCar wagen.

Het uitstellen van het besluit over het racen op de 1,5 mijls ovals van Las Vegas en Texas is de voornaamste reden dat de kalender van 2012 nog niet bekend gemaakt is. Ook nu nog is niet zeker of Texas, buiten Indianapolis de best bezocht oval race, wel op de kalender blijft staan.

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard verklaarde: "Wij voelen de noodzaak om ons technisch team uitgebreid te laten testen op de Las Vegas Motor Speedway, nadat we ons nog lopende onderzoek naar het ongeluk afgesloten hebben. Ik garandeer niet dat we terugkomen, maar we zullen er testen en zien wat we daarvan kunnen leren."

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Lotus has announced that the teams it works with outside Formula 1 will switch to black and gold livery for 2012 to bring them in line with the grand prix squad's image.

Lotus currently backs ART in GP2 and GP3, while in IndyCar it will switch from being a sponsor of the KV team to a factory engine supplier to Bryan Herta Autosport, Dreyer & Reinbold and HVM.

The only exception to the black and gold rebranding will be HVM, which will retain a green-based livery at the request of its nuclear industry sponsor.

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Katherine Legge zal volgend jaar terugkeren in de IndyCar Series. Details als voor welk team de inmiddels 31-jarige Engelse zal rijden en of het om een fulltime deal gaat zijn voorlopig nog onbekend, maar Legge deelde maandag zelf op Facebook een artikel van Autoweek, waarbij ze haar terugkeer bevestigde. Legge reed in 2006 en 2007 in de Champ Car World Series voor respectievelijk KV- en Dale Coyne Racing.

“Ik zal iedereen de details geven wanneer ik dat kan. Ik kan het niet onder woorden brengen hoeveel deze mogelijkheid voor mij betekend, ik ben zo opgewonden!” bevestigde Legge op Facebook.

De bevestiging van Legge wordt voor het eind van het jaar verwacht. Hiermee zou ze voor 2012 dan de tweede bevestigde vrouwelijke IndyCar rijdster worden, naast Simona de Silvestro.

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Op dinsdag 13 december 2011 10:40 schreef sasquatsch het volgende:
Lotus teams in zwart met goud

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