Category: US Sports

Posted on

IndyCar Gateway Preview

There are just three races left in the 2018 IndyCar season and the paddock are in the middle of three back-to-back races, however, a shadow hangs over the entirety of the series following Robert Wickens’ crash at Pocono.

Wickens remains in hospital having had surgery on his spine and due for more on his arm and legs in the coming days. He also has some sort of spinal cord injury but the severity of it is as of yet unknown – that is what could stop a potential return to racing, but only time will tell. Schmidt Peterson have withdrawn the #6 car from Gateway out of respect, although teammate James Hinchcliffe, who was minorly injured in the wreck, will participate in the race.

All the IndyCar drivers have expressed their support for Wickens, with many saying that they are struggling following the accident – they all know, full well, that it could’ve been them. The #GetWellWickens hashtag is trending on Twitter and there’s a campaign going around for fans to wear red on Saturday in support of Wickens. It’s a tough time for the whole close-nit paddock, but we’ve been here before… it’s not the first time a driver’s been badly injured, and it almost certainly won’t be the last.

Away from the wreck and its repercussions, Alexander Rossi was the one to win the eventually restarted race at Pocono, fending off late challenges from Will Power to take his third win of the season and cut his championship deficit down 29 points. The swing in points between Rossi and championship leader Scott Dixon could’ve been a lot more had the latter not been able to recover from thirteenth to third, or had he been caught up in the wreck he only narrowly missed.

Josef Newgarden, driver of the #2 PPG Automotive Finishes Team Penske IndyCar Chevrolet V6, takes the checkered flag Sunday, August 26, 2017, winning the Verizon IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois. This is Newgarden’s fourth win of the season. He retains the lead in the drivers championship with two races to go. (Photo by Michael L. Levitt/LAT for Chevy Racing)

Looking ahead to Gateway, it was Josef Newgarden and Penske who dominated the race last year. Between all four Penske cars, they led all but three laps of the race with the lions share of those leading laps going to eventual race winner Newgarden. Gateway itself is a short oval which is raced as a night race under the floodlights. It’s a demanding track and often causes amateur-looking spins that can easily collect cars – as Power, Takuma Sato and Ed Carpenter found out last year.

Gateway was the scene of a very controversial overtake for the lead in 2017. Newgarden was trailing teammate Simon Pagenaud in the closing laps of the race when he dived down the inside, making light contact but getting through otherwise cleanly. Pagenaud was clearly disgruntled after the race, in which he finished third, but it wasn’t long before the pair settled their differences, leading to the start to their rather amusing relationship which culminated in the ‘autograph battle’ earlier this season.

There aren’t many driver changes for Gateway. Gabby Chaves is back in the #88 Harding after being replaced by Conor Daly for the previous three rounds while Wickens quite clearly won’t be present and there will be, as previously mentioned, no replacement.

All the title contenders need good weekends to stay in touch but, with the crash at Pocono, Ryan Hunter-Reay has dropped out of realistic contention, 119 points back, leaving it down to just Dixon, Rossi, Newgarden and Power. At this point, everyone’s out there racing with Wickens in their minds and it would be amazing if Hinchcliffe could bring back a good result for the SPM team after all they’ve been through.

IndyCar are joined by both Indy Lights and Pro Mazda at Gateway as all the seasons near their conclusions. All Indy Lights and Pro Mazda sessions are available to stream, along with IndyCar practice while qualifying unfortunately isn’t streaming again. The race is being shown on BT Sport/ESPN but, I’ll warn you now, some of the times aren’t very UK friendly! Those times are as follows:

Friday

Practice 1 – 6:15pm
Qualifying – 10:15pm

Saturday

Final Practice – 2:00am

Sunday

Race – 1:30am

(All times BST)

Featured image courtesy of Perry Nelson/LAT for Chevy Racing

Posted on

Santino Ferrucci returns to IndyCar for final rounds with Dale Coyne

Santino Ferrucci is set to return to the IndyCar paddock for the last two rounds of the season at Portland and Sonoma, four months after making his debut at the Duel in Detroit. This announcement has been met with a rather confused reaction, primarily because of the events of the British F2 races at Silverstone, but we’ll get onto that later…

Santino Ferrucci. Image courtesy of Haas f1

First things first, Dale Coyne turned to Ferrucci because of his performances at the two races in Detroit earlier in the season. On the face of it, the results don’t seem that great with 22nd and 20th place finishes in the respective races, but there’s more to it than that. In Race 1, the American was hit from behind by Charlie Kimball and ended in the barriers while, after initially running well in Race 2, he spun on pit exit and it was a recovery drive from there.

The impressive part of Ferrucci’s weekend was that he was often out-pacing his vastly experienced teammate, Sebastien Bourdais. After putting in strong performances in both practice sessions, Ferrucci qualified just behind his teammate for Race 1, starting eighteenth, but then went onto out-qualify Bourdais by three places for Race 2, starting thirteenth. So, while he failed to deliver in the races, Ferrucci showed excellent pace all weekend.

Judging by just this, there would be very little questioning of the decision by Dale Coyne – he has the pace, he just needs to string a race together. However, there’s a lot more to the Ferrucci case than just his performances at Detroit…

Many people, myself included, thought that Ferrucci had hit self-destruct for his racing career after his conduct during the F2 weekend at Silverstone earlier this year. He pushed his Trident teammate, Arjun Maini, off the track in Race 1 and received a 5-second penalty before deliberately crashing into Maini on the cool-down lap of Race 2. Subsequently, Ferrucci was called to the stewards to explain his actions but did not attend and was therefore excluded from the Race 2 results.

He ended up being banned for the following two F2 events – Hungary and Belgium – after driving his car between the paddock and pitlane while holding his phone, as well as for the previously mentioned incidents. There were also rumours of racist remarks towards Maini, but these reports are unconfirmed and were not addressed by the stewards.

Unsurprisingly, Trident fired Ferrucci and he seems to have been let go by Haas, who he was a junior driver for – or though there has been no official announcement.

This seemed to be game over for Ferrucci’s career, but Dale Coyne have thrown him a life-line by putting aside his actions at Silverstone – which were very briefly mentioned in the press release – and going on just his Detroit performances.

Ferrucci will pilot the #39 as a third car for Dale Coyne, alongside teammates Bourdais and Pietro Fittipaldi, for the last two IndyCar races of the 2018 season. He will also test at Portland during the open IndyCar test on the Thursday, a day before the weekend officially gets going.

This announcement has been met by various amusing GIFs from fellow drivers along with a lot of questioning from fans and journalists. The team know what went on at Silverstone but, for whatever reason, they have decided to give him another chance based on his performance at Detroit.

Ferrucci will take that chance with open arms, no matter what everyone else thinks, and his performances at Portland and Sonoma will decide whether he’s in the market for a 2019 IndyCar drive or not.

Posted on

IndyCar Pocono Report: Rossi wins as the Tricky Triangle bites back

Alexander Rossi took his third win of the season and first at Pocono to take Scott Dixon’s title lead down to 29 points in a race that was overshadowed by a huge crash for rookie Robert Wickens, causing a two-hour delay.

Alexander Rossi. Indycar 2018: Round Fourteen – Pocono, Philadelphia. Image courtesy of Hondanews.eu

The race didn’t get off to the best of starts with Graham Rahal and Spencer Pigot making contact before they even crossed the start line for the green flag. It was a very slow start and Rahal was caught out, accelerating into the back of Pigot who was still moving at the pace of the rest of the pack. Pigot was taken out of the race but managed to briefly get back in it after the red flag period.

That incident caused the first caution, and, after hardly any green flag laps, we soon had the second. Robert Wickens was fighting with Ryan Hunter-Reay when he tried a move through Turn 2 that was a bit far gone. Wickens and Hunter-Reay touched, spinning both and causing Wickens to fly through the air, rotating multiple times and destroying large parts of the catch fence. Pietro Fittipaldi, James Hinchcliffe and Takuma Sato all got caught up in the wreck but all managed to get away relatively unscathed. Hunter-Reay was very lucky, as his onboard showed, with Wickens’ car taking out his roll-hoop but leaving him uninjured.

Wickens was less lucky. The rookie Canadian received multiple injuries including two broken legs, spinal injuries, a broken right arm and a bruised lung. It could’ve been a lot worse and it was a very anxious wait for all teams, drivers and fans as we waited on news on Wickens – thankfully he was reported as awake and alert and the race was able to be restarted.

Fittipaldi, Sato and Hunter-Reay all participated in interviews once cleared from the medical centre to explain their point of view while Hinchcliffe chose to leave the track and get to the hospital to see his great friend teammate Wickens once he was cleared, after initial fears of arm injuries.

Quite understandably, the race took second place in the priorities but, nevertheless, it still happened. Rossi took the win but not in such as dominant fashion as we’ve seen earlier in the season – he led after the restart and only lost the lead once but was under constant pressure from Will Power. Rossi’s lead yo-yoed throughout the race, varying from over 11 seconds to under 1 second, and even nothing at one point when Power got past Rossi.

Will Power, driver of the #12 Verizon Team Penske IndyCar Chevrolet V6 races to a 2nd place finish Sunday, August 19, 2018 during Sunday’s Verizon IndyCar Series ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Phillip Abbott/LAT for Chevy Racing)

At the penultimate stops, Rossi had a slow in-lap and was jumped by Power who stayed ahead, despite Rossi having the momentum on track. Power looked like he was building a lead when Rossi dived down the inside in a risky move that was rewarded with the race win. Power closed the lead back down in the final stint when Rossi got stuck behind Sebastien Bourdais and Dixon, who narrowly avoided being lapped, but Power was never able to get on terms with Rossi again.

The third driver on the podium was championship leader Dixon who held off a strong, late charge from the previously disgruntled Bourdais. The Frenchman was unhappy with the repairs to the fence following Wickens’ crash and had a very animated phone call with the race director but was eventually convinced to get back in the car. You wouldn’t have a clue about all that once they got racing, Bourdais was one of the fastest drivers on track and was not shy of an overtake, even at Turn 2.

Dixon himself was on a recovery drive after qualifying well down the field in thirteenth. The #9 Chip Ganassi driver had already made it to seventh by the restart and, from there, he made continuous progress throughout the race – only losing 17 points in his lead in a race that could’ve been a lot worse for him as he only just missed the wreck.

Josef Newgarden was one to have a fairly quiet race, actually getting lapped and very nearly being passed by Andretti rookie Zach Veach. After initially running third, Newgarden lost time during the pit stops and slowly dropped through the pack after he lacked the pace of the leaders. Veach, meanwhile, was one of the most impressive drivers of the race, looking very confident and having pace not far off race leader and teammate Rossi despite the fact that this was his very first visit to the Tricky Triangle.

Marco Andretti and Simon Pagenaud both struggled at Pocono with neither having the expected pace all race and eventually finishing seventh and eighth, not far off going two laps down. You know it’s been a strange race when Penske’s are being lapped but that’s what Pocono does, especially when there are long runs without cautions as we had following the restart.

Robert Wickens earlier this year in happier times. Indycar 2018 Round 01: St. Petersburg, Florida. Image courtesy of Hondanews.eu

This is a race that is going to, and has already, drawn a lot of questions of IndyCar. The catch fence is the main problem and, even though Wickens hasn’t sustained life or career threatening injuries, many have argued that he shouldn’t have sustained any at all, especially in a series like IndyCar. The repercussions will rumble on but, for now, IndyCar will move onto Gateway with the shadow of Pocono hanging over them.

Full Race Results:

  1. Alexander Rossi
  2. Will Power
  3. Scott Dixon
  4. Sebastien Bourdais
  5. Josef Newgarden
  6. Zach Veach (R)
  7. Marco Andretti
  8. Simon Pagenaud
  9. Charlie Kimball
  10. Ed Carpenter
  11. Matheus Leist (R)
  12. Ed Jones
  13. Max Chilton
  14. Graham Rahal

DNF – Conor Daly, Spencer Pigot, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Robert Wickens (R), James Hinchcliffe, Takuma Sato, Pietro Fittipaldi (R)

Posted on

IndyCar Pocono Preview

We’re onto the home stretch now for the 2018 IndyCar season with just four races remaining, first of which is at the infamous ‘Tricky Triangle’, otherwise known as Pocono. The nickname has two sources of origin: firstly, it’s a very demanding and notoriously difficult track to master and secondly, it only has three corners so is triangle-shaped. Championship leader Scott Dixon has not won at Pocono since 2013 amid Penske domination at the track and has a reduced lead of 46-points in the championship over Alexander Rossi, who is yet to win at Pocono.

Rossi was the one who came out victorious at the last round at Mid-Ohio and will be looking to continue that momentum into this coming race. The #27 Andretti driver trounced the field with a two-stop strategy while everyone else was on three-stops, meaning he came home with a near 20-second advantage and trimmed Dixon’s lead down in the championship while he was at it. Dixon himself didn’t have the best of races, finding himself down in fifth after qualifying ninth, but even on his bad weekends, he’s still up there fighting for the podium places – showing just why he’s the man in the lead of the championship.

Robert Wickens continued his good form with second place while Indy 500 champion Will Power came back into play after a tough run of races with third. Josef Newgarden hung onto his championship aspirations with a fourth, he’s now 60 points back from Dixon – a large but by no means insurmountable gap.

Josef Newgarden winner at the Mid ohio race 2018. Image courtesy of Gregg Feistman/Team Penske

Moving onto Pocono now and it’s a track that has been synonymous with Penske domination over the years. Power’s taken the glory for the last two years with teammate Newgarden following him home last year. The most recent non-Penske winner was Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2015 with now ex-Penske man Juan Pablo Montoya winning the year before that. However, this year is perhaps the best chance for the rest of the field to end Penske’s Pocono stranglehold with Chip Ganassi, Andretti and Schmidt Peterson all looking threatening.

The 500-mile race is often a close one with three-wide more than plausible at all points of the track while even the smallest of touches can result in disaster, as James Hinchcliffe and JR Hildebrand found out last year with rather dramatic effect.

Away from the track, IndyCar’s silly season is kicking off again. Dixon’s signed a ‘multi-year’ deal with Chip Ganassi to extend his 17-year tenure at the team while Fernando Alonso’s decision to leave F1 means that the entire 2019 driver market is now on hold until he, and potentially McLaren, decides what to do.

Anyway, back to Pocono…

If you haven’t already guessed, Pocono is an oval course which means that qualifying is done in reserve championship order with two-lap flying runs. The ‘Tricky Triangle’ is the penultimate oval of the season with only Gateway left after this, showing just how little time there is left.

There are only a few driver changes for Pocono; Ed Carpenter is back in the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing car, taking over from Jordan King for the second to last time this season while Kyle Kaiser takes the wheel of the solo Juncos entry from Rene Binder. Conor Daly has got the Harding call up again after negotiations with Zachary Claman De Melo to race at Pocono for the team fell through. This, however, is expected to be Daly’s last race of 2018, although that could yet change.

As the last round at Sonoma is double-points, there are still 250 points on offer – excluding bonus points for pole/laps led – which means that anyone down to Ed Jones in 13th is mathematically in with a chance of the championship but, realistically, it’s between the top five of Dixon, Rossi, Newgarden, Power and Hunter-Reay although Wickens still has an outside chance. Any slip up from any of those drivers could spell disaster for their respective championship challenges so the pressure is on for the final four races to get those points in.

There’s no Mazda Road to Indy at Pocono so it’s just the IndyCar lot out on track. Practice is being streamed as usual on IndyCar’s channels but qualifying is unfortunately not. The race is live on BT Sport 2 and there will be race commentary on our Twitter channel.

The schedule for the weekend ahead looks like this…

Saturday

Practice 1 – 3:30pm
Qualifying – 6:30pm
Final Practice – 9:45pm

Sunday

Race – 7:00pm

(All times BST)

Posted on

Mazda Road to Indy: Patricio O’Ward

Patricio O’Ward, along with title rival Colton Herta, is one of the closest drivers in the whole Mazda Road to Indy programme to IndyCar with a 2018 seat firmly in the Indy Lights rookie’s sights. The Mexican is part of the Andretti family and currently leads Indy Lights, despite being one of only two rookies in the full-time field.

Emily Inganni – How is this season of Indy Lights going for you so far? Is it what you expected it to be?

Patricio O’Ward – The season has gone great so far. Honestly it is close to what I expected it to be… I knew I would have a great race car and it was just a matter of me putting everything together on the race track. And I knew I could win!

EI – As a rookie, what have you had to learn entering Indy Lights and how hard has it been to match the more experienced drivers?

PW – Almost every driver on the grid has at least double or triple the experience I have with that Indy Lights car, so I’ve been playing a little catch up and trying to learn as much as I can, especially in the ovals. But I think I got the hang of it pretty well! It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been something I have enjoyed learning and something I have enjoyed studying.

EI – With a declining number of drivers and teams, do you think Indy Lights has a problem or do you expect the numbers to go back up in years to come?

PW – I hope numbers go back up. The issue is that the championship is way too expensive.  That is the issue. If prices go down, then that’s the golden key to have more cars!

EI – As a whole, do you think the Mazda Road to Indy programme is successful at getting young drivers higher up the motorsport ladder? Are there any improvements that you would like to see in the future?

PW – Road to Indy is awesome. It gives drivers, especially the champions of each category, a chance to move up to the next one. The only thing I would change is the amount of $ it costs to do each class… especially Pro Mazda and Indy Lights.

EI – Many Indy Lights drivers have made it to IndyCar before with Kaiser and Leist going up for this current season. Do you see yourself following that path?

PW – I do. I’ll hopefully be in IndyCar next year and I am more than ready for the challenge.

EI – What is the support like in a big team like Andretti? Do you get much support from the IndyCar drivers or not?

PW – I don’t see the IndyCar drivers much, but the help is always there if I need it. I just haven’t really asked around much, but the team have given me an awesome welcoming to the team and any question I have, they answer!

EI – To finish, what advice would you have for young drivers starting out in the Mazda Road to Indy or lower categories?

PW – My advice is drive the heck out of that race car every time you get in it. You never know when is the last time you will be driving it so every lap, give it all you’ve got. People will notice, and you will get a chance sooner or later with the big boys if you have got the skills.

Thanks to Patricio for answering my questions, hopefully we’ll be seeing him in IndyCar very soon! That concludes our Mazda Road to Indy series, another huge thank you to all the drivers for taking part, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the interviews!

Posted on

Mazda Road to Indy: David Malukas

David Malukas is fairly new to the single-seater scene and is only in his second year of the Mazda Road to Indy programme however, he’s already made it up to Pro Mazda at just 16 years old. The American took tenth in USF2000 last season, even though he missed the first four races, and is looking set for at least a top five finish with the top three only 20 points away this season in the middle class.

Emily Inganni – How has this season of Pro Mazda gone for you so far?

David Malukas – So far the season has been a rollercoaster. We’ve had so many ups and downs throughout the season so far but nonetheless it has been a big learning curve for me and the team.

Image courtesy of David Malukas

EI – How hard has it been to adapt to Pro Mazda as a rookie?

DM – Coming from the USF2000 series the Pro Mazda is a big difference. It has a lot more downforce and grip throughout the car making the driving style a lot different from the USF2000 car. Luckily, we were able to test the car quite a bit before the season started to get a feel for it.

Image courtesy of David Malukas

EI – What made you decide to move up to Pro Mazda rather than do another season in USF2000?

DM – Throughout my racing career my plan has always been to move up to the next class as soon as possible. The reason for it is because I end up racing against a higher level of drivers making me learn and advance quicker.

EI – Do you have any plans for next season yet? Do you want to stay in Pro Mazda or move elsewhere?

DM – Well as usual my plan is to continue to move up the ladder with no stops so moving up to Indy Lights isn’t out of question.

Image courtesy of David Malukas

EI – What do you think of the Mazda Road to Indy programme? Is it a good organisation for young drivers from what you’ve seen so far?

DM – 100% the Mazda Road to Indy program is absolutely incredible for young drivers to succeed and make their dreams come true of becoming an IndyCar driver.

EI – What’s it like, as a young driver, to be in the IndyCar paddock? Do you see much of the IndyCar drivers?

DM – It is very cool to be able to walk through the paddock and see how professionally operated everything is. I personally haven’t had the chance to speak to one of the IndyCar drivers, but I have seen them driving around on their mopeds, so hopefully one day I’ll be the one driving the moped.

Image courtesy of David Malukas

EI – What got you into racing in the first place and where is your end goal?

DM – It all started when I went with my dad to a local go kart track in South Bend, IN. I drove my first kid-kart and ended up really enjoying and continued to go. After some time, I got noticed by Brent Ebert, who wanted to help me on the coaching side and from there I went to my first professional go-kart race and within time I succeeded and followed the ladder up to where I am now. Like most drivers, my goal is to make it to Indy 500.

EI – Lastly, what advice would you give to karters starting their racing careers?

DM – Once you’ve gotten good in the class you’re in, make sure to keep moving up as soon as possible so that you could be surrounded by better drivers and learn quicker.

A huge thank you to David for taking part in the interview! The last interview of the series will be published tomorrow so keep an eye out!

(Featured Image courtesy of David Malukas)

Posted on

Fernando Alonso leaves F1 in search of new challenges

Fernando Alonso is one of the most highly regarded drivers in F1 but, after a torrid four years with McLaren, he’s finally called it quits on the sport he loved so dearly. Now, let’s get one thing straight; this is, by no means, a retirement from Alonso, the guy lives and breathes racing and will certainly continue for many years to come… just not in F1.

In truth, this announcement has been coming for a long time. Alonso has the habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time when it comes to teams and his last venture with McLaren was certainly that. The well-documented but doomed partnership with Honda caused the first three years of misery for Alonso while this current season put the final nail in his F1 coffin when the team were unable to live up to expectations following a switch to Renault.

Moving away from McLaren but staying in F1 was never really an option for Alonso either, sure there was a bit of speculation around the Red Bull seat and a few blind hopes that he might return to Ferrari but really, the only place that would have him was McLaren. Despite mellowing in his latter years in F1, Alonso spent the best part of a career burning bridges and inadvertently making this stretch of his career much harder – the doors-off-hinges malarkey at McLaren in 2007 did nothing for his reputation while the Ferrari years left him being portrayed as ‘grumpy’ and ‘difficult to work with’.

It was not always this way for the Spaniard, he is, after all, a two-time world champion. Once upon a time he was the whiz kid, the young upstart, the driver that would be the one to beat the all-dominant Schumacher. That, he did. Alonso claimed both the 2005 and 2006 world titles before moving to McLaren for 2007 to partner F1’s new hope, Lewis Hamilton. We all know how that story went, what with the massive fall-outs and scandals resulting in Alonso sulking off back to Renault and so on.

This stint back at the Enstone team wasn’t nearly as successful and only resulted in two wins, one of which was as a result of ‘crash-gate’ but we won’t open that can of worms again now…

If you look at Alonso’s first year with McLaren in 2007 combined with his 2010 and 2012 seasons with Ferrari, he missed out on all those titles by a total of eight points. Just eight points difference would’ve made him a five-time world champion. That just shows that the record books don’t tell half the story when it comes to Alonso!

Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary.
Saturday 28 July 2018.
Fernando Alonso, McLaren, puts on his helmet in the garage.
Photo: Steven Tee/McLaren
ref: Digital Image _2ST0511

But, with all that behind him, what’s next for a rather frustrated Alonso?

The best bet is by far and away IndyCar. 37-year old Alonso has long said that he wishes to complete the unofficial ‘Triple Crown’ of motorsport – Indy 500, Le Mans 24 Hours and Monaco GP. Of these three, Alonso has two after winning Monaco twice in 2006 and 2007 before taking the Le Mans 24 Hours victory on his first attempt with Toyota earlier this year. The only one missing for him is the Indy 500 which he attempted in 2017 to no avail.

With the new universal aero kits in IndyCar, doing the Indy 500 as a one-off, as Alonso did in 2017, and being competitive is a lot harder, meaning that if Alonso wants to stand a chance at drinking the milk, he needs to do the full season. 2016 IndyCar Series champion, Simon Pagenaud, has said that he thinks it would take Alonso three years to get up to speed and win a championship, referring to title-contender Alexander Rossi, who’s in his third season of IndyCar after a spell in F1, as a prime example.

A sticking point surrounding all this could be Honda. After numerous media attacks at the manufacturer following their time together in F1, Honda might not be so willing to accept Alonso with open arms however, the huge potential for media coverage and success may well outweigh any pre-standing grudges. The biggest problem is that Alonso’s under contract with Toyota for WEC, and you can’t imagine them being overly pleased at Alonso driving for one of their biggest rivals.

The way around this problem would be Alonso driving for a Chevrolet-powered team, such as Penske, and it would be a viable solution for the Spaniard because they’re just as competitive and just about every team manager on the grid will be phoning him up, so he’s got the pick of the lot!

Another option for Alonso would be to take a step back and just do the remainder of the Super-Season with Toyota in WEC however, given that’s only three races in 2019, that’s probably not the most appealing option for Alonso – who would be racing every weekend if he could.

It won’t take long for Alonso to tell the world what he plans to do next season given he’s almost certainly already made that decision, at least in himself. He’s got the entire IndyCar silly season on pause and has left some large, if expected, shockwaves in F1 but the world will keep turning without him there and soon, his void will be filled by another.

Wherever he ends up going, Alonso will be met with a huge amount of support and will provide a huge boost to the given series but, most of all, he will be hungry of victory, for wins, for championships…

Featured image courtesy of Glenn Dunbar/Mclaren

Posted on

Mazda Road to Indy: Igor Fraga

Igor Fraga has been at the sharp end of the USF2000 class all season, sitting in third in the championship with the two races at Portland remaining. Fraga races under the Brazilian flag and, despite growing up in Japan, made the switch to the Mazda Road to Indy programme for this season, having dominated Formula 3 Brazil Light last year.

Emily Inganni – How has this season of USF2000 been for you so far?

Igor Fraga – I believe that overall, it’s being really good season for me. I am a no budget driver, and to cut some costs, my dad it’s my mechanic, sometimes we slept on the rental car, I don’t have any coach and even with all the difficulties, I’m still running in the 3rd place on championship.

EI – How hard has it been to be a rookie in the series? Do you feel you’ve adapted well?

IF – I’m definitely learning each day in this series. It’s being a tough year, but I think I adapted well in the series. I’m enjoying each moment that the series is providing, on track and off track.

Image courtesy of Igor Fraga

EI – Do you have any plans for next year yet? Do you want to stay in USF2000, move up to Pro Mazda or something else?

IF – Until now, I don’t have any plans yet. How I said on top, I’m a no budget driver, so I depend on many circumstances. But if I have the opportunity, I really want to move up to the next category.

EI – How have you found the Mazda Road to Indy programme in your first year, do you think that it’s a good way for young drivers to progress?

IF – I believe that the Mazda Road to Indy is one of the best ways to become a professional racing driver. Not only on track but I’m having some off-track activities where I’m learning to deal better with the medias and etc.

EI – How does racing in America compare to racing back in Brazil? Is it what you expected it to be?

IF – I was expecting that the team and driver level was going to be really high. The engineers have a lot of knowledge and I’m enjoying competing here in the Mazda Road to Indy. I was just surprise about the off-track activities that prepare the driver professionally.

Image courtesy of Igor Fraga

EI – Where did you start racing, was it in Japan or Brazil? Also, what inspired you to race in the first place?

IF – I started in the go karting when I was living in Japan (3 years old). I was really small when I started, so I don’t remember to be honest. I just know that since I was young, I already liked to play with toy cars, racing games and I wanted to do the same in real life.

EI – Does racing in Europe appeal to you or would you rather stay in America?

IF – The racing in general interests me. I really like to drive something fast! I think that have some really good categories on both continents, and I’m really glad to have this opportunity to be here on US chasing my dream.

Image courtesy of Igor Fraga

EI – To finish, what advice would you give to young drivers starting racing? Are there any things you wish you knew when you started?

IF – Karting it’s always a good category to start. Also, with all the technology going on, the simulators it’s being really precise. My main advice is practice and prepare yourself the best way you can and don’t give up. It can be really difficult, but don’t give up and keep trying.

A big thanks to Igor for answering my questions. The next interview of the series is coming up tomorrow so stay tuned…

(Featured Image courtesy of Igor Fraga)

Posted on

Mazda Road to Indy: Bruna Tomaselli

As one of only two women in the Mazda Road to Indy programme, Bruna Tomaselli may be in the minority, but she doesn’t let that faze her. Bruna’s been in and around the top 10 all season in USF2000, the lowest category on the ladder, and has high hopes beyond that with her sights set on IndyCar in the years to come.

Emily Inganni – How is this season of USF2000 going for you so far? Is it what you expected or not?

Bruna Tomaselli – The season is very competitive, since the first race there have always been little differences between the first and last, I have been constant during the season, we had good results, we added good points, and now there are 2 stages to the end and I hope to continue fighting between the top 10.

Image courtesy of Bruna Tomaselli

EI – What are your hopes for the remainder of the season?

BT – I hope to keep constant and competitive and I will fight for podium.

EI – What do you think of the Mazda Road to Indy programme? Is it a good platform for young drivers to progress?

BT – Yes, the Mazda Road to Indy is very good, I believe it to be one of the most competitive and well organized there is. Here the drivers have a chance to win cash prizes and a good amount also to make the next category, which is very important.

Image courtesy of Bruna Tomaselli

EI – What is your aim for your career? Do you want to get to IndyCar, go over the Europe or something else?

BT – My dream since childhood has always been to reach Formula 1, as we are now trying in the United States, I hope to get IndyCar one day, and be racing and compete because that’s what I like to do.

EI – Do you feel like you are treated differently as a woman in motorsport? Does it provide any different opportunities or challenges?

BT – In go-karting it is more visible, because the cars move closer, but in the open wheels I don’t waste so much, of course the boys don’t like to lose to a girl, the same way I don’t like to lose to anyone, but inside the track we are all drivers, and everyone wants to win and I’m there to win too.

Image courtesy of Bruna Tomaselli

EI – Thinking back to when you started racing, who were your idols and where did you dream of racing? Has any of that changed over time?

BT – My idol has always been Ayrton Senna, because he is Brazilian and because he is a legend, but as I could not watch his races, I always cheered for Felipe Massa and Bia Figueiredo who was an IndyCar driver.

I always liked cars and races, since I was kid, I used to play with little cars, and asked my father to drive his car. He noticed that I liked it and one day he took me to see a go-kart race. A few days later he said he was going to give me a kart as a gift, in the beginning it was more for fun, small races, in the region of my city, Caibi, Santa Catarina, Brazil, later I started to compete in bigger races and with 15 years started competing in open wheels. Now I’m 20 and this year is my second year in USF2000 and in every race I feel the adrenaline and how much I love to compete.

EI – Finally, what advice would you have for anyone starting racing or looking at racing in the Mazda Road to Indy programme?

BT – What I can say is that it is a very competitive programme, the races are all full of adrenaline and that is a good programme for anyone who wants to get to IndyCar one day, because you run in the same Indy weekend, know the track, the activities.

A massive thank you to Bruna for answering my questions! Another interview is coming up tomorrow so keep an eye out for that!

(Featured image courtesy of Bruna Tomaselli)

Posted on

Mazda Road to Indy: An Introduction

While most of you will have heard of IndyCar, its support ladder, the Mazda Road to Indy, is lesser known, especially in Europe. The programme is made up of three racing series that incrementally get closer to IndyCar; the lowest is USF2000 with Pro Mazda next and then Indy Lights as the closest to IndyCar.

This whole set up aims to produce the next generation of IndyCar drivers and give aspiring talent a stage where all the IndyCar teams can see their performances and successes in the same paddock as IndyCar. The Mazda Road to Indy as we know it started in 2010 but the individual series have been going much longer, just not as a united body. One of the key perks of the Mazda Road to Indy is the scholarships provided to champions in it; each champion of the individual series is provided with a scholarship to the next series up, meaning that results are rewarded.

However, a recent announcement has given the Road to Indy programme a huge hit; after seven years, Mazda are withdrawing their sponsorship of the programme to pursue other ventures. This means the programme’s future is in some doubt because it cannot function without a title sponsor, but the IndyCar management seem optimistic that the ladder will not be without a title sponsor for long and are confident of its continuation. Something that does need to be addressed in the near future is the rising costs of both Pro Mazda and Indy Lights which is making it harder for teams and drivers to compete in those series – if the programme is to remain viable, the costs need to be cut somehow.

Regardless of these problems, all three series are going strong this year with one champion already crowned and two title fights that look like they could go right down to the last rounds at Portland.

USF2000 is the bottom rung of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder and has been running, in different variations, since 1990. 11 full-time teams field 23 drivers between them over 14 races, most of which shadow IndyCar, with the season ending at the penultimate IndyCar round of Portland. With the two Portland races still to go, series rookie Kyle Kirkwood has already clinched the championship in what is the most crowded series on the ladder, leaving Rasmus Lindh, Igor Fraga and others to fight for second.

In the middle of the programme is Pro Mazda which replaced the Star Mazda Championship in 2012, after that had run since 1991. The series champion is, as previously mentioned, awarded a scholarship to advance Indy Lights for the following season so it is a very important series to win for drivers coming up the ladder. Pro Mazda has 18 drivers and 9 teams, including Juncos Racing who are present in IndyCar. Rinus VeeKay has a 25-point lead over Parker Thompson with three races yet to run in a championship that looks set to go right down to the wire.

The top, but smallest, tier of Mazda Road to Indy is Indy Lights which has been running as an IndyCar sanctioned series since 2002. This series, however, does have a problem or two – the field has been diminishing in numbers for the last few years, this year there are just seven full-time drivers and only full-time three teams, albeit including both Andretti and Juncos. Patricio O’Ward currently has a 32-point lead over Colton Herta in what has been a very close title battle, but changes are on the horizon for Indy Lights with a new five-year plan being set out. The aim is to reduce budgets while increasing prize money, testing and revising the IndyCar licence guidelines – all to make the path to IndyCar more accessible for the talent coming through.

The list of Mazda Road to Indy graduates who now grace the IndyCar grid is a very, very long one. Josef Newgarden, James Hinchcliffe, Ed Jones, Charlie Kimball, Kyle Kaiser, Matheus Leist, Carlos Munoz, Spencer Pigot, Zach Veach and Zachary Claman De Melo, along with many others, have all been a part of one or more rungs of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder since it all joined up in 2010 so, clearly, it works.

The programme is the place to look for the up and coming IndyCar drivers with countless more names ready to be added to the above list when they too make the step up to IndyCar in years to come.

To showcase this, we will be publishing a series of interviews with drivers in various stages of the programme over the next week and, you never know, you may well be able to see some, or all, of them in IndyCar in a few years’ time!

(Featured Image courtesy of Igor Fraga)

©2014-2024 ThePitCrewOnline