The Alessandro Zanardi IndyCar Thread

F1000X · Post by **F1000X** » 16 Mar 2015, 15:16

Wallio wrote:With both the body kits out now, it will be interesting to see which is faster. Both look cobbled together frankly. The Chevy wing has to be draggy as f**k all and Honda is bragging about how much they used their 2000s F1 experience in design. Why in God's name would you brag about that?

First test with the new units is tomorrow. 23 cars signed up.

To be fair, the DW12 is a pretty ugly chassis, so I think it's safe to say neither manufacturer was going to make a looker.

Samster · Post by **Samster** » 16 Mar 2015, 20:58

Dale Coyne's facebook page has just announced Francesco Dracone alongside Carlos Huertas. Seems they have gone back to their days of random pay drivers like Geoff Boss, Gualter Salles and various Speraficos. :roll:

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 17 Mar 2015, 10:31

Simon Pagenaud was the fastest Penske driver in both test sessions - take that Power.

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 17 Mar 2015, 11:49

Feedback from both manufacturers is that the cars are a lot harder to set up now. Could be a fun first couple of races until they fill the notebooks.

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 17 Mar 2015, 15:20

Samster wrote:Dale Coyne's facebook page has just announced Francesco Dracone alongside Carlos Huertas. Seems they have gone back to their days of random pay drivers like Geoff Boss, Gualter Salles and various Speraficos.

Not to forget Christian Danner.

Good to see Dale Coyne re-hire their race winner Carlos Huertas. I was so happy for him when he won last year at Houston - and he just shrugged it off as if it was nothing special for a rookie to win in what has been perceived as the worst car on the grid for a long time.

Yet, the Dracone decision seems like the Coyne of old. However, as it is just for 4 races, Coyne may well be looking into hiring other drivers for later in the year. I hope Dale hires somebody else for the Indy 500. Maybe an oval specialist? Who could that be?

AxelP800 · Post by **AxelP800** » 18 Mar 2015, 06:13

EJ Viso!
I quite surprised that Chevy is leading the way for now. Anyway those aerokits looks furious! Loveee it

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 18 Mar 2015, 17:53

So, the season is going to be a "ChevWinsLol".

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 19 Mar 2015, 11:19

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/mo ... /24931273/

Dale Coyne has come out and said that Francesco Dracone's appearances with the team fill a gap for the first 4 races because the team already has got another driver lined up to drive for them in May, and that around next week, the other driver and the sponsor will be announced. It won't be Justin Wilson, though, because he wants to join Andretti.

Also, Townsend Bell is rumored to be the driver of the Dreyer & Reinbold Chevy entry for the Indy 500 this year.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 19 Mar 2015, 11:29

Yannick wrote:Dale Coyne has come out and said that Francesco Dracone's appearances with the team fill a gap for the first 4 races because the team already has got another driver lined up to drive for them in May, and that around next week, the other driver and the sponsor will be announced. It won't be Justin Wilson, though, because he wants to join Andretti.

Please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 27 Mar 2015, 12:03

I have the same feeling - though probably in the other way...

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 28 Mar 2015, 11:24

Former Minardi and Jaguar driver Justin Wilson has since signed up to drive the #25 Andretti Autosport car at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, (which is the official successor of the event formerly called the USGP which is notorious for having been the F1 race of the 6 cars back in 2005) and the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Sweepstakes.

Also, the 1st practise session of the 2015 IndyCar season has been run, and Will Power's #1 Penske was the fastest Chevy in P1, whilst Jack Hawksworth's #41 Foyt was the quickest Honda in P6. A 2nd practise session was also started and ended but since it rained and the teams don't have any (or at least, not enough) spare parts for their new aero kits yet, no one took to the track to avoid damaging their (for the time being) precious cars. If you ask me, it looks like there's a Reject of the Race Award somewhere in there, to say the least. Here's hoping the teams can get some more running in today.

Post by **Londoner** » 29 Mar 2015, 20:44

So the first race of the aerokit era has seen three Jacques Debris cautions in the first 45 laps. Oh dear.

Simona, what the bathplug was that?!

Post by **Londoner** » 29 Mar 2015, 20:56

It wouldn't be a proper IndyCar race without Graham Rahal driving like a total jackass.

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 29 Mar 2015, 21:30

This extremely fragile bodywork is an issue needing to be taken care of.
If street courses are combined with this, there won't be much racing once drivers get used to the new cars.

But it is refreshing to finally see Newgarden have a competitive pit crew.

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 29 Mar 2015, 21:36

Salamander wrote:
Yannick wrote:Dale Coyne has come out and said that Francesco Dracone's appearances with the team fill a gap for the first 4 races because the team already has got another driver lined up to drive for them in May, and that around next week, the other driver and the sponsor will be announced. It won't be Justin Wilson, though, because he wants to join Andretti.

Please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly please be Conor Daly

Hate to break it to you, but...
Hi there!

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 29 Mar 2015, 22:15

Congrats to Juan Pablo Montoya for winning the Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Florida. He now also leads in the Verizon IndyCar Series Mario Andretti Street and Road Course Trophy. I shall update you on the points standings of this trophy and the oval trophy, too, (both of which are unofficial ever since Randy Bernard has left the Brickyard) at a later date, when the points standings in both trophies actually are different (read: after the Indy 500 at the end of May).

Didn't the manufacturers see this coming, with the parts flying around everywhere? The Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations certainly didn't see other cars coming ;-)

In the broadcast, they displayed an info graphic about halfway through the race that was very reminiscent of this forum's very own Nosecone Championship. At that point, Honda had already changed 7 front wings vs Chevy 1.
Is the user Bleu still around, who instigated the original Nosecone Championship? If so, are you also interested in IndyCar? ;-)

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 29 Mar 2015, 22:58

I started to watch with 30 laps to go and I gave up after some laps.

It's only my impression or the race was very boring?

F1000X · Post by **F1000X** » 30 Mar 2015, 00:01

Dj_bereta wrote:I started to watch with 30 laps to go and I gave up after some laps.

It's only my impression or the race was very boring?

Welcome to Indycar. Street circuit after street circuit with endless caution laps, mindless driving, and brainless commentating.

So glad my favorite series to hate-watch is back.

lgaquino · Post by **lgaquino** » 30 Mar 2015, 13:36

F1000X wrote:
Dj_bereta wrote:I started to watch with 30 laps to go and I gave up after some laps.

It's only my impression or the race was very boring?

Welcome to Indycar. Street circuit after street circuit with endless caution laps, mindless driving, and brainless commentating.

So glad my favorite series to hate-watch is back.

Don't forget the ads!
at a certain point the went for an ad break during green. missed an accident that brought back yellows, and because of the yellows went to another break!

it's really difficult to watch

nome66 · Post by **nome66** » 31 Mar 2015, 03:43

lgaquino wrote:
F1000X wrote:
Dj_bereta wrote:I started to watch with 30 laps to go and I gave up after some laps.

It's only my impression or the race was very boring?

Welcome to Indycar. Street circuit after street circuit with endless caution laps, mindless driving, and brainless commentating.

So glad my favorite series to hate-watch is back.

Don't forget the ads!
at a certain point the went for an ad break during green. missed an accident that brought back yellows, and because of the yellows went to another break!

it's really difficult to watch

welcome to the united states. post-80's, most motorsport gets treated this way. have at a guess which one this occurs to the least.....

AxelP800 · Post by **AxelP800** » 31 Mar 2015, 08:57

Dj_bereta wrote:I started to watch with 30 laps to go and I gave up after some laps.

It's only my impression or the race was very boring?

The race is interesting for around 65 first laps, after that it's the quest for fuel survival. But it's still good race. Looking forward more to IndyCar this year

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 07 Apr 2015, 18:18

Was I the only one thrilled to see a red and white (and black) Penske-Chevy wearing the number 1 again? Its like the pre split years.......almost.

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 08 Apr 2015, 14:35

Wallio wrote:Was I the only one thrilled to see a red and white (and black) Penske-Chevy wearing the number 1 again? Its like the pre split years.......almost.

It's always cool to have a car in the race that proudly wears the #1.

In the meantime, the two one-off drivers Sage Karam (in the #8 for Ganassi) and Simona De Silvestro (in the #25 for Andretti) have been confirmed for the NOLA Indy as well which is going ahead this weekend for the 1st time.

Over at Andretti, Simona has also been confirmed for the Indy 500 in the #29 car, and Justin Wilson has been confirmed for the Indy GP and the Indy 500 (see above).

Also, JR Hildebrand is going to run both the Indy GP on the road course at Speedway, Indiana, and the Indianapolis 500 for Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing.

And:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/115191-indycar-99th-indy-500-approaching-33-cars wrote:Ryan Briscoe, the 2012 Indy 500 polesitter and nine-time starter, is also interested with the right situation and it could be with veteran Keith Wiggins running an extra car for an existing team.

If this one-off deal comes together for the former Toyota-F1 Friday driver Briscoe and Keith Wiggins, the former owner of Pacific Grand Prix (the team, not the race) and HVM Racing, it will be of special significance to the members of this forum.

Post by **Miguel98** » 08 Apr 2015, 16:42

Yay, JR.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 08 Apr 2015, 19:00

Meh. There are far more deserving drivers out there than Hildebrand - drivers that, given an opportunity to win the Indy 500, would not stuff it into the wall at the last possible moment.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 08 Apr 2015, 21:16

Yannick wrote:And:
http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/115191-indycar-99th-indy-500-approaching-33-cars wrote:Ryan Briscoe, the 2012 Indy 500 polesitter and nine-time starter, is also interested with the right situation and it could be with veteran Keith Wiggins running an extra car for an existing team.
If this one-off deal comes together for the former Toyota-F1 Friday driver Briscoe and Keith Wiggins, the former owner of Pacific Grand Prix (the team, not the race) and HVM Racing, it will be of special significance to the members of this forum.

And don't forget that Keith Wiggins was also involved in setting up the Mastercard Lola team during 1996, prior to their brief foray into F1!

girry · Post by **girry** » 10 Apr 2015, 08:00

Salamander wrote:Meh. There are far more deserving drivers out there than Hildebrand - drivers that, given an opportunity to win the Indy 500, would not stuff it into the wall at the last possible moment.

I'll be interested in seeing your list of free agents better around the Speedway than Hildebrand

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 10 Apr 2015, 10:38

giraurd wrote:
Salamander wrote:Meh. There are far more deserving drivers out there than Hildebrand - drivers that, given an opportunity to win the Indy 500, would not stuff it into the wall at the last possible moment.

I'll be interested in seeing your list of free agents better around the Speedway than Hildebrand

Ryan Briscoe, Oriol Servia, AJ Allmendinger (Assuming he and his team are cool with doing the double), Zach Veach, maybe Jack Harvey and Conor Daly.

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 10 Apr 2015, 20:01

Salamander wrote:
giraurd wrote:
Salamander wrote:Meh. There are far more deserving drivers out there than Hildebrand - drivers that, given an opportunity to win the Indy 500, would not stuff it into the wall at the last possible moment.

I'll be interested in seeing your list of free agents better around the Speedway than Hildebrand

Ryan Briscoe, Oriol Servia, AJ Allmendinger (Assuming he and his team are cool with doing the double), Zach Veach, maybe Jack Harvey and Conor Daly.

Honestly, as it is only for the 500, I think only Servia is a better choice from the names above.
And to be clear, I find it 100% justified that Hildebrand has no full-time ride as he is mediocre at best, but proved to be capable in Indy. When not wrecking.

girry · Post by **girry** » 11 Apr 2015, 08:37

Harvey has been weak on ovals at Lights, Daly's so far sole attempt at the 500 left a lot to be desired and Veach must be on the list for the amusement value. Wouldn't rank Servia or Briscoe (nor Tags nor Aleshin) that much above Hildebrand, either.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 11 Apr 2015, 09:49

Harvey and Veach have shown promise, maybe not on ovals, but they deserve a shot to prove their worth more than Hildebrand deserves another chance to choke away a win. Servia and Briscoe can at least be trusted not to chuck the car in the wall at the last possible moment. And as Conor Daly's #1 fan on this forum, I am required by law to mention him in any list of deserving drivers for any racing series that is not F1.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 12 Apr 2015, 09:32

I can't help but think it is a bit unfair to only remember Hildebrand by one mistake, sure it was a rejectful moment, but he does have good pace on his day. But I would also like to see Servia and Allmendinger back just out of nostalgia to the CART days

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 12 Apr 2015, 09:57

Doesn't stop people burying Cogan on that one mistake - and in this instance Hildebrand doesn't even have a car failure to hide behind.

girry · Post by **girry** » 12 Apr 2015, 13:24

Hildebrand's error was so legendary it's fair he will be remembered of it forever, but I still entirely fail to understand the stance that he should not get any more chances for what happened in 2011 - even Cogan would keep getting rides for good 10 years after his incident.

You could probably name 10 drivers on the final entry list who wouldn't necessarily "deserve" another 500 but Hildebrand isn't one of them

Post by **Londoner** » 12 Apr 2015, 15:46

Meanwhile, it's more than a little bit damp at the NOLA circuit in New Orleans...

Race start time has already been moved forward an hour to 7:45pm UK time, and the morning warm-up has been cancelled.

Post by **Londoner** » 12 Apr 2015, 19:21

We're less than a quarter of the way through the race, and Gabby Chaves has just provided us with a moment of sheer comedy. Dear me, that made the Chinese marshalling this morning seem halfway competent. :lol:

Post by **Miguel98** » 12 Apr 2015, 19:23

We thought we had seen it all this morning in China. My dear friends, we have now something worst. Chaves spun, spun 20 000 times in the grass, then stopped to let the leaders through. A marshall came and was like "Yellows? bathplug no" and pushed Gabby back onto the race track... And then, Gabby stalled it. Top kek.

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 12 Apr 2015, 19:27

Meanwhile we still have no idea whether Gabby is male or female.
I was happy to see a picture posted to the r-r page he/she has... Still don't know. Look:Gabby

Post by **Londoner** » 12 Apr 2015, 19:32

What was Dracone doing at the restart?

Hawksworth.

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 12 Apr 2015, 19:33

East Londoner wrote:What was Dracone doing at the restart?

The good old "Dale Coyne Experience", what else?