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Support racing…(continued)…
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The Road to Indy is the ladder system that trains drivers to be ready to drive IndyCars. It is made up of four series of increasing complexity and capability - USF Juniors, USF2000, Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights. Indy Lights and Indy Pro 2000 will be at Gateway, this weekend, for their 2nd oval race of the year.
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Indy Pro 2000 is the upper middle rung of the ladder. The car is the Tatuus IP-22 which is essentially a stouter version of the first-tier USF-22 from USF2000. The chassis is the same, so teams who compete in USF2000 can easily convert their car to run in Indy Pro 2000 without a huge upcharge for a new car. The MZR-PM18A engine is a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder that puts out 275 hp and almost 200 pounds of torque - and a wonderful noise. The wings and the tires are all bigger, so the downforce, braking and grip are all better than in the USF-22. The drivers in “IP2K” are usually experienced junior formula drivers from all over the world. As a result, the level of competition is very high, with many series drivers capable of podiums and WINS. It is harder for a driver to run away with the title. The fields are smaller than USF2000 but the team commitment is higher.
After 14 rounds of racing, the current points leader is rookie Louis Foster from Great Britain for Canadian team Exclusive Autosport. This year, Louis already has 10 podiums including 6 WINS. Louie’s closest pursuer, 71 points back, is sophomore Reece Gold for Juncos Hollinger Racing with 8 TOP FIVEs and 4 podiums including 2 WINS. With as much as 48 points on the line for this weekend, Gold could seriously eat into Foster’s lead, with a little luck.
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Louis Foster in his Tatuus IP-22 for Exclusive Autosport
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Indy Lights is the top rung of the ladder and a fitting series to prepare to drive an IndyCar in battle. The car is the all-carbon composite Dallara IL-15. Its 2.0 liter 4-cylinder engine, built by AER, is turbo-charged, like the big cars, and produces 450 hp with an additional 50 horsepower available with Push-to-Pass in certain situations, again, just like the big cars. (Push-to-Pass is not used on ovals, however). It has more wing and tires than all the other Road to Indy cars and so more downforce, braking and grip. It also has much more downloadable information available for engineers to use, and as such is an important training tool for them, too. The drivers come from all over the world to compete and are usually among the highest level of junior formula drivers anywhere. The value of Indy Lights is evident when looking at the roster in IndyCars, where so many of the drivers are former Lights pilots, including many former champions.
After 10 rounds of racing, the current points leader is Swedish sophomore Linus Lundqvist for HMD Motorsports with 5 WINS from 7 podiums, including the last race at Nashville. Linus is on a roll and has an almost insurmountable points lead. Ninety-five points back in 2nd place is rookie Hunter McElrea for Andretti Autosport, due to getting 6 podiums, including 2 WINS.
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Linus Lundqvist in his Dallara IL-15 for HMD Motorsports
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Friday will be a day of testing for the Indy Pro 2000 cars and a day of practice and qualifying for both the Indy Lights and the IndyCars. Let’s get this thing ON THE BOIL!
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