+++
.
We are overdue to get back to Pato O’Ward’s video series, “Behind the Visor”…
.
…wherein the 2018 Indy Lights Champion recounts his full title-winning season, race by race, good and bad in this slick and excellent series. We last left Pato victorious at Iowa and headed to Toronto in post # 388, as he tries to reclaim his season from teammate Colton Herta.
.
Take a look:
.
.
.
.
.
So good.
.
.
.
M
+++
.
We are exactly halfway through one of the world’s great endurance races…
.
…at the time of this posting, as the 2019 Bathurst 12 Hour at Mount Panorama, New South Wales, Australia is ongoing. The race is the opening round of 2019’s Intercontinental GT Challenge, and is open to 4 classes of cars, including GT3 pro classes and pro-am classes, a Porsche GT3 Cup class, a GT4 class and a class for an invited car. This year the invited car is the MARC II V8 car, a V8-powered Australian purpose-built Ford Focus race car.
There is ONE IndyCar driver in the 2019 12-Hour - Paul Tracy in the # 91 MARC Car for MARC Cars Australia. Paul is sharing the MARC Car with Supercars driver Anton De Pasquale, Keith Kassulke and Paul “the Dude” Morris.
.
The # 91 MARC Car II V8 Ford Focus for MARC Cars Australia
.
.
Broadcaster and IndyCar Champion Paul Tracy
.
.
.
AT THIS MOMENT, Paul Morris is in the car and it is leading the class in a hotly-contested battle with the # 20 MARC Car for T2 Racing by Liajen Motorsport. The overall leaders of the race are the guys in the # 62 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for R-Motorsport .
.
.
.
We’ll let you know how this ends.
.
.
.
M
+++
.
Clearly, this must be our fault…We jinxed 'em…
.
About half an hour after we gleefully reported (see post above) that IndyCar driver Paul Tracy’s ride in the 2019 LiquiMoly Bathurst 12 hour, the # 91 MARC Car II V8 for MARC Cars Australia was leading the race in the Invitational class, the car suffered and electrical gremlin that made it impossible to shift, and that took it out of the lead and eventually out of the race.
The I class was WON by the guys in the # 20 MARC Car for T2 Racing by Liajen Motorsport. Due to attrition, Tracy and teammates Paul Morris, Anton De Pasquale and Keith Kassulke will still collect a P2 from the race.
The A class and overall WINNER of the race was the # 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Earl Bamber Motorsports, with Dirk Werner, Dennis Olsen and Matt Campbell driving. It was Campbell who took the lead coming all the way from P5 in a great end to the contest.
.
The EBM team celebrates for Porsche
.
.
.
Here are the race highlights from Mount Panorama: (yes, the race always starts in the dark, wee hours of the morning)
.
.
.
.
This is Porsche’s first WIN at the great event and also the last time this iteration of the 911 GT3 R will drive there.
.
.
.
M
+++
.
We have yet another CONFIRM in USF2000 for 2019…
.
BN Racing - the only team to have cars in all three series that make up the Road to Indy ladder system - has announced their first confirmation for one of their two planned USF2000 seats for 2019. It is Venezuelan karter Anthony Famularo.
.
Anthony Famularo (right) with twin brother Alessandro - both racers
.
.
.
15-year-old Anthony is a multi-time champion in karting and has formula car experience in
the Italian F4 Championship in 2018, where he had an excellent coach, as explained by BN Racing’s Bryn Nuttall:
“We are welcoming Anthony to BN Racing with open arms. Anthony has proven to be fast in preseason testing, and I am confident that he will surprise a lot of people in his rookie season. He comes with a great coach and mentor in former F1 race winner and multi-time Indianapolis 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya.”
.
Anthony in his Italian F4 Tatuus F4-T014
.
.
.
M
+++
.
Lucas Kohl is jumping past a step and heading to Indy Lights…
.
The 20-year-old Brazilian has been a fixture in USF2000 for the last three years - the first with John Cummiskey Racing and the last two as one of the “Speed Boys” at Pabst Racing and speedy he was, indeed. Lucas has twenty five TOP TENS, ten TOP FIVES and five podiums, with a best finish of P2, as that first WIN always eluded him.
.
Lucas Kohl
.
.
.
Today, Belardi Auto Racing has announced that Lucas will drive for the team as a rookie in Indy Lights for 2019, skipping completely a season of Indy Pro 2000 (formerly “Pro Mazda”). Kohl tested for Belardi at the Chris Griffis Memorial test last September and the team apparently liked what they saw.
.
Lucas at the Chris Griffis in Belardi’s # 4 IL-15
.
.
.
Said Kohl, “I know that as a rookie it is going to be challenging, but with the experience that Belardi Auto Racing has I feel that they can help me to learn as much as possible as fast as possible.”
.
.
.
Lucas joins already CONFIRMED Dave Malukas for BN Racing, Rinus VeeKay for Juncos Racing, Ryan Norman and Rob Megennis for Andretti Autosport and his new teammate, Zachary Claman DeMelo. Belardi is planning on a third car for 2019 - the driver yet to be named.
.
.
.
M
+++
.
For 44 years it has been known as the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach…
.
…but no longer. Today IndyCar announced a new title sponsor for the race, as in 2019 it will be the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
.
.
One of the oldest street races in the world, the Grand Prix of Long Beach started out as a Formula 5000 race, developed for a time as a Formula 1 race and then in 1996 became an IndyCar race to this day. In all that time the race was sponsored by a group of Southern California Toyota dealers, with the support of the parent company, but at the conclusion of the 2018 event Toyota decided to bow out.
That left room for Acura and HPD - Honda Performance Development - to step in, and it is entirely fitting, as Honda was the IndyCar series Manufacturer Champions in 2018, after years of battling Chevy for that title. In addition, Acura will be represented in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race to be held on the same April 12-14, 2019 weekend as the IndyCars.
.
Here’s a quick promo of the change:
.
https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1092893405363998726
.
.
.
Acura has signed a multi-year agreement and we expect them to be around for a very long time, as the Grand Prix of Long Beach is one of the most popular and best-attended races on the calendar.
.
.
.
M
+++
.
Dario Franchitti had a WINNING weekend…
.
The four-time IndyCar Champion and three-time Indy 500 WINNER has added to the brood, as Dario and Eleanor Franchitti welcomed new baby Valentina to the family this last weekend.
.
Big sister Sofia with Valentina Franchitti
.
.
Eleanor and Dario
.
.
.
Our huge CONGATS to the great Scot and MBE!
.
.
.
M
+++
.
Kyle Kaiser has helmet in hand and is heading to Laguna Seca…
.
The 2017 Indy Lights Champion has been tapped to test the Juncos Racing # 32 Chevrolet IndyCar at the big IndyCar test at Laguna Seca tomorrow. The team has yet to announce their 2019 plans and / or driver line-up, but the fact that they are expending funds to test indicates they will have at least one car in the series. In addition, Juncos has recently readied a 2nd chassis to up-to-date aero specs, so a 2nd car in the series is possible, too.
.
Kyle Kaiser
.
.
.
Juncos will be lucky to have Kaiser in the car tomorrow, as he performed well in the 4 races he ran for the team last season - especially at the Indy 500 - but in addition, Kaiser is from nearby Santa Clara, California and considers Laguna Seca to be his home track and one he knows extremely well.
Kyle is coming off his first stab at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, where he was on the Juncos Racing squad in their first race of their # 50 Cadillac DPi V.R. The car had the typical teething problems of a new effort and was garaged at one point, but recovered to finish running at the end of the race in P8 in class.
.
.
With his typical enthusiasm, here Kyle reports on his Rolex 24:
.
https://twitter.com/KyleKRacing/status/1089620967746342915
.
.
.
We hope that Juncos can put the “Kalifornia Kid” back in the car for 2019. Have a great test, Kyle!
.
.
.
M
+++
.
DEForce Racing has made their first CONFIRM for USF2000 in 2019…
.
Last week the team confirmed both Moises De La Vara and Kory Enders for two of their Indy Pro 2000 rides (see post # 428) and this week they have their first guy for USF2000 as they acquire the current points leader in the 2018-2019 FIA Formula NACAM series, Mexico’s Manuel Sulaiman. Manuel is driving for RAM and leading the series with 3 WINS and 4 podiums in the 5 series races run so far.
.
Manuel Sulaiman
.
.
.
Prior to his first year of formula cars, driving in the British F4 series in 2017, the 18-year-old was a multi-champion in the Mexican karting scene.
Said Manuel, “It means a lot to me to participate in such a high-level competition of motorsport in formula cars and having a goal of winning the championship with a Mexican team (DEForce Racing). I am willing, motivated, and hungry to win and show what can we do together.”
.
.
.
Manuel joins already confirmed:
Alex Baron for Legacy Motorsport
Eduardo Barrichello and Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri Motorsport
Colin Kaminsky and Yuven Sundaramoorthy for Pabst Racing
Christian Bogle for Jay Howard Driver Development
Anthony Famularo for BN Racing
Reece Gold for Cape Motorsports
Jason Reichert for Marotti Racing
.
.
.
The grid is finally filling up!
.
.
.
M
+++
.
Charlie Kimball lays out his schedule for 2019…
.
Back in post # 398 we mentioned that Charlie Kimball would be driving a limited schedule for Carlin in 2019 in the NTT IndyCar series and today Kimball let us know which races those will be. Charlie will drive at the season-opener at St. Petersburg, the season closer at Laguna Seca and the three Super Speedway races of the Indy 500, the DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway and the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway - 5 races scheduled, so far.
.
Charlie Kimball
.
.
.
The race choices are wise choices for Carlin, as Kimball is nothing short of excellent on Super Speedways - always TOP TEN and frequently TOP FIVE. He will be sponsored by long-time sponsors Novo Nordisk for all five races.
.
.
.
Nether Kimball nor Carlin has said this is definitely all he will do, so the door is open for more, if the sponsorship should arise. The car may or may not be empty for the other 12 races on the schedule. That has yet to be reported.
.
.
.
M
+++
.
There are 23 drivers attending the first IndyCar test of 2019 at Laguna Seca today…
.
…and we are stoked to report that - as we surmised - one of them is Road to Indy superstar RC Enerson, driving the # 23 Chevrolet car for Carlin, alongside Max Chilton in the team’s # 59 car.
.
RC Enerson
.
.
.
We got a hint when Enerson showed up for a private and unannounced test for Carlin last fall at Circuit of the Americas. Then, we later saw that RC was hinting at a ride in IndyCars with a single picture at his new website (see post # 398).
As of this minute, Carlin has made no official announcements, but RC is in the car at Laguna Seca, testing it, and indeed he was laying down some of the fastest times this morning, and Carlin was crowing about it, online. Making their morning even better, Max was P1 at that time:
.
.
.
.
Enerson drove three races for Dale Coyne Racing in 2016 and immediately surprised and impressed all his competitors with his speed and racing acumen in the car. Since then, he has been involved in a legal dispute that has kept him out of the car, but that has been resolved and he is now free to drive, and it is looking now like indeed he will.
.
.
.
The day will likely produce a lot of news and lap leaders may change all day, but this has the potential of being a very exciting start to Spring Training.
.
.
.
M
+++
.
Rain has shortened the day at Laguna Seca…
.
…and most of the IndyCars have only managed to put in a about 40 laps in the Friday test there.
Here are the TOP FIVE:
.
1 - Max Chilton, Carlin - time of 01:11.2868s
.
2 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:11.3289s
.
3 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:11.3490s
.
4 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing w/ Arrow SPM - time of 01:11.3680s
.
5 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - no time given
.
.
.
Notable:
Very impressive was rookie Felix Rosenqvist, making his first-ever appearance at the iconic American track.
Both drivers for AJ Foyt Enterprises - Tony Kanaan and Matheus Leist - and both drivers for Harding Steinbrenner - Colton Herta and Pato O’Ward - decided not to test, due to the weather conditions, and will retain the test day for another day.
Chilton considers Laguna Seca to be a personal favorite, and he was on pole there TWICE in his Indy Lights days.
Max Chilton
.
.
.
M
+++
.
Some video coming out of the IndyCar test at Laguna Seca…
.
Despite the afternoon rain spoiling the party, there was some running in the morning and we have some video of that to show, taken by racefan Travis Baraki.
.
Take a look:
.
.
.
.
Nice stuff. Thanks for the effort, Travis.
.
.
.
M
+++
.
It’s time to get back to Pato O’Ward’s excellent video series, “Behind the Visor”…
.
…wherein the 2018 Indy Lights Champion has been detailing every race of his title-WINNING season, with its peaks and valleys all laid out.
We last left Pato in post # 429 - the two races at Toronto. Pato played it both fine and smart there, WINNING Race 1 and accepting a P2 in Race 2, rather than risk the loss of points for an over-exuberant move on race leader Santi Urrutia for Belardi Auto Racing. This week, Pato heads to Mid-Ohio for two races…finally back in the points lead over teammate Colton Herta… but just barely.
.
Take a look:
.
.
.
.
We’re closing in on the finish!
.
.
.
M
+++
.
Breaking today - Patricio O’Ward and Harding Steinbrenner are parting ways…
.
Today, the young 2018 Indy Lights Champion has announced that he will not be a part of Harding Steinbrenner Racing in 2019, after all.
.
Pato O’Ward
.
.
.
Details are very light, but it looks like HSR was unable to secure funding for a full season for the young Mexican and his 1 million dollar scholarship for winning the Lights title just takes him through three races, including the 2019 Indy 500. It appears that O’Ward is electing to try to find a full season ride elsewhere.
HRS co-owner George Steinbrenner IV was always first and foremost the supporter of Colton Herta - Not O’Ward - and it looks like Herta will be the full time and only driver in a Harding Steinbrenner Honda this year.
.
.
.
It will be extremely tough to find a ride this late in the game. Even a partial season will be tough to find.
.
.
.
M
+++
.
Kyle Kaiser is CONFIRMED to drive the # 32 Chevy for Juncos Racing at COTA…
.
The 2017 Indy Lights Champion is coming off half-day of testing for Juncos at Laguna Seca, on Saturday, and today the team is announcing that insurance brokers NFP will sponsor Kaiser in the Juncos Racing entry at the series inaugural race at Circuit of the Americas, in 2019. NFP sponsored Kaiser at the 2018 Indy 500.
.
left to right, Ricardo Juncos, CEO of NFP Doug Hammond and Kyle Kaiser
**
.
.
.
Kyle crosses the bricks for NFP in 2018
.
.
.
M
+++
.
Spring Training has begun…The IndyCars are at Circuit of the Americas, right now…
.
It’s a day of beautiful weather in the Austin area - We know, because we’re here - perfect for the IndyCars to get their first real full-fledged test of Spring Training and their first real crack at the magnificent facility that is the Circuit of the Americas - the home of Formula 1 racing in the United States.
.
.
No less than 25 drivers are here to test and the day is divided into the morning session - already completed - and an afternoon session, about to start. We’ll bring you the stats when they are available and we have the morning round of testing, already. It was a “youth” parade in the morning, as the series youngsters flexed their muscles.
.
Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars T-1 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie
.
1 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:48.7443s for a speed of 112.889mph
.
2 - Marcus Ericsson [R], Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports - time of 01:48.8392s for a speed of 112.790mph
.
3 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 01:49.3531s for a speed of 112.260mph
.
4 - RC Enerson [R], Carlin - time of 01:49.5431s for a speed of 112.065mph
.
5 - Zach Veach [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:49.8118s for a speed of 111.791mph
.
6 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport
7 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
8 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing
9 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
10 - Max Chilton, Carlin
11 - Matheus Leist [R], A.J. Foyt Enterprises
12 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing
13 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
14 - Helio Castroneves, Team Penske
15 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing
16 - Will Power, Team Penske
17 - James Hinchcliffe, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
18 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
19 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
20 - Jack Harvey [R], Meyer Shank Racing with Arrow SPM
21 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w / Vasser Sullivan
22 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
23 - Ed Jones, Ed Carpenter Racing
24 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
25 - Kyle Kaiser, Juncos Racing
.
.
.
Notable:
Marcus Ericsson for Arrow SPM topped the session until the final lap, when Colton Herta for Harding Steinbrenner jumped to the top of the charts.
Helio Castroneves is here and driving for Team Penske, despite the fact that he is not scheduled to race at COTA this year.
Doing only partial seasons in this group are Kyle Kaiser, (1 race, so far) Helio Castroneves (2 races) Ed Jones (12 races) Jack Harvey (10 races) and we do not know how many RC Enerson is doing - if any. He is in Charlie Kimball’s # 23 and Charlie is not here, as COTA is not one of the 5 races he is scheduled to do.
Ben Hanley for DragonSpeed is also here, but not driving a car. He will do 5 races this year, including the Indy 500, but not COTA.
Kyle Kaiser for Juncos Racing did not put in any laps in the morning, due to a mechanical issue, but is expected to run in the afternoon.
Ben Hanley (left) Kyle Kaiser and Colton Herta (right)
.
.
.
Great so far…on to the afternoon session.
.
.
.
M
+++
.
The Indy Lights are also at COTA today, testing…
.
The Lights will join the IndyCars at Circuit of the Americas this season and were thus also testing today - 10 cars doing two test sessions - and those session are complete. We have the results! Everyone improved in the T-2 session over T-1, so we will post the T-2 session.
.
Here are the results of the Indy Lights, T-2 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie
.
1 - Oliver Askew [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:54.3065s for a speed of 107.395mph
.
2 - Julien Falchero [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:54.5303s for a speed of 107.186mph
.
3 - Ryan Norman, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:54.5380s for a speed of 107.178mph
.
4 - Zachary Claman DeMelo, Belardi Auto Racing - time of 01:55.3421s for a speed of 106.431mph
.
5 - David Malukas [R], BN Racing - time of 01:55.4233s for a speed of 106.356mph
.
6 - Robert Megennis [R], Andretti Autosport
7 - Rinus VeeKay [R], Juncos Racing
8 - Logan Sargeant [R], Carlin
9 - Dalton Kellett, Carlin
10 - Lucas Kohl [R], Belardi Auto Racing
.
.
.
Notable:
The CONFIRMED drivers in this lot are Ryan Norman, Zachary Claman DeMelo, David Malukas, Robert Megennis, Rinus VeeKay and Lucas Kohl.
Oliver Askew and Frenchman Julien Falchero have both tested for Andretti but neither has been confirmed for the squad in 2019. This looks like they soon will be.
Both Logan Sargeant and Dalton Kellett are as yet unconfirmed for Carlin, as well, though Kellett has tested for them.
Logan Sargeant is an 18-year-old from Florida with experience in Formula Renault 2.0, F4 Britain and F4 United Arab Emirates, where he was the Vice-Champion in the 2016-2017 season. Those are all nevertheless cars not the equal to Indy Lights - not even close. Logan has jumped into the deep end.
Lucas Kohl has been suffering transmission problems which have hampered his effort.
.
left to right, Logan Sargeant, Lucas Kohl and Oliver Askew
.
.
.
The Lights will hold a 3rd test session on Wednesday.
.
.
.
M
+++
.
Tuesday afternoon at COTA - the IndyCars hold their T-2 session…
.
The IndyCar’s second test session at Circuit of the Americas saw more of the veterans at the top of the charts than the T-1 session, but the TOP TIME was once again laid down by rookie Colton Herta for Harding Steinbrenner Racing in the # 98 Honda and another rookie, Felix Rosenqvist, made the TOP FIVE for the session, just besting teammate Scott Dixon.
.
Here was the order of speed for the T-2 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie
.
1 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:46.6258s for a speed of 115.132mph
.
2 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 01:47.1044s for a speed of 114.617mph
.
3 - Helio Castroneves, Team Penske - time of 01:47.6949s for a speed of 113.989mph
.
4 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:48.0451s for a speed of 113.619mph
.
5 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:48.0474s for a speed of 113.617mph
.
6 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
7 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
8 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
9 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing
10 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing
11 - Marcus Ericsson [R], Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
12 - James Hinchcliffe, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
13 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
14 - Zach Veach [R], Andretti Autosport
15 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
16 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport
17 - Jack Harvey [R], Meyer Shank Racing with Arrow SPM
18 - RC Enerson [R], Carlin
19 - Ed Jones, Ed Carpenter Racing
20 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w / Vasser Sullivan
21 - Max Chilton, Carlin
22 - Matheus Leist [R], A.J. Foyt Enterprises
23 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
24 - Kyle Kaiser, Juncos Racing
25 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
.
.
.
Notable
This time, Herta held the top spot in the session for the better part of it. He was the only driver to crack the 01:46-second time and the 115 miles per hour threshold.
Graham Rahal seemed to find something he lacked in the T-1 session but teammate Takuma Sato did not benefit.
Best team effort was either Team Penske, with 3 cars in the TOP SIX or Chip Ganassi, with both cars in the TOP FIVE…Or, one could say Harding Steinbrenner, with two P1s out of two sessions.
The teams are limited to only 8 sets of tires for the two days of testing and that makes their testing strategies more complicated. A set can go off in as little as two laps at full chat, making it hard to get more information for much of a session.
Tony Kanaan for AJ Foyt Enterprises only put in 6 laps in this session, for reasons unknown.
.
Tony Kanaan
.
.
.
Following the Indy Lights’ 3rd test session on Wednesday morning, the IndyCars will hold two more sessions.
.
.
.
M
+++
.
The 2018 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout Champion, Hunter McElrea, has made his choice…
.
Hunter will take his $200,000 scholarship and apply it to a full season of USF2000 in 2019, driving for “the Speed Boys” at Pabst Racing. Hunter drove for Pabst at the Chris Griffis Memorial test last September and at the Homestead-Miami test in December, just prior to his Shootout WIN, and it’s clear that Hunter liked Pabst and Pabst loved Hunter.
.
Augie Pabst (left) with Hunter McElrea
.
.
Hunter at the Chris Griffis for Pabst
.
.
Said Hunter, “I am extremely happy to be joining a top Road to Indy team such as Pabst Racing. I am really looking forward to putting the massive effort from the team and myself from the off season to use, and I will do my very best.”"
McElrea, born in the United States before moving to Australia, was the 2018 Formula Ford Champion of Australia, with 13 WINS in a 21-race season. It was that championship which earned Hunter his coveted Entry Ticket to the 2018 Shootout.
.
.
.
Pabst has been the Team Champions of USF2000 for the last two years.
.
.
.
M
