Long Beach Grand Prix Race Thread

**Marbles** · 13th Apr 12, 01:46

Having thought about it, I see this as a defining moment for the new Indycar. These are the rules; come and play! To do an about face -- to waffle -- would be unreservedly weak-kneed in my opinion.

Chevrolet should suck it up for the time being and as for what I believe, if Chevy can't get it right they won't be hanging around too long no matter what the rules are.

**Mad_Hatter** · 13th Apr 12, 03:21

HOLY SNIPE SNOUTS! Lotus wasn't a complete dirtbag of a factory to skip the test?!?! Now those guys regret it? Complete craziness, absurd...
It's probably a move by Chevy to best position the teams for Indy and the engine update afterwards I'd guess...

If they ease the engine limits now what double standards does that present for new engine companies in 2013(if there are any)?

**DBell** · 13th Apr 12, 03:31

Originally Posted by Marbles

Having thought about it, I see this as a defining moment for the new Indycar. These are the rules; come and play! To do an about face -- to waffle -- would be unreservedly weak-kneed in my opinion.

Chevrolet should suck it up for the time being and as for what I believe, if Chevy can't get it right they won't be hanging around too long no matter what the rules are.

I do think IndyCar should consider consider suspending the mileage rule, though I think they should do this well before a race weekend so everyone would know the score going in. I don't think they should wave it during the weekend of a race. So if they let Chevy off this weekend and don't penalize them, I agree that would be a mistake.

**garyshell** · 13th Apr 12, 06:51

It's a stupid rule that penalizes the teams not the engine manufacturers. The rule as I understand it was to insure that the engines lasted x number of miles. OK, I get that. But change the penalty to affect the folks building the engines, not the folks using the SEALED engines over which they have NO control.

Gary

**Civic** · 13th Apr 12, 08:46

I'll be there Friday and Saturday. Hopefully I can get some good pics to share. I hope there's free wi-fi at the convention center. I posted pics before and Autosport published one I took of Paul Tracy racing a CORR truck. And I took the pics of the IndyCars featured on the banners of this forum. =)

**FIAT1** · 13th Apr 12, 12:07

Originally Posted by garyshell

It's a stupid rule that penalizes the teams not the engine manufacturers. The rule as I understand it was to insure that the engines lasted x number of miles. OK, I get that. But change the penalty to affect the folks building the engines, not the folks using the SEALED engines over which they have NO control.

Gary

Penalty on builders would affect teams anyway. I believe rules are rules and needs to be implemented, but rules for next season should be changed to five spots as ten is little bit harsh in my opinion. This weekend race sure will be interesting.

**garyshell** · 13th Apr 12, 17:02

Originally Posted by FIAT1

Penalty on builders would affect teams anyway. I believe rules are rules and needs to be implemented, but rules for next season should be changed to five spots as ten is little bit harsh in my opinion. This weekend race sure will be interesting.

Sorry but I disagree. First, the drivers are the ones suffering the penalty as it is now implemented. Plain and simple that is STUPID. Second I think Indy car needs to admit a mea culpa on this and say they really hadn't thought through the impact of the rule, given the fact that these are brand new engine designs and there are bound to be teething issues with them. Issues that the drivers should not be penalized for.

I am not sure I understand how a penalty on the engine builders will penalize the teams and drivers? Rules are rule, stupid rules are stupid rules. One should be enforced, the other should be eliminated when the folly they represent is exposed.

Gary

**FIAT1** · 13th Apr 12, 17:45

Originally Posted by garyshell

Sorry but I disagree. First, the drivers are the ones suffering the penalty as it is now implemented. Plain and simple that is STUPID. Second I think Indy car needs to admit a mea culpa on this and say they really hadn't thought through the impact of the rule, given the fact that these are brand new engine designs and there are bound to be teething issues with them. Issues that the drivers should not be penalized for.

I am not sure I understand how a penalty on the engine builders will penalize the teams and drivers? Rules are rule, stupid rules are stupid rules. One should be enforced, the other should be eliminated when the folly they represent is exposed.

Gary

Agree with you that rules are stupid, more than stupid, but not enforcing the rules would be damage to credability of the series. Remember turbo pup off valve fiasco with Honda and Toyota.

**SoCalPVguy** · 13th Apr 12, 17:46

Weather update: It is raining like a mo fo here in so cal all day Friday. Forecast call for rain Sat Am possibly clearing in afternoon. Sunday is expected to be sunny and warmer... mid 60's probably. It looks like practice and qualifying will be in the rain while the race will be sunny and dry. As a result we are likely to see a "Topsy turvey" field whereby the good rain setup drivers qualify higher and the good dry track drivers start behind but in their more favorable condition. Where as Barber went true to form (heck even I picked the 1-2-3 finishers), this weeks "pick ems" will be a tough draw ...

**MAX_THRUST** · 13th Apr 12, 20:48

I agree 10 place penalty is harsh, think 5 would be more reasonable, however what concerns me, this makes qualifying difficult as even if the guy who goes fastest ends up being dropped to 10th i can understand, when the whole top ten gets dropped and 11th ends up on pole its a bit wierd. I think this is gonna cause a pile up first corner first lap......lets see how this pans out?

**anthonyvop** · 13th Apr 12, 22:14

Word from LB is that the IndyCar VP of tech Will Phillips is saying that they'll relax engine longevity going into Brazil. Lowering it to 1200 miles from the current 1800 miles

**Civic** · 14th Apr 12, 05:33

I missed morning practice because I overslept. Only the Target boys went out during the rainy second practice. They probably did maybe two laps each. Something happened to Dixon's car as it was carried out by a tow truck at the end of the session. ALMS qualifying was also cut short. GT and GTC got laps in, but not the prototypes. Will post pics in a bit.

**Civic** · 14th Apr 12, 05:59

**Civic** · 14th Apr 12, 06:01

**Civic** · 14th Apr 12, 06:02

**Civic** · 14th Apr 12, 06:08

There's still a rooster tail spray in the wet, but it's different compared to the Reynard R98s (I think 1998 was the last time it rained as hard as it did today). With the DW12, a lot of spray from the front wheels are directed over the sidepods, while the rear wheels' spray doesn't seem to be affected as much despite the rear bumpers.

Originally Posted by Civic

**heliocastroneves#3** · 14th Apr 12, 10:44

Originally Posted by Civic

This configuration of the DW12 will be used at Texas Motor Speedway only, right?

It's going to be a very interesting race I think. I enjoyed St. Petersburg and Barber Motorsports Park even more but this one is also going to be an interesting one. There's a huge chance, the pole sitter won't start from P1 tomorrow. But hey, if the pole sitter is a Chevy, the driver of that car will still get that extra bonus point.... If it's going to rain, then I think the race will be a sort of lottery. We'll see, can't wait!

**DanicaFan** · 14th Apr 12, 15:00

My boy Marco on top...

**DanicaFan** · 14th Apr 12, 15:06

These penalties are an absolute joke. None of these engine changes were made after qualifying, practicing, or even during a race. And I thought NASCAR was bad...lol

These engine problems were completely out of the driver's hands. Until the engine manufacturers get these engines finely tuned and figured out, they should not penalize these drivers. Engine malfunction was an expected probablilty for this new season so why these infractions.

Just plain makes no sense to me. I think Indycar is dumb for doing this. I dont care what Rule 15 says...

**heliocastroneves#3** · 14th Apr 12, 16:11

Originally Posted by DanicaFan

These penalties are an absolute joke. None of these engine changes were made after qualifying, practicing, or even during a race. And I thought NASCAR was bad...

Isn't your boy on 19th place because he drives the GoDaddy car doesn't he? Nah, just kidding.. Well, Marco did a good job, Thumbs up to him!

Everyone can have it's own opinion about the engine change rules of course, I think very easy about it: Rules are rules. They already knew them before the season would start, so they knew they would have to build a reliable engine. Of course that's not easy but that's part of the game, isn't it? NASCAR? I watched it before the start of the IndyCar season but I totally don't care about it anymore since the IndyCar season has started. Danica was concerned about boring parades on road courses in IndyCar? Well, NASCAR's races on 1,5/2 mile ovals are real parades. The only races I could enjoy there are eventually Daytona, Talladega and Montreal. Everyone their opinion, but man... That race at Fontana was simply boring.

The engine change rule, might be bad for the drivers... But it will make this season even more interesting, I think.