IRL Pre-Season Testing

[DanicaFan]

Well, Day 1 of testing at Homestead-Miami is in the books. Congrats to Scott Dixon for being on top of the speed chart. This isnt new. He had a top speed of 211.372. I think the biggest suprise was Mario Moraes who was 4th quickest. Robert Doornbos had a good debut at 7th spot.

Danica finished in 11th. She will do better tomorrow.

Dan Wheldon was not testing today since he was at a National Guard Youth Event in Washington DC but he will be testing tomorrow.

[DanicaFan]

Here are the results of Practice Session 1.

Position / Car# & Driver / Time / Speed

1. #9 Scott Dixon / 00:25.2919 / 211.372
2. #6 Ryan Briscoe / 00:25.3614 / 210.793
3. #10 Dario Franchitti / 00:25.3842 / 210.603
4. #5 Mario Moraes / 00:25.4389 / 210.151
5. #3 Will Power / 00:25.4404 / 210.138
6. #26 Marco Andretti / 00:25.4940 / 209.696
7. #06 Robert Doornbos / 00:25.5077 / 209.584
8. #3 Ryan Briscoe / 00:25.5479 / 209.254
9. #11 Tony Kanaan / 00:25.5707 / 209.067
10. #02 Graham Rahal / 00:25.6032 / 208.802
11. #7 Danica Patrick / 00:25.6133 / 208.720
12. #12 Raphael Matos / 00:25.6165 / 208.694
13. #20 Ed Carpenter / 00:25.6192 / 208.672
14. #13 EJ Viso / 00:25.6235 / 208.637
15. #24 Mike Conway / 00:25.6319 / 208.568
16. #27 Hideki Mutoh / 00:25.6984 / 208.029
17. #23 Milka Duno / 00:25.7759 / 207.403
18. #34 Jaime Camara / 00:25.7790 / 207.378
19. #14 Vitor Meira / 00:25.8032 / 207.184
20. #18 Justin Wilson / 00:25.8457 / 206.843
21. #98 Stanton Barrett / 00:25.9724 / 205.834

[Chamoo]

Danica finished in 11th. She will do better tomorrow.

What if she doesnt? What excuse will you have then?

[anthonyvop]

Media attendance was way down.
Food was good.
A handful of cars with no sponsorship.

[Easy Drifter]

Don't worry. Milka will be faster than 'Stompin Danica' tomorrow. :eek: :erm:

[Andrewmcm]

Media attendance was way down.
Food was good.
A handful of cars with no sponsorship.

Sounds like NASCAR....

[gofastandwynn]

The brand new mufflers were on the cars today.

This is a mp3 of the cars testing today from Track Side Online: http://www.tracksideonline.com/interactive/indyCarTesting.mp3

The 2nd car by is EJ Viso who was running w/o the new muffler, and you can clearly tell the difference.

[DanicaFan]

What if she doesnt? What excuse will you have then?
Dont worry, she will do better. She will be in the top 5 for sure.

[MDS]

I think the media attendance says more about the state of media companies than it does interest in the IRL. I don't know of a single news outlet that isn't struggling right now.

[anthonyvop]

Sounds like NASCAR....
Nope

The Food is never good at a NASCAR race.

The new media center at HMS is excellent and they finally have a good company handling the catering.

[anthonyvop]

I think the media attendance says more about the state of media companies than it does interest in the IRL. I don't know of a single news outlet that isn't struggling right now.
While I agree in part there were more than a few reporters that I saw at the USF1 press conference that normally would have been in Homestead.

You don't think they planned it that way?

[Chamoo]

While I agree in part there were more than a few reporters that I saw at the USF1 press conference that normally would have been in Homestead.

You don't think they planned it that way?

Can you let us know how the turnout is today? I would expect the turnout to be better today without the USF1 and since this is final day and all.

[SarahFan]

Dont worry, she will do better. She will be in the top 5 for sure.


what makes you say that?

Briscoe wont shake down the #3 which gets her into the top ten....

But Wilson and Vitor will improve today for certain.... and Carpenter, Viso and Mutoh all could lay down a flyer or two...

I doubt she stays in the top 10

[bblocker68]

She'll do better after they un-bend her steering wheel from last year :)

Sorry, it's just too easy.........

[Chamoo]

what makes you say that?

Briscoe wont shake down the #3 which gets her into the top ten....

But Wilson and Vitor will improve today for certain.... and Carpenter, Viso and Mutoh all could lay down a flyer or two...

I doubt she stays in the top 10

To stay in the top 10 she'd have to be in the top 10.

[SarahFan]

To stay in the top 10 she'd have to be in the top 10.


briscoe put up 2 times yesterday.... so depending on how you view his time at #8 she was actually in the top 10...

I know I know... splitting hairs

[anthonyvop]

Can you let us know how the turnout is today? I would expect the turnout to be better today without the USF1 and since this is final day and all.
I will let you know.

[nigelred5]

briscoe put up 2 times yesterday.... so depending on how you view his time at #8 she was actually in the top 10...

I know I know... splitting hairs

Two times, two cars.. hair unsplit IMHO ;)

[ykiki]

A handful of cars with no sponsorship.

Would you be able to give us a run down on who's got sponsorship (name of sponsor) and who doesn't? Thanks!

[The instant classic]

biggest suprise for me, was and this may sound wierd to you guys, but Dario was the biggest suprise, being away from indycar for a year, come back with a new team and get use to the indycars again,

[Chamoo]

Anyone seen the HVM car of EJ Viso on the IRL website? Looks like they have quite a few more associate sponsors then last year. Good news for them.

[The instant classic]

Anyone seen the HVM car of EJ Viso on the IRL website? Looks like they have quite a few more associate sponsors then last year. Good news for them.
ah i missed that i will check it out now,
wolud have helped last night on indycar.com chat if they moved the cam around then we could have seen it then, give us something to talk about :D

[Chamoo]

Don't pay much attention to first day times. They're mostly meaningless. Look for times today as a better indicator.

I was thinking the same thing today Starter. But will we see speeds around 213 (pole time last year)?

[SarahFan]

Don't pay much attention to first day times. They're mostly meaningless. Look for times today as a better indicator.


has the car changed since last year or the year before?

[Chamoo]

has the car changed since last year or the year before?

No... Why would you ask? You already know the answer don't you Ken?

[SarahFan]

I ask because starters post would indicate teams were shaking down new rigs and getting used to aero etc.

The car is exactly the same as when won the championship...... Is of really a suprise he's at the sharp end of the grid?

[beachbum]

Dont worry, she will do better. She will be in the top 5 for sure.Well, at the dinner break she is up to ----- 11th. She had a couple good laps in the 208 range, but mostly ran 205-206. Her best was still .1 better than Hideki, but Conway was quicker.


Don't worry. Milka will be faster than 'Stompin Danica' tomorrow. :eek: :erm: Well, I was following timing and scoring and the answer is --- she was faster than DP during much of the session. Milka ran a whole string of laps in the 205-207 range, while DP was running 204-206 at the same time. It is testing, and no one knows what the agendas are, and who is doing what, but that was a surprise. Maybe at NHL she is getting good equipment. In any case, her best is only .12 seconds off Doornbos.

Maybe things will be different at night. Then again, maybe not.

[SarahFan]

1) It's been since last fall since any of these drivers were in this type of car.
2) Many of the drivers are with new teams and need to work out set ups.
3) Some of the drivers are new to the cars entirely.
4) The first day the track is "green" and won't be at it's best. It takes a few sessions to blow all the dust etc. off. Even jet blowers don't do this as well as race traffic. (On race weekends the support series serve this function.)
Any other questions?


1. its the same for everybody

2. i already acknowleged those drivers.... specifically Wilson and Vitor... were likely to meove up the grid

3. and they were within .8 of second of the best times

4. 12 drivers ran 1700+ laps prior to the cars taking the track


your post was a direct response to a post being suprised Dario was at the sharp end of the grid...

the teams and drivers and specifacally engineers are dealing with years of identical information...


most series will spend the first day shaking down new equipment.... that isn't the case here...

is there really any suprise Dario is top 5?

is there any suprise the usual names and teams are atop the times...

the real suprise is Moreas in the KV machine.... Dario not so much or at all

[SarahFan]

Just checked the times.... all the drivers are within .2 sec of there times yesterday.....no major changes...

[SarahFan]

Just checked the times.... all the drivers are within .2 sec of there times yesterday.....no major changes...

oops... except Vitor who is almost .3sec faster.... looks like I;m wrong about Wilson moving up the Grid


Danica solidly in 12th!

[beachbum]

Danica ended 14th as the slowest of the AGR cars, with Milka in 15th, .07 seconds slower. Interesting.

[MDS]

These times mean absolutely nothing for several reasons, we don't know who was doing qual runs, who got a toe, who was just logging laps.

That said... Milka was faster than the Ed "In-law" Carpenter

[Civic]

I wonder how the new exhaust system affects performance. I don't know if the new systems were designed for more power or less noise.

[anthonyvop]

Can you let us know how the turnout is today? I would expect the turnout to be better today without the USF1 and since this is final day and all.

Well most of the media bailed yesterday. The local newspaper didn't even show up.

I have been going to these events here at HMS since they started and this was, by far, the worst attended event.

[SarahFan]

These times mean absolutely nothing for several reasons, we don't know who was doing qual runs, who got a toe, who was just logging laps.

That said... Milka was faster than the Ed "In-law" Carpenter

gotta disagree....the purpose of testing is too find speed.... and in the end the usual suspects found it..

[trinksuk]

the new exhaust offers almost identical performance to the 2008 specification, it is within a couple of horse power. The cars however have a little more drag due to the exhaust shrouds now being in the airstream

as an aside, the track 'rubbers' in pretty quickly here, there was two days of IndyLights testing prior to the IndyCars going on track, as well as a few hours of 'rookie' testing on Monday night. So by the time the track was open to the IndyCars yesterday, it was more than ready to go.

also, Homestead is a popular winter test venue for the teams and drivers and quite a few were down in FL in December, so many drivers have run since Chicago (the last oval).

[MDS]

gotta disagree....the purpose of testing is too find speed.... and in the end the usual suspects found it..

True, but I don't think Wilson was out running in qualifying trim. I think Doornbos was more interested in logging laps and running around traffic than he was with setting a fast time. I think Mario wanted to set a fast lap, and got a good toe

I think the test does show several things; 21 cars tested and well probably get that number of to 22-23 by St. Pete; the field was within about seven-tenths of a second, which isn't a bad spread; and no one wadded up a car. Overall I have to say it was a positive test, but its only a test.

[garyshell]

gotta disagree....the purpose of testing is too find speed.... and in the end the usual suspects found it..


Oh so you are a crew chief now? The purpose of testing is to TEST. There are many things INCLUDING speed that need to be tested. Fuel ,ilage under varying conditions, tire wear, handling setups etc.

Gary

[DanicaFan]

I was wanting to post the 2nd of practice results here but the report file is corrupt and I was unable to. But here are the combined results of both practice sessions. The driver's best time is shown in order of speed along with which practice session that speed was obtained. Danica didnt fare out as well in the 2nd session. She was 14th today so she fell to 15th overall. http://lasttofirst.com/Smileys/default/sad.gif

Here are the Combined Practice Session Results..

Rank / Car# & Driver / Session of Best Speed / Time / Speed

1. #6 Ryan Briscoe / Practice 2 / 00:25.1984 / 212.156
2. #9 Scott Dixon / Practice 2 / 00:25.2378 / 211.825
3. #26 Marco Andretti / Practice 2 / 00:25.3036 / 211.274
4. #11 Tony Kanaan / Practice 2 / 00:25.3582 / 210.819
5. #10 Dario Franchitti / Practice 1 / 00:25.3842 / 210.603
6. #5 Mario Moraes / Practice 2 / 00:25.3842 / 210.603
7. #3 Will Power / Practice 2 / 00:25.3914 / 210.544
8. #4 Dan Wheldon / Practice 2 / 00:25.4085 / 210.402
9. #24 Mike Conway / Practice 2 / 00:25.4299 / 210.225
10. #02 Graham Rahal / Practice 2 / 00:25.4465 / 210.088
11. #27 Hideki Mutoh / Practice 2 / 00:25.4578 / 209.995
12. #06 Robert Doornbos / Practice 1 / 00:25.5077 / 209.584
13. #14 Vitor Meira / Practice 2 / 00:25.5210 / 209.475
14. #13 EJ Viso / Practice 2 / 00:25.5356 / 209.355
15. #7 Danica Patrick / Practice 2 / 00:25.5383 / 209.333
16. #3 Ryan Briscoe / Practice 1 / 00:25.5479 / 209.254
17. #23 Milka Duno / Practice 1 / 00:25.5809 / 208.894
18. #20 Ed Carpenter / Practice 2 / 00:25.5881 / 208.925
19. #12 Raphael Matos / Practice 1 / 00:25.6165 / 208.694
20. #18 Justin Wilson / Practice 2 / 00:25.6886 / 208.108
21. #34 Jaime Camara / Practice 1 / 00:25.7790 / 207.378
22. #98 Stanton Barrett / Practice 2 / 00:25.9180 / 206.266

**Note Ryan Briscoe (16th place) drove the #3 Penske machine for the first 90 minutes of Practice Session 1.
http://lasttofirst.com/Themes/default/images/icons/modify_inline.gif

[SarahFan]

Oh so you are a crew chief now? The purpose of testing is to TEST. There are many things INCLUDING speed that need to be tested. Fuel ,ilage under varying conditions, tire wear, handling setups etc.

Gary

Oh Gary... Trolling for a fight I see, so sooo typical..

yes gary I'm sure they did system checks and simulated full fuel runs and qual runs... and wanted to see how the car handled in traffic etc....


but at the end of the day they ALL were searching speed speed and more speed....

[Hoop-98]

Hey guys I am impressed with all the conclusions you can reach from this test session, pretty amazing stuff.

Help me out, perform the same objective analysis on these drivers testing at a speedway from the Championship Indy Racing League of Teams.

http://i43.tinypic.com/1dygc8.jpg

Thanks for telling me how much is proven by this session, I can't wait to hear about Lizzy Borden's chances, based on this session.

rh

[Easy Drifter]

She is going to axe them all. :D

[Hoop-98]

She is going to axe them all. :D

Obama needs to recruit prognosticators from here, they can argue and predict the future with the slightest hint of information.

I wonder if anyone will figure out who Lizzie really is ;n)

in fun
rh

[Alexamateo]

Lizzie Borden took an axe And gave her mother forty whacks. And when she saw what she had done She gave her father forty-one. :D :D :D

[edv]

Ummm you've got Fast Eddie a little too far down on the list.....

[Hoop-98]

http://i43.tinypic.com/dghpv4.jpg

Guess Tracy was washed up, and Lavin was hot...Didn't work out that way though...hmmmmm

rh

[SarahFan]

Hey guys I am impressed with all the conclusions you can reach from this test session, pretty amazing stuff.

Help me out, perform the same objective analysis on these drivers testing at a speedway from the Championship Indy Racing League of Teams.

http://i43.tinypic.com/1dygc8.jpg

Thanks for telling me how much is proven by this session, I can't wait to hear about Lizzy Borden's chances, based on this session.

rh

I'll take a stab.... Rick was fastest and was stoked about it....and scrub was slowest and wasn't

how did i do?

[Hoop-98]

I'll take a stab.... Rick was fastest and was stoked about it....and scrub was slowest and wasn't

how did i do?

You should know, you were there....;n)

[DanicaFan]

Ryan Hunter-Reay will be testing with HVM Racing next week at the IRL's open testing at Barber Motorsports Park.

Ryan was seen quite often at HVM Racing during the off-season.

[DanicaFan]

A little correction is needed here. Ryan Hunter-Reay will test with HVM Racing along with EJ Viso at another track besides Barber Motorsports Park. They will test before the season opener. They want to test elsewhere to prep Ryan better for a second car. That is good news.

[Chamoo]

A little correction is needed here. Ryan Hunter-Reay will test with HVM Racing along with EJ Viso at another track besides Barber Motorsports Park. They will test before the season opener. They want to test elsewhere to prep Ryan better for a second car. That is good news.

I think the wheels are in motion (pardon the pun) for the second car to become a reality. I think the money has either been donated by the IRL or found to put him in a ride.

As for Conquest at the Barber test, I'd expect the TBA driver to be replaced by Alex Tagliani. TBA doesn't give feedback like Tags does.

[DanicaFan]

Well HVM Racing was very close to signing Doornbos earlier in the year. So I agree, they had the possibilities of running the 2nd car for quite awhile. Ryan deserves a full-time ride thats for sure.

Also Foyt Racing and 3G Racing will not be testing at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend either. Both of these teams will test at another location as well.

[Chamoo]

Also Foyt Racing and 3G Racing will not be testing at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend either. Both of these teams will test at another location as well.

I know Foyt has tested elsewhere, but I have not heard or seen anything about 3G. Miller recently reported a team has already lost their backer for the year, and now that I see they are off the Barber Test entry list, I have placed my bets on them to be that team after the results they saw at Homestead.

If you have the info on 3G, please pass it along.