Indycar 2021

[René]

Portland - Portland International Raceway

Only three races to go in the IndyCar championship and it’s very tight in the points table. Alex Palou lost his lead to Pato O’Ward and Newgarden has closed in after his Gateway win. Only 22 points between those three.

The Portland Raceway is a wonderful track and again there is no way telling who’s going to be fastest here. Expect the title contenders to be at the front though but also Dixon and Herta and maybe Romain Grosjean could do really well here.

Ferrari and Alfa test and reserve driver Callum Ilott will make his IndyCar debut this weekend for the Juncos Hollinger Racing team. He’s a talented young driver so interesting to see how he will adapt.

[Carl]

Portland is an excellent road course and must be great fun to drive. Like the infield road course at Indy, and more famously Monza, a very fast and challenging first turn has been demasculated with a chicane so tight that collisions are inevitable.

Fast turns are better

[René]

Sept 9, 2021 18:21:59 GMT Carl said:

Portland is an excellent road course and must be great fun to drive. Like the infield road course at Indy, and more famously Monza, a very fast and challenging first turn has been demasculated with a chicane so tight that collisions are inevitable.

Fast turns are better

And now they probably ask more money for the grandstand tickets at the chicane.

Fast turns are most definitely better!

[René]

Pole position for Alex Palou! Pato O'Ward in 7th and Josef Newgarden only in 18th!

A good oportunity for Palou to regain the lead in the championship.

1. Palou - 58.770
   
2. Rossi - 58.857
   
3. Dixon - 58.867
   
4. Rosenqvist - 58.950
   
5. Rahal - 59.006
   
6. Herta - 59.279
   

[Carl]

Indycar proved in Portland that a race can be too action-packed, with the running order constantly reshuffled by caution periods and the timing of pitstops, always a roll of the dice as leaders risk losing position.  Graham Rahal held the lead for sometime and made no mistakes, but was suddenly 10th after a yellow flag compelled him to slow while others pitted under caution immediately after his routine stop.

I had the feeling that Indycar and NBCSport have been encouraged to ramp up the excitement.  Sometimes a race can have slow periods and transform naturally into real drama as positions are contested.  I've been to Coney Island and enjoy the carnival atmosphere of manipulation, but not in sport.

The extraordinary young Spaniard, Alex Palou, was a deserving winner, but the luck of the draw played too great a role.

[René]

I was happy for Palou but I agree Carl it was too chaotic at times. Drivers who looked without a chance were suddenly at the front again and vice versa. Sounds exciting but sometimes it was too much. But I enjoyed it anyway and some images were spectacular and looked really fast. 

[Carl]

Sept 13, 2021 18:57:16 GMT René said:

I was happy for Palou but I agree Carl it was too chaotic at times. Drivers who looked without a chance were suddenly at the front again and vice versa. Sounds exciting but sometimes it was too much. But I enjoyed it anyway and some images were spectacular and looked really fast. 

René,
           I've always admired Roger Penske despite his Porsche blitzkrieg laying waste to the Can-Am, but I wonder how much he understands about broadcasting. The pace on track and among the broadcasters was, as you say, chaotic at times. As the new owner of Indycar, did Penske listen to bad advice from ignorant broadcast specialists who advised a faster pace?

          Patricio O'Ward has been promised a test in Formula One by Zac Brown and other eyes are on Colton Herta, but the most amazing young driver is Álex Palou, as impressive as Greg Moore once was on the cusp of greatness that never came. With Formula One less tantalizing than it once was and better racing in Indycar, all three may just stay.

Cheers, Carl

[René]

Laguna Seca - Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Only two races to go and it’s still very close between Alex Palou, Patricio O’Ward and Josef Newgarden. Also Scott Dixon and Marcus Ericsson are still outsiders for the title.

So this weekend the race at the classic Laguna Seca track with the most famous downhill corner, the Corkscrew!

Tensions will be high because losing too many points let alone a DNF is almost certain losing the championship. Who has the strongest nerves?

[Carl]

Laguna Seca was modified in 1988 to comply with MotoGP track length requirements, after which the FIM said thanks but we were never serious. Lost was the supremely fast section which led from Turn 1 to Turn 5, gained were the absurdly tight first two turns. It's never been quite as wonderful, but remains excellent once past Turn 3

Josef Newgarden disappointed in qualifying 17th. Also lower than expected were Sebastien Bourdais and Rinus Veekay.


D for Dallara and F for Firestone. H for Honda and C for Chevrolet

Car #26
Herta, Colton
D/H/F
01:10.7994
113.798

Car #27
Rossi, Alexander
D/H/F
01:10.9951
113.484

Car #12
Power, Will
D/C/F
01:11.1317
113.266

Car #10
Palou, Alex
D/H/F
01:11.3317
112.948

Car #45
Askew, Oliver
D/H/F
01:11.8937
112.065

Car #5
O'Ward, Pato
D/C/F
01:24.2715
95.605

Car #8
Ericsson, Marcus
D/H/F
01:11.2581
113.065

Car #9
Dixon, Scott
D/H/F
01:11.2768
113.035

Car #22
Pagenaud, Simon
D/C/F
01:11.3067
112.988

Car #59
Chilton, Max
D/C/F
01:11.3088
112.985

[René]

Thanks Carl, cool. Enjoy the race!

[Carl]

The race was exciting, with Colton Herta and Romain Grosjean both outstanding, but almost spoiled by the constant hyperbolic excitement of the broadcasters.  Leigh Diffey is always a drama queen, but even the normally cool and concise Townsend Bell was goofy with excitement at times and Paul Tracy giggled like a schoolgirl sipping spiked punch at the prom. 

I miss being at races and informing myself as I once did, and resent being drawn into carnival sideshows by idiots focused on their own amusement and pleasing the producers more than the viewers.  Watching SkyTV and NBC, a novice viewer must think every pitstop is momentous.  And if not, the next one easily could be.  The networks must believe motorsport fans need constant stimulation. 

If David Croft and Leigh Diffey were trapped together in an elevator, only one would emerge after sucking out all the oxygen.

This is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of the delusional, or trap them with limited oxygen and by confinement, end them?

[René]

That was an entertaining race and a very deserved win for Colton Herta. Laguna Seca is ‘Herta-land’ by now with two wins for Bryan and two wins for young Colton. Great stuff.

Romain Grosjean was outstanding and his passes in the Corkscrew were spectacular and daring at times. Very much like Alex Zanardi, a comparison Romain even made himself. And that comparison was not out of place. Alex Zanardi was a great racer but somehow never found his way in Formula 1 but he became a super star in IndyCar (CART at the time). The same scenario could be in store for Romain with rumours saying he is going to Andretti for next season.

But I am equally impressed by Álex Palou. As Carl said, he is just as impressive as Greg Moore was many years ago. Super fast but very much in control and intelligent as a racer.

I must admit I didn’t know much about Palou so looked up his career stats. He won the karting title in the WSK Euro Series 2012. He then competed in many different open wheel championships from Euroformula to Formula 4, from GP3 to Japanese championships in Super GT and Super Formula. He won races in all of them but never the title. But he was impressive enough for Dayle Coyne Racing to invite hime for an IndyCar test in 2019. He made his debut in the series in 2020 and is now the favourite to win the 2021 title with Chip Ganassi Racing. How a career can progress!

[Carl]

I have sent invitations to Leigh Diffey, David Croft, and their top producers to an exclusive party in a London hotel which has a small airtight elevator easily controlled remotely. That motorsport broadcasting can be saved, they are doomed.

[Carl]

Sept 20, 2021 11:07:12 GMT René said:

That was an entertaining race and a very deserved win for Colton Herta. Laguna Seca is ‘Herta-land’ by now with two wins for Bryan and two wins for young Colton. Great stuff.

Romain Grosjean was outstanding and his passes in the Corkscrew were spectacular and daring at times. Very much like Alex Zanardi, a comparison Romain even made himself. And that comparison was not out of place. Alex Zanardi was a great racer but somehow never found his way in Formula 1 but he became a super star in IndyCar (CART at the time). The same scenario could be in store for Romain with rumours saying he is going to Andretti for next season.

But I am equally impressed by Álex Palou. As Carl said, he is just as impressive as Greg Moore was many years ago. Super fast but very much in control and intelligent as a racer.

I must admit I didn’t know much about Palou so looked up his career stats. He won the karting title in the WSK Euro Series 2012. He then competed in many different open wheel championships from Euroformula to Formula 4, from GP3 to Japanese championships in Super GT and Super Formula. He won races in all of them but never the title. But he was impressive enough for Dayle Coyne Racing to invite hime for an IndyCar test in 2019. He made his debut in the series in 2020 and is now the favourite to win the 2021 title with Chip Ganassi Racing. How a career can progress!

René,
          Your comparison of Romain Grosjean to Alex Zanardi is excellent. Zanardi astonished many times with demon late braking and was a real phenomenon seldom allowed past the fringes in Formula One.  Even Ganassi was hesitant to give him a test, but soon was ecstatic to have done so. Grosjean's ability to master tracks he's never even seen is amazing!  He often quickly knows more than veteran drivers about the best line and where to pass.  His passes yesterday, especially at the corkscrew where only the boldest dare, were amazing, although he was lucky not to have had serious damage passing Johnson, who'd been instructed to keep Romain at bay. 

          Dale Coyne is a former Indy driver who ran his own team on a shoestring budget and was notable as the only one with a stock block Chevrolet engine, allowed at the time and less expensive than the pure racing engines. An excellent judge of driver talent, he's helped several young drivers establish careers. So great a part of good fortune is being exactly in the right place at the right time and having constant persistence.

-Carl

[Carl]

A well-done short highlight film of Indycar at Laguna Seca