Car Sangarz

Tomorrow the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg kicks off the beginning of the 2011 IndyCar series which represents the swan song for the current chassis and rules system. Next year the current Dallara chassis which has seen few updates since its intro in late 1996 will be jettison for the Dallara produced safety cell with multiple aero and engine manufactures. The series is gaining traction with car counts up to the point they actually have had to consider what to do when they hit the artificial cap of 26 (more at Indy of course). With the late season drama produced last year that saw the championship lead change hands in the final race without artificial means (yes that's a shot at the bogus Chase format) and the well documented struggles of NASCAR its an all important season to gain more "market share" so to speak.


There is a great cast of characters from veterans like reigning champion Dario "I bagged Ashley Judd" Franchitti to Helio "I have to pay taxes?" Castroneves as well as budding stars like runner up Will "Where are the right turns?" Power and Ryan "the other Penske car" Briscoe. Add an Andretti, Rahal, and a woman that can actually drive in Simona de Silvestro and it really is an exciting field.

There has been a ton of driver movement in the off season. Tony Kanaan lost his ride at Andretti, found a new one at deFerran Dragon which then went under, and then found another ride at KVRT (Also the best looking car in the field - Pic). Promising young driver Graham Rahal who is the youngest winner in series history got a full time ride after spot duty last year. Rahal not only got a ride but he got a Ganassi ride along with Charlie Kimball on a newly formed Ganassi B-team, now that is a serious partnership. Other changes include a strange twist in which last years rookie of the year Alex Lloyd lost his ride, Mike Conway of Indy aerobatics fame is back, and 2009 Indy Lights champion JR Hildebrand comes into the series to take over for Dan Wheldon in the Panther Racing car.

This season's kick off race is a street course again (Sao Paulo in 2010). That means we probably won't see a ton of passing, track position/pitstops are of utmost importance, and we are guaranteed at least one classic street race pile up. The practice speeds have been a slight be slower than last year, Power paces the pack by .3 seconds leading a top 5 that also includes Conway (2nd) and Oriol Servia (5th) while de Silvestro is all the way down in 23rd below that other woman who notoriously sucks at turning right.

Spotters Guide

Combined Practice Results
Highlights 1 - 2 - 3

UPDATE
------
Qualifying
Results - Round 1 Group 1 / Round 1 Group 2 / Round 2 / Round 3
Highlights

Starting Grid

No real surprises from qualifying, Sebastian Saavedra did have an incident with Sebastien Bourdais. Unfortunately Comcast/NBC/Versus decided to flex their muscle and not allow live streaming on the IndyCar website so I haven't seen a replay of the incident.

One thing that I did notice when looking over the starting grid is the astounding diversity for such a North American based series (minus 1 race in Brazil and Japan), there is to my count 12 different countries represented in the 25 car field. For the race I will be most curious to see if Conway is in over his head with his practice/qualifying performances and how Kanaan does in a new car and on the flip side how KVRT does with a driver that doesn't destroy cars so quickly.

Lead Photo from IndyCar's Flikr stream

At the end of the 2008 season, Honda turned its back on the sport of Formula 1.  The collapse of the world economy and, to a lesser degree, a lack of Japanese drivers proved to be too much for the company to bear.  However, Honda wants the American consumer to think that they turned these lemons into lemonade in the form of the Accord coupe.



The commercial states that the engine was "born from Honda's legendary racing heritage."  What exactly does this mean?  Unless the screaming 2.4 liter V8s of 2008 had illegitimate relations with a diesel truck, I haven't a clue.  Formula 1 is never specifically mentioned in the commercial but that's what springs to my mind.  However, let's give them the benefit of the doubt.

There would seem to be three viable options for where the "trickle down" technology came from.  In no particular order, they would be Japan's Super GT series, MotoGP, and the Indy Racing League.  These are the most prominent series where Honda currently participates.

netcarshow.com

The Honda HSV-010 is the stillborn successor to the NSX.  It was in the early development stages of a production supercar when the plug was pulled.  However, Honda exploited a loophole and was able to race in Super GT, a production based race series.  It competes in the GT500 class which limits cars to 500 horsepower.  This 500 horsepower is produced by a front mounted 3.4 liter V8 that powers the rear wheels.  Although the series is based on production car shapes, the commercial references the motor as being race derived and the 3.4 liter V8 in the HSV is series mandated not a production motor.  Although it did win the 2010 Super GT championship, Super GT is not run in America and most Americans don't even know about it.

motogp.com

This could very well be the most well know race machine in the world.  It is Honda's current MotoGP contender, the RC212V.  It's powered by an 800cc V4 motor and transmits over 205 horsepower through the rear wheel.  With a weight of just over 330lbs, these bikes have an amazing power to weight ratio.  Aside from having a motor and wheels that touch the ground, the similarities between this and the Accord are very hard to find.

hondanews.com

This may be what that commercial is trying to refer to.  Four tires? check.  3.5 liter motor? Yup!  Honda vehicle meant for American consumption? Yes, sir!  Mid-engine V8, push to pass functionality, enough downforce to run upside down?  Errrr...

I'll take Honda up on their offer after they build street versions of these.

Shaped like the head of a Tyrannosaurus-Rex, Laguna Seca is my favorite track on Earth.

Brush pit exit at turn 1, shift to 2nd at turn 2, be careful of understeer as turn 3 closes, turn 4 opens, lots of sand at turn 5, make sure you have speed out of turn 6, brake at the crest, throw the car into the "Corkscrew," slow for turn 9, turn 10 opens, and a desperate last attempt late-brake passing opportunity at turn 11 before the start/finish.

I know what some of you might say. This is your favorite track in the world? What about Watkins Glen, Indianapolis, Imola, Silverstone, SPA Francochamps, Circuit de la Sarthe, Nurburgring Nordschleife? The list goes on and on.

Of course, those circuits are nothing short of legendary.

But really, there's two things that define Laguna Seca-- 1.) Corkscrew and 2.) The battles.
The nail biting, passionate, brutal, brave, beautiful, ugly, questionable, honorable battles.

Here are some of the notable battles in the past:

Courtesy of MotoGP Anyone remember? Stoner VS Rossi in 2008 Corkscrew gravel dive: Perhaps the most daring pass in Rossi's entire career.

Not only is it utterly spectacular to watch, but it's incredibly fun to drive on. Because of this, when I'm on Gran Turismo 5's online lobby looking for some trouble, I sort my race rooms by track. By Laguna Seca.

For the readers out there with a copy of GT5 and a PSN, my network name is Capn_Chimichanga.
Brahs, get at me if you want a piece.

Also, please share with us! What's YOUR favorite track?