Hulkenberg: B-spec Force India living up to expectations

By Jul 24, 2015, 1:00 PM EDT
0 Comments

Nico Hulkenberg offered positive feedback about the B-spec Force India VJM08 car ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, believing that it has lived up to the team’s expectations.

Following a winter blighted by financial uncertainty, Force India only debuted its 2015 car at the final pre-season test in Barcelona, putting itself on the back foot ahead of the start of the season.

However, the team managed to battle on and currently ranks fifth in the constructors’ championship despite only debuting its updated car at the British Grand Prix three weeks ago.

Speaking ahead of the race in Hungary, Hulkenberg was upbeat about Force India’s chances for the coming weekend.

“Yeah, I think it’s going to be good and positive,” Hulkenberg said. “The B-spec car has really, so far, talking about Silverstone, lived up to the expectations what we wanted from it.

“So that’s very positive and encouraging. I think, obviously having collected a lot of data from both cars in the race, we’re able in those two weeks to go through it and optimise even more.

“Plus there is some more tweaks to the car here. I’m excited to see how we’re going to get on here.”

His optimism was shared by Force India teammate Sergio Perez, who believes that the team’s pace at Silverstone proved just how much progress it has made.

“I’m very optimistic coming into this track,” Perez said. “I think what we’ve shown in Silverstone was just the proof that the car has improved massively.

“So I think in a track like this it will be really interesting to see how we go because obviously here the engine is not so important.

“I think our car has improved a lot and we have plenty of data to analyze from the weekend before, so I think we have plenty of reasons to be optimistic into this weekend.”

However, this optimism faded on Friday when Perez suffered a frightening flip during the first practice session following a suspension failure.

Force India opted to withdraw both of its cars from FP2 whilst its engineers got to the root of the problem on Perez’s car.

Chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer confirmed that the investigations into the issue were still ongoing, but that he was pleased with the team’s limited running on Friday.

“It’s been a challenging day as we try to understand the right rear suspension failure on Sergio’s car,” Szafnauer said. “The accident cut short our morning and we opted to withdraw from the afternoon session as a precaution until we had a clear understanding of the problem.

“Those investigations remain ongoing and will continue this evening to ensure we can resume running on Saturday.

“Up until the accident, the morning had looked quite promising for both drivers. We had some aero measurement devices fitted to the cars and carried out some work with the medium tires.

“Losing the afternoon puts us on the back foot, but I’m optimistic we can recover some of the lost ground tomorrow to be ready for qualifying.”

After New York whirlwind, Josef Newgarden makes special trip to simulator before Detroit

By Jun 2, 2023, 10:00 AM EDT
0 Comments

DETROIT – There’s no rest for the weary as an Indy 500 winner, but Josef Newgarden discovered there are plenty of extra laps.

The reigning Indy 500 champion added an extra trip Wednesday night back to Concord, N.C., for one last session on the GM Racing simulator before Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

After a 30-year run on the Belle Isle course, the race has been moved to a nine-turn, 1.7-mile layout downtown, so two extra hours on the simulator were worth it for Newgarden.

INDYCAR IN DETROIT: Entry list, schedule, TV info for this weekend

JOSEF’S FAMILY TIES: Newgarden wins Indy 500 with wisdom of father, wife

“I really wanted to do it,” he told NBC Sports at a Thursday media luncheon. “If there’s any time that the sim is most useful, it’s in this situation when no one has ever been on a track, and we’re able to simulate it as best as we can. We want to get some seat time.

“It’s extra important coming off the Indy 500 because you’ve been out of rhythm for a road or street course-type environment, so I really wanted some laps. I was really appreciative to Chevy. There was a few guys that just came in and stayed late for me so I could get those laps before coming up here. I don’t know if it’s going to make a difference, but I feel like it’s going to help for me.”

After a whirlwind tour of New York for two days, Newgarden arrived at the simulator (which is at the GM Racing Technical Center adjacent to Hendrick Motorsports) in time for a two hour session that started at 6 p.m. Wednesday. He stayed overnight in Charlotte and then was up for an early commercial flight to Detroit, where he had more media obligations.

Newgarden joked that if he had a jet, he would have made a quick stop in Nashville, Tennessee, but a few more days away from home is a worthy tradeoff for winning the Greatest Spectacle in Racing – though the nonstop interviews can take a toll.

“It’s the hardest part of the gig for me is all this fanfare and celebration,” Newgarden said. “I love doing it because I’m so passionate about the Indy 500 and that racetrack and what that race represents. I feel honored to be able to speak about it. It’s been really natural and easy for me to enjoy it because I’ve been there for so many years.

“Speaking about this win has been almost the easiest job I’ve ever had for postrace celebrations. But it’s still for me a lot of work. I get worn out pretty easily. I’m very introverted. So to do this for three days straight, it’s been a lot.”

Though he is terrified of heights, touring the top of the Empire State Building for the first time was a major highlight (and produced the tour’s most viral moment).

“I was scared to get to the very top level,” Newgarden said. “That thing was swaying. No one else thought it was swaying. I’m pretty sure it was. I really impressed by the facility. I’d never seen it before. It’s one of those bucket list things. If you go to New York, it’s really special to do that. So to be there with the wreath and the whole setup, it just felt like an honor to be in that moment.”

Now the attention shifts to Detroit and an inaugural circuit that’s expected to be challenging. Along with a Jefferson Avenue straightaway that’s 0.9 miles long, the track has several low-speed corners and a “split” pit lane (teams will stop on both sides of a rectangular area) with a narrow exit that blends just before a 90-degree lefthand turn into Turn 1.

Newgarden thinks the track is most similar to the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.

“It’s really hard to predict with this stuff until we actually run,” he said. “Maybe we go super smooth and have no issues. Typically when you have a new event, you’re going to have some teething issues. That’s understandable. We’ve always got to massage the event to get it where we want it, but this team has worked pretty hard. They’ve tried to get feedback constantly on what are we doing right, what do we need to look out for. They’ve done a ton of grinding to make sure this surface is in as good of shape as possible.

“There’s been no expense spared, but you can’t foresee everything. I have no idea how it’s going to race. I think typically when you look at a circuit that seems simple on paper, people tend to think it’s not going to be an exciting race, or challenging. I find the opposite always happens when we think that way. Watch it be the most exciting, chaotic, entertaining race.

Newgarden won the last two pole positions at Belle Isle’s 2.35-mile layout and hopes to continue the momentum while avoiding any post-Brickyard letdown.

“I love this is an opportunity for us to get something right quicker than anyone else,” he said. “A new track is always exciting from that standpoint. I feel I’m in a different spot. I’m pretty run down. I’m really trying to refocus and gain some energy back for tomorrow. Which I’ll have time to today, which is great.

“I don’t want that Indy 500 hangover. People always talk about it. They’ve always observed it. That doesn’t mean we have to win this weekend, but I’d like to leave here feeling like we had a really complete event, did a good job and had a solid finish leading into the summer. I want to win everywhere I go, but if we come out of here with a solid result and no mistakes, then probably everyone will be happy with it.”