The individual session time sheets of the Verizon IndyCar Series Prix View from Phoenix International Raceway did not appear kind to the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports duo of James Hinchcliffe and Mikhail Aleshin. In each session, they ranked 19th (Aleshin) and 20th (Hinchcliffe), 18th (Hinchcliffe) and 23rd (Aleshin), sixth (Aleshin) and tenth (Hinchcliffe), and 13th (Hinchcliffe) and 19th (Aleshin).
However, a look beyond the laps times shows that the team demonstrated progress throughout the weekend. In the opening session, neither driver averaged more than 180 mph on his fastest lap. But, their speeds gradually increased, with both drivers turning individual laps above 190 mph in the third session. Aleshin was quicker, doing a lap at 19.25 seconds at an average of 191.079 mph, while Hinchcliffe clocked in at 19.35 seconds at an average of 190.184 mph. Those speeds were their quickest of the weekend and placed them sixth (Aleshin) and tenth (Hinchcliffe) overall for the two-day test.
All told, it seemed to be a productive outing, though the lack of outright speed, especially in the early sessions, might been a red flag to some viewing from afar. But, as Hinchcliffe, indicated, there was not need to hit the panic button.
“We, like everybody, have a test plan, and we’re trying very hard to stick to that. It’s easy to get lost in the timesheets and try and tune at 4:00 in the afternoon on February 10th, which isn’t when we go racing,” he said following the opening session. He added, “We’re getting through some basic stuff now. We’re trying to stay focused on our program.”
Aleshin echoed his teammate’s sentiments and emphasized that the test would be secondary in importance to the race weekend. Both drivers struggled at Phoenix in 2016, finishing 17th (Aleshin) and 18th (Hinchcliffe) during the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix. “(What’s) really important will be when we’re going to come back here for the racing. That’s when we need to be at the top,” said Aleshin.
For the 29-year-old native of Russia, perhaps the most important aspect of the test was simply returning to the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team. Long assumed to be in the team’s 2017 lineup, Aleshin was not officially confirmed until February 1, just over a week before the Phoenix test. “It’s very nice to be back in the series,” he detailed. “Very nice to be back in my home team of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Obviously very nice to be back in the car, you know.”
AVONDALE, AZ – APRIL 01: Mikhail Aleshin of Russia, driver of the #7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsport IndyCar prepares for qualifying to the Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway on April 1, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Getty Images)
Crucially, Aleshin’s return allows him to build on his success from 2016. While inconsistent, he demonstrated tremendous speed, qualifying seventh for the Indianapolis 500 and contending for the win at both the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.
“Obviously it is very important,” he said of his return, the first time he’ll compete full-time in the same series, let alone the same team, in consecutive years since his days in the Formula Renault 3.5 Championship with Carlin. “And I hope it’s going to be good for results, because last year was good progress, I think, from my side and from the team’s side during all the season. The start of the season was difficult, but then the progress was very good.”
The duo ended the 2016 season in 13th (Hinchcliffe) and 15th (Aleshin) in the overall championship and will look to improve their standing in 2017.
2023 SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Detroit: Chase Sexton narrowly leads Cooper Webb
For the fifth time in 10 rounds of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross season, the three riders at the top of the championship standings shared a podium and while those points tell one story, the NBC SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Detroit tell a slightly different tale.Cooper Webb is peaking at the right time. – Feld Motor Sports
Chase Sexton has been all but perfect during the past 45 days with podium finishes in each of his heats and Triple Crown features. His only stumble during this period was a 10th-place finish in the Indianapolis Main. Last week, Sexton was perfect with wins in both his heat and the feature, although he needed a little help from an Aaron Plessinger mistake to take the top spot on the podium at the end of the night.
Cooper Webb finished fifth at Houston and was beginning to worry ever so slightly about his position in the points. Prior to the race in Tampa, he told NBC Sports that it was time to win and like Babe Ruth pointing to the outfield fence, Webb went out and captured it. Following that race, Webb has swept the podium and earned the red plate two weeks ago in Indianapolis. At Detroit, he added two more points on Eli Tomac as the season begins to wind down.
Tomac struggled with a stiff neck at Indianapolis and after a modest third-place showing in Detroit, he revealed he was still suffering a little. Webb and Sexton have been able to close the gap on Tomac in the past 45 days, but one of the main reasons he is so close in the points was a pair of wins that started the year. Seattle is going to be important for the defending champion because Tomac cannot afford to lose any more momentum with seven rounds remaining.
It appeared Jason Anderson was turning things around. He earned his fifth heat win at Detroit, which was also his sixth consecutive race (including features) in which he scored a top-five. A fall in the Detroit Main dropped him a lap off the pace and sent him home with a season-worst finish of ninth, causing a ripple effect in the SuperMotocross Power Rankings.
Justin Barcia was a huge part of the show last week in Detroit. He swapped positions with both Webb and Tomac in the middle stage of the race, which allowed Sexton to close the gap. Barcia finished fourth in that race to earn his third consecutive top-five. He’s been outside the top 10 only once in the first 10 rounds.
Adam Cianciarulo had a great start to the Main. He led a couple of laps before losing a lap and slipping back to eighth in the final rundown. That run was strong enough to elevate him three positions in the SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Detroit.
The NBC SuperMotocross Power Rankings look at the past 90 days in the 250 class in order to have a balanced comparison between the East and West divisions and Hunter Lawrence has been all but perfect this year. At Detroit, he earned his fifth win of the season and kept alive a streak of podium finishes in six rounds. He tied his brother Jett Lawrence with 10 250 wins one week before the West riders take to the track for back-to-back races at Seattle, Washington and Glendale, Arizona.
Nate Thrasher is settling into a comfortable role as ‘best in class’. – Feld Motor Sports
The Lawrence brothers are dominating the points in each of their respective divisions, which means the remainder of the field is battling to be best in class.
In the East, that rider is Nate Thrasher, who beat Hunter in a head-to-head matchup in their heat only to finish second in the main when the majority of points were awarded. Thrasher seems to have accepted his position in the championship standings, but that doesn’t mean he won’t keep trying for wins.
Haiden Deegan showed a lot of aggression in his heat last week. He threw a couple of block passes at his teammate Jordon Smith and set up a series of events that kept Smith from making the big show while Deegan settled into second in the preliminary. Deegan was unconcerned about how he raced his teammate and would not let a little controversy keep him from celebrating his second career podium in Detroit.
Jeremy Martin just keeps clicking off solid results. He won his heat last week by making a pass on Deegan and Smith while they were in the heat of their battle. Martin finished fourth in the Main, which means he continues to have only one finish worse than sixth in any of the features or mains.
Smith fell one position in the points standings, but the damage was even worse in SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Detroit. Crash damage in his heat contributed to a last-place finish in that race, for which he earned minimal points. He was not able to advance from the Last Chance Qualifier after stalling his bike in heavy traffic.
250 Rankings
This
Week
Rider
Power
Avg.
Last
Week
Diff.
1.
Hunter Lawrence – E
[5 Main, 5 Heat wins]
90.43
1
0
2.
Jett Lawrence – W
[3 Main, 3 Heat wins]
90.30
2
0
3.
Nate Thrasher – E
[1 Main, 3 Heat wins]
84.00
5
2
4.
Cameron McAdoo – W
[1 Heat win]
79.80
9
5
5.
Haiden Deegan – E
[1 Heat win]
78.21
7
2
6.
Jeremy Martin – E
[2 Heat wins]
78.00
8
2
7.
Jordon Smith – E
[3 Heat Wins]
76.77
4
-3
8.
Levi Kitchen – W
[1 Main]
75.30
3
-5
9.
Mitchell Oldenburg – W
75.20
11
2
10.
RJ Hampshire – W
[4 Heat wins]
74.50
17
7
11.
Max Anstie – E
74.43
6
-5
12.
Tom Vialle – E
72.07
12
0
13.
Max Vohland – W
71.56
10
-3
14.
Stilez Robertson – W
[1 Heat win]
69.22
14
0
15.
Chris Blose – E
67.43
18
3
16.
Chance Hymas – E
67.10
15
-1
17.
Enzo Lopes – W
66.00
20
3
18.
Michael Mosiman – E
65.80
16
-2
19.
Pierce Brown – W
65.78
13
-6
20.
Phil Nicoletti – W
59.25
21
1
* The NBC Power Rankings assign 100 points to a Main event winner and 90 points for each Heat and Triple Crown win, (Triple Crown wins are included with heat wins below the rider’s name). The points decrement by a percentage equal to the number of riders in the field until the last place rider in each event receives five points. The Power Ranking is the average of these percentage points over the past 45 days for the 450 class and last 90 days for 250s (because of the split nature of their season).
