(UPDATED) IndyCar: Rossi, Dixon fastest in rain-shortened first practice at Gateway, qualifying cancelled

By Aug 24, 2018, 5:44 PM EDT
IndyCar
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UPDATED (6:33 p.m.): IndyCar officials have decided to forego qualifying tonight due to rain, per a tweet from the series.

As a result, the starting grid for Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway Motorsports Park will be set by entrant points in the Verizon IndyCar Series point standings.

That means series points leader Scott Dixon will start Saturday’s race from the pole, with No. 2 in the points, Alexander Rossi, on the outside pole.

However, IndyCar officials are still hoping to get in one other practice session tonight if the weather breaks. As such, what was originally scheduled to be a one-hour practice session from 9 to 10 p.m. ET is now scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET and go to 10 p.m. ET.

ORIGINAL STORY

Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon were fastest in Friday’s first IndyCar practice session at Gateway Motorsports Park – but the rain was faster.

Rossi led all cars in the 21-driver field with a speed of 184.424 mph (at 24.4003 seconds). Dixon was second-fastest at 182.773 mph (at 24.6207 seconds).

The practice session was originally slated to go off at 1:15 p.m. ET, but was postponed for rain and then additional drying of the race track.

Then, just as things got underway shortly after 4 p.m. ET, Marco Andretti brought out a red flag stoppage when the gearbox on his Andretti Autosport Honda failed on-track. Cars returned to the track for about 20 minutes before rain returned in a heavy sprinkle with about six minutes left in the session, cutting things short on the 1.250-mile oval.

Sebastien Bourdais was third-fastest (182.675 mph at 24.6339), followed by Tony Kanaan (182.444 at 24.6651), Ed Jones (182.364 at 24.6759), Ryan Hunter-Reay (181.593 at 24.7807), Spencer Pigot (181.501 at 24.7932), Zach Veach (181.404 at 24.8065), James Hinchcliffe (180.929 at 24.8716) and defending race winner and series champ Josef Newgarden (180.429 at 24.9405).

Qualifying is set to take place at 7 p.m. ET tonight, weather conditions permitting. And the final one-hour practice session is slated for 9 p.m. ET tonight, as well.

Dixon holds a 29-point edge over Rossi in the Verizon IndyCar Series point standings. Newgarden is 66 points back and his Team Penske teammate Will Power is 81 points back, with three races remaining on the 2018 schedule.

While Dixon still leads the points standings, Rossi comes into Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 having won the last two races (Mid-Ohio and Pocono).

Saturday night’s race is slated to take the green flag at 8:30 p.m. ET. However, there is an 80 percent chance of rain in the forecast for that evening.

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Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).