AUSTIN, Texas – Because of the high loads put on the high-speed NTT IndyCar Series cars, Sunday’s INDYCAR Classic at Circuit of the Americas will feature plenty of “comers and goers” according to series drivers.
That’s because tire degradation will play a role in the race. That is how long the Firestone tires are at optimal grip before the grip level starts to fall off dramatically. When that happens, handling will begin to deteriorate, and speeds will drop. The drivers that manage their tires the best, will have an advantage because they will be able to run faster lap times.
Factor in the two different compounds that are used by Firestone in NTT IndyCar Series street and road course racing and the strategy gets even more intriguing. The harder, primary tire is known as the Firestone “Black.” It has longer durability, but less speed performance. The softer, alternate tire is known as the Firestone “Red” because it has red sidewalls. Those tires have superior performance but degrade at a much quicker rate.
“The tires seem to go off quite a lot,” said rookie driver Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden. He was the second fastest driver in Friday’s combined practice sessions at 1:47.6150 around the 20-turn, 3.41-mile Circuit of the Americas road course for a speed of 114.073 miles per hour in a Honda.
“Managing that is going to be the key,” Rosenqvist continued. “Everyone just got, like, one or two laps on the Reds (softer, faster alternate tires), then it’s a big question mark how they’re going to behave in the race without laps on them in the warmup session.
“I think it’s going to be an interesting one. It’s a big question mark, like it always is in this area. That’s kind of exciting. We felt pretty good so far.
“I think it’s going to be good, fair qualifying where everyone can get a lap in. Surprised sometimes how much traffic you can get on such a big track.
“Let’s hope it’s a good session and we come out on top.”
Team Penske driver Will Power was the fastest in Friday’s two combined practice sessions when his Chevrolet ran a lap at 1:47.4401 for a speed of 114.529 mph.
“The tires degrade so much, I think it will create some racing,” Power said. “I think there will be some mistakes. It’s always hard to say. You see what happens in these series, they get so competitive, so tight, basically everyone almost runs the same speed. That’s what makes it difficult to pass.
“IndyCar is at that point. Being a new track, no one knows what to expect for the race, so we’ll see.”
Patricio O’Ward, the 2018 Indy Lights Series champion from Mexico, makes his first start of the season for Carlin Racing. The 19-year-old also expects tires to play a major role in the 60-lap race on Sunday.
“It’s going to very interesting in the race because nobody has raced around here in an Indy car,” O’Ward said. “That is going to be the biggest surprise this weekend.
“I think the challenges will be tire degradation, for sure. It’s a very fast, flowing circuit and that takes a big toll on front and rear tires. There are a lot of long, lasting corners so that heats up the tires quite quick. You can go overboard if you are too hard on them.”
O’Ward believes a tire stint will be 12-15 laps and said it is too early to tell if a team needs to pit before a full load of fuel is used.
That should have the IndyCar team engineers and race strategists on pit lane crunching numbers to come up with the winning strategy in Sunday’s race.
Jett Lawrence wins Pro Motocross opener, remains perfect at Fox Raceway; Hunter wins in 250s
PALA, California – In his 450 bike debut, Jett Lawrence scored a perfect round at Fox Raceway in Pala, California to win Pro Motocross Round 1. He posted the fastest time in both qualification sessions, won the holeshot in both motos, and scored a pair of wins to take the overall victory and the early points’ lead.Chase Sexton stalked Jett Lawrence throughout Moto 2, but could not find his way past. – Align Media
No one seriously questioned Lawrence’s opportunity to make noise in the 450 class. Few would have been surprised to see him podium in his Pro Motocross National, but Lawrence outperformed all expectations by dominating Moto 1. He entered the weekend with zero points and his eye on 20th in the standings so he would receive an automatic invitation to the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX).
He well surpassed expectations.
“It’s awesome,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “I can finally smile. I’ve been trying to stay serious and not get too excited with emotions coming up – and now I can finally let loose. The second one was a little harder, I couldn’t hear him but I’d look back and I’d still see the red bike. It was like a chess match.”
By the end of the race, Lawrence made up 30 percent of the points he needed to claim 20th and served notice that he will be one of the favorites to win the championship. He closed the gap even further in Moto 2, but the two races had entirely different storylines.
While Lawrence was able to run away from the field in the first race and win with a 10-second advantage, Honda teammate and defending Monster Energy Supercross champion Chase Sexton pressured him for the entire 30 minutes plus two laps that made up Moto 2.
Lawrence is the 16th rider to win in his first Pro Motocross race, the 10th to do so in an opener and second youngest, (behind Rick Johnson, 17 when he won at Hangtown in 1982).
Sexton was within two seconds of Lawrence for the entire moto. He rode a patient race with the realistic expectation that the 450 rookie Lawrence might make a mistake. Lawrence bounced from rut to rut in this race, but would not be forced into losing his focus.
“Toward the finish line area I had some decent lines, I thought maybe, if I could get close enough, I could make a move,” Sexton said. “I tried my hardest; I got close. I made a bit of an attempt with maybe 10 minutes to go and messed up. Jett was obviously riding really good. We were pushing the pace and it was a fun moto. It felt a little like last year.”
With his 1-1 finish and the overall victory, Lawrence remains perfect at Fox Raceway after sweeping Victory Lane in five rounds his 250 career.
Dylan Ferrandis returned to the track after suffering a concussion in the Supercross season in Round 4 in Houston. He attempted to return for the Daytona Supercross race, but another hard crash on Media Day set him on the sideline.
“Earlier this week I was pretty far from a podium position, so got together with the team and we made it happen,” Ferrandis said. “It was very hard. [Aaron Plessinger] was pushing me and I had to dig very deep.”
In a pre-race news conference, he indicated that the best course of action was to get up to speed before he fully sent his bike into the turns. But adrenalin is a wonderful factor and once he got into the pace of the race, he held off charges from Cooper Webb in Moto 1 and Plessinger in Moto 2. Ferrandis’ 3-3 finishes in the two races earned 40 points and puts him back in the conversation to be among the top 20 in the combined SuperMotocross standings.
Plessinger and Webb each ended the day with 34 points. Plessinger won the tiebreaker for fifth overall in the standings. But it was an adventurous afternoon for Plessinger who had to overcome a pair of falls in the first Moto to finish fifth.
Round 1 of the Pro Motocross season marked the return of Webb after he suffered a Supercross series ending concussion in a heat race at Nashville.
“This was a last minute decision,” Webb said. “I sat out last summer and I didn’t want to do that again. Once I got cleared from the doctor, it was game on.”
The battle between Lawrence and Sexton gave Honda a 1-2 finish in this race for the second straight year, but perhaps most importantly, it provided a glimpse of what can be expected during the opening rounds.
I think there is more to come from Chase,” Lawrence said. “He had that crash in practice so it rung his head a bit, but I know it’s going to be a war in the outdoor season. I know there’s going to be times when I’m behind Chase and can’t get around him. It’s going to be an awesome season and I can’t wait to race my teammate.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Jett wasn’t the only Lawrence to win Fox Raceway Motocross. Hunter’s win in the 250 class marked the first time in history that brothers won a Motocross National on the same day.
The reigning 250 East Supercross champion scored the overall victory with a third in Moto 1 and a victory in Moto 2. A poor start in the first race forced Lawrence to mount a charge from behind. Riding with discomfort, Lawrence was out of his rhythm early. A spirited battle with Jo Shimoda and Justin Cooper for third through fifth forced him to push through the pain of an injury suffered at the start of the week.
“The start was crucial,” Lawrence said. “I had a massive crash Monday and could barely ride press day for three laps, I was in so much pain. This one goes out to Dr. [Rey Gubernick]. He has magic hands.”
Lawrence’s strong start to Moto 2 put him in a better zone and he pulled an eight-second advantage over the second-place rider.
Haiden Deegan got a taste of the Motocross series last year, but that was all it was: a nibble.
Deegan failed to crack the top 10 in either of two starts and had some questions for himself before the race began. Deegan did not believe there were high expectations placed on him for this race, which is precisely how he described his first Supercross attempt. In that inaugural SX race, he finished fourth and was as surprised as anyone in the field.
Again: The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Deegan surprised himself again by finishing second in only his third Motocross National. He finished sixth in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2, giving him a second-place finish overall.
“I’m actually a little surprised,” Deegan said. “A lot of people said I wouldn’t even be close to this. I guess we’re proving people wrong and that’s what we’ve got to do Second place in my first full season. I’m hyped.”
RJ Hampshire made a statement in Moto 1. An entirely new discipline allowed Hampshire to grab an early advantage. But then a poor start to Moto 2 provided an entirely different challenge. Two falls on Lap 1 dropped Hampshire to 39th in the running order.
“I didn’t have a great start and got mayhem in that second corner and went down,” Hampshire said. “Picked [myself] up in last and made some really good passes and then going uphill on the [backstretch], someone got out of whack – took me out and I was dead last again. I didn’t really know if I had a shot at the podium, but I was digging really deep.”
It took half of the race to get back into the points in 20th, but Hampshire kept digging. Passing riders one at a time, he climbed to 11th in Moto 2 and salvaged enough points to give him the third position overall.
Maximus Vohland made a statement of his own by holding off a determined Lawrence on the last two laps. Lawrence was able to pressure Vohland when they were slowed by a lapped rider who fell in front of the battle.
Tom Vialle was in a position to take the final overall podium spot with a solid third-place finish in the second moto. He did everything he could, but Hampshire’s determined charge from the back of the pack was capped off with a two-position advance on the final lap to slide onto the final step of the box.
