IndyCar sezona 2019

[Radoye]

32 minutes ago, alberto.ascari said:

I jbg, oće li Georgina ili neće? Msm, minuli rad, sve ok, ali smorila je više španska telenovela.

 

Za sada izgleda da se Georgina nije porodila ali nije jos gotovo:

 

 

MekAlonso nude pare da kupe ulaz u Indi - ako neko od kvalifikovanih vozaca i timova odluci da im proda svoj kvalifikovani bolid startovase sa 33. poslednjeg mesta.

[Jurgen]

Zar se Indiju ne isplati da ga proguraju nekako i podignu sebi popularnost u Evropi? Ništa ih ne košta da ih bude 34 na startu....

[Radoye]

Gotove kvalifikacije za pol, Pazeno je uzeo sa 229.992

 

Grid za Indi:

 

Pazeno - Karpenter - Pigot

Dzons - Herta - Pauer

Borde - Njugarden - Rosi

Andreti - Dejli - Kastroneves

Erikson - Sato - Dejvidson

Kanan - Rehol - Dikson

Servija - Kimbal - Hildebrant

Hanter-Rej - Feruci - Lajst

Harvi - King - Henli

Vic - Rozenkvist - Man

Karam - Hincklif - Kajzer

 

Nisu se kvalifikovali Alonso, O'Vord i Cilton.

Ovo bi trebalo da bude i konacan grid osim ako neko od otpalih ne uspe da kupi kvalifikovan bolid (zadnji put se to desilo 2011. kad se Rajan Hanter-Rej nije uspeo kvalifikovati za Andreti pa je kupio Fojtov bolid koji je kvalifikovao Bruno Zunkera). U tom slucaju taj vozac startuje sa poslednjeg mesta - za Indi se kvalifikuje bolid, svaka promena vozaca nakon kvalifikacija iz bilo kog razloga znaci start sa zacelja.

 

Just now, Jurgen said:

Zar se Indiju ne isplati da ga proguraju nekako i podignu sebi popularnost u Evropi? Ništa ih ne košta da ih bude 34 na startu....

 

Zasto samo njega, sto onde ne bi dodali kompletan 12. red?

 

Vec 110 godina startuju 33, bilo je godina kada su sampioni ispadali u kvalifikacijama, 1995. kompletan tim Penski se nije kvalifikovao i nije im padalo na pamet da ih ubacuju na silu.

 

 

 

[Jurgen]

I mislio sam da je neka tradicija u pitanju. Vreme je da se jednom prekine 😄

 

Očigledno je da mu je taj auto krš i da svejedno neće ništa uraditi u trci. 

[Radoye]

Jbg 2017. je upao u najjaci tim sa 5 timskih kolega od kojih su mogli da prepisuju setap, em sto su ti bolidi imali vise aeroprianjanja i bili laksi za voznju. Cini mi se da mu je to dalo lazni utisak i njemu i Meklarenu da Indi nije nista zajebano i da ce sa svojom ekspertizom iz F1 samo da se prosetaju i uzmu pobedu.

 

Da, ali uqrcu.

 

Isto bi se desilo i da je Ferari dosao sa Fetelom ili Mercedes sa Hamiltonom i da su po prvi put probali da sastave i setapuju bolid za Indi bez icije pomoci. U F1 valada arogancija da su oni po svemu dva koplja ispred svih, da imaju najbolje vozace, najbolje inzenjere, najbolje mehanicare, da sve rade bolje od ostalih. Fakat je da je stepen tehnologije u F1 na daleko visem nivou nego na Indiju (iz prostog razloga jer je u Indiju sve mnogo stroze ograniceno pravilima) ali niti je svako ko vozi u F1 automatski superioran u odnosu na ove sa Indija niti su inzenjeri u Indiju duduci koji pojma nemaju. I jedno i drugo su usko specijalizovane discipline koje samo naoko lice i znanje i iskustvo iz jedne se ne preslikava 1:1 na drugu.

 

Valjda je sada lekcija naucena, i ako su MekAlonso ozbiljni u ideji da uzmu Indi onda moraju ozbiljno da promene pristup. Za pocetak, Alonso bi morao da razmisli da se kompletno posveti Indiju i da vozi celu sezonu a ne da glumi turistu. Isto vazi i za tim Meklaren, ili su ozbiljni sa svojim Indi programom ili bolje da ni ne pokusavaju.

 

[Radoye]

 

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Kaiser bumps Alonso from Indy 500

 

By: Chris Medland | 2 hours ago

 

Fernando Alonso and McLaren have failed to qualify for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 after being bumped out at the last by Kyle Kaiser and Juncos Racing.
 

After McLaren sought help from Andretti Autosport ahead of the one-shot Last Row Shootout qualifying session on Sunday, Alonso ran third of the six drivers and posted an average speed of 227.353 mph. That put him ahead of Max Chilton but slower than James Hinchcliffe at the time, before Sage Karam posted a 227.740 mph to secure his spot and leave Alonso on the bubble.
 

With Alonso watching from the timing screens on pit road, Patricio O’Ward never realistically threatened and failed to make the race, leaving only Kaiser who could bump the two-time Formula 1 champion out.
 

Kaiser’s run was almost identical to Alonso’s as he started at a similar speed and faded, but the 23-year-old American held on to post a 227.372mph to ensure McLaren missed the show by just 000.019 mph.
 

Karam, Hinchcliffe and Kaiser will make up the last row next Sunday, with the two Carlins and the Carlin-affiliated McLaren all failing to escape from the shootout.
 

 

 

 

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Juncos’ roll of the dice pays off

Images by Marshall Pruett

By: Marshall Pruett | 54 minutes ago

 

Ricardo Juncos made the biggest roll of the dice this month at Indy and it paid off big as sophomore IndyCar driver Kyle Kaiser knocked the mighty McLaren Racing team and two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso from the field.
 

With a single 30-minute practice session set aside Sunday morning for the six drivers in IndyCar’s Last Row Shootout to make final adjustments and find any missing speed, the No. 32 Chevy Juncos car was shockingly absent. A car-destroying crash on Friday forced the Juncos team to scramble and prepare a backup chassis for Kaiser which, unlike his primary car, was not capable of performing to the same impressive speed shown prior to the accident.

 

Slow throughout Saturday’s qualifying session to earn a position in the top 30, Kaiser was one of six drivers relegated to Sunday’s do-or-die qualifying session to earn one of the three remaining spots at the back of the grid.
 

As Kaiser’s five rivals took full advantage of the invaluable track time, the Californian’s team spent the morning putting finishing touches on the car. Already on the cusp of failing to qualify, the choice to forfeit 30 minutes of chassis tuning seemed to seal Kaiser’s fate before the session began.
 

Juncos said they had no option but to cede the advantage and hope their work would stand.
 

Team boss Ricardo Juncos watches Kaiser deliver when it counted.
 

“We didn’t have a chance [to practice] because the car wasn’t ready,” he told RACER. “Last night, after [working] 42 hours straight, we had to call it. Because we’re going to end up making mistakes; we were so tired so we sent everybody home to sleep. Then this morning we started early, and we decided not to practice because it wasn’t ready.
 

“The rain helped a little bit because the last two or three hours we keep looking for details and we keep finding stuff. Probably we wouldn’t be here if not for the extra time we had. I’m so happy for the group of people I have; there’s no words to describe. I’m celebrating my team.”
 

Running on budgetary fumes with Kaiser’s unsponsored car, Juncos took the high ground when asked if he took pride in bumping a monolithic team from competing in the 2019 Indy 500.
 

“I’m not focusing on anybody other than ourselves,” he said of McLaren and Alonso. “I feel sorry for the guys that didn’t make it. I said before qualifying, no matter what happens for us it’s a victory to be here today. I never imagined 15 years ago being in this position, so for me I win in life anyway regardless of what happens from now on.”
 

 

 

Drago mi je zbog Junkosa, dosli su na Indi bez sponzora sa stap-i-kanap budzetom, cak i tako imali jedan od najbrzih bolida, slupali ga dan pred kvalifikacije, radili bukvalno dva cela dana i noc izmedju njih da ga ponovo osposobe i ipak na kraju uspeli da izvuku stvar i kvalifikuju se. Titanski poduhvat dostojan svakog postovanja.

[Radoye]

Georgina se konacno porodila, Djekna je umrla, docekali smo Godoa - zvanicno je javljeno da Alonso ne zeli da kupuje bolid. Dakle grid kako sada stoji ostaje za trku!

[Radoye]

 

 

 

[DASUBO]

Meni ovo ostavlja baš gorak ukus u ustima. Dokle rasprodaja ugleda krvavo stečena crveno belim i srebrnim bolidima?

Ispali su potpuni amateri, potcenili su čitavu seriju i jedno tako ozbiljno takmičenje bez ikakvog pokrića.

Sramota.

[Radoye]

Prica je ipak za nijansu kompleksnija - Meklaren je trazio tehnicku saradnju sa nekim od postojecih timova ali iz raznih razloga bili su odbijeni od svih osim od Karlina.

 

Andreti je automatski otpao jer Honda nece da ima nista s Alonsom zbog poznatih razloga. HPD (Honda USA) je rekla da nemaju nista protiv saradnje ali je HRD (Honda Japan) sve blokirala. To je prakticno iskljucilo sve Honda timove (Braun je takodje pregovarao i sa SPM timom gde bi Meklaren kupio procenat i postao suvlasnik ekipe, no i to je palo u vodu).

 

Sledeca ideja je bila da Meklaren zajedno sa Andretijem preuzme Harding Rejsing koji vozi Sevijeve motore ali to su stopirali ostali timovi jer bi tako Andreti dobio pristup i Hondi i Seviju sto bi im dalo nefer prednost. Na kraju je u Harding uletela familija Stajnbrener vlasnici MLB Njujork Jenkija.

Od Sevroleta, Penski je rekao da nije zainteresovan i da bi u slucaju da ima bolid viska na raspolaganju njega pre dao Montoji nego Meklarenu. Karpenter je rekao da on zeli pobedu na Indiju za sebe i da zato nije spreman da pomaze tako jakog konkurenta kao sto je Alonso.

To je ostavilo samo Fojta i Karlina, a posto je Meklaren planirao da radi bolid u Vokingu odabrali su Karlin jer je lokacija sedista blizu. Problem je samo to sto je i Karlin novajlija sa samo jednim izlaskom na Indi do sada, no ni Fojt ne bi bio mnogo bolje resenje jer su zadnjih godina poprilicno pogubljeni - od svih ekipa koje su u Indikaru za kompletnu sezonu oni imaju ubedljivo najmanji budzet i to se odrazava i na performanse na stazi.

Napravljena su dva bolida - jedan je pripremao Karlin u svojoj Indikar bazi na Floridi (to je ovaj sto ga je Alonso vozio na testu u Teksasu) - ovo je proslogodisnja sasija koju je vozio Cilton. Bolid je funkcionisao OK, no vec je unapred odluceno da ce primarni bolid biti onaj iz Vokinga.

Bolid u Vokingu je nakon preuzimanja detaljno rastavljen i u Meklarenu su odlucili da sve komponente koje je dozvoljeno modifikovati (najznacajnije medju njima su damperi na ogibljenju) zamene svojima koje su razvili koristeci F1 tehnologiju. Bolid je isteran na testiranje 24. aprila u Indijanapolisu kada je izvezao jednocifren broj krugova zbog kvara. Ovo je bio prvi put kad su se dve polovine Meklarenovog Indikar tima srele - ona iz Vokinga i ona sa Floride koja je bila pridruzena Karlinu da "peku zanat". Tu negde je i bolid koji je Karlin spremio i koji je trebalo da bude Alonsov rezervni razmontiran - Karlin ga je svakako isporucio bez motora, a Meklarenovci su pretpostavljam demontirali ostalo u zelji da na njega stave "magicne" delove koje su razvili u Vokingu.

 

E sad, najveci propust u celoj prici je to sto je odluceno da tim nece uzeti ucesca ni na jednoj trci pre Indija. Alonso je rekao da nije zainteresovan jer "nema sta da se nauci" a tim kanda nije bio spreman da zaposli drugog vozaca. Iako se bolidi za neovalne staze razlikuju po setapu i kojecemu drugom od ovih za Indi ovo bi ipak bila dobra prilika za tim da odradi trkacki vikend zajedno i da izglade procedure, da steknu iskustvo u medjusobnoj komunikaciji i istresu potencijalne bubice iz sistema.

No kako se desilo, na prvom danu zvanicnih treninga za Indi u utorak Alonsov bolid su opet spopali elektronski gremlini kao i na testu 24. aprila, propusteno je pola dana. U sredu je bolid isao dobro i imali su solidna vremena ali se Alonso slupao, opet je izgubljeno pola dana. Pokusali su da poprave bolid ali sasija je pukla pa su krenuli da rade bekap bolid (koji je i dalje ostao rastavljen jos od onomad). Onda su tokom procesa otkrili i da je motor stradao (hteli su da koriste isti koji su imali na primarnom bolidu) pa je to uzelo jos vremena, pored generalne nepripremljenosti ekipe i nerazumevanja izmedju Indikar polovine i F1 polovine tima zbog proceduralnih razlika. Tako da je ceo cetvrtak izgubljen i na kraju su na stazu izasli tek u petak, sa ganc novim bolidom sastavljenim od komponenata sto Karlinovih sto Meklarenovih. Petak je dan kad se radi konacni setap za kvalifikacije a oni su u njega usli sa nepoznanicom od bolida za koji jos nisu ni najbazicniji setap odradili. To se odrazilo i na brzinu - po vremenima bez pomoci zavetrine MekAlonso je bio na zacelju.

E tako smo usli u subotnje kvalifikacije. Alonsova najbolja prilika je bio prvi pokusaj (staza je jos uvek bila relativno hladna) no probusio je gumu pa je to propalo. Kasniji pokusaju su bili cisto potezi ocaja i na kraju je ostao prvi ispod crte. No ono sto je interesantno je da su tu s njim bila i 2 od 3 Karlinova vozaca i to oni glavni - jedino se Carli Kimbal kvalifikovao a on prakticno samo Indi i vozi ali je od svih u Karlinu najiskusniji (ispao je iz ekipe kad je izgubio dugogodisnjeg sponzora). Naime, Karlin je prosle godine lagano prosao kvalifikacije i odlucili su da ne menjaju nista za ovu godinu - ali ono sto je bilo sasvim dovoljno prosle godine ove nije bilo ni izbliza dosta.

 

To je bacilo Meklaren u totalnu paniku pa su preko noci izmedju subote i nedelje opet demontirali bolid, i krenuli da nude novac ostalim ekipama za tehnicku pomoc. Andretijevci su im prodali svoju tehnologijiu za dampere koje su stavili umesto svojih "magicnih" F1. Navodno im je Penski prodao setap. Sve u svemu, bolid je u nedelju u svom jedinom pokusaju na stazi izgledao mnogo bolje, stabilnije, Alonso nije morao da cima volan nego je "mirnih ruku" odvezao sasvim pristojno vreme. No drugi su bili bolji i ostao je prvi ispod crte. Verovatno je bolid vozen sa za nijansu previse aeroprianjanja u zelji da se ne rizikuje previse i da se samo nekako uskoci u trku bez da i ovaj bolid razlupaju, sto je razumna odluka ali nazalost takav bolid nije bio dovoljno brz.

 

A ko je jos otpao - dva Karlina.

 

Dakle, lekcije:
 

1. Ako je Alonso ozbiljan u zelji da pobedi na Indiju i uzme triplu krunu onda bi trebalo da se posveti u potpunosti Indikaru a ne da glumi turistu. Cak i da njegov sledeci pokusaj bude sa nekom od postojecih ekipa (pa i iz velike trojke Penski-Ganasi-Andreti) koristilo bi mu iskustvo provedeno u Indi bolidu i na drugim stazama. Uostalom, kad jedan Penski svoj dodatni bolid za Indi sa iskusnim Kastronevesom istera i na VN Indijanapolisa ocigledno je da ima sta da se nauci iz toga.

2. Takodje vazi i za Meklaren - ako ce da rade Indikar tim onda treba da ga rade ozbiljno a ne tako da im izadje najjeftinije. Ne moze samo da se pojavi na Indi i da se uzme pobeda, pa 100 puta da si F1. Iako na oko slicne Indi i F1 su dovoljno razlicite discipline da se ekspertiza u jednoj ne preslikava direktno na drugu. Arogancija da je F1 najnajnaj i da sve znaju bolje od ostalih je po svemu vidjenom ovog vikenda neosnovana. Meklarenova F1 tehnologija je potpuno podbacila i morali su da je zamene Andretijevim know-how. Cinjenica je da je F1 puna briljantnih ljudi na svim poljima koji su jako dobri u onome sto rade ali to ne znaci da su van F1 sve idioti - i Indi je na svim poljima pun briljantnih ljudi koji su jako dobri u onome sto rade. Obe discipline su svaka na svoj nacin vrhunac za sebe.

 

3. Karlin je takodje zestoko podbacio - cak i u Indikaru gde je tehnicki razvoj maksimalno ogranicen i gde su bolidi na papiru isti (ali samo na papiru) stepen razvoja od godine na godinu je toliki da ne dozvoljava nikome da sedi s prstom u dupetu i ne radi nista uveren da je proslogodisnji paket dovoljan.

 

Sve u svemu - zestok fijasko i samarcina od koje ce jos dugo da bridi obraz...

[Radoye]

Kompletni rezultati kvalifikacija:

 

http://www.imscdn.com/indycar_media/documents/2019-05-19/05-19-19 Indy 500 quals day 2 results.pdf

[Radoye]

U medjuvremenu, Zek Braun je otpustio Boba Fernlija sefa Meklarenovog Indikar tima:

 

 

[Radoye]

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MILLER: Was this really a surprise?

Image by IndyCar

By: Robin Miller | 38 minutes ago

 

It wasn’t a surprise that McLaren struggled this month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Most of us figured the proud Formula 1 team would find starting an IndyCar team from scratch to be a big challenge.
 

But nobody thought Fernando Alonso could miss the show. Well… that’s not entirely true. That thought began creeping into our minds late in the week as we watched this train wreck unfold.
 

From the Open Test when the car died and it took an hour to figure out why, to taking more than a day to prepare the backup car, to missing 10 minutes of valuable practice on Sunday morning to the sparkler show off the gearbox when they couldn’t dial in the ride height, McLaren looked as out of synch as it did out of place.
 

“I think they were kind of arrogant about what it takes to run here,” said a veteran mechanic. “But I don’t think they are anymore.”
 

It’s not that Zak Brown’s team lacked mechanical skills. Or technical experience, since they had former Indy-winning engineer Andy Brown. They built one car in England with their people and the other was assembled in Florida with some longtime Indy mechanics. But it appears they were woefully short of structure and direction.
 

The Dallara DW12 is a different animal to a  homemade F1 chassis, especially on an oval. There is a finite art to preparing a car to cut through the air at 230 mph with identical chassis.
 

“Spec racing is hard. It’s all about details, not design,” said veteran Sebastien Bourdais, who qualified seventh for Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan. “It’s all about the car and the people working on the car. They didn’t didn’t have current people, so I really wasn’t surprised. It wasn’t Fernando’s fault; he ran wide-open. That’s all you can ask here.”
 

Asked if he felt sorry for Alonso, the always-candid Bourdais replied: “No, I think he’s relieved. He didn’t want to start in the last row in a car that had no chance to win.”
 

In joining Team Penske (1995), Bobby Rahal (1993) and Rodger Ward (1965), Alonso’s name has been added to a list of stars who missed out in qualifying at Indianapolis after previous success.
 

And while it was the kind of drama that makes Indy qualifying so special – watching Kyle Kaiser and the little Juncos team KO Alonso and Mighty McLaren on the final run of the Last Row Shootout – not having the orange Go Smile machine in this year’s race isn’t good.
 

Might be the first joke we’ve seen at McLaren’s expense; probably won’t be the last.
 

Brown, McLaren’s CEO, who obviously has an affection for Indy and certainly seems to be serious about trying to run IndyCar full-time, said that the team’s performance here this month could help determine if they pull the trigger. So you don’t know what this setback could mean for the future.
 

“We’ve certainly learned a lot of lessons here that will carry forward, and that possibility (full-time) is still in consideration,” said Gil de Ferran, the 2003 Indy winner who is McLaren’s sporting director. “But no decision has been made.”
 

Having McLaren join the lineup would be good for IndyCar, and having Alonso in the Indy 500 again would be good for television ratings and interest because he’s one of the few racers that can move the needle.
 

He said at the end of a long day that it was too early to make any decision about whether or not he’ll return in 2020, but you have to wonder if it would be with McLaren if he does. He no doubt had flashbacks to his futile final days with the team in F1, so it might behoove IndyCar to explore getting him in a competitive ride as an enticement.
 

Bourdais made a great point in that Alonso wasn’t destroyed by not qualifying because he had zero chance of being competitive, let alone winning. And after his dazzling debut in 2018 when he led laps and ran up front, he’s not interested in driving around and finishing 15th; he did that the last few years in F1.
 

The 37-year-old Spaniard isn’t just a credit to motorsports, he’s a rare breed of personality and professionalism who understands how to play the game. He came to the media center after qualifying was over Sunday and answered questions for 20 minutes. I imagine a root canal might have been the preferred option, but he was classy and forthright and gracious. No excuses, no whining, no pity -– just an honest post mortem.
 

He missed making the show by an eyelash, and those 10 minutes Sunday morning could have given him five more laps of focus on gearing and handling after getting new dampers from Andretti Autosport.
 

But, like everything else these past few days, McLaren missed the boat and it’s going to sail without them on May 26. I just hope Fred comes back with a fighting chance next May.
 

 

 

[Radoye]

Danas na Indiju svoj program pocinje Lajt serija. Oni ce voziti dva slobodna treninga prvi je vec u toku) a izmedju toga ce od 12 do 2 i Indikar da odradi slobodni trening. Na programu je vracanje setapa na konfiguraciju za trku, dakle bolidi koji se dobro ponasaju u prljavom vazduhu sa promenljivom kolicinom goriva u rezervoaru i sa gumama koje treba da prezive stintove od ~30 krugova umesto raketa setapovanih za 4 kruga maksimalnom brzinom dok su sami na stazi.

 

Lajtovi svoje kvalifikacije voze u cetvrtak za trku na 40 krugova / 100 milja koja ce biti vozena u petak kada ce i Indikar odraditi poslednju proveru bolida pred trku. Tog dana ce biti i takmicenje za najbrzi pitstop.

 

U subotu ce biti parada veterana iz muzeja IMS i raznorazne svetkovine, koncerti, itd.

 

U nedelju je trka, 103. Indi 500.

Sto se tice Indi Lajt serije, tu cemo imati prilike da vidimo sledecu generaciju Andretija - Dzeret Antreti, sin Dzona Andretija i unuk Mariovog brata blizanca Alda. On se do sada uglavnom takmicio u Sprintkar i Supermodifajd serijama sa par izleda u IMSA GT i protoripove, ovo mu je prva trka u nekoj seriji na Indikarovoj lestvici. Pored njega tu je i povratnik Zek Klaman de Melo koji je prosle godine (neuspesno) vozio Indikar, holandska senzacija Rinus ViKej (Rinus van Kalmthout - amerikaniziran u VeeKay) koji je u dosadasnjoj karijeri izdominirao u svakom sampionatu gde se takmicio i "veterani" Indi Lajt serije Dalton Kelet i Rajan Norman. Trenutno u sampionatu za prvo mesto mrtvu trku vode pomenuti ViKej i Oliver Askju takodje ruki koji je i u dosadasnjoj karijeri na Indi lestvici bio najozbiljniji konkurent ViKeju.

 

Lajt trka na 100 milja je inace poznata po cestim spektakularnim foto-finisima, pre koju sezonu su 4 bolida u liniji prosli kroz cilj za prvo mesto u trci bez ijedne zute zastave.

 

 

[Radoye]

Al Anser mladji, dvostruki pobednik Indi 500 koji trenutno radi za Harding-Stajnbrener tim kao savetnik uhapsen je sinoc u Indijanapolisu zbog voznje u pijanom stanju.

 

Anser vec dugo vodi borbu sa bolestima zavisnosti, vec je u nekoliko navrata hapsen a 2011. mu se i brak raspao zbog alkoholizma. Poslednjih nekoliko godina je bio trezan.

[Radoye]

 

[Radoye]

- Zek Klaman de Melo koji se nakon neuspesne sezone u Indikaru vratio u Indi Lajt seriju ipak nece voziti Lajt trku u Indijanapolisu u petak - povukli su mu se sponzori.

[Radoye]

Uh ovo je bas tesko za citati...
 

 

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McLaren’s failed Indy 500 effort was a comedy of errors

By JENNA FRYER2 hours ago

 

Fernando Alonso, of Spain, watches the final qualifier during qualifications for Indianapolis 500 IndyCar auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 19, 2019, in Indianapolis. Alonzo failed to make the field for the race. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
 

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The comedy of errors that doomed McLaren’s disastrous return to the Indianapolis 500 began months before Fernando Alonso failed to qualify for the race. How bad was it? A week before Alonso’s first test in the car, the team realized it didn’t even have a steering wheel.
 

McLaren CEO Zak Brown acknowledged Monday the team was woefully unprepared and small oversights snowballed into the final result. Bob Fernley, the head of the operation, was fired hours after Alonso missed the race and Brown returned to England to digest the embarrassment of his venture.
 

Brown on Monday provided The Associated Press a detailed timeline of the bloopers and blunders that led to Alonso missing the race, the last piece the two-time Formula One champion needs in his quest to win motorsports’ version of the Triple Crown.
 

“I don’t think we came into this arrogant, I think we were unprepared,” Brown said. “We didn’t deserve to be in the race and it’s our own fault. It’s not like we showed up and gave our best. We defeated ourselves.”
 

The path to missing the 33-driver field began when the car was not ready the moment Texas Motor Speedway opened for the April test. Brown had personally secured a steering wheel the previous week from Cosworth to use for the test, and the mistakes piled up from there.
 

“We didn’t get out until midday, our steering wheel was not done on time, that’s just lack of preparation and project management organizational skills,” Brown said. “That’s where this whole thing fell down, in the project management. Zak Brown should not be digging around for steering wheels.”
 

A cosmetic issue at the Texas test haunted McLaren deep into last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
 

McLaren purchased a car from technical partner Carlin, and though the car was orange when McLaren received it, it was not the proper McLaren “papaya orange.” It had to be repainted after the test, and that still had not been completed when Alonso crashed his McLaren-built car last Wednesday.
 

The Carlin spare was in a paint shop 30 minutes from the track, more than a month after McLaren complained about the color, and it ultimately cost McLaren almost two full days of track time. The team looked foolish as other teams were able to move into backup cars in mere hours; James Hinchcliffe crashed in Saturday qualifying and was back on track in his spare that afternoon.
 

Carlin was a two-car team when McLaren made its alliance but expanded to three for the Indy 500. Once Carlin took on the extra work, Brown said, the team had few resources to give McLaren.
 

“It was clear they weren’t capable of running three cars and serving us,” he said. Carlin entrants Max Chilton and Patricio O’Ward were the two other drivers who failed to qualify.
 

McLaren’s poor showing is one of the biggest failures in Indy 500 history. Roger Penske missed the show with Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi in 1995, a year after dominating the race. Reigning CART champion Bobby Rahal missed it in 1993, and two-time Indy winner Rodger Ward never got up to speed to make the 1965 field.
 

The McLaren budget for this Indy 500 was strong, every sponsorship opportunity had been sold and the venture was a guaranteed commercial success for McLaren. Brown was somewhat hands-off and focused on the critical rebuild of the Formula One part of the program. He now laments waiting too long to become heavily involved with the Indy 500 effort. He also believes he was too slow in assigning McLaren sporting director Gil de Ferran, a former Indy 500 winner, oversight of the program.
 

“I should have been closer to Indy but I could never compromise Formula One,” Brown said. “At 9:01 in the morning when we weren’t on track at the first test, that’s when we failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. We didn’t ring the fire alarm quick enough because we could have recovered after the first test.
 

“I am angry at myself because I was uncomfortable all the way up to the first test and I should have followed my instinct to get more involved.”

Many of the issues were beyond Brown’s control.
 

The car had an electrical issue in last month’s test at Indy and an employee was taken off the team for the error. Alonso had another electrical issue on opening day for the 500 and the alternator and wiring loom had to be replaced. Alonso crashed on the second day, and McLaren missed all of Day 3 rebuilding the spare from Carlin that was finally the proper shade of orange.
 

Fast Friday showed the car still needed speed, and Alonso went into qualifying on shaky ground. His first qualifying run was sabotaged by a tire puncture — which wasn’t detected beforehand because Brown said the team had purchased incorrect tire sensors.
 

Alonso wound up one of six drivers in the “Last Row Shootout” on Sunday and the panicked McLaren team begged and borrowed across the paddock for any assistance available. Alonso went out to practice Sunday with an entirely new setup, but in the frantic changeover a mistake was made in converting inches to the metric system the English team uses and the car scraped and sparked on his first lap. It had to be fixed and Alonso got in just five more laps before rain ended the session.
 

When it came time for Alonso to make his final last-gasp qualifying attempt late Sunday afternoon, the Spaniard was given a car that Brown and de Ferran were concerned might not perform.
 

“Gil and I went to the motorhome and told Fernando: ‘We are going to try this, but this could go well or really wrong. Are you comfortable?’” Brown said. “And Fernando said, ‘Let’s go for it.’”
 

Alonso agreed that he never backed away from the challenge.
 

“We went out with an experiment that we did overnight. We changed everything on the car because we thought that maybe we need something from the mental side different to go into the race with some confidence,” Alonso said. “We went out not knowing what the car will do in Turn 1, but you’re still flat. So we tried.”

The new setup and assistance from other teams indeed got the car up to speed, but Alonso was knocked from the field by 23-year-old Kyle Kaiser of tiny Juncos Racing. McLaren discovered after the qualifying run that the car had the wrong gear ratio setup.
 

“We actually had a 229 (mph) car but we had 227.5 gearing, so we beat ourselves again while we almost made it,” Brown said. “We really did put it all on the line and you could feel the anxiety. There was some real heroism in that. I don’t want the world to think McLaren is a bunch of idiots because while we did have a few, we had some real stars.”
 

Alonso has rejected an offer from the team to purchase a seat in the Indy 500 field for him.
 

What’s next is a careful lookback as Brown figures out McLaren’s future at both the Indy 500 and the IndyCar Series. He still wants to field two full-time entries in the series but isn’t sure yet how much of a setback this has been. He believes McLaren will be back next year at Indy for a second chance.

 

“I feel an obligation to the fans and sponsors, we let them down. We didn’t fulfill our promise and I think they need more than just an apology,” Brown said. “There will be repercussions for those who don’t deserve to work for a great team like McLaren. We will look at what we learned here and the list is a mile long. I hope people appreciate that we go for it, we are racers, and Fernando is a star and we are not quitters. We want to come back.”

 

 

[Radoye]

 

[Radoye]

 

[Radoye]

Junkos ne samo da je uspeo da izbaci MekAlonsa iz 33 startera na Indiju nego je u to ime zaradio i nove sponzore:

 

https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/juncos-lands-sponsor-for-indy/4393901/?fbclid=IwAR0mk86H1UU5gWgrP3bSKj6vpJKTwd8vmQppktIeA4KCJkQcVhAvlZUOy_Q

[Radoye]

Danas se u Indijanapolisu voze kvalifikacije za sutrasnju Lajt trku, Indikar ima jos jedan trening sutra kada je na programu i takmicenje u pitstopovima.

 

U nedelju je Indi 500!

[Radoye]

Quote

 

For Foyt, being at Indy 500 is back home again

By Phillip B. Wilson | Published: May 22, 2019

 

INDIANAPOLIS – A.J. Foyt is back where he belongs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and at 84, the living legend doesn’t waste time thinking about what is beyond his control.

 

A four-time Indianapolis 500 winner as a driver, the man who now owns the NTT IndyCar Series team bearing his name shakes his head when asked if he ever wonders how much longer he’ll return.

 

“I’ve looked at death,” Foyt said. “It’s something we don’t know about. When your time is up, it’s up. I’ve always felt that way.

 

“I can’t holler. It’s been a great life, a lot of fun. I’ve had so many of my friends who hated their jobs. I’ve had my ups and downs, don’t get me wrong, but still at the same time it’s been a great life. I’ve had fun doing everything I’ve been doing.”

 

His A.J. Foyt Enterprises operation has set up shop again in the familiar A-1 garage of Gasoline Alley and all seems right in the racing world because the team owner is intensely focused once again on another installment of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

 

Foyt’s drivers, fan favorite and 2013 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Tony Kanaan and second-year driver Matheus Leist, are safely in the show for Sunday’s race. Kanaan qualified 16th in the No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, with Leist 24th in the sister No. 4 Chevy.

 

The boss doesn’t need to state the obvious to his pilots, that this race means more than any other.

 

It’s always been that way, since Foyt arrived at IMS in 1958 and initially wasn’t allowed into Gasoline Alley until the Texan’s identity could be confirmed as a driver. He won the Indy 500 in 1961, ’64, ’67 and ’77 – the first to become a four-time winner – which is why Foyt always says Indianapolis Motor Speedway and this race made his name famous. (He is shown at right following win No. 4 in 1977.)

 

“Nobody knows me from winning the other races really,” said Foyt, whose lengthy list of accomplishments includes a record 67 Indy car victories. “They know me from winning at Indianapolis. That was always my dream, to be able to do good there. To be fortunate enough to win it one time was like a miracle to me.

 

“If I did good at Indy, the rest of the season was pretty good. If I did crappy at Indy, I didn’t care if I won every other race, it didn’t mean much to me. I couldn’t wait to get back.”

 

Some things will never change.

 

“It’s my second home,” Foyt said of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “I’ve spent as much time at Indy as my home in Texas.”

 

After surviving his share of scary crashes when driving, Foyt has overcome a seemingly continual series of health issues in later years — triple-bypass heart surgery, 10 days in a coma, three staph infections, a left hip and both knees replaced, being stung about 200 times by killer bees and almost drowning after flipping a bulldozer.

 

Foyt shrugs about staring down death so many times. He grumbles about spending too much time with doctors and says he recently consented after constant nagging to having another test on his heart. “Everything is good,” he said.

 

When not at his second home, Foyt still likes to keep busy on his Texas ranches, which he estimates at about 15,000 acres. He loves his five bulldozers, recently buying another. It’s still a pain climbing on them as well as his tractors, but he does it. He also has about 1,000 cows and 40 horses, most of them racers.

 

“Everybody told me, when you’re young the kid with the most toys has the most fun in life,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of toys.”

 

But even when he’s playing with them, make no mistake, Foyt’s mind never wanders far from Indianapolis.

 

“Indy is everything to A.J.,” said his son, Larry, team president. “He is so competitive at every race we compete in, but when he gets to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, his intensity goes to another level. When the race is over and we are headed to the next race, he is already thinking about things to go faster the next month of May.

 

“I can’t tell you how many times in the offseason he will be on a tractor at the ranch and come to the shop and tell me to call the engineers because he was thinking about how we can make the car better and has an idea. It’s fantastic really and goes to show how important this race, the facility and the people who have owned it and managed it mean to him.”

 

Foyt graciously accepts annual recognition, although he doesn’t see the need for too much fuss.

 

“What’s the big deal?” he said. “I had my fun in life. I know what I did. The people who follow me know.”

 

The fact that so many appreciate him and enjoy seeing him isn’t lost on him. He delights autograph seekers and smiles for pictures when newcomers visit his garage. But then it’s back to work.

 

In a recent moment of reflection, Foyt sat back and gazed at several old pictures on a table in a team transporter. He shares specific details about each one, especially what he did in that year’s Indy 500.

 

“Look at that one,” he said, shoving a picture forward. “I even had sideburns.”

 

There’s another from 1961, a few months before his first Indy 500 victory, which he reminds was the 50th anniversary of the race. Does he recognize that young guy?

 

“I’ve heard of him,” he said with a grin.

 

Foyt inevitably reminds that he’s always been a tough-talking Texan who isn’t shy about expressing himself.

 

“I’ve been that way and I ain’t gonna change, especially at this late stage,” he said.

 

He chuckles about how his racing life differs from today.

 

“I don’t think drivers have the drive that I had,” he said. “I slept in my car. I rented a basement for a week and slept on an Army cot.

 

“I won Indy and the next week I was at Salem, Indiana, running sprints, then I would run a midgets race. It was a different ballgame.”

 

But all these years later, A.J. Foyt is still playing. It’s May again, race day is near. He’s fired up. And he’s grateful.

 

“I’m lucky to still be here talking,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed every day of my life.”

 

 

[Radoye]

Robert Megenis uzeo pol za Lajt trku, Andreti 1-2-3-4 na startu!

[Radoye]