2022 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Post-Race Press Conference With CGR Brain Trust
2022 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Post-Race Press Conference with Mike Hull, Managing Director of Chip Ganassi Racing, Chip Ganassi, President and Team Owner of Chip Ganassi Racing, and Mike O'Gara, Strategist for Marcus Ericsson's No. 8 Team.
Team photo after qualifications where the drivers ended up in the field of 33 cars in the following order - Dixon P1, Palou P2, Ericsson P5, Kanaan P6, Johnson P12. Image Credit: Penske Entertainment: Chris Jones (2022)
ZOOM Call Press Conference featuring DPi Class competitor Renger van der Zande, co-driver of the No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R & GTD Class competitor Roman De Angelis, co-driver of the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
If you didn’t enjoy Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, well then, there’s not much I can say. Other than, what more could you want from an automobile race?
Perhaps I was misinformed, but I was under the impression that the race was the first half of an IMSA doubleheader at Watkins Glen that featured one endurance race and one sprint race. Turns out, it was more like the first two-thirds of an IMSA tripleheader that featured one five-hour endurance race and a one-hour sprint, to be followed by the scheduled sprint race, the IMSA WeatherTech 240 on Friday.
Thanks to a full-course yellow just past the five-hour mark, all five classes had what amounted to a reset that unleashed a frantic hour-long dash to the finish with some classes – notably GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) – having enough fuel on board to run flat out, while others – most notably Daytona Prototype international (DPi) – searching for a delicate balance between performance and fuel economy. The result was a veritable five-ring circus where no quarter was asked and none given among and between DPi, Le Mans Prototypes 2 and 3 (LMP2 and LMP3), GTLM and GTD. While there was an abundance of close calls, near misses and “incidental” contact, it’s little short of amazing the only major incident occurred when Kamui Kobayashi’s No. 48 Ally Cadillac Racing DPi rammed Kevin Magnussen in Turn 8 on the final lap, sending both cars into the sand trap and beaching Magnussen’s No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi, while Kobayashi recovered to take the checkered flag.
That final hour whetted the appetite not only for Friday’s “scheduled” sprint race, but for the remaining events which also will feature all five IMSA classes on similarly fast and open natural terrain road courses – starting this week at The Glen.
Given that they led most of the opening five hours, the ultimate outcome of the race had to be disappointing to Dane Cameron, Olivier Pla and the Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian team. On the other hand, “settling” for second place after leading most of the race represents a significant step forward for the No. 60 Acura ARX-05 DPi that has been outpaced by the other Acura, the No. 10 Konica Minolta campaigned by Wayne Taylor Racing in this, the first season for both teams’ association with the Acura DPi program.
Some of those gains resulted from MSR’s recent test at Watkins Glen, which bodes well for the remainder of a 2021 WeatherTech Championship schedule starting with Friday’s sprint race at The Glen and includes stops at similarly fast, open road courses like Road America, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Bill Auberlen would have been the first to tell you that luck played a role in some of his 63 IMSA wins through the years. His competitors and teammates also will tell you that Auberlen’s driving talent and fiercely competitive nature had plenty to do with most of those victories.
But when those forces come together, as they did Sunday, Auberlen is a virtually unstoppable force. Auberlen and co-drivers Robbie Foley and Aidan Read had already stamped their authority on the GTD race, surging to the lead despite an unscheduled pit stop necessitated by a refueling issue. However, that lead was tenuous as that extra stop had put them “off sequence” with the balance of the GTD field.
Ultimately, it required the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 to pit for fuel with roughly an hour remaining in the race. In all likelihood, they would need another splash of fuel to make the finish, possibly taking them out of contention.
But just as Auberlen committed to pit road, Gabriel Aubry’s ORECA LMP2 07 crashed heavily in Turn 1. Not only did the resulting full-course caution give the Turner BMW a “free” pit stop, Auberlen moved to the front of the GTD field when the competition cycled through pit stops during the yellow. What’s more, the lengthy clean-up for Aubry’s crash ensured Auberlen had plenty of VP Fuel to make the finish.
So, while fortune played a prominent role in Auberlen’s record-extending 64th IMSA win, equally sure is that – as in his first 63 – Auberlen himself (along with his teammates) played an even greater part.
[ht: David Phillips - IMSA NewsWire]
Hunter-Reay Previews Sonsio Grand Prix on Video News Conference
NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Ryan Hunter-Reay of Ed Carpenter Racing was available for interviews during an NTT INDYCAR SERIES video news conference at 1 p.m. ET Tuesday, June 13.
Ryan Hunter-Reay, the driver of the No. 20 Bitnile.com Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, will be joining the race after previously driving for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at the Indianapolis 500 earlier this year.
Ryan Hunter-Reay is a seasoned driver in the INDYCAR series and has achieved success in the past, including winning the series championship and the prestigious Indianapolis 500. It seems like he took some time off to enjoy fishing in the Atlantic before getting back behind the wheel.
It's great to hear that the NTT INDYCAR Series is returning to action this weekend at Road America for the Sonsio Grand Prix presented by AMR
Road America is a historic racetrack known for its four-mile layout and challenging course. The race is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. It promises to be an exciting event for INDYCAR fans as the drivers compete on this iconic circuit.
Article & Transcript Link >>>
https://theedje.blogspot.com/2023/06/one-step-at-time-is-whats-ahead-for.html
... notes from The EDJE
A video of healthcare workers and doctors in white coats, holding an open press conference from in front of the Supreme Court building, gave testimony on their direct experiences of using widely known and very inexpensive chemical protocols in treating COVID-19 pandemic. This video of the event has since caused a major censorship discussion on social media since these very same social media portals that have unilaterally censored discussions about what actually effects our American First Amendment lives.
Presentation Embeded in a posting at Carter's Second Term - https://carters2ndterm.blogspot.com/2020/07/in-this-age-of-virus-control-healthcare.html
A Zoom interview held April 21 with select GTD PRO drivers previewing the Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship Presented by Motul, April 29-May 1, 2022.
ZOOM Call Time: Thursday, April 21, 2022 | 1 p.m. ET
Participants:
** Antonio Garcia, co-driver of the No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C8.R GTD
** Mathieu Jaminet, co-driver of the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R
** (Scheduled/Missed Call) Cooper MacNeil, co-driver of the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
One week before the cars and teams competing in the 48th Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach need to be placed in the paddock next to Shoreline Drive, four drivers from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP, GTD, and GTD PRO class designations participated in a ZOOM Call conference with members of the Press.
To be clear, as it relates to the performance type of cars competing within the concrete canyons of the street circuit that is Long Beach, the GTD and GTD PRO class cars are set up through the same specifications and BoP (balance of power) applications in the rules.
Zoom Media Interview - Wednesday, April 5, 2023 - Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Driver Preview
GTP class
Renger van der Zande, co-driver of the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R
Ricky Taylor, co-driver of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06
GTD PRO class
Jordan Taylor, co-driver of the No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C8.R GTD
GTD class
Bill Auberlen, co-driver of the No. 97 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3
- here is what transpired.
https://theedje.blogspot.com/2023/04/rites-of-spring-2023-open-up-for-three.html
Starting from the pole, Honda’s Romain Grosjean led a race-high 44 laps in today’s GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis, but was unable to hold off a strongclosing run from Rinus VeeKay and finished second at the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
The result was Grosjean’s best finish in three starts this season for Dale Coyne Racing with RWR, and the Formula One veteran was joined on the podium by fellow Honda driver Alex Palou, who now has a third-place finish to go with his win at the season opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
It was announced that in order to place some teeth into the NTT INDYCAR SERIES management agenda of inclusiveness, a new team focusing on African American involvement in motorsports is entering the Road to Indy series starting competition next year. This team effort will be mentored by Team Penske’s state-of-the-art operations in order to help it get off the ground successfully. The team is named FORCE Indy and will be managed by Coach Rod Reid, NXG Youth Motorsports President and CEO.
Force Indy will initially field an entry in the USF2000 series, which has the lowest barriers to entry of the Road to Indy ladder, and will look to advance all the way up to the NTT IndyCar series as the program develops.
The Cooper Tires USF2000 series is the first official step in the Road to Indy feeder series program, followed successively by Indy Pro 2000, Indy Lights, and finally the full-season ride in the NTT IndyCar series.
Informative ZOOM Call formative webinar about the newly announced Parallel Flight Technologies and LIFT Aircraft collaboration to develop a hybridization solution for LIFT’s HEXA eVTOL aircraft.
Parallel Flight CEO, Joshua Resnick, and LIFT Aircraft CEO Matt Chasen are featured to discuss and lend additional information about their cutting-edge tech startups, the future of hybridization, and answer questions during this interactive and exclusive event!
Featured Presentors:
Joshua Resnick - CEO of Parallel Flight Technologies
Joshua brings a passion for groundbreaking technology and years of hybrid and electric powertrain expertise to Parallel. Prior to Parallel, he led system architecture and electrical engineering for the Tesla Semi Truck program. Before moving to California, he led state-funded research for the State of Alaska developing hybrid electric commercial fishing boats.
Matt Chasen - Founder & CEO of LIFT Aircraft
Matt Chasen is founder and CEO of LIFT Aircraft. LIFT’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, HEXA, is making the joy and utility of personal, vertical flight accessible to everyone. While getting his MBA at The University of Texas in 2003, Chasen founded uShip – the first and largest online marketplace for shipping with over $200M in annual gross sales. Chasen studied mechanical and aerospace engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and was a NASA scholarship recipient. An engineer turned entrepreneur, Chasen was an engineer at Boeing in Seattle, where he worked on the F-22 Fighter, Airborne Laser, and other advanced aerospace projects prior to business school.
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