I am not really a fan of knee-jerk blogs, but, for this I make an exception, why, because we can be pretty confident things will not change between now and July!

So that was race one of the 2013 Indycar season, and what an intense, action packed, nerve shredding one it was. The race was won for the first time in his Indycar career, James Hinchcliffe, a result that has pleased a lot of fans with his off track charisma often on full show. But this gave us the first opportunity to evaluate the new TV deal we have in the UK, moving from Sky Sports to ESPN. 

The writing had been on the wall for some time, and general gut feeling was that, despite having its most entertaining season in years, Sky was going to drop their coverage, and so they did, the deal saw ESPN take over the broadcasting rights, many were worried about this and the effect it would have on their ability to keep watching on TV.

Other blogs and comments have covered this, so now to what we actually saw. The programme previous (live Rugby Union) over ran by just over five minutes, hmm, good start. Even better was Mark Durden-Smith introducing the race being from St Pitsburg (a nod to previous Eurosport commentators). Eventually this led us to the opening titles; well title would be a better description - An American flag with ‘Indycar Series Live from St Petersburg’ on display. We jumped straight to the track, and an Australian announcer, unknown to the causal or untrained fan,  Leigh Diffey. Then bang, straight to a break.

Then back after a few moments to NBCSN features taking us up to another break. Basically a cut’n’paste job to fill the gaps until the live race coverage began. At this point, we are at the mercy of NBC, with no UK studio coverage.

Something that will be an annoyance to British viewers who are not used to the American style of sports broadcasting... Commercial breaks, and plenty of them, sadly with no studio, we had them... And, a lot of them! From this point it is out of ESPN’s control, we cannot really lambast them, as much as some would like to. 

A quick word about the race coverage itself, it was the first time I heard Leigh Diffey call any races, and in one word, impressive! Good knowledge, enthusiastic, great interaction with his co-commentators and when something exciting was happening on track, he made sure we knew about it. NBCSN is often applauded for their Indycar coverage, and again they did not disappoint. Good work also from the rearranged pit reporting crew for this season, in particular Jon Beekhuis, who is a must follow on twitter, Townshend Bell has moved up to the commentary box for this season.

In summary, it is basically what we expected from ESPN, no UK studio or presentation, a direct feed from America with plenty of commercial breaks. But, credit where it is due. The programme was due to end at 7pm, but due to the number of caution periods (and length!) the show was over running by around 5 mins until the expected end of the race. To mine and many others surprise ESPN
stayed with the coverage, including post race ceremonies and interviews until  7:20pm, a welcome sight. Sadly I do feel this was a case of deal or no deal, the pre and post race content sorely misses some cohesion which we had from Keith Huewen and his studio guests. The next race is at Barber, AL, and is shown ‘as live’. I can only hope the quality of this race will convince them that the quality of on track product is up with the best in the world and deserves to be show live. The Indy Lights highlights are also being shown by ESPN (Friday @ 11am) fans of Jack Hawksworth and Pippa Mann should tune in!

A final thought, always remember to record the programme after or alter your series link record time to run over, some sky plus viewers race ended on lap...109/110...

The very long wait for 2013 season is almost over and we will soon experience the Indycar season once more. As always there has been much off track changes over the off season and we are about to start the second season of racing with the Dallara DW12.

The much vaunted different aero kits for the Dallara though still look some way off (if indeed they will ever arrive!).
 
The driver line up is the usual mix of veterans and rookies.  The team driver line ups, and class of 2013, are: 

A.J Foyt Enterprises (Honda)
With Mike Conway's brave decision to admit he is no longer willing to race on ovals, AJ Foyt have signed Takuma Sato. Having watched Sato in his British F3 days, I have a soft spot for him. Watching him dominate in British F3 in the then less fancied Carlin Racing team was spectacular.  This spectacular approach to racing does see him get involved in the odd incident but you know if the opportunity arises he is going to go for it.  AJ Foyt may only be a small team but I expect him to put some impressive performances on the road and street races with some impressive overtaking on the way.  I'd also watch for him when standing starts are used.

Andretti Autosport (Chevrolet)
Andretti keep Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe and the reigning champion, Ryan Hunter-Reay.  They have also added EJ Viso and, for Indy, Carlos Munoz. 

Marco Andretti has been in the team for a few years now but doesn't seem to have progressed and is generally in the midfield.  He does like to moan and throw his teddy out of the pram on occasion so expect a few radio messages to this effect over the season.

James Hinchcliffe is definitely the biggest character in the Indycar paddock and many drivers should learn from him on this.  Too many drivers sound bland in interviews, quoting sponsors and talking without saying anything.  In terms of his driving, he has shown significant improvement in the series and I'd be surprised if he hasn't won at least one race by the end of the season. 

Ryan Hunter-Reay has been around a while but last year was his standout year. I don't see him at the same level as Will Power but I expect he will win races this year.  I don't see him repeating the championship win though.

EJ Viso doesn't seem to be rated by many.  He can be quick and, in an Andretti car, I'd be surprised if wasn't in the top 3 in at least a couple of races (probably road courses).  He is quick on ovals but does seem to like to get affectionate with the wall too many times. Fortunately these affectionate moments are not as violent as his Magny-Cours GP2 crash a few years ago.

Carlos Munoz is only for Indy and I'd expect him to be the slowest of the Andretti cars there.
 
Barracuda Racing (Honda)
Alex Tagliani is retained.  Despite his veteran status he is guilty of a few brain fade moments.  Nevertheless I'd expect a few top 6 results out of him on the road and street courses.  Also expect someone to complain about his driving.

Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Charlie Kimball are all retained with Graham Rahal leaving for his Father's team. 

Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon are a part of the furniture at Chip Ganassi.  They will always be a factor and wins are guaranteed. Dario is the bigger personality of the two but Scott can be unbeatable on his day and will be hoping to bounce back this year. I have a hunch Dixon will be ahead at the end of the year.
 
Charlie Kimball had some highlights last year but was largely a midfield runner. I'd expect more of the same with any highlights on the road and street courses.  A crash or two is also likely.
 
Dale Coyne Racing (Honda)
Justin Wilson is retained and for once has some continuity with a team.  Dale Coyne are not the biggest team but they have had more highlights in recent years and I would not be surprised if Justin scored a win or two.  As a fellow Yorkshireman, I've followed him throughout his career and I'm hoping the continuity will help him. hey do need to work on ovals but this will depend on the budget available.

Ana Beatriz has been drafted in very late to the team and initial practice suggests she is going to struggle.  


Dragon Racing (Chevrolet)
This team seemed to be in the news a lot over the off season and not usually for good reasons.  They have formed Team Seb with Sebastian Saavedra joining Sebastien Bourdais. Bourdais will clearly be the team leader and I wouldn't  be surprised if he won a street or road course race.  In his Champ Car domination I was more a PT fan but a Bourdais win would be welcomed in my household.  Saavedra on the other hand will be keeping Jakes company at the back.

Ed Carpenter Racing (Chevrolet)
Ed Carpenter remains the sole driver.  As he will admit, he is an oval driver.  He will no doubt challenge the bigger teams on the ovals but will struggle on the road and street courses.  He is getting better on the road and street courses but he is no Will Power.

KV Racing Technology (Chevrolet)
Tony Kanaan is retained with Simona de Silvestro added.

As a veteran of the series, Tony is a safe pair of hands and, on ovals in particular, can be spectacular on the opening lap of the race.  I can't see him reclaiming the form that took him to the 2004 championship but he will be thereabouts and a win is not out of the question.

After an impressive maiden season, Simona had a nightmare season last year with the uncompetitive Lotus engine.  Her form this year should be like night and day from 2012.  I rate her higher than Danica and I think she should prove this theory correct this year.
 
Panther Racing (Chevrolet)
The days of Panther being championship challengers with Sam Hornish Jr seem a long time ago.  Panther can be competitive on their day and with JR Hildebrand they should be able to produce some good oval performances.  Road and street courses are likely to see them more in the midfield. 

Panther Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (Honda)
Panther retain veteran Oriol Servia as their sole driver.  He is probably not as quick as he was but he is a safe pair of hands who will get the car to the chequered flag.  Top 6 performances are possible though these are less likely on the ovals.
 
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Chevrolet)
The team has expanded this year to field Graham Rahal, James Jakes and, for Long Beach, Mike Conway.

Graham Rahal is on a similar level to Marco Andretti (probably slightly better).  He doesn't have teddy throwing moments but he is guilty of being anonymous.  Will be largely in the midfield.

James Jakes is the slower of the three and will be propping up the field mostly.

Mike Conway will be quick at Long Beach but with his decision to not race on ovals it is hard to see a long term career in Indycar.  I have much respect for his decision and he has the ability to make a decent career in say sportscars like ex Penske man Ryan Briscoe.
 
Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (Honda)
Ex fan favourite, Sarah Fisher, fields a single car again for Josef Newgarden.  I watched Josef in Formula Ford in the UK many times and he looked like a talent there.  His rise to Indycar has been rapid and his debut season was respectable. I like this team and think they are capable of giving the top  teams some headaches on occasion this year.
 
Schmidt Peterson Hamilton HP Motorsports (Honda)
The Schmidt team has been the team to be in in Indy Lights for some time and, with Simon Pagenaud they looked good at times last year.  Simon has been retained and is joined by Tristan Vautier.
 
I rate Simon Pagenaud highly and wins are definitely possible. Look out for him at re-starts and the standing starts.  

I watched Tristan in Formula Palmer Audi in the UK only a few years ago and he has taken to American racing very quickly.  Over the season he will probably be behind Simon in the standings but he has potential to be an Indycar star and will run Simon close on occasion.  His practice pace at St Pete was impressive.
 
Team Penske (Chevrolet)
Penske  are not known for changing the driver line up often. Helio  Castroneves and Will Power are retained but Ryan Briscoe has left and is doing rather well in sportscars.  AJ Allmendinger is going to join for at least two races.

Helio is a great character for Indycar and loves his racing.  2012 was not his finest year and I expect him to bounce back this year. He can win on any circuit and more wins will follow this season. Sadly his chance to win the championship may have passed him by.

Will Power is The Man in Indycar when it comes to road and street courses.  His qualifying on these is equally brilliant.  His oval performances are his weaker side but are not as bad as many believe.  He is my favourite for the championship.
 
AJ Allmendinger is back for at least two races.  He would have surely have been an Indycar champion had he not moved to NASCAR and would have definitely given Bourdais and Paul Tracy something to think about.  Sadly the NASCAR adventure has not worked out entirely to plan but I don't think he has given up on the NASCAR dream and his drives in the #51 this year have been good.  AJ could well be a factor in the Indy 500.
 
Further entries will no doubt be added during the season (particularly at the Indy 500).  Enjoy Indycar 2013 and I will report of St Pete events.

By now most IndyCar fans will have read at least some of the details from the  leaked report by the Boston Consulting Group offering ways in which the sport can survive and grow in the future. Whatever you make of the suggestions it was at least good to get another perspective on the series and see what would be suggested. IndyCar is badly in need of some traction to sustain and grow a great racing series in a country that's more interested in NASCAR and a world dominated by Formula 1.

So what did BCG suggest and could any of their ideas be implemented? Here’s a selection of ideas I thought warranted the most attention from a UK perspective.

IndyCar should split the schedule into two seasons: a 15-race calendar (including three "playoff" races at the end) from April to August set in the USA and Canada and an exhibitional international series. BCG suggested the regular season go thusly: Houston, Phoenix, the Indy 500, Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Pocono, Toronto, Seattle, Sonoma and Fontana. The "playoffs" portion would consist of Texas, Long Beach and the finale on the Indianapolis road course.

First of all, the schedule is not that feasible. Some of these cities might not want an IndyCar race. Why move the race from Barber to Atlanta, Georgia when the former is a) such a good event and b) a major sporting event for the State of Alabama anyway? Long Beach would never agree to move to later in the season as the date is a pretty solid tradition now (it’s kind of worrying that they were asked to compile this report and overlook something as fundamental as this).

And then there’s the “playoffs” (desperately trying not to refer to it as a “Chase”…). BCG argued for a playoff because ‘the current IndyCar schedule lacks consequence and the television ratings are at the lowest at the end of the season because the series does not have a mechanism to create suspense.’ Well anyone who thinks the final part of the IndyCar season has lacked suspense in the last few years hasn’t been watching. And IndyCar isn’t the only sport to suffer ratings drops in autumn, because that’s when the NFL starts. Of course you can avoid that by ending the series in August (and for the time being, I don’t think that would be too bad provided an international series follows and drags it out to October) but 15 races in 19 weeks is too compact a schedule for the teams to handle. At least start in late March like we do already, maybe even a little earlier. A race the week before Formula 1 begins would have a good chance of attracting a few new international fans.

Of course as a UK fan the international series (presumably a separate championship rather than just a bunch of races) has massive appeal to me because of the possibility of coming back to Rockingham. Given the recent tendency for the UK to experience summery weather into September it would also be a pretty good time of year, especially if it was an oval race. A March-August +  September-October IndyCar season has its merits, but needs serious consideration before races like Baltimore start being brought forward earlier.

The biggest talking point from this has been the possibility of a second Indy race. Now, I would love a 400-mile night race on the oval but that endangers diluting the 500’s appeal too much. Some have said that even the road race would do that. And of course, the configuration isn’t that great. But if it could be improved a little with the state funding the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is going to start receiving, why not? As good as the final races have been (well, if you count Kentucky as 2011’s final race), another race at Indy would be much more likely to draw in a good crowd worthy of a final round and possible championship decider. BCG suggested a road race could bring in over $4 million dollars to IMS. Even half that wouldn’t be bad going for one race.

IndyCar should reduce the Leaders' Circle subsidy payments to teams and put the funds into a weekly purse based on performance.

IndyCar has a revenue-sharing model that gives money to teams up-front and less as bonuses for winning or doing well in races. Why shouldn’t the winners get more money? And if a small team has a good result, the financial boost relative to their peers could be significant. With more money, the big teams could invest in things like custom aerodynamic packages that would bring in an added element to the series and potentially grow the sport - many current IndyCar fans are not too happy about it being completely spec, even with some engine competition. The problem is that for all the benefits that such a move could bring the fact is the Leaders’ Circle money is a vital part of many teams’ budgets. IndyCar would definitely lose teams in the short-term were the plug to be pulled instantly. If the series were to make this reform, it would probably have to be gradual and hopefully in tandem with the growth of the series to ensure as many teams as possible survive.

Focus groups suggest IndyCar should market itself as being more about daredevil drivers and less about the off-track personalities; less about science and engineering and more about speed; overtaking rather than the cheap thrill of crashing; IndyCar should have different kinds of tracks rather than mainly be ovals.

You won’t get any argument from me about the last two. I love IndyCar for its ovals, but I’m not a NASCAR fan because it’s almost all ovals. Passing is definitely preferable to big crashes. The second point puzzles me a little as I’m not sure why it has to be an either/or issue; market the cars and the speed (and indeed, speed as a consequence of the cars). If IndyCar could allow a little more innovation then it could make it more appealing and grow the sport and the speeds would go up anyway.

What I take issue with is the very first point: “daredevil drivers” over
personalities. One only has to look at the fan bases of James Hinchcliffe and Josef Newgarden to see the power of personality. F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso won himself many new fans when he joined Twitter and became active in using social media. I was never much of a Power fan but after a season of following IndyCar closely his personality appealed to me, far more than his  obvious skill. Ah, you might say, that’s not really helping the sport itself, is it? Not much, no. I don’t think it really helps a great deal either way to be honest, but failing to market the drivers properly isn’t a recipe for success in my view. If Hinchcliffe was to move to NASCAR I’d probably watch every race, so personality definitely has something to be said for it. It also seems odd to me that a report that argues against the gimmick of big wrecks then says that the dangerous nature of the job should be the focus of promotion.

As the report itself says, there are no quick fixes and the series suffers most from a lack of awareness. There are some ideas worth considering from the report but I’ve heard plenty of others from journalists, people on twitter and anonymous fans in comments sections. The sport really needs to market its product better , more than the need to make the product more appealing. So whilst IndyCar ponders the BCG’s report and takes its ideas on board it also needs to look further, take stock of what makes it so appealing to its current fans and make itself aware to new ones. Costly improvements and tinkering with  the product can preferably wait until the series and teams can absorb them. Some would argue the time for IndyCar to sacrifice a few teams to make the series more appealing has already come. Maybe it has. But I think there’s still much to be done on the marketing side before such a difficult decision has to be made.