Round 2 - Barber, AL. - Tom Ansell
The Track
The Barber Motorsports Park is relatively modern and was designed by track designer Alan Wilson. At 2.3 miles long, it's a fairly rapid circuit with some decent elevation changes. On-board shots in particular look pretty spectacular here, with some high-speed blind-entry corners which made me catch my breath.
Thoughts on Qualifying
Personally, I like seeing Takuma Sato do well, and was gallantly cheering him on in the Indy 500 last year before his reckless move on Franchitti made me face-palm and groan “Oh Sato!” It was distinctly reminiscent of his time in F1, mind you...
On this occasion, he nearly got himself into the Firestone Fast Six. But a penalty set him back to 12th spot, and a replay showed why...parking his car on the racing line on an unsighted corner is a good way of falling out with people! Not to worry; we all know he's a canny over-taker from his F1 days, and this track rewards drivers who can find an unusual spot to pass.
Rookie Tristan Vautier has impressed by qualifying 3rd on the grid after being called to pit-lane to participate in the final 10 minute session. This is positive after his finish of 21st in St Petersburg. Also impressive is Charlie Kimball, starting from a career best position of 5th.
Despite smashing the track record by 3 seconds in the first of the three rounds, Scott Dixon qualifies in fourth position. He has been runner up at this track 3 times before, and this will hopefully provide motivation for some great action in the race.
Big names Franchitti and Hinchcliffe start in 19th and 20th respectively, further promising some back-of-the-pack action from the go tomorrow. On pole we have Ryan Hunter-Reay, with Will Power lining up beside him, and rookie Vautier in third.
With top name drivers littered about the field and five teams covering the top three rows, the first lap could prove to be quite interesting. This narrow circuit lends itself to minor incidents which cause suspension damage, and some big names could fall foul on a cluttered opening lap.
Either way, it's promising to be a good old struggle for the commentators to get a handle on, which is a good thing; I don't think anyone will deny enjoying a chaotic start which leaves the race announcers tripping over themselves.
I wait with baited breath for the green flag!
The Race
Oh boy! That start! Frantic does not cover it.
The first two corners of this track are fantastic and very tricky. The cars swoop into a fast left-hander and then dive uphill into a tighter right-hander.
The first casualty was Will Power, who ran wide into the first corner and lost about 5 places. My wife, not a motorsport fan, supports Will Power just because of his name. She wasn't very happy and left the room at this stage.
Power then spent a few corners filtering back into the pack, similar to how a coin does on those arcade-machines where you try to make 10p pieces fall out of the bottom.
What usually happens with those coins is that they cause a bit of a jam when they get stuck in a small gap somewhere. A jam certainly occurred approaching the Museum turns. Servia, Hinchcliffe and Rahal all made contact when everything got a bit squeezed, and this sent Servia spinning. Rahal's wing was damaged, and he pitted.
The caution was thrown immediately, and during this rather long yellow flag period Hinchcliffe, the winner at St Petersburg, encountered more difficulties with the rear of his car, and eventually lost drive altogether. His team instructed him to park behind the barrier just before the green came back out, and requested that he sit in his car, to await the next caution.
Hunter-Reay was the leader at the restart on lap 7, and this time the action was just as frantic, but cleaner. Will Power decided to try his wide line again going into turn 1, and again it didn't really pay off, as he got more dirt on his tyres.
Justin Wilson began storming through the field, driving quite aggressively, clearly angry after being blocked by Sato in qualifying.
Sebastian Bourdais identified himself as another big mover as he progressed from 23rd to 15th in just a handful of laps. Charlie Kimball also began hounding Vautier, shoving his nose into gaps and threatening to pounce in places nobody would normally think to make a move.
Hunter-Reay was quietly pulling out a 10 second lead whilst all this was happening. Vautier pitted on lap 25, but the pressure is on immediately as Kimball pitted on lap 26. As Kimball exits the pits it looks like it'll be very close...until Vautier runs wide entering the first corner! Vautier ends up losing position to both Kimball and Castroneves.
By one-third race distance, Will Power is bizarrely leading the race, having not yet pitted and lapping very well on old tyres. He then pits on lap 32 and relinquishes the lead back to Hunter-Reay.
The race quietens down a little bit now as everyone finds a rhythm. Franchitti retires on lap 48 with mechanical problems.
Suddenly the camera pans to a green car parked out of the way and minus a tyre...oh right! There's Hinchcliffe still patiently sitting in his car and waiting for a caution. This race has been going green since lap 7. Hinchcliffe eventually clambers out of his car, stretches, and retires officially.
Final pit-stops begin on lap 61, with Power making the first move, after spending a while conserving fuel. A couple of drivers experience issues in this final round of pit stops, with Allmendinger stalling after running just outside the top 10 all day, and Castroneves experiencing fuelling problems.
With just 20 to go, people start moving again. Dixon moves himself into a podium position, and then a few laps later, Ryan Hunter-Reay passes for the lead, having positions to Power and Castroneves during earlier pit-stops.
Dixon then makes a move into second place with 14 to go....it becomes obvious he is desperate to break his runner-up streak with a win!
Charlie Kimball then makes what I feel is the move of the race, absolutely dive-bombing Will Power for fourth place into one of the fastest corners of the track. Elsewhere, Bourdais is also looking increasingly dangerous in Vautier's rear view mirror...until he runs wide at the turn 7 / 8 complex and drops back. Vautier's race had become rather quieter after the start and he had slipped back into 10th place...whereas Bourdais was evidently continuing his brisk stride through the field.
Unfortunately, try as he might, Dixon cannot get close enough to challenge the lead, and ends up in second place for the fourth year in a row as Hunter-Reay claims his first win since Baltimore 2012, which was also when he last lead a race.
Castroneves comes home in third place, with Kimball and Power following in fourth and fifth.
Andretti racing claim their second win of 2013, in what was not an absolute classic of a race, but one that was thoroughly watchable, which featured some very entertaining driving from previously quieter drivers.
We move onto the 39th race on the streets of Long Beach in a couple of weeks. Last week's winner was Will Power...I wonder if we'll see the third race receive a third different winner?
Tom Ansell
@rantingyoof
The Barber Motorsports Park is relatively modern and was designed by track designer Alan Wilson. At 2.3 miles long, it's a fairly rapid circuit with some decent elevation changes. On-board shots in particular look pretty spectacular here, with some high-speed blind-entry corners which made me catch my breath.
Thoughts on Qualifying
Personally, I like seeing Takuma Sato do well, and was gallantly cheering him on in the Indy 500 last year before his reckless move on Franchitti made me face-palm and groan “Oh Sato!” It was distinctly reminiscent of his time in F1, mind you...
On this occasion, he nearly got himself into the Firestone Fast Six. But a penalty set him back to 12th spot, and a replay showed why...parking his car on the racing line on an unsighted corner is a good way of falling out with people! Not to worry; we all know he's a canny over-taker from his F1 days, and this track rewards drivers who can find an unusual spot to pass.
Rookie Tristan Vautier has impressed by qualifying 3rd on the grid after being called to pit-lane to participate in the final 10 minute session. This is positive after his finish of 21st in St Petersburg. Also impressive is Charlie Kimball, starting from a career best position of 5th.
Despite smashing the track record by 3 seconds in the first of the three rounds, Scott Dixon qualifies in fourth position. He has been runner up at this track 3 times before, and this will hopefully provide motivation for some great action in the race.
Big names Franchitti and Hinchcliffe start in 19th and 20th respectively, further promising some back-of-the-pack action from the go tomorrow. On pole we have Ryan Hunter-Reay, with Will Power lining up beside him, and rookie Vautier in third.
With top name drivers littered about the field and five teams covering the top three rows, the first lap could prove to be quite interesting. This narrow circuit lends itself to minor incidents which cause suspension damage, and some big names could fall foul on a cluttered opening lap.
Either way, it's promising to be a good old struggle for the commentators to get a handle on, which is a good thing; I don't think anyone will deny enjoying a chaotic start which leaves the race announcers tripping over themselves.
I wait with baited breath for the green flag!
The Race
Oh boy! That start! Frantic does not cover it.
The first two corners of this track are fantastic and very tricky. The cars swoop into a fast left-hander and then dive uphill into a tighter right-hander.
The first casualty was Will Power, who ran wide into the first corner and lost about 5 places. My wife, not a motorsport fan, supports Will Power just because of his name. She wasn't very happy and left the room at this stage.
Power then spent a few corners filtering back into the pack, similar to how a coin does on those arcade-machines where you try to make 10p pieces fall out of the bottom.
What usually happens with those coins is that they cause a bit of a jam when they get stuck in a small gap somewhere. A jam certainly occurred approaching the Museum turns. Servia, Hinchcliffe and Rahal all made contact when everything got a bit squeezed, and this sent Servia spinning. Rahal's wing was damaged, and he pitted.
The caution was thrown immediately, and during this rather long yellow flag period Hinchcliffe, the winner at St Petersburg, encountered more difficulties with the rear of his car, and eventually lost drive altogether. His team instructed him to park behind the barrier just before the green came back out, and requested that he sit in his car, to await the next caution.
Hunter-Reay was the leader at the restart on lap 7, and this time the action was just as frantic, but cleaner. Will Power decided to try his wide line again going into turn 1, and again it didn't really pay off, as he got more dirt on his tyres.
Justin Wilson began storming through the field, driving quite aggressively, clearly angry after being blocked by Sato in qualifying.
Sebastian Bourdais identified himself as another big mover as he progressed from 23rd to 15th in just a handful of laps. Charlie Kimball also began hounding Vautier, shoving his nose into gaps and threatening to pounce in places nobody would normally think to make a move.
Hunter-Reay was quietly pulling out a 10 second lead whilst all this was happening. Vautier pitted on lap 25, but the pressure is on immediately as Kimball pitted on lap 26. As Kimball exits the pits it looks like it'll be very close...until Vautier runs wide entering the first corner! Vautier ends up losing position to both Kimball and Castroneves.
By one-third race distance, Will Power is bizarrely leading the race, having not yet pitted and lapping very well on old tyres. He then pits on lap 32 and relinquishes the lead back to Hunter-Reay.
The race quietens down a little bit now as everyone finds a rhythm. Franchitti retires on lap 48 with mechanical problems.
Suddenly the camera pans to a green car parked out of the way and minus a tyre...oh right! There's Hinchcliffe still patiently sitting in his car and waiting for a caution. This race has been going green since lap 7. Hinchcliffe eventually clambers out of his car, stretches, and retires officially.
Final pit-stops begin on lap 61, with Power making the first move, after spending a while conserving fuel. A couple of drivers experience issues in this final round of pit stops, with Allmendinger stalling after running just outside the top 10 all day, and Castroneves experiencing fuelling problems.
With just 20 to go, people start moving again. Dixon moves himself into a podium position, and then a few laps later, Ryan Hunter-Reay passes for the lead, having positions to Power and Castroneves during earlier pit-stops.
Dixon then makes a move into second place with 14 to go....it becomes obvious he is desperate to break his runner-up streak with a win!
Charlie Kimball then makes what I feel is the move of the race, absolutely dive-bombing Will Power for fourth place into one of the fastest corners of the track. Elsewhere, Bourdais is also looking increasingly dangerous in Vautier's rear view mirror...until he runs wide at the turn 7 / 8 complex and drops back. Vautier's race had become rather quieter after the start and he had slipped back into 10th place...whereas Bourdais was evidently continuing his brisk stride through the field.
Unfortunately, try as he might, Dixon cannot get close enough to challenge the lead, and ends up in second place for the fourth year in a row as Hunter-Reay claims his first win since Baltimore 2012, which was also when he last lead a race.
Castroneves comes home in third place, with Kimball and Power following in fourth and fifth.
Andretti racing claim their second win of 2013, in what was not an absolute classic of a race, but one that was thoroughly watchable, which featured some very entertaining driving from previously quieter drivers.
We move onto the 39th race on the streets of Long Beach in a couple of weeks. Last week's winner was Will Power...I wonder if we'll see the third race receive a third different winner?
Tom Ansell
@rantingyoof