The Lotus PositionĪs I said, it also created losers and the biggest of those was Lotus. To penalise a team for a failure in a test isn’t on – where’s the incentive to test? This could be solved by saying a team can’t use a race engine on a test day or vice versa, remove the link. Failures in a race weekend I understand, those have been commonplace in racing for a while now. The only question mark is the engine penalties for failures in testing. You have to think Chevy having more of the ‘powerhouse’ teams helped them enormously, both title protaganists at Fontana used Chevy, and hindered the Ganassi team who were Honda’s only big team. There wasn’t much in it by the mid-season.
#Wake the dragon cheev full#
It was great to have Chevy back in the series and they were on full attack, producing a better unit than incumbent supplier Honda. Okay so this engine may be lacking a little in outright power – hopefully that’ll change as development progresses both in technology and in regulations. We saw the return of unreliability (in engines and chassis and software), a classic part of racing which had been engineered out of the last formula. It created winners and losers, just as it should. In terms of racing, the new car and engine combo was a hit.Įngine competition was a welcome return. Something was always about to happen and you couldn’t switch off in case you missed it. Unlike past years you never felt like you were marking time, wasting time.
#Wake the dragon cheev driver#
If there wasn’t a lot of passing there was drama in other ways – pit strategy, driver errors, mechanical failures. It opened up new passing lanes at tracks where the old Dallara couldn’t race at all, Barber Motorsports Park being a notable example – the race was transformed from a snoozefest to being one of the best of the year. Dallara produced some great aerodynamics packages which meant the cars were very racey on all three classes of course (road, street, oval).
The racing all season long was phenomenal. It’s been really, really enjoyable to watch.
#Wake the dragon cheev drivers#
The drivers have responded to being treated as adults by driving more maturely and with respect. Racers can race again – within good reason. The crazy ‘draw an imaginary line on the track’ rule has been thrown out. It cannot be overstated how good a change this is. Decisions from Race Control were now explained post-race to anyone who would ask, they were even broadcast during the race.Įven if you disagree with the reasoning it is there for us to see it. The main differences were a change in philosophy and interpretation. Beaux Barfield rearranged the existing rulebook rather than rewrite it completely, though there were many rewrites. The race director proved to be a revelation, as ALMS fans had expected. Compare Indy and Fontana and the rear-to-the-wall spins are very different. The early trait of the car to lift into the air mid-spin (noticeably more at the higher speeds of an oval) were ironed out as the year progressed until it didn’t seem to happen at all at Fontana. The racing was excellent, the cars stood up to the test of the variety of tracks, and they withstood some pretty nasty impacts far better than the old car did. The many problems which did emerge over the year were, on the whole, tackled well. Happily it turned out to be a classic year. They were always going to be tough to please. Nowhere else will you find such a bunch of complainers and whiners. Motorsport fans the world over complain endlessly about the smallest things but they’ve got nothing on the hardcore Ind圜ar ‘fans’ in the US. Add in a new Race Director, then mix up the schedule by removing favourites with low-attendances and replacing them with gambles.ĭo all this while trying to satisfy the most divided and demanding of fans, team owners and media anywhere in the sport. There was not only a new engine formula but also the return of open competition between manufacturers.
The introduction of the new chassis and engine package was fraught with difficulties throughout 2011’s development period and the pre-season of 2012. This was always going to be a tricky year. With the first Ind圜ar race of 2013 not due until March we are left with a six month off-season! A Fresh Start I tend to think mid/late-October is a good time to stop for the winter break. The apparent need to avoid the NFL, and the NASCAR Chase, meant Ind圜ar finished racing two full months before F1 and NASCAR – admittedly those series may go longer than they really need to. It is the middle of September and one series has already wrapped up their 2012 season: the IZOD Ind圜ar Series.
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