The 2012 IndyCar Series thread

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 10 Jan 2013, 17:04

Can this thread be renamed The 2013 IndyCar Series Thread now?

Also, I just aware that CCWS attempted to stage a race in South Korea between 2004-2006, but none of those happened. In 2004 it was going to be in a Seoul street circuit and in 2005-2006 in a then-new circuit in Ansan:

Out of couriousity, why they can't use the GT4-style Seoul Central circuit instead?

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 10 Jan 2013, 17:52

FMecha wrote:Out of couriousity, why they can't use the GT4-style Seoul Central circuit instead?

Because it's the worst track ever of all time.

Post by **Nuppiz** » 10 Jan 2013, 18:11

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:Because it's the worst track ever of all time.

True, it's quite awful with fast cars, especially when you actually have to precisely aim for that narrow alley before the last two turns. But it was quite fun to drive a souped-up 1985 Honda Today G there (around 80hp with max tuning). :lol:

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 10 Jan 2013, 18:29

Nuppiz wrote:
BlindCaveSalamander wrote:Because it's the worst track ever of all time.

True, it's quite awful with fast cars, especially when you actually have to precisely aim for that narrow alley before the last two turns. But it was quite fun to drive a souped-up 1985 Honda Today G there (around 80hp with max tuning).

Yeah, but even then you still have to deal with the roundabout, which is just about the worst corner ever.

RealRacingRoots · Post by **RealRacingRoots** » 11 Jan 2013, 00:21

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:
FMecha wrote:Out of couriousity, why they can't use the GT4-style Seoul Central circuit instead?

Because it's the worst track ever of all time.

Go home. I prefer that track to the many iterations of New York in GT4 and the Forza Games. (And Hong Kong, but Hong Kong is the worst track in GT history)

Also Sato signs for AJ Foyt's team. Good on him.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 11 Jan 2013, 06:10

RealRacingRoots wrote:
BlindCaveSalamander wrote:
FMecha wrote:Out of couriousity, why they can't use the GT4-style Seoul Central circuit instead?

Because it's the worst track ever of all time.

Go home. I prefer that track to the many iterations of New York in GT4 and the Forza Games. (And Hong Kong, but Hong Kong is the worst track in GT history)

I'm sorry, but no. I would rather gouge my eyes out than watch a real life race on that horrible abortion of a racetrack. It completely ruins its biggest overtaking spot my making it a roundabout, the second and third corners are mitigated because they're a chicane, then the track thins into a back alley (why a back alley? Who in their right mind thinks a back alley is good for any racing series ever?), then it goes in completely the opposite direction and the last corner is stupidly wide, but without enough of a run-up to really maximise its overtaking potential. GIve me New York and Hong Kong any day, at least those tracks aren't dull as dishwater, and are slightly better for overtaking. Even Opera Paris is better than Seoul.

RealRacingRoots wrote:Also Sato signs for AJ Foyt's team. Good on him.

Yeah, shame there isn't anywhere better for him to go, but at least he's still in IndyCars.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 11 Jan 2013, 23:40

Am I right in thinking that Justin Wilson is yet to find a seat? And that Dale Coyne is still looking for a driver? And that Justin Wilson is underrated?

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 19 Jan 2013, 13:20

No, Justin Wlson is expected to return driving for Coyne whilst the 2nd Coyne car is still without a driver.

Meanwhile, former Jordan, BAR-Honda and Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato has signed to drive the #14 of AJ Foyt Racing which former Brawn GP test driver Mike Conway had left towards the end of last season when he announced he was quitting oval racing for good.

And former Toyota-F1 Friday driver Ryan Briscoe is yet to find a seat. He is reportedly leaving Penske, but Team Penske has officially entered its 3rd car. So who might be driving the 3rd Penske if not Briscoe?

Former Spyker MF1 test driver Ernesto Viso also has got sponsorship to fund himself a ride but it has not been announced yet which team he will be with. Rumours see him as team mate to Alex Tagliani in a 2nd car for Bryan Herta Autosport.

My guess is we will only see all the drivers in place once they hit the track for the 1st practise session of the year. But who knows how many announcements will be made before that? Any at all?

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 19 Jan 2013, 19:51

Yannick wrote:No, Justin Wlson is expected to return driving for Coyne whilst the 2nd Coyne car is still without a driver.

Meanwhile, former Jordan, BAR-Honda and Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato has signed to drive the #14 of AJ Foyt Racing which former Brawn GP test driver Mike Conway had left towards the end of last season when he announced he was quitting oval racing for good.

And former Toyota-F1 Friday driver Ryan Briscoe is yet to find a seat. He is reportedly leaving Penske, but Team Penske has officially entered its 3rd car. So who might be driving the 3rd Penske if not Briscoe?

Former Spyker MF1 test driver Ernesto Viso also has got sponsorship to fund himself a ride but it has not been announced yet which team he will be with. Rumours see him as team mate to Alex Tagliani in a 2nd car for Bryan Herta Autosport.

My guess is we will only see all the drivers in place once they hit the track for the 1st practise session of the year. But who knows how many announcements will be made before that? Any at all?

I don't think Briscoe is going anywhere -- I feel reasonably confident that Penske entered his third car with the knowledge that Briscoe is staying. Who else would he be hiring?

I would suggest A.J. Allmendinger, but he has a 4-race NASCAR deal with Phoenix Racing so I doubt he'll be in the frame unless if it's an Indy-only deal.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 19 Jan 2013, 23:24

Didn't Briscoe say he was leaving back in December?

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 21 Jan 2013, 00:38

I think this will be the last season for T.K. After the indy season, for first time, he raced, alongside with Rubens, in the remain races of Brazlian StockCar. Also, he is 38 already.

Onxy Wrecked · Post by **Onxy Wrecked** » 21 Jan 2013, 05:21

RealRacingRoots wrote:Also Sato signs for AJ Foyt's team. Good on him.

It's good until you realize that Foyt's team hasn't won in over a decade when Airton Dare won at Kansas in 2002.

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 21 Jan 2013, 13:02

Yannick wrote:Meanwhile, former Jordan, BAR-Honda and Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato has signed to drive the #14 of AJ Foyt Racing which former Brawn GP test driver Mike Conway had left towards the end of last season when he announced he was quitting oval racing for good.

I wonder what will happen to Mike Conway. Maybe some drives in a 2nd car for someone on road courses?

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 21 Jan 2013, 13:25

In other news, the long-running pissing contest about the cost of spare parts appears to be finished (for the time being), with the teams getting a reduction in the cost of spares, but apparently not as big they wanted:

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... onclusion/

Sunshine_Baby_[IT] · Post by **Sunshine_Baby_[IT]** » 21 Jan 2013, 17:15

P_Friesacher wrote:The same "international streaming inks" mentioned above apply for Indycar as well as for NASCAR.
Indycar also has an official stream (although sadly not the TV signal but good enough to follow what is going on) on indycarnation.indycar.com - registration is required, but membership and the stream are both free.

I see that this post was sent two years ago, so can someone tell me if on this website there's still the official stream for free?

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 23 Jan 2013, 20:30

Foyt considering a 2nd entry, apparently:

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... ond-entry/

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 24 Jan 2013, 01:40

Faustus wrote:Foyt considering a 2nd entry, apparently:

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... ond-entry/

Depending on how much Honda money Sato brings, Foyt could do it. They have a sponsor, albeit not a large one, that could cover the cost just fine. I have a feeling Taku and Foyt could lead to some pretty big results.

Dj_bereta wrote:I think this will be the last season for T.K. After the indy season, for first time, he raced, alongside with Rubens, in the remain races of Brazlian StockCar. Also, he is 38 already.

Keep in mind that the season did end rather early. So early that Sato got to run in the last two Formula Nippon rounds. Needless to say, I get the point, and I don't think TK will be around that much longer, which will be a loss to the series. It is crazy to think, though, that TK has been in IndyCar racing since 1998.

Faustus wrote:In other news, the long-running pissing contest about the cost of spare parts appears to be finished (for the time being), with the teams getting a reduction in the cost of spares, but apparently not as big they wanted:

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... onclusion/

This needed to have been done awhile ago, but at least it's a step in the right direction.

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 29 Jan 2013, 16:55

Sam Schmidt confirms Tristan Vautier for second car:

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... expansion/

At the bottom of the page, Marshall confirms that Mike Conway has signed for a one-off drive with Rahal Letterman Lanigan for Long Beach.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 30 Jan 2013, 01:42

Faustus wrote:Sam Schmidt confirms Tristan Vautier for second car:

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... expansion/

At the bottom of the page, Marshall confirms that Mike Conway has signed for a one-off drive with Rahal Letterman Lanigan for Long Beach.

Good on Vautier. He's going to be awesome. As for Conway, I'm tempted to say RLL is wasting their time with him, but he did win Long Beach a few years back. I believe it was his only top ten finish that entire season. He made a bit of a fool of himself in Toronto last year, and I personally hope his whinge about oval racing last year spells the end of his career. It's like making it to Formula 1 and then bitching about standing starts 6 years into your career.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 30 Jan 2013, 02:08

Cynon wrote:
Faustus wrote:Sam Schmidt confirms Tristan Vautier for second car:

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... expansion/

At the bottom of the page, Marshall confirms that Mike Conway has signed for a one-off drive with Rahal Letterman Lanigan for Long Beach.

Good on Vautier. He's going to be awesome. As for Conway, I'm tempted to say RLL is wasting their time with him, but he did win Long Beach a few years back. I believe it was his only top ten finish that entire season. He made a bit of a fool of himself in Toronto last year, and I personally hope his whinge about oval racing last year spells the end of his career. It's like making it to Formula 1 and then bitching about standing starts 6 years into your career.

Close, the win in Long Beach was his only top 10 all year. And then he DNQed at Indy two races later when Andretti had their own Penske-1995 episode.

Onxy Wrecked · Post by **Onxy Wrecked** » 30 Jan 2013, 03:22

Cynon wrote:
Faustus wrote:Sam Schmidt confirms Tristan Vautier for second car:

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... expansion/

At the bottom of the page, Marshall confirms that Mike Conway has signed for a one-off drive with Rahal Letterman Lanigan for Long Beach.

Good on Vautier. He's going to be awesome. As for Conway, I'm tempted to say RLL is wasting their time with him, but he did win Long Beach a few years back. I believe it was his only top ten finish that entire season. He made a bit of a fool of himself in Toronto last year, and I personally hope his whinge about oval racing last year spells the end of his career. It's like making it to Formula 1 and then bitching about standing starts 6 years into your career.

I think it's the beginning of the end of Conway. Got his back messed up at Indy and wonder why he hates ovals. However, there are other racing series for Mr. Conway that have no ovals.

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 02 Feb 2013, 13:45

Conway could be great if he were to share a car with Ed Carpenter, with Carpenter doing the ovals and Conway the road and street courses. But somehow, Carpenter as a team owner is content with having Carpenter as a driver trundle around at the back on the road and street courses. Even Sarah Fisher didn't approach team ownership this way: she put Graham Rahal in her car at the street circuits in place of herself when she had the chance.

It's going to be interesting who will drive those IndyCars which are still empty for 2013. Who will employ Karthikeyan? He could do fairly well in the series, given his experience both on road courses and ovals.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 03 Feb 2013, 02:07

Andretti is adding a 4th car. Karthikeyan's cash may have found a home, while unproven talents like Pippa Mann stay on the sidelines. :\

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... ourth-car/

Onxy Wrecked · Post by **Onxy Wrecked** » 03 Feb 2013, 02:31

Cynon wrote:Andretti is adding a 4th car. Karthikeyan's cash may have found a home, while unproven talents like Pippa Mann stay on the sidelines. :\

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... ourth-car/

Not to mention that Karthikeyan has F1 and NASCAR experience. Both money and the right experience to at least be mediocre in IndyCar. Wouldn't expect any wins from this combo but I wouldn't be shocked if it actually results somewhat well.

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 03 Feb 2013, 15:16

I saw somewhere that Viso is the fourth driver, but its only a rumour.

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 04 Feb 2013, 10:45

Dj_bereta wrote:I saw somewhere that Viso is the fourth driver, but its only a rumour.

He was trying to start his own team, wasn't he?

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 04 Feb 2013, 20:07

Faustus wrote:
Dj_bereta wrote:I saw somewhere that Viso is the fourth driver, but its only a rumour.

He was trying to start his own team, wasn't he?

That would make sense, because recently Viso did put his ownership plans on ice and was looking at putting his Venezuelan cash back in another ride.

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 06 Feb 2013, 23:36

James Jakes moves from Dale Coyne's team to Rahal for 2013 while there is still no word about who will sign former Toyota-F1 Friday driver Ryan Briscoe who lost his drive at Penske.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 07 Feb 2013, 00:12

Yannick wrote:James Jakes moves from Dale Coyne's team to Rahal for 2013 while there is still no word about who will sign former Toyota-F1 Friday driver Ryan Briscoe who lost his drive at Penske.

Of note, Katherine Legge's seat at Dragon is sadly not as safe as was previously expected. She hasn't been confirmed to Dragon Racing, which I find a bit disappointing, really, because Legge only seemed comfortable with the car at Fontana when she logged a pretty solid 9th. Dragon might want to put Briscoe in her seat.

Her race at Texas was emblematic of her whole season. The weight jacker broke within ten laps. Usually once that happens, you're on a one-way trip into the wall, but she finished the race, albeit six laps down or something like that.

Granted, Legge had a fair shot in Champ Car in 2006 and 2007, but PKV Racing made Oriol Servia look foolish all season long and if Jimmy Vasser wasn't a tard on strategy, dare I say Katherine would have probably finished on the podium at Milwaukee? She set fastest lap of the race at Toronto as well, despite binning it late in the race.

Okay, fine, Katherine Legge had a pretty crap points haul in 2006, but she never qualified well (except Milwaukee), and for the first few races, Dan Clarke made a habit of taking her out (at Houston, IIRC, Clarke took her out when he was 10 laps down and she was having a reasonable race). She also had a pretty good race going at Road America before part of the rear wing decided to fall off the car in the kink, resulting in one of the biggest crashes I've seen at Road America.

She was given to Dale Coyne for 2007, and she was never comfortable in the DP-01, and, Las Vegas aside (where she ran very well despite qualifying way in the back as usual), her season was pretty crap. But, as we should know, Coyne's team was (kind of still is, but not really) the Minardi of American open wheel racing... and they're from Illinois so that makes them awesome on two counts.

By no means is Katherine Legge a megatalent, but I have to really applaud TrueCar for their promotion of female drivers (Legge is one of six drivers they support in various categories). It's a huge risk on their part, but I think it's good to see someone take that risk. Especially since Legge doesn't have Danica Patrick's glamor girl attitude (though, from what I've heard, DP did inspire a certain Simona de Silvestro to a certain extent).

Come on, who are we going to support on F1 Rejects? A driver who tested a Minardi? Or a driver who drove for Toyota on Fridays? Seems like an easy choice to me...

Also, Briscoe might be kept by Penske if he can find sponsorship. A partial schedule for Briscoe in the #2 Penske car might be forthcoming, but I have doubts. Dragon might outsource Legge to HVM to keep that team in the series.

EDIT: Just realized I typed enough for part of a Katherine Legge Reject profile.

That's kind of worrying. Especially since I have some reading to do...

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 07 Feb 2013, 16:21

Cynon wrote:Come on, who are we going to support on F1 Rejects? A driver who tested a Minardi? Or a driver who drove for Toyota on Fridays? Seems like an easy choice to me...

EDIT: Just realized I typed enough for part of a Katherine Legge Reject profile. That's kind of worrying. Especially since I have some reading to do...

Of course it's an easy choice... :roll:

And I would love to read a Katherine Legge profile. Even if it technically would have to end up on the Centrale pages...

deCrasheris · Post by **deCrasheris** » 07 Feb 2013, 18:59

Viso has been confirmed with the 4th Andretti Autosport drive in conjunction with HVM http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... rt-lineup/

Also, AJ Allmendinger will be testing for Penske at Sebring and if all goes well and sponsorship can be acquired, he may race at Barber, Long Beach and the 500

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... ycar-test/

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 07 Feb 2013, 19:00

SPEED confirms Viso to Andretti (but with some werid HVM tie in) and that the Dinger tested for Penske.....

Edit: Slow off the lights!

Onxy Wrecked · Post by **Onxy Wrecked** » 07 Feb 2013, 22:01

Now over or under 8 E.J. Viso crashes?

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 07 Feb 2013, 22:07

Onxy Wrecked wrote:Now over or under 8 E.J. Viso crashes?

I'll take the over. Standard F1 Rejects avatar wager?

deCrasheris · Post by **deCrasheris** » 07 Feb 2013, 22:21

Onxy Wrecked wrote:Now over or under 8 E.J. Viso crashes?

I'll go with the under. Viso didn't crash that much (to his standards at least) last year.

nome66 · Post by **nome66** » 08 Feb 2013, 01:37

JohnMLTX rename thread 2013 please? season's starting soon

Onxy Wrecked · Post by **Onxy Wrecked** » 08 Feb 2013, 02:19

Wallio wrote:
Onxy Wrecked wrote:Now over or under 8 E.J. Viso crashes?

I'll take the over. Standard F1 Rejects avatar wager?

No, just an idea of how many think the pressure will get to Viso.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 08 Feb 2013, 06:50

nome66 wrote:JohnMLTX rename thread 2013 please? season's starting soon

I don't think he comes here anymore....

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 08 Feb 2013, 14:21

Cynon wrote:Andretti is adding a 4th car. Karthikeyan's cash may have found a home, while unproven talents like Pippa Mann stay on the sidelines. :\

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... ourth-car/

I am not happy with this... Despite wanting to see Karthikeyan continue to be rejectful!

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:
nome66 wrote:JohnMLTX rename thread 2013 please? season's starting soon

I don't think he comes here anymore....

A moderator can do this?

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 08 Feb 2013, 17:00

Given that this started as the 2011 IndyCar thread, wouldn't it be better to have a whole new one?