A new track layout, a new sponsor & a new found sense of confidence will be what SRT Motorsports will have for them going into Indianapolis this weekend. but can they keep up the strong finishes, & turn all of this into a win in GTLM & extend their winning streak in GTD?? Will Team Ferrari find speed on the track & get out of their slump? Allpar.com will have complete & LIVE race coverage for the Indianapolis Gran Prix!
NEW TRACK CONFIGURATION LEVELS INDY PLAYING FIELD
TUDOR CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVERS BREAK DOWN THE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY LAYOUT
Indianapolis Motor Speedway has leveled the playing field by providing a revised race course for Friday’s Brickyard Grand Prix.
While the GRAND-AM Rolex Series raced at Indy the past two years on a 2.534-mile layout, this weekend’s competition will be on a 14-turn, 2.435-mile layout that was first used by IndyCar in May.
“Based on what we saw with the IndyCar race, I think it’s going to be good,” said Scott Pruett, who will drive the No. 01 Telcel Ford EcoBoost/Riley. “There are more passing zones, and will add a new element to the race. We’ll pretty much have to (throw away our old notes). They’ve repaved the whole place and changed the layout, so pretty much everything we’ve learned over the years without a doubt is not going to carry forward.
” Pruett was a four-time competitor in the Indianapolis 500, leading eight laps in his final race in 1995.
Christian Fittipaldi was that year’s Rookie of the Year with a second-place finish. He feels that the paving will be the biggest difference from the past two years.
“I don’t think the course will be that much different,” said Fittipaldi, who co-drives the Rolex 24 At Daytona-winning No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP with Joao Barbosa. “They added a chicane on the last corner, and changed a little bit in the infield. But all in all, it’s pretty much the same track – but with a lot more grip.
“Last year the cars were sliding all over the place, but this year it should be a lot more interesting – not only for us drivers, but for the fans as well. I think the racing is going to be a lot closer, and we’re going to see more overtaking maneuvers.
” Barbosa agrees with his teammate.
“I think it’s going to improve the racing,” Barbosa said. “The Speedway did a great job resurfacing the track. We have a lot more grip, so we should be able to go racing a lot better. The track configuration changed a little bit, but the overtaking and braking zones are still pretty much the same. I think it will be better racing, for sure.”
The changes to the course will be only one of the changes that defending winner Ryan Dalziel encounters this year. After winning the 2013 event in a Daytona Prototype for Starworks Motorsport, Dalziel now drives an HPD ARX-03b/Honda Prototype for Extreme Speed Motorsport, joining Scott Sharp in the No. 1 Tequila Patrón entry. Unlike many of his former DP competitors, Dalziel recently had the opportunity to test on the revised layout.
“We had a great test at Indianapolis with ESM, and we feel we’ll have a good car there,” Dalziel said. “The new layout is very different, and the improvements are all good.”
Winners of the Rolex Series GT class in 2012, Andy Lally and John Potter now co-drive the Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT America in the TUDOR Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class. “It will definitely be a little different in how we drive it, but not how we approach it,” Lally said. “I’m not sure how the changes will suit our Porsche, but it will be interesting. I’m very happy with what they did with the old infield section, but I’m not sure about how the new section leading onto the front straight will work. We tested and we did OK, so we’ll see how it goes.”
The changes will definitely create more action for the fans.” So on one hand, the race course used for TUDOR Championship and Continental Tire Challenge competitors will feature a revised layout with new paving.
While that may make for some changes in the racing, one factor remains constant: it’s still the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and all of the IMSA competitors are looking forward to making the best of their opportunity to “kiss the bricks” after winning on Friday.
Race Schedule
Thursday July 24th
Practice 1 - TUDOR Championship 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM ET
Practice 2 - TUDOR Championship 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM ET
Qualifying - TUDOR Championship (GTD) 4:00 PM - 4:15 PM ET
Qualifying - TUDOR Championship (GTLM) 4:20 PM - 4:35 PM ET
Friday July 25th
Race - TUDOR Championship 5:45 PM ET (2 hours 45 minutes)
Team & Driver Entry List
GTLM Class
Car No Drivers GT Le Mans (GTLM) Sponsor Car Type Engine Tire Fuel
# 3 Jan Magnussen / Roskilde, Denmark - Antonio Garcia / Barcelona, Spain
Corvette Racing - Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Chevrolet - Michelin - IMSA E85C
# 4 Oliver Gavin / Yardley Hastings, England - Tommy Milner / Lake Mary, FL
Corvette Racing - Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Chevrolet - Michelin - IMSA E85C
# 17 Wolf Henzler / Nürtingen, Germany - Bryan Sellers / Atlanta, GA
Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR Porsche Falken IMSA E85C
# 55 Bill Auberlen / Redondo Beach, CA - Andy Priaulx / Guernsey, Normandy
BMW Team RLL/BMW Z4 GTE BMW Michelin IMSA E85C
# 56 John Edwards / Cincinnati, OH - Dirk Müller / Tägerwilen, Switzerland
BMW Team RLL/BMW Z4 GTE BMW Michelin IMSA E85C
# 62 Giancarlo Fisichella / Rome, Italy - Pierre ****** / Germany
Risi Competizione - Ferrari F458 Italia - Ferrari - Michelin IMSA E85C
# 91 Dominik Farnbacher / Ansbach, Germany - Marc Goossens / Geel, Belgium - Jonathan Bomarito / Monterey, CA
SRT Motorsports - Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R - Viper V10 - Michelin IMSA E85C
# 93 Jonathan Bomarito / Monterey, CA - Kuno Wittmer / Montreal, Quebec, Canada - Marc Goossens / Geel, Belgium
SRT Motorsports - Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R - Viper V10 - Michelin IMSA E85C
# 911 Nick Tandy / Bedford, United Kingdom - Richard Lietz / Ybbs, Austria
Porsche North America - Porsche 911 RSR Porsche Michelin IMSA E85C
# 912 Patrick Long / Thousand Oaks, CA - Michael Christensen / Karlslunde, Denmark
Porsche North America - Porsche 911 RSR Porsche Michelin IMSA E85C
GTD Class (Team name in bold type)
# 18
Muehlner Motorsports America
Mark Thomas/Houston TX
Other drivers are TBA
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 19
Muehlner Motorsports America
Drivers are TBA
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 22
Alex Job Racing
Cooper MacNeil / Hindsdale, IL - Leh Keen / Atlanta, GA - Philipp Frommenwiler, Kreuzlingen/Switzerland
WeatherTech
Porsche 911 GT America Porsche Continental IMSA E10
# 23
Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing
Ian James / Phoenix, AZ - Mario Farnbacher / Ansbach, Germany
Heart of Racing
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 27
Dempsey Racing
Patrick Dempsey / Malibu, CA - Andrew Davis / Athens, GA - Joe Foster / Suwanee, GA
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 30
MOMO / NGT Motorsport
Christina Nielsen / Denmark - Kuba Giermaziak / Gostyn, Poland
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 33
Riley Motorsports
Jeroen Bleekemolen / Monte Carlo, Monaco - Ben Keating / Port Lavaca, TX
Dodge Viper GT3-R - Dodge Viper V10 - Continental IMSA E10
# 35
Flying Lizard Motorsports
Seth Neiman / San Francisco, CA - Dion von Moltke / Coral Gables, FL
Audi R8 LMS - Audi - Continental IMSA E10
# 44
Magnus Racing
John Potter / Salt Lake City, UT - Andy Lally / Dacula, GA - Sebastian Asch / Ammerbruch, Germany
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 45
Flying Lizard Motorsports
Nelson Canache Jr. / Venezuela - Spencer Pumpelly / Atlanta, GA
Audi R8 LMS - Audi - Continental IMSA E10
#46
Fall-Line Motorsports
Charles Espenlaub / Lutz, FL - Charlie Putman / Mills, WY - Marco Bonanomi / Lecco, Italy
Audi R8 LMS - Audi - Continental IMSA E10
# 48
Paul Miller Racing
Christopher Haase / Waging am See, Germany - Bryce Miller / Summit, NJ
Audi R8 LMS - Audi - Continental IMSA E10
# 58
Snow Racing
Madison Snow / Lehi, UT - Jan Heylen / Tampa, FL
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 63
Scuderia Corsa
Alessandro Balzan / Rovigo, Italy - Jeff Westphal / San Francisco, CA - Brandon Davis / Napa, CA
Ferrari 458 Italia - Ferrari - Continental IMSA E10
# 73
Park Place Motorsports
Patrick Lindsey / Santa Barbara, CA - Kevin Estre / Langenfeld, Germany
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 81
GB Autosport
Michael Avenatti / Los Angeles, CA - Ben Barker / Suffolk, England - Damien Faulkner / Donegal, Ireland
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 94
Turner Motorsport
Dane Cameron / Atlanta, GA - Markus Palttala / Helsinki, Finland
BMW Z4 - BMW - Continental IMSA E10
# 007
TRG-AMR
David Block / Gates Mills, OH - Al Carter / Greenville, DE - James Davison / Melbourne, Australia
Aston Martin V12 Vantage - Aston Martin - Continental IMSA E10
# 555
AIM Autosport
Bill Sweedler / Wesport, CT - Townsend Bell / San Francisco, CA
Ferrari 458 Italia - Ferrari - Continental IMSA E10
NEW TRACK CONFIGURATION LEVELS INDY PLAYING FIELD
TUDOR CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVERS BREAK DOWN THE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY LAYOUT
Indianapolis Motor Speedway has leveled the playing field by providing a revised race course for Friday’s Brickyard Grand Prix.
While the GRAND-AM Rolex Series raced at Indy the past two years on a 2.534-mile layout, this weekend’s competition will be on a 14-turn, 2.435-mile layout that was first used by IndyCar in May.
“Based on what we saw with the IndyCar race, I think it’s going to be good,” said Scott Pruett, who will drive the No. 01 Telcel Ford EcoBoost/Riley. “There are more passing zones, and will add a new element to the race. We’ll pretty much have to (throw away our old notes). They’ve repaved the whole place and changed the layout, so pretty much everything we’ve learned over the years without a doubt is not going to carry forward.
” Pruett was a four-time competitor in the Indianapolis 500, leading eight laps in his final race in 1995.
Christian Fittipaldi was that year’s Rookie of the Year with a second-place finish. He feels that the paving will be the biggest difference from the past two years.
“I don’t think the course will be that much different,” said Fittipaldi, who co-drives the Rolex 24 At Daytona-winning No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP with Joao Barbosa. “They added a chicane on the last corner, and changed a little bit in the infield. But all in all, it’s pretty much the same track – but with a lot more grip.
“Last year the cars were sliding all over the place, but this year it should be a lot more interesting – not only for us drivers, but for the fans as well. I think the racing is going to be a lot closer, and we’re going to see more overtaking maneuvers.
” Barbosa agrees with his teammate.
“I think it’s going to improve the racing,” Barbosa said. “The Speedway did a great job resurfacing the track. We have a lot more grip, so we should be able to go racing a lot better. The track configuration changed a little bit, but the overtaking and braking zones are still pretty much the same. I think it will be better racing, for sure.”
The changes to the course will be only one of the changes that defending winner Ryan Dalziel encounters this year. After winning the 2013 event in a Daytona Prototype for Starworks Motorsport, Dalziel now drives an HPD ARX-03b/Honda Prototype for Extreme Speed Motorsport, joining Scott Sharp in the No. 1 Tequila Patrón entry. Unlike many of his former DP competitors, Dalziel recently had the opportunity to test on the revised layout.
“We had a great test at Indianapolis with ESM, and we feel we’ll have a good car there,” Dalziel said. “The new layout is very different, and the improvements are all good.”
Winners of the Rolex Series GT class in 2012, Andy Lally and John Potter now co-drive the Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT America in the TUDOR Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class. “It will definitely be a little different in how we drive it, but not how we approach it,” Lally said. “I’m not sure how the changes will suit our Porsche, but it will be interesting. I’m very happy with what they did with the old infield section, but I’m not sure about how the new section leading onto the front straight will work. We tested and we did OK, so we’ll see how it goes.”
The changes will definitely create more action for the fans.” So on one hand, the race course used for TUDOR Championship and Continental Tire Challenge competitors will feature a revised layout with new paving.
While that may make for some changes in the racing, one factor remains constant: it’s still the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and all of the IMSA competitors are looking forward to making the best of their opportunity to “kiss the bricks” after winning on Friday.
Race Schedule
Thursday July 24th
Practice 1 - TUDOR Championship 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM ET
Practice 2 - TUDOR Championship 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM ET
Qualifying - TUDOR Championship (GTD) 4:00 PM - 4:15 PM ET
Qualifying - TUDOR Championship (GTLM) 4:20 PM - 4:35 PM ET
Friday July 25th
Race - TUDOR Championship 5:45 PM ET (2 hours 45 minutes)
Team & Driver Entry List
GTLM Class
Car No Drivers GT Le Mans (GTLM) Sponsor Car Type Engine Tire Fuel
# 3 Jan Magnussen / Roskilde, Denmark - Antonio Garcia / Barcelona, Spain
Corvette Racing - Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Chevrolet - Michelin - IMSA E85C
# 4 Oliver Gavin / Yardley Hastings, England - Tommy Milner / Lake Mary, FL
Corvette Racing - Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Chevrolet - Michelin - IMSA E85C
# 17 Wolf Henzler / Nürtingen, Germany - Bryan Sellers / Atlanta, GA
Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR Porsche Falken IMSA E85C
# 55 Bill Auberlen / Redondo Beach, CA - Andy Priaulx / Guernsey, Normandy
BMW Team RLL/BMW Z4 GTE BMW Michelin IMSA E85C
# 56 John Edwards / Cincinnati, OH - Dirk Müller / Tägerwilen, Switzerland
BMW Team RLL/BMW Z4 GTE BMW Michelin IMSA E85C
# 62 Giancarlo Fisichella / Rome, Italy - Pierre ****** / Germany
Risi Competizione - Ferrari F458 Italia - Ferrari - Michelin IMSA E85C
# 91 Dominik Farnbacher / Ansbach, Germany - Marc Goossens / Geel, Belgium - Jonathan Bomarito / Monterey, CA
SRT Motorsports - Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R - Viper V10 - Michelin IMSA E85C
# 93 Jonathan Bomarito / Monterey, CA - Kuno Wittmer / Montreal, Quebec, Canada - Marc Goossens / Geel, Belgium
SRT Motorsports - Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R - Viper V10 - Michelin IMSA E85C
# 911 Nick Tandy / Bedford, United Kingdom - Richard Lietz / Ybbs, Austria
Porsche North America - Porsche 911 RSR Porsche Michelin IMSA E85C
# 912 Patrick Long / Thousand Oaks, CA - Michael Christensen / Karlslunde, Denmark
Porsche North America - Porsche 911 RSR Porsche Michelin IMSA E85C
GTD Class (Team name in bold type)
# 18
Muehlner Motorsports America
Mark Thomas/Houston TX
Other drivers are TBA
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 19
Muehlner Motorsports America
Drivers are TBA
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 22
Alex Job Racing
Cooper MacNeil / Hindsdale, IL - Leh Keen / Atlanta, GA - Philipp Frommenwiler, Kreuzlingen/Switzerland
WeatherTech
Porsche 911 GT America Porsche Continental IMSA E10
# 23
Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing
Ian James / Phoenix, AZ - Mario Farnbacher / Ansbach, Germany
Heart of Racing
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 27
Dempsey Racing
Patrick Dempsey / Malibu, CA - Andrew Davis / Athens, GA - Joe Foster / Suwanee, GA
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 30
MOMO / NGT Motorsport
Christina Nielsen / Denmark - Kuba Giermaziak / Gostyn, Poland
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 33
Riley Motorsports
Jeroen Bleekemolen / Monte Carlo, Monaco - Ben Keating / Port Lavaca, TX
Dodge Viper GT3-R - Dodge Viper V10 - Continental IMSA E10
# 35
Flying Lizard Motorsports
Seth Neiman / San Francisco, CA - Dion von Moltke / Coral Gables, FL
Audi R8 LMS - Audi - Continental IMSA E10
# 44
Magnus Racing
John Potter / Salt Lake City, UT - Andy Lally / Dacula, GA - Sebastian Asch / Ammerbruch, Germany
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 45
Flying Lizard Motorsports
Nelson Canache Jr. / Venezuela - Spencer Pumpelly / Atlanta, GA
Audi R8 LMS - Audi - Continental IMSA E10
#46
Fall-Line Motorsports
Charles Espenlaub / Lutz, FL - Charlie Putman / Mills, WY - Marco Bonanomi / Lecco, Italy
Audi R8 LMS - Audi - Continental IMSA E10
# 48
Paul Miller Racing
Christopher Haase / Waging am See, Germany - Bryce Miller / Summit, NJ
Audi R8 LMS - Audi - Continental IMSA E10
# 58
Snow Racing
Madison Snow / Lehi, UT - Jan Heylen / Tampa, FL
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 63
Scuderia Corsa
Alessandro Balzan / Rovigo, Italy - Jeff Westphal / San Francisco, CA - Brandon Davis / Napa, CA
Ferrari 458 Italia - Ferrari - Continental IMSA E10
# 73
Park Place Motorsports
Patrick Lindsey / Santa Barbara, CA - Kevin Estre / Langenfeld, Germany
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 81
GB Autosport
Michael Avenatti / Los Angeles, CA - Ben Barker / Suffolk, England - Damien Faulkner / Donegal, Ireland
Porsche 911 GT America - Porsche - Continental IMSA E10
# 94
Turner Motorsport
Dane Cameron / Atlanta, GA - Markus Palttala / Helsinki, Finland
BMW Z4 - BMW - Continental IMSA E10
# 007
TRG-AMR
David Block / Gates Mills, OH - Al Carter / Greenville, DE - James Davison / Melbourne, Australia
Aston Martin V12 Vantage - Aston Martin - Continental IMSA E10
# 555
AIM Autosport
Bill Sweedler / Wesport, CT - Townsend Bell / San Francisco, CA
Ferrari 458 Italia - Ferrari - Continental IMSA E10