Sao Paulo Indy 300

[DanicaFan]

Well, its finally here, the 2010 IndyCar season is about to start. They open this weekend in Brazil on the streets of Sao Paulo. This is an inaugural race. Here are the details of the race..

Race 1 of 17

Race - Sao Paulo Indy 300

Location - Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Date - Sunday, March 14th

Time & TV Schedule - 11:30 AM Eastern on Versus

Course Type - 2.6 Mile Street Circuit

Distance - 75 Laps / 195 Miles

Practice Sessions - Saturday, March 13th - 7-8:30 am Eastern & 10:30-11:30am Eastern

Qualifications - Saturday, March 13th -1pm Eastern

[DanicaFan]

Here is the current entry list..

Car# & Driver / Car Name / Team

#2 Raphael Matos / HP Luczo Dragaon / Luczo Dragon Racing/De Ferran Motorsports
#3 Helio Castroneves / Team Penske / Team Penske
#4 Dan Wheldon / National Guard Panther Racing / Panther Racing
#5 Takuma Sato / KV Racing Technology / KV Racing Technology
#6 Ryan Briscoe / Team Penske / Team Penske
#7 Danica Patrick / Team GoDaddy.com / Andretti Autosport
#8 EJ Viso / PDVSA-Jet Aviation-KVRT / KV Racing Technology
#9 Scott Dixon / Target Chip Ganassi Racing / Target Chip Ganassi Racing
#10 Dario Franchitti / Target Chip Ganassi Racing / Target Chip Ganassi Racing
#11 Tony Kanaan / Team 7-Eleven / Andretti Autosport
#12 Will Power / Verizon Team Penske / Verizon Team Penske
#14 Vitor Meira / ABC Supply Co. AJ Foyt Racing / AJ Foyt Enterprises
#18 Milka Duno / CITGO / Dale Coyne Racing
#19 Alex Lloyd / Boy Scouts of America / Dale Coyne Racing
#22 Justin Wilson / Team Z-Line Designs / Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
#23 Ana Beatriz / Ipiranga-DRR / Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
#24 Mike Conway / Dreyer & Reinbold Racing / Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
#26 Marco Andretti / Team Venom Energy / Andretti Autosport
#32 TBA / KV Racing Technology / KV Racing Technology
#34 Mario Romancini / Conquest Racing / Conquest Racing
#37 Ryan Hunter-Reay / Team IZOD / Andretti Autosport
#77 Alex Tagliani / FAZZT Race Team / FAZZT Race Team
#78 Simona De Silvestro / Team Stargate Worlds HVM / HVM Racing
#06 Hideki Mutoh / Newman Haas Lanigan Racing / Newman Haas Lanigan Racing

[Insighter]

Well, looks like no Versus on DirecTV for this race, so I won't be watching. Shame on everyone involved.

[DanicaFan]

Here are the pit assignments for this race...

[f1fan-sky]

Originally Posted by Insighter

Well, looks like no Versus on DirecTV for this race, so I won't be watching. Shame on everyone involved.

You can watch on www.Indycar.com

[DanicaFan]

Practice Session 1 is over. Scott Dixon was the fastest. He had a lap time of 1:31.7707.

Here are the results of Session 1..

1. #9 Scott Dixon - 1:31.7707
2. #6 Ryan Briscoe - 1:31.9731
3. #11 Tony Kanaan - 1:31.9753
4. #12 Will Power - 1:32.3009
5. #24 Mike Conway -1:32.6446
6. #37 Ryan Hunter-Reay -1:32.7943
7. #2 Raphael Matos - 1:32.8537
8. #3 Helio Castroneves - 1:32.9402
9. #77 Alex Tagliani - 1:33.1523
10. #22 Justin Wilson -1:33.3587
11. #8 EJ Viso -1:33.3998
12. #78 Simona De Silvestro - 1:33.4757
13. #26 Marco Andretti - 1:33.4808
14. #32 Mario Moraes -1:33.5580
15. #06 Hideki Mutoh - 1:33.6684
16. #14 Vitor Meira - 1:33.6970
17. #10 Dario Franchitti - 1:33.8456
18. #19 Alex Lloyd - 1:33.9907
19. #5 Takuma Sato - 1:34.0126
20. #4 Dan Wheldon - 1:34.4779
21. #34 Mario Romancini -1:34.6577
22. #7 Danica Patrick - 1:34.7795
23. #23 Ana Beatriz - 1:37.4300
24. #18 Mika Duno -1:43.4555

[Insighter]

Simona sure destroyed the other females on the grid!!

[f1fan-sky]

Way to drive, Simona! You go, girl!

[MSulka]

Originally Posted by Insighter

Simona sure destroyed the other females on the grid!!

And a rookie too. Not to mention she doesn't exactly have some of the best equipment in the paddock.

Must be the driver.

[DanicaFan]

Danica moved up!

Here are the results of Practice Session 2..

1. #9 Scott Dixon - 1:32.7369
2. #6 Ryan Briscoe - 1:33.2741
3. #11 Tony Kanaan - 1:33.3384
4. #12 Will Power - 1:33.8045
5. #77 Alex Tagliani - 1:34.0698
6. #37 Ryan Hunter-Reay - 1:34.3339
7. #26 Marco Andretti - 1:34.8893
8. #3 Helio Castroneves - 1:34.9522
9. #32 Mario Moraes - 1:35.0701
10. #8 EJ Viso - 1:35.0702
11. #10 Dario Franchitti - 1:35.1564
12. #2 Raphael Matos - 1:35.2949
13. #78 Simona De Silvestro - 1:35.4282
14. #7 Danica Patrick - 1:35.7395
15. #14 Vitor Meira - 1:35.7497
16. #06 Hideki Mutoh - 1:35.9978
17. #4 Dan Wheldon - 1:36.0740
18. #24 Mike Conway - 1:36.3362
19. #5 Takuma Sato - 1:36.7977
20. #19 Alex Lloyd - 1:36.9803
21. #22 Justin Wilson - 1:36.9843
22. #34 Mario Romancini - 1:40.5845
23. #23 Ana Beatriz - 1:40.8720
24. #18 Milka Duno - 1:44.2048

[Insighter]

Good run for Tags. I think that team is well positioned this year. Dario doesn't seem to have the hang of this circuit yet.

There's really no excuse for Milka being on the grid is there? 12 seconds off the pace? 7 seconds behind her teammate? ridiculous.

[DanicaFan]

Milka is terrible. She has no business on the track, I dont care how much money she brings. When she is that slow, becomes a danger to other drivers, prevents faster cars from passing, its time for the IRL to pull her from the race.

[DanicaFan]

Qualifying may be postponed until tomorrow morning.

[DanicaFan]

They will grind the concrete portion of the track tonight. Qualifications will be at 8am tomorrow morning.

[DanicaFan]

Practice Session again in the morning, qualifying afterwards at 8:00am.

[DanicaFan]

Practice Session 3 Results..

Rank / Car# & Driver / Lap Time / Speed

1. #12 Will Power / 01:31.2980 / 99.998
2. #11 Tony Kanaan / 01:31.3403 / 99.952
3. #37 Ryan Hunter-Reay / 01:31.3858 / 99.902
4. #22 Justin Wilson / 01:.31.5380 / 99.736
5. #10 Dario Franchitti / 01:31.5788 / 99.691
6. #2 Raphael Matos / 01:31.5930 / 99.676
7. #9 Scott Dixon / 01:31.6062 / 99.661
8. #77 Alex Tagliani / 01:31.6969 / 99.563
9. #26 Marco Andretti / 01:31.8503 / 99.397
10. #3 Helio Castroneves / 01:31.8565 / 99.390
11. #6 Ryan Briscoe / 01:31.9878 / 99.248
12. #7 Danica Patrick / 01:32.1665 / 99.056
13. #8 EJ Viso / 01:32.2136 / 99.005
14. #4 Dan Wheldon / 01:32.2469 / 98.969
15. #14 Vitor Meira / 01:32.6553 / 98.533
16. #78 Simona De Silvestro / 01:32.6710 / 98.516
17. #5 Takuma Sato / 01:33.0667 / 98.097
18. #19 Alex Lloyd / 01:33.1112 / 98.051
19. #24 Mike Conway / 01:33.1460 / 98.014
20. #06 Hideki Mutoh / 01:33.1872 / 97.971
21. #32 Mario Moraes / 01:33.7353 / 97.398
22. #34 Mario Romancini / 01:36.2038 / 94.899
23. #23 Ana Beatriz / 01:38.7247 / 92.475
24. #18 Milka Duno / 01:39.5075 / 91.748

[MSulka]

This is a great reason why the IndyCar series shouldn't have been sitting around all day yesterday....

[DanicaFan]

They shouldnt even be down there. I never was excited about this track and this solidifies it even more.

I hope they dont go back next year.

[skidmark]

Official explanation comes here:

http://www.indycar.com/news/show/55-...d-to-race-day/

Umm, yeah, somewhat understandable I guess. Concrete didn't rubber in as expected because the City of San Paulo obviously used some sort of sealer to protect the surface to make it last longer - I suspect.

Understandable they'd want to fix that because I still think it's awful narrow going down that stretch and you don't want cars and parts flying off the track where most of your spectators will be.

Gotta be a thrill to be that close to the thundering herd as they head down the front stretch though.

[MSulka]

Once again though... It proves that series doing this on a budget have it much tougher.

F1 bascially had no issues adding Singapore or Valencia. Both city circuits.

[Maelochs]

Tight budget, tight time schedule, and unfortunately not a great job in a lot of ways.

Still a chance to pull off a good race.

[diamonddave]

is it possible for someones expectations to drop below zero?

[Maelochs]

That was their secret plan. That way if the race comes off, everyone is impressed, and if it is a fiasco, everyone is satisfied.

[Snapshot]

24

I'm happy and I'll be watching it live on Versus.

[MSulka]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

Still a chance to pull off a good race.

Based on what I understand so far, I think getting this straight figured out is the WHOLE KEY to the race working as planned.

Its a very long straight, and its a chance for passing. If the cars can't get two wide without worrying about crashing, this isn't going to work. it will be a parade with pitstops determining the winner.

[DanicaFan]

Well, qualifications are in the books finally. Dario Franchitti earns the pole.

Here is the starting grid..

Row 1

#10 Dario Franchitti
#77 Alex Tagliani

Row 2

#22 Justin Wilson
#37 Ryan Hunter-Reay

Row 3

#12 Will Power
#11 Tony Kanaan

Row 4

#9 Scott Dixon
#6 Ryan Briscoe

Row 5

#3 Helio Castroneves
#5 Takuma Sato

Row 6

#78 Simona De Silvestro
#2 Raphael Matos

Row 7

#7 Danica Patrick
#06 Hideki Mutoh

Row 8

#19 Alex Lloyd
#14 Vitor Meira

Row 9

#8 EJ Viso
#4 Dan Wheldon

Row 10

#24 Mike Conway
#34 Mario Romancini

Row 11

#26 Marco Andretti
#23 Ana Beatriz

Row 12

#32 Mario Moraes
#18 Milka Duno

[Snapshot]

The Direct TV says, no versus, I'm watching online. I hope they keep this streaming video up and running!

Oh Boy, live video online, not cable, but so what it's live. Now it's starting to rain? I don't think I'm going to be seeing this race.

Red Flag...

Green Flag, live timing and scoring is stuck on 29 laps and broken. TV feed is off, no wait back at 250kbs, refreshed the link now at 750. Liking this more listening and getting the overall pictures, I'll watch the TV version some other time. Very enjoyable experience, especially the in car from a few of them.

No confirmation on the registration and I don't have a cell number to get spammed with text that will cost me to read the messages.

[MSulka]

What is the purpose of rain tires if they don't use them ?

[DanicaFan]

Congrats to Will Power for the win.

[Insighter]

Originally Posted by MSulka

What is the purpose of rain tires if they don't use them ?

I think ever since this incident there's been a lot more caution given to rain at street circuits. At temporary circuits water tends to puddle and there's not much room for error. I agree, it seems stupid but it's probably for the best. Especially with the quality of the drivers at the back.

[DanicaFan]

Here are the final results..

1.#12 Will Power
2. #37 Ryan Hunter-Reay
3. #14 Vitor Meira
4. #2 Raphael Matos
5. #4 Dan Wheldon
6. #9 Scott Dixon
7. #10 Dario Franchitti
8. #24 Mike Conway
9. #3 Helio Castroneves
10. #11 Tony Kanaan
11. #22 Justin Wilson
12. #8 EJ Viso
13. #24 Ana Beatriz
14. #6 Ryan Briscoe
15. #7 Danica Patrick
16. #78 Simona De Silvestro
17. #34 Mario Romancini
18. #19 Alex Lloyd
19. #77 Alex Tagliani
20. #06 Hideki Mutoh
21. #18 Milka Duno
22. #5 Takuma Sato
23. #26 Marco Andretti
24. #32 Mario Moraes

[IndyAndy]

Rocky start to be sure, but after the rains it turned out to be a pretty good race.

[MSulka]

Originally Posted by Insighter

I think ever since this incident there's been a lot more caution given to rain at street circuits. At temporary circuits water tends to puddle and there's not much room for error. I agree, it seems stupid but it's probably for the best. Especially with the quality of the drivers at the back.

I guess what really ticked me off is they sat so long, they were already switching back to slicks before they went back racing.

At least RHR turned my tirade into addoration. The kid was great today!

[MSulka]

Originally Posted by IndyAndy

Rocky start to be sure, but after the rains it turned out to be a pretty good race.

Yes. RHR kept pressing the issue rather than racing for points! Great stuff! Beat Briscoe, but Power got him.

[DanicaFan]

What made Danica place so badly was the bad call by Tom Anderson (strategist) for not calling her in the pits earlier to change from the slicks to the rain tires. That is the reason she slid and lost the lap.

[Snapshot]

Originally Posted by DanicaFan

What made Danica place so badly was the bad call by Tom Anderson (strategist) for not calling her in the pits earlier to change from the slicks to the rain tires. That is the reason she slid and lost the lap.

Ah, so nothing is Danica's fault when things go wrong? But if she does well, it's not the team, she made it happen. Did I get that right.

Who was driving the car?

[MSulka]

Originally Posted by DanicaFan

What made Danica place so badly was the bad call by Tom Anderson (strategist) for not calling her in the pits earlier to change from the slicks to the rain tires. That is the reason she slid and lost the lap.

Snapshot is exactly right....

It is ALWAYS the drivers call when to pit due to conditions.

[Insighter]

It was really uncool of Tom Anderson to make Danica spin the car like that. But then again, it is his first ever open wheel race

To be fair, every other driver that was on slicks spun in that corner too (NOT!)

[cptkablamo]

Bit of an odd call from Tom Anderson, asking Danica to spin...thought it may have been part of some kind of master strategy, but as it turned out, not spinning, like the actions of team mate Ryan Hunter Reay turned into a stronger strategy.

I surprisingly got to see the race last night, it was pretty good and I actually liked the track. Admittedly, my standards may have been lowered by watching F1 the night before, but I actually enjoyed the race (having the rain delay cut out certainly helped) and there seemed to be a good crowd there. I would actually like to see the Series return to the track...ICS has a large Brazilian history, cohort of drivers and sponsors...Sure the event had teething troubles but overall, I think it has potential

And great to see Will Power take the win. They did a story on the local news last night on him...quite funny as the footage was a few years old...great to see Meira get up there too...a really heartwarming top 3...

[Snapshot]

Originally Posted by IndyAndy

Rocky start to be sure, but after the rains it turned out to be a pretty good race.

Finally watched it last night. Someone recorded for the poor unfortunate me who was going to watch on Versus but could only get to a place that has on that blocked provider. Which settled on Monday!

Did anyone else catch during the show, that it was the most watched TV show in Brazil, ever? I'd think that justified holding the race there for the major sponsors.

[Insighter]

I heard that it was the most watched TV broadcast at timeslot (no other program during the race was watched more). Not ever. But, maybe they said most watched of all time and I mis-heard? I don't think so, but it would be nice.

[skidmark]

I believe they said most watch television broadcast in Brazil period. That's kind of tough to believe given the numbers they should be able to generate when Brazil plays in the World Cup.

But, even so, being in the top 10 in that country has got to be massive considering Brazil's population is just short of 200 million people.

Makes you wonder what other countries where Indycar puts up big numbers, but the series has overlooked their international potential in terms of TV revenues.

[Insighter]

This blog agrees with you guys. It would be nice to see this somewhere 'officially', but for now I guess I'll have to agree.

http://theedje.blogspot.com/2010/03/...in-brazil.html

As reported on VERSUS TV, Bob Jenkins stated that it has been measured that the highest ratings for any television broadcast ever in Brazil was registered for the opening race of the IZOD IndyCar Series in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

[MSulka]

I don't believe it. Any World Cup game with Brazil has got to be more, just as one example.

Plus all the F1 events with the beloved Senna.....

Not buying this... or the source.

[MSulka]

http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid= 130603

Brazil race draws improved ratings: VERSUS' live coverage of the Sao Paulo Indy 300 on March 14 garnered a .4 national household rating, the third-highest rated IZOD IndyCar Series race on the fast-growing sports cable network.
The race peaked at a 0.6 household rating between 2:15 -2:30 p.m. (EDT) and averaged 411,000 viewers, up 30 percent from the 2009 season average (315,000) and up 76 percent from the 2009 season-opening race (233,000).

[skidmark]

I believe those are American numbers (for the US alone). Other countries would generate their own numbers.

While encouraging for the series, you have to remember it's talking about 450,000 people out a population for 330 million.

[banshee74]

It would be interesting to see an equipment swap (certainly impossible) between Danica and Sarah Fisher, De Silvestro, or even Milka, and see the performance difference and most importantly the driving talent difference!.......

The other females in the sport get almost no coverage....De Silvestro had a pretty decent run Sunday...(didn't even spin).....Can you imagine Milka charging down pit road to chastise Danica for running too slow in practice???