2020 pre-season COTA test

[MonteCristo]

Two days of testing today/tomorrow (Tuesday/Wednesday Yankie time).

25 cars scheduled to take part. Apparently it'll rain a bit, so we'll see if the screen is a yay or nay.

Entry list:

1 1 Josef Newgarden Nashville, Tennessee Team Penske Team Penske Chevrolet
2 2 Scott McLaughlin (R) Christchurch, New Zealand Team Penske Team Penske Chevrolet
3 4 Charlie Kimball Camarillo, California AJ Foyt Racing A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
4 5 Pato O'Ward Monterey, Mexico Arrow McLaren SP Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet
5 7 Oliver Askew (R) Jupiter, Florida Arrow McLaren SP Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet
6 8 Marcus Ericsson Kumla, Sweden Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
7 9 Scott Dixon Auckland, New Zealand PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
8 10 Felix Rosenqvist Malmo, Sweden NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
9 12 Will Power Toowoomba, Australia Verizon Team Penske Team Penske Chevrolet
10 14 Sebastien Bourdais Le Mans, France AJ Foyt Racing A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
14 Dalton Kellett (R) Stouffville, Canada AJ Foyt Racing A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
11 15 Graham Rahal New Albany, Ohio Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
12 18 Santino Ferrucci Woodbury, Connecticut SealMaster Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan Honda
13 20 Conor Daly Noblesville, Indiana U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
14 21 Rinus VeeKay (R) Hoofddorp, Netherlands Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
15 22 Simon Pagenaud Montmorillon, France Team Penske Team Penske Chevrolet
16 26 Zach Veach Stockdale, Ohio Gainbridge Andretti Autosport Honda
17 27 Alexander Rossi Nevada City, California NAPA AUTO PARTS / AutoNation Andretti Autosport Honda
18 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Fort Lauderdale, Florida DHL Andretti Autosport Honda
19 30 Takuma Sato Tokyo, Japan Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
20 31 Sergio Sette Camara (R) Belo Horizonte, Brazil Carlin Carlin Chevrolet
31 Felipe Nasr (R) Brasilia, Brazil Carlin Carlin Chevrolet
21 55 Alex Palou (R) Sant Antoni de Vilamajor, Spain Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Honda
22 59 Max Chilton Reigate, England Gallagher Carlin Carlin Chevrolet
23 60 Jack Harvey Bassingham, England AutoNation/Sirius XM Meyer Shank Racing Honda
24 88 Colton Herta Valencia, California Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport Honda
25 98 Marco Andretti Nazareth, Pennsylvania U.S. Concrete / Curb Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb-Agajanian Honda

It'll be good to see what Nasr can do, likewise McLaughlin.

At least Least Andretti will be able to be faster than Kellett.

[John]

The screen was tested at Barber in the wet and both Dixon, RHR and Power (I think it was Power) said it performed great, and visibility was better than without the screen.

[Cheeveer]

It's on!

racecontrol.indycar.com for livetiming and video.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Meh.... red flag for rain I think it is. Just a few installation laps before they threw the red.
Rain forecast for tomorrow too.

[Cheeveer]

Of course, haha

[Everso Biggyballies]

Long way for Scotty Mac to travel for a couple of installation laps.
As this test is the only running scheduled for him pre the Indy GP first week in May he is going to likely be in at the deep end. Maybe the weather will be kind enough to let him get some laps in at least.

[Cheeveer]

No real running today

[erwin greven]

Tuesday:

[John]

Wedneday:

[PTRACER]

I must admit, they don't look bad at all with the aeroscreens. And other than a few leaks in the wet, the drivers aren't complaining at all. The only thing I wonder is what happens to it when the car gets upside down on an oval.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Scotty Mac managed to get a number of laps in on day 2 despite the track being wet for much of the day, and to his credit finished the day third fastest, behind Power and Rossi.

Im not reading too much into it as he admitted they had used a number of new tyres on his test. Power did a 1:46.7603, 0.2 ahead of Rossi with Scott a further 0.3 back.

Ahead of his final stint in the car, McLaughlin spoke of the physicality he’s had to get accustomed to.

“It’s fast, it’s got so much grip,” he said of the Dallara IR-18.

“It’s hard on your neck and body. I’ve been training really hard to get ready for it. I’m really happy with the car so far.

“I felt really comfortable and my seat position is really good. That’s ideal because I’m not going to have many times in the car before the Indianapolis Grand Prix.”

Asked about the challenges, McLaughlin said: “The overall grip, the speed I can carry through the corners, especially the esses around the back there, [turns] four, five, six and seven.

“It’s really about using the aero and that’s something I can’t do [in the Supercar]. But I’m really happy, having so much fun, living the dream.”

“I’ve done some [simulator] work with the team. That’s been really helpful getting used to the track, knowing some traits of the car, but once you get in it’s so different.

“I’m really happy with how we’re going. I’ve had half a day but I’ve had plenty of new tyres and we’ve been having a crack.

“I’m really privileged to be in this position. I’ve got to make the most of it, grab it with both hands and have a good go at it.”

“I have to thank my team in Australia to help me get to this point. And I can’t thank the team over here enough. It’s been a dream come true. This is America’s biggest open wheel series.

“I’ve always just wanted to be in America. I’m proud to be here. But I’m also looking forward to getting home and racing my Ford Mustang.

“Overall, I’m pretty proud to look at the board and be third. But obviously everyone else probably has a little more in their tank.”

[MonteCristo]

Yeah, given it's effectively the first day of testing, it's hard to say how good he really did. But clearly he wasn't pants.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Yeah, given it's effectively the first day of testing, it's hard to say how good he really did. But clearly he wasn't pants.

Given the conditions they were running in at least he did not bin it or do anything silly. He seems to be approaching the whole exercise with a sensible attitude and with no ego / aspirations of grandeur. Plus he clocked up a lot of miles which has to be better for him than simulator work. I watched a bit of the running on the feed and at one stage he was lapping with Power behind him in wet tyre conditions.... whether Power was deliberately cruising I know not but Scott kept Power behind him for a few laps until Power pitted.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Here are the timesheets from the day they ran laps.

http://www.imscdn.com/indycar_media/doc ... omb-p3.pdf

[Ian-S]

I must admit, they don't look bad at all with the aeroscreens. And other than a few leaks in the wet, the drivers aren't complaining at all. The only thing I wonder is what happens to it when the car gets upside down on an oval.

When was the last time we saw on of these cars catch fire badly? Back in the IR15 era I think? One of the girls at Texas iirc? and that was only made worse due to panicking fat Texans trying to drag her out when her leg was caught up in her belt.

I still think they are fixing a problem that so rarely happens that it may be 10 years before we see anybody saved by it, AND is will possibly cause the drivers to take more risks due to a heightened sense of safety, but I guess if it saves lives getting upside down with the screen on might be the least of your worries if it happens on an oval.