Conor Daly To Drive For Force India In Aero Test

Conor Daly will once again get behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car with Force India on Wednesday, when the American ace partakes in an aero test at Duxford Airfield. The 21-year-old competed in the GP2 season opener at Malaysia for Hilmer Motorsport, and has been confirmed with ART Grand Prix in the GP3 Series for the remainder of the season.

Along with his commitments in Europe, Conor Daly will also contest in this year’s Indianapolis 500 with A.J. Foyt Racing. This will mark his debut in the IZOD IndyCar Series, with a team which has already secured one race victory with Takuma Sato this season. Daly’s test with Force India on Wednesday will be the 21-year-old’s third outing in a Formula 1 car, after he partook in two similar tests last year with the Silverstone-based outfit.

“These sessions are vital data gathering times for Formula 1 teams and I’m glad to be able to assist,” explained Conor Daly. “Formula 1 cars are very complex machines and the day provides me with a great opportunity to learn many of the systems.”

With in-season testing now non-existent in Formula 1, the various teams electing to carry out aero tests will naturally be striving to compile as much valuable data as possible before the next race weekend around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya. Force India in particular will be hoping to continue with their competitive start to the season, which has seen both Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta lead a combined 14 laps in the opening four races.

Picture Copyright © Malcolm Griffiths/GP3 Series Media Service

Conor Daly Q&A

Although the 2013 motorsport season is only several months old, American 21-year-old Conor Daly has already enjoyed a tremendously busy year both in Europe and America. The son of the former Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Derek Daly has tested in the GP3 Series, competed in the GP2 Series and has been confirmed for the Indianapolis 500.

Conor Daly began his open-wheel single-seater career back in 2008 in the Formula 2000 Series, and has since competed in the Star Mazda Championship, Firestone Indy Lights Series, GP3 Series, MRF Challenge and the GP2 Series. The American star has also partaken in a test for the IZOD IndyCar Series, where he managed to impress team owner A.J. Foyt and land himself a drive at the legendary Indianapolis 500 with A.J. Foyt Racing.

Despite competing in the opening round of the GP2 Series season at Malaysia several weeks ago, Conor Daly has dismissed plans to run in the category full-time this season. As the 2013 season of motorsport steps up a gear in the coming weeks, I caught up Conor Daly as we discussed his forthcoming debut in the IZOD IndyCar Series and his debut in the GP2 Series for Hilmer Motorsport.

Q: First of all Conor, many thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. It’s been a busy start to the season for you, with competing in the GP2 Series in Malaysia, testing for the GP3 Series and the confirmation that you’ll compete at the Indianapolis 500 in May with A.J. Foyt Racing. What does it mean to you to be preparing to compete in such a legendary event?

Conor Daly testing at Sebring in December for A.J. Foyt Racing.

Conor Daly: It has definitely been a busy start to the year! I can’t really believe how much has gone on and it’s only April. The Indy 500 deal being announced was definitely an amazing feeling. I’ve been to that race every year of my life except for last year when I was racing in Monaco. The event means so much to me because it’s really my home town race. I grew up and still live only 30 minutes from the track and was always there as often as I could be. People don’t really understand how massive of an event it is until they experience it themselves. It is without a doubt the greatest race in the world. I am really excited to get to work and do the best job I can.

Q: Although you have competed in both the Star Mazda Championship and the Firestone Indy Lights Series in America, you have only competed on a handful of ovals in your single-seater career. Do you feel nervous with the prospect of competing in the 200-lap race, or are you confident ahead of your Indianapolis 500 debut?

CD: It will be a big challenge for sure because Indianapolis is a very unique oval. I’ve known the Indy deal could happen for the last couple of months and I have been reaching out to many people I know to get some advice or different bits of information on the track or car that might be helpful. I’m confident I’ll be able to get up to speed because the Foyt team does a great job in car preparation and A.J. [Foyt] knows how perfect everything has to be to win at Indy.

Q: As you will be regarded as a rookie at the Indianapolis 500, you will participate in the Rookie Orientation Program on April 11th at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway alongside fellow rookies A.J. Allmendinger, Tristan Vautier and Carlos Munoz. For those who do not fully understand this program, could you please explain what it entails.

CD: You basically go out and do 10 laps at 200-205mph average speed and progress to faster speeds until you get to do 10 laps at 210 or 215mph+. It is a big track to get to grips with and extremely high speeds so they give the rookies a day to learn before the month of May begins.

Q: Meanwhile, you have also been competing in the GP2 and GP3 Series. Last month in Malaysia you made your debut in the GP2 Series with Hilmer Motorsport, finishing 13th and 7th respectively. How do you feel you performed during your debut in the category?

Conor Daly finished 13th and 7th respectively during his debut race weekend in GP2.

CD: I think I did pretty well considering how much time I had in the car before that weekend. I only had an afternoon in the dry at the Barcelona test to get to grips with the car. It was also a new track for me so to have the second fastest lap of the race in race two and to score points I was extremely happy. The team did a great job and they’ve got some really good engineers which was a massive help.

Q: Last season in GP3 you took your first victory in the category around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, and throughout the remainder of the season finished on the podium a further four times. However, at Monaco you were involved in a huge airborne incident with Dmitry Suranovich which saw your car launched into the catch-fencing at the exit of the tunnel. What went through your mind as you struck the rear of Suranovich?

CD: That incident should never have happened. The way he was driving was absolutely unsafe and was deemed “acceptable”. I don’t really care to talk about it anymore because it really ruined my season but what’s done is done and I learned from it and had a lot of strong races throughout the rest of the season.

Q: And finally, retuning to the topic of the IZOD IndyCar Series, can we expect to see you back in the No. 41 machine after the Indianapolis 500, or will you continue to compete in the GP2 Series in Europe and Asia?

CD: I don’t know if I will do any other IndyCar races or not. If I have the opportunity and no schedule conflicts I’d love to do a road course race in the IndyCar, but of course there also has to be a budget in place to do that. At the moment a lot of my racing plans are up in the air and they most likely will not include GP2. Many people think I am racing in GP2 full-time which is not actually the case. I had a great opportunity provided for me to do the first race and I took advantage of it. If I was racing GP2 full-time, I wouldn’t be doing all of the GP3 pre-season testing… I can’t say much about what else is going on but I will be racing something full-time for sure.

Many thanks to Conor Daly for the communication and time taken to complete this interview.

Picture(s) Copyright © Malcolm Griffiths/GP3 Series Media Service, John Hendrick/IndyCar & Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service

Conor Daly Confirmed For 2013 Indianapolis 500

It has been confirmed that 21-year-old American driver Conor Daly will compete in this year’s Indianapolis 500 with A.J. Foyt Racing, alongside the team’s full-time driver Takuma Sato. Conor Daly, who is the son of former Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Derek Daly, is currently competing in the GP2 Series with Hilmer Motorsport.

This announcement comes after Conor Daly tested for A.J. Foyt Racing in mid-December at the Sebring International Raceway, in doing so getting his first taste of the Dallara-spec IZOD IndyCar Series machine. In 2011, Conor Daly competed in the Firestone Indy Lights Series, the support category for the IZOD IndyCar Series. During his time in the feeder category, Daly took one race victory and two further podium finishes whilst also competing in the GP3 Series in Europe for Carlin. Last year the American ace continued in the GP3 Series for Lotus GP, securing his maiden victory at Barcelona whilst also storming to Championship success in the MRF Challenge.

Conor Daly took his maiden GP3 victory at Barcelona in 2012.

For 2013 Conor Daly has graduated from GP3 to GP2 with Hilmer Motorsport, a new team in the support category. The American driver made his debut in the Series several weeks ago in Malaysia, in support of the Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix. Conor Daly managed to finish 13th and 7th respectively in the feature and sprint race, and will make his second appearance in the Series in several weeks in Bahrain. The 21-year-old, from Noblesville, Indiana, is understandably thrilled to be preparing to compete in the Indianapolis 500, undoubtedly one of the most prestigious races of the year.

“I almost can’t describe what it means to have the opportunity to race in the Indianapolis 500,” explained Conor Daly. “I am so thankful that A.J. and [team director] Larry [Foyt] have given me my first shot at the greatest race in the world. I know this will sound cheesy but I’ve never been happier in my life; this race means so much to me.”

Conor Daly greatly impressed A.J. Foyt during his test with the outfit at Sebring in December, a test which featured many of IndyCar’s top drivers including Scott Dixon and Will Power. Even the Penske driver was impressed with both Conor Daly and Tristan Vautier’s performance during their first laps in an IZOD IndyCar Series machine, hence A.J. Foyt’s optimism ahead of the 97th Indianapolis 500. Last season A.J. Foyt racing endured a dismal Indianapolis 500, with both Mike Conway and Wade Cunningham retiring by Lap 78.

“He ran well at Sebring when we needed someone to do some testing in the offseason,” said A.J. Foyt, who became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times. “He was fast, smooth, and didn’t get in trouble. When we made a change on the car he felt it. I found him to be very savvy on the chassis setups. In fact, when we made a minor change which was really nothing, he thought about it and said it felt no different. I told him that was the right answer because we didn’t do anything he’d be able to feel, so that impressed me, too. I’ve run a lot of rookies at Indy and I think Conor will do a good job for us.”

Conor Daly will complete his first laps around the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway on April 11th, when the American driver is joined by fellow rookies A.J. Allmendinger, Tristan Vautier and Carlos Munoz in completing the Rookie Orientation Program. The opening day of the Indianapolis 500 is a month later on May 11th, with pole day on May 18th and the all-important 200-lap race on May 26th.

Picture(s) Copyright © Glenn Dunbar & Daniel Kalisz/GP3 Series Media Service

Conor Daly Fastest After Day One Of GP3 Barcelona Test

American driver Conor Daly has ended the opening day of the Barcelona GP3 test fastest overall for ART Grand Prix, after the 21-year-old posted a 01:34.578 during the afternoon period. The Kiwi of Nick Cassidy was fastest in the damp morning period, with a time several tenths slower than Daly’s eventual benchmark in the afternoon session.

The opening day of the Barcelona test began in damp weather conditions, after overnight rain fell over the Circuit de Catalunya. This prevented the field from taking to the track for the opening twenty minutes, before several drivers finally left the confines of the pits on slick tyres on the drying circuit. However, the inclement weather quickly returned in the form of light rain, providing a conundrum for the drivers as the conditions were too wet for dry tyres yet too dry for wet tyres.

Only a handful of drivers set timed laps in the opening half of the morning period, before Kevin Korjus rose to the top to make it a Koiranen GP one-two at the top. Eventually the sunshine broke through the cloud cover and once again began to dry the Circuit de Catalunya, allowing the field to switch back to the dry weather tyres. There were several red flag delays during the morning period, which included David Fumanelli who stopped out on track for Trident Racing.

As the morning session entered its closing stages, local hero Carlos Sainz jr. went fastest before Kevin Korjus returned to the top. However, Nick Cassidy eventually set the benchmark time for Marussia Manor Racing with a 01:34.924, a timed which remained unbeaten as the morning session drew to a conclusion. The Kiwi was followed at the top by Kevin Korjus and Carlos Sainz jr. in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Nick Cassidy was fastest during the morning period.

After a two hour lunch break proceedings continued around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, despite the dark clouds looming overhead and threatening further rainfall. The afternoon session was plagued by further red flag delays, including stoppages from the likes of Aaro Vainio who spun into the gravel and Josh Webster who’s GP3/13 machine suffered from a technical issue. The ART Grand Prix duo of Facu Regalia and Jack Harvey went fastest as the session continued, before the MW Arden of Daniil Kvyat rose to the top.

However, America’s Conor Daly finally asserted his authority over proceedings during the final thirty minutes of the day for ART Grand Prix, with a 01:34.578. This time remained unbeaten at the top, as Daly was followed home by Tio Ellinas in 2nd and Nick Cassidy in 3rd. The Barcelona GP3 test will continue tomorrow morning around the Circuit de Catalunya, with proceedings scheduled to get underway at 9am local time.

Morning session:

Pos  Driver               Team      Time       Gap       Laps
 1.  Nick Cassidy         Manor     1m34.924s            21
 2.  Kevin Korjus         Koiranen  1m35.196s  + 0.272s  19
 3.  Carlos Sainz Jr      MW Arden  1m35.261s  + 0.337s  22
 4.  Alex Fontana         Jenzer    1m35.350s  + 0.426s  26
 5.  Tio Ellinas          Manor     1m35.436s  + 0.512s  19
 6.  Aaro Vainio          Koiranen  1m35.661s  + 0.737s  28
 7.  Lewis Williamson     Bamboo    1m35.711s  + 0.787s  25
 8.  Patric Niederhauser  Jenzer    1m35.722s  + 0.798s  19
 9.  Adderly Fong         Status    1m35.820s  + 0.896s  25
10.  Facu Regalia         ART       1m35.845s  + 0.921s  14
11.  Nick Yelloly         Carlin    1m35.878s  + 0.954s  16
12.  Patrick Kujala       Koiranen  1m35.910s  + 0.986s  18
13.  Conor Daly           ART       1m35.934s  + 1.010s  14
14.  David Fumanelli      Trident   1m36.045s  + 1.121s  18
15.  Jack Harvey          ART       1m36.156s  + 1.232s  12
16.  Daniil Kvyat         MW Arden  1m36.163s  + 1.239s  14
17.  Dino Zamparelli      Manor     1m36.354s  + 1.430s  23
18.  Josh Webster         Status    1m36.520s  + 1.596s  23
19.  Emanuele Zonzini     Trident   1m36.622s  + 1.698s  14
20.  Giovanni Venturini   Trident   1m36.783s  + 1.859s  18
21.  Robert Visoiu        MW Arden  1m36.827s  + 1.903s  20
22.  Jimmy Eriksson       Status    1m37.049s  + 2.125s  17
23.  Luis Sa Silva        Carlin    1m37.175s  + 2.251s  19
24.  Eric Lichtenstein    Carlin    1m37.747s  + 2.823s  20
25.  Samin Gomez          Jenzer    1m37.877s  + 2.953s  23
26.  Ryan Cullen          Bamboo    1m38.058s  + 3.134s  17
27.  Carmen Jorda         Bamboo    1m39.522s  + 4.598s  16

Afternoon session:

Pos  Driver               Team      Time       Gap       Laps
 1.  Conor Daly           ART       1m34.578s             28
 2.  Tio Ellinas          Manor     1m34.710s  + 0.132s  27
 3.  Nick Cassidy         Manor     1m34.715s  + 0.137s  23
 4.  Alex Fontana         Jenzer    1m34.826s  + 0.248s  30
 5.  Nick Yelloly         Carlin    1m34.900s  + 0.322s  39
 6.  Facu Regalia         ART       1m34.943s  + 0.365s  27
 7.  David Fumanelli      Trident   1m35.059s  + 0.481s  32
 8.  Daniil Kvyat         MW Arden  1m35.171s  + 0.593s  32
 9.  Carlos Sainz Jr      MW Arden  1m35.218s  + 0.640s  36
10.  Kevin Korjus         Koiranen  1m35.313s  + 0.735s  43
11.  Jimmy Eriksson       Status    1m35.337s  + 0.759s  34
12.  Jack Harvey          ART       1m35.402s  + 0.824s  28
13.  Emanuele Zonzini     Trident   1m35.448s  + 0.870s  23
14.  Patric Niederhauser  Jenzer    1m35.593s  + 1.015s  19
15.  Lewis Williamson     Bamboo    1m35.604s  + 1.026s  30
16.  Giovanni Venturini   Trident   1m35.651s  + 1.073s  33
17.  Dino Zamparelli      Manor     1m35.716s  + 1.138s  32
18.  Adderly Fong         Status    1m35.759s  + 1.181s  40
19.  Robert Visoiu        MW Arden  1m35.934s  + 1.356s  33
20.  Aaro Vainio          Koiranen  1m35.967s  + 1.389s  39
21.  Luis Sa Silva        Carlin    1m36.277s  + 1.699s  34
22.  Josh Webster         Status    1m36.424s  + 1.846s  10
23.  Samin Gomez          Jenzer    1m36.485s  + 1.907s  36
24.  Eric Lichtenstein    Carlin    1m36.572s  + 1.994s  44
25.  Ryan Cullen          Bamboo    1m37.909s  + 3.331s  24
26.  Patrick Kujala       Koiranen  1m37.955s  + 3.377s  12
27.  Carmen Jorda         Bamboo    1m38.683s  + 4.105s  43

Picture(s) Copyright © Malcolm Griffiths/GP3 Series Media Service