Will Power Storms To Sonoma Pole Ahead Of Ryan Briscoe

Championship leader Will Power has asserted further authority over the IZOD IndyCar Series, after storming to his third successive pole at Sonoma ahead of Sunday’s GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Ryan Briscoe completed a Penske front row, with Sebastien Bourdais a highly competitive 3rd for Dragon Racing.

Will Power has enjoyed great success at Sonoma in recent years, and has started this weekend in similar fashion as the Australian driver continues to fight at the top of the Championship. Power’s nearest Championship rival, Ryan Hunter-Reay, could only manage 7th on the grid. However, Hunter-Reay remains positive despite his disappointing qualifying result, with the American driver having already won twice from 7th on the grid this season. The three remaining Championship contenders of Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon and James Hinchcliffe qualified 4th, 5th and 11th respectively.

“It’s good to back on the pole here in Sonoma in the Penske Verizon Chevy #12 car.” Explained Will Power, “It is important to start up front here and we are very happy to once again be on the front row, which is where we want to start. The wind really made the car unstable the last two days, so it will be interesting to see what the wind is like tomorrow and it will also be interesting because the race is an extra ten laps.”

Sebastien Bourdais enjoyed an exceedingly competitive qualifying session, as the former ChampCar Champion ended the session in 3rd, only +0.4788s off Power’s pole time. This is the Frenchman’s best qualifying result of the season, and couldn’t have come at a better time for the Dragon Racing outfit. Bourdais’ team-mate, Katherine Legge, makes her return to the track this weekend and will start the race from 21st on the grid.

With the track layout modified slightly to try and increase overtaking for this year’s race, the 2012 GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma has all the ingredients to be yet another thrilling addition to this highly entertaining season. As the season finale at Fontana draws ever closer, competitive results for the five Championship contenders is a necessity.

Pos  Driver               Team/Car                   Time        Gap
 1.  Will Power           Penske Dallara-Chevy       1m17.2709s
 2.  Ryan Briscoe         Penske Dallara-Chevy       1m17.4347s  + 0.1638s
 3.  Sebastien Bourdais   Dragon Dallara-Chevy       1m17.7497s  + 0.4788s
 4.  Helio Castroneves    Penske Dallara-Chevy       1m18.1090s  + 0.8381s
 5.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m18.2126s  + 0.9417s
 6.  Dario Franchitti     Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m18.3462s  + 1.0753s
 7.  Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1m18.3355s  Round 2
 8.  Alex Tagliani        Herta Dallara-Honda        1m18.4168s  Round 2
 9.  Simon Pagenaud       Schmidt Dallara-Honda      1m18.4334s  Round 2
10.  Justin Wilson        Coyne Dallara-Honda        1m18.6258s  Round 2
11.  James Hinchcliffe    Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1m18.7885s  Round 2
12.  Rubens Barrichello   KV Dallara-Chevy           1m18.9788s  Round 2
13.  Sebastian Saavedra   AFS/Andretti Dallara-Chevy 1m18.8918s  Group 1
14.  Marco Andretti       Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1m18.8925s  Group 2
15.  Graham Rahal         Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m18.8981s  Group 1
16.  Mike Conway          Foyt Dallara-Honda         1m18.9048s  Group 2
17.  JR Hildebrand        Panther Dallara-Chevy      1m19.0931s  Group 1
18.  Tony Kanaan          KV Dallara-Chevy           1m18.9475s  Group 2
19.  EJ Viso              KV Dallara-Chevy           1m19.3953s  Group 1
20.  Oriol Servia         Panther/DRR Dallara-Chevy  1m18.9672s  Group 2
21.  Katherine Legge      Dragon Dallara-Chevy       1m19.6414s  Group 1
22.  Charlie Kimball      Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m19.0262s  Group 2
23.  Josef Newgarden      Fisher Dallara-Honda       1m19.7468s  Group 1
24.  Takuma Sato          Rahal Dallara-Honda        1m19.2821s  Group 2
25.  Simona de Silvestro  HVM Dallara-Lotus          1m20.2295s  Group 1
26.  James Jakes          Coyne Dallara-Honda        1m19.5152s  Group 2
27.  Ed Carpenter         Carpenter Dallara-Chevy    1m19.6837s  Group 2

Picture Copyright © Getty Images

Will Power Slams “Stupid” Push-To-Pass

IndyCar Championship leader Will Power has criticized the push-to-pass device after the changes that were made ahead of the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which were aimed at deterring drivers from using the device in a defensive manner.

The changes in question meant that the device would only activate five seconds after the driver presses the button on his steering wheel, a change that was implemented to add both strategy and surprise to the race. The push-to-pass device could then only be activated if the driver in question was at full throttle, a change that was aimed at forcing drivers to use the device for a strategic overtake only.

However, when asked whether the push-to-pass device assisted him throughout the race, Will Power voiced his dislike for the way in which the changes dictated when a driver could activate his device.

“I think it was stupid, honestly.” Exclaimed Will Power, “Because the way they got it, you have to have a certain throttle percentage. You’d hit it and get in the corner and it would unclick itself and another – it was useless. Honestly. I didn’t find it useful at all.”

Simon Pagenaud agreed with Will Power, stating that he also preferred the previous rulings regarding the push-to-pass device. The French rookie stormed to his third podium of the season during the race at Mid-Ohio, and currently sits 6th in the Drivers’ Championship with 311 points scored. The push-to-pass device made its first appearance in IndyCar during the 2009 season, and was reintroduced to the Series this season at Toronto after initially not being used at the beginning of the season.

With Power and Pagenaud clearly unhappy with the latest alterations made to the device, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not IndyCar decide to revert the push-to-pass device back to its original setting for Sonoma in two weeks time. Regardless of Power and Pagenaud’s opinions, passing was in abundance throughout the field during the 85 lap race at Mid-Ohio.

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Will Power Storms To Pole Ahead Of Dario Franchitti At Mid-Ohio

Will Power has continued his dominance at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, securing pole-position for the Honda Indy 200 and ending a four-month pole drought. Power will line-up alongside reigning Series Champion Dario Franchitti, with Simon Pagenaud a competitive 3rd behind the leading duo.

The Australian driver stormed to his third pole of the year in blistering fashion, setting a 01:05.6474 – a time which was only three-tenths off the IndyCar circuit record which was set by Dario Franchitti in 1999 and matched by Gil de Ferran in 2000. Whilst Will Power continued to assert his authority at the front, his Championship rivals suffered a dismal qualifying session as Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified 8th and Helio Castroneves 13th, with the latter incurring a 10-place grid drop due to an unapproved engine change following qualifying.

“This session today is the hardest I have tried all year – I just kept pushing and pushing, I had to.” Explained an exhausted Will Power after qualifying, “It is the most that I have put into a lap.  We needed that pole and it is so important to start up front to keep pushing, if we have a chance for the Championship.”

Will Power heads into the 85-lap race tomorrow 26 points behind Championship leader Ryan Hunter-Reay, and will undeniably be striving to take the win and the 50 points that go with it. Reigning Champion Dario Franchitti has failed to shine as dominantly this season, however the Scot will be eager for a competitive result once the green flag flies tomorrow afternoon.

Pos  Driver               Team/Car                   Time        Gap
 1.  Will Power           Penske Dallara-Chevy       1m05.6474s
 2.  Dario Franchitti     Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m05.8950s  + 0.2476s
 3.  Simon Pagenaud       Schmidt Dallara-Honda      1m05.9038s  + 0.2564s
 4.  Alex Tagliani*       Herta Dallara-Honda        1m06.0047s  + 0.3573s
 5.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m06.0967s  + 0.4493s
 6.  Ryan Briscoe         Penske Dallara-Chevy       1m06.2005s  + 0.5531s
 7.  Sebastien Bourdais   Dragon Dallara-Chevy       1m05.9405s  Round 2
 8.  Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1m06.0660s  Round 2
 9.  Marco Andretti       Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1m06.1142s  Round 2
10.  Josef Newgarden      Fisher Dallara-Honda       1m06.1721s  Round 2
11.  Oriol Servia         Panther/DRR Dallara-Chevy  1m06.2053s  Round 2
12.  Justin Wilson        Coyne Dallara-Honda        1m06.6613s  Round 2
13.  Helio Castroneves*   Penske Dallara-Chevy       1m06.7041s  Group 1
14.  JR Hildebrand        Panther Dallara-Chevy      1m06.3768s  Group 2
15.  Rubens Barrichello   KV Dallara-Chevy           1m06.7101s  Group 1
16.  James Hinchcliffe    Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1m06.4349s  Group 2
17.  Mike Conway          Foyt Dallara-Honda         1m06.7807s  Group 1
18.  Takuma Sato          Rahal Dallara-Honda        1m06.4404s  Group 2
19.  Tony Kanaan          KV Dallara-Chevy           1m06.8433s  Group 1
20.  EJ Viso              KV Dallara-Chevy           1m06.4511s  Group 2
21.  James Jakes          Coyne Dallara-Honda        1m07.1234s  Group 1
22.  Graham Rahal         Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m06.6250s  Group 2
23.  Simona de Silvestro  HVM Dallara-Lotus          1m08.0737s  Group 1
24.  Giorgio Pantano      Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m07.0348s  Group 2
25.  Ed Carpenter         Carpenter Dallara-Chevy    1m08.5116s  Group 1

* Will take 10-place engine penalty

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Will Power Fastest In Opening Practice At Mid-Ohio

Penske’s Will Power has ended the opening practice session of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio fastest, ahead of Target Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon and Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti. With the top 20 separated by only one second, it’s clear that this weekend’s race has all the ingredients to be exceedingly tightly contested.

The opening session of the weekend was run relatively incident free, with many drivers gaining valuable knowledge of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last week during a mid-season test. However, several cautions did plague proceedings, as Alex Tagliani made contact with the barriers at turn 9 and Simona de Silvestro stopped on the track.

Will Power has never won an IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio, however the Australian driver has started this weekend with a clear ambition of changing that stat. Scott Dixon, however, has won three out of last five races at Mid-Ohio, and was only +0.1581s off Power’s time at the top. The Australian driver has acknowledged the fact that he needs to secure poles and race wins if he has any chance of securing the title, as the 2012 IndyCar season enters its closing stages.

“We’re bloody determined to get the pole here tomorrow.” Explained Will Power, “The weather is going to change a lot over the next day or so. It was good to get a fast clean lap and get confidence going into tomorrow. For the rest of the year we need to win poles and win races if we are going to win the Championship, it’s pretty simple. We need to run well and fast to make up ground in the points race.”

Championship leader Ryan Hunter-Reay finished 16th, +0.8006s off the pace. Alex Tagliani’s race weekend failed to improve after his off-track excursion, as the Canadian driver was issued a 10-place grid penalty for an unauthorized engine change prior to the weekend. The IndyCar field will return to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course tomorrow, prior to the all-important qualifying session in preparation for Sunday’s 85 lap race.

Pos  Driver               Team/Car                   Time        Gap
 1.  Will Power           Penske Dallara-Chevy       1m06.8632s
 2.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m07.0213s  + 0.1581s
 3.  Marco Andretti       Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1m07.0644s  + 0.2012s
 4.  Simon Pagenaud       Schmidt Dallara-Honda      1m07.1063s  + 0.2431s
 5.  Graham Rahal         Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m07.1088s  + 0.2456s
 6.  James Jakes          Coyne Dallara-Honda        1m07.2401s  + 0.3769s
 7.  Josef Newgarden      Panther Dallara-Honda      1m07.3133s  + 0.4501s
 8.  Alex Tagliani        Herta Dallara-Honda        1m07.3463s  + 0.4831s
 9.  Dario Franchitti     Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m07.3574s  + 0.4942s
10.  Mike Conway          Foyt Dallara-Honda         1m07.3899s  + 0.5267s
11.  Sebastien Bourdais   Dragon Dallara-Chevy       1m07.4599s  + 0.5967s
12.  Oriol Servia         Panther/DRR Dallara-Chevy  1m07.5207s  + 0.6575s
13.  JR Hildebrand        Panther Dallara-Chevy      1m07.5361s  + 0.6729s
14.  Helio Castroneves    Penske Dallara-Chevy       1m07.5518s  + 0.6886s
15.  Ryan Briscoe         Penske Dallara-Chevy       1m07.5909s  + 0.7277s
16.  Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1m07.6638s  + 0.8006s
17.  James Hinchcliffe    Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1m07.6766s  + 0.8134s
18.  Justin Wilson        Coyne Dallara-Honda        1m07.7670s  + 0.9038s
19.  Takuma Sato          Rahal Dallara-Honda        1m07.7677s  + 0.9045s
20.  Rubens Barrichello   KV Dallara-Chevy           1m07.8628s  + 0.9996s
21.  EJ Viso              KV Dallara-Chevy           1m07.9241s  + 1.0609s
22.  Tony Kanaan          KV Dallara-Chevy           1m07.9520s  + 1.0888s
23.  Giorgio Pantano      Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m08.0753s  + 1.2121s
24.  Simona de Silvestro  HVM Dallara-Lotus          1m08.4263s  + 1.5631s
25.  Ed Carpenter         Carpenter Dallara-Chevy    1m08.9171s  + 2.0539s

Picture Copyright © Getty Images

Will Power Dominates Inaugural Baltimore Indy!

Will Power secured his 6th IndyCar win this season today after dominating the inaugural Baltimore Indy Grand Prix. He came home a whole ten seconds ahead of Oriol Servia and Tony Kanaan who finished a stunning 3rd from 27th on the grid after his huge shunt in the morning warm-up session.

At the drop of the green flag, Power came under instant pressure from 2nd place man Graham Rahal who took the lead heading down into Turn 1. Then down into Turn 3 Power re-passed Rahal and shot off into the lead.

The first retirement wasn’t until Lap 10 when Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais pitted after reporting being stuck in 3rd gear. This pit stop then lead to a retirement.

Behind the leaders Mike Conway had started a long trail of faster cars behind him, and it wasn’t long before the faster cars found their way past the Englishman. First it was Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon, then the Swiss Miss Simona De Silvestro found her way past along with James Jakes and Vitor Meira shortly after.

It was Lap 12 when the first proper pit stops started when Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan both pitted. This then started the midfield off with lots of pit stops and passing going on within the next 9 laps. Danica Patrick looked to be struggling after being passed by Takuma Sato down into Turn 3, and 3 Laps later getting passed by Kanaan into Turn 1 also.

On Lap 20 Will Power had started to catch up on the back markers thus allowing Rahal to catch right up on to the rear of him. Then on Lap 21 both Rahal and Power pitted relinquishing the lead to championship leader Dario Franchitti, who pitted a lap later handing down the lead to Ryan Briscoe. It was at this moment that Will Power missed the kink after Turn 12 which is rather reminiscent of Turns 10 and 11 at the Singapore Grand Prix. It was an easy mistake to do, but one that could prove costly if he gains any time. On Lap 24 the last of the top drivers pitted as in Ryan Hunter-Reay who handed the lead back to Will Power.

On Lap 29 the whole reason for Mike Conway’s slow pace is revealed as the car was apparently bottoming out so much so that heat was being unable to be worked into the tyres, therefore making the car handle badly. Whilst at the front it was discovered that Will Power gained roughly 3 seconds on the lap when he cut the kink and he is therefore ordered by IndyCar officials to slow down by 3 seconds, allowing Graham Rahal to close right up again. The exciting prospect of seeing Power and Rahal racing neck and neck is thwarted on Lap 32 by the first Full Caution of the race caused when Tomas Scheckter went straight on at Turn 9. He didn’t make any contact with the barrier although with the car stalled, the field have to line up behind the Safety Car. Unfortunately for Scott Dixon he passed Simona De Silvestro under yellow flags and had to relinquish the position back to her or risk receiving a penalty. During this caution Kanaan and Castroneves (both starting at the back) took the opportunity to pit, hoping the gamble to pay off.

Then on Lap 38 the Safety Car pulled in and the green flag fell as the cars got back to racing speeds, only for Briscoe to make light contact with Hunter-Reay heading into Turn 3. Light contact it might’ve been, but Hunter-Reay is spun right round, and due to the narrow nature of the circuit, caused a major pile-up as 12 cars all ground to a halt as the track was blocked! Scott Dixon limped back to the pits with both rear tyres deflated due to contact and Hinchcliffe followed suit with what looked like rear suspension troubles. And if that wasn’t enough mayhem for a couple of laps, Marco Andretti limped back to the pits with an oil leak and spilt oil all over the track in the run down to the pit entrance and the pit lane itself. Taking advantage of this 2nd caution, and taking extra caution whilst entering the pits, 9 drivers pitted including Oriol Servia and Danica Patrick. Just before the green flag is unfurled after this lengthy caution, IndyCar officials penalized Ryan Briscoe for causing the whole Turn 3 shenanigans, who served the penalty just after the restart and heading down into Turn 1 on the restart Rahal cut right across the front of championship leader Dario Franchitti and made minor contact making Franchitti fight for control.

Will Power now had to make up a lot of ground before he pitted for his 2nd and final scheduled pit stop or he would get leap frogged by the Spaniard of Oriol Servia, who pitted during the caution and is hoping to reap the rewards for the gamble he took and steal the win from under Power’s nose. But eight superb qualifying-style laps secured Power enough time to pit and rejoin the track in the lead, unlike Rahal, Franchitti and De Silvestro who all rejoined behind Servia and Kanaan who reaped at least some reward for pitting early.

After pitting and keeping the lead, Power now pulled out a stunning 10 second gap to Servia! And although Sato and Viso both lost it on the last lap no more cautions came out and Will Power romped home with an impressive and dominating display of driving!

Next up is the Japanese Indy at the Twin Ring Motegi which this year will take place on the circuit unlike the previous years which have all taken place on the oval.

Official Classification:

1. (1) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

2. (14) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

3. (27) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

4. (4) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

5. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

6. (23) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

7. (19) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

8. (6) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

9. (12) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

10. (2) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

11. (18) Martin Plowman, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

12. (10) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

13. (24) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

14. (3) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

15. (8) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

16. (20) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running

17. (28) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 74, Running

18. (26) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 73, Running

19. (17) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Honda, 73, Contact

20. (25) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 73, Running

21. (16) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 73, Running

22. (22) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 71, Running

23. (7) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 64, Mechanical

24. (15) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 54, Handling

25. (21) Marco Andretti Dallara-Honda, 40, Mechanical

26. (13) Giorgio Pantano, Dallara-Honda, 39, Contact

27. (11) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 37, Contact

28. (5) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Honda, 9, Electrical