Rubens Barrichello Confident After First Test On An Oval

Former Formula 1 driver Rubens Barrichello has described his first outing on an oval track in an IndyCar as ‘truly awesome’, as the Brazilian star gears up for what will be his first Indianapolis 500 later this month.

The former Ferrari and Williams driver tested the new Dallara DW12 chassis on the 1.5-mile 24-degree Texas Motor Speedway oval, and reached speeds in excess of 200mph. Rubens Barrichello explained that it wasn’t a challenge reaching those speeds, but instead was a challenge in keeping his line and vision on the track.

“It’s different from anything I’ve tried,” Said Rubens Barrichello. “On my second run, after I broke the 200s, I was so excited. It was truly awesome. I’ve been to places in Formula 1 that you have to have the courage to take it flat to gain a hundredth [of a second]. Here, it wasn’t the case of getting flat because it’s not that difficult, but it’s keeping the line and the vision on it.”

In a day which saw Kiwi Scott Dixon top the timing sheets for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Rubens Barrichello was avidly learning the techniques required to being competitive on a oval. 

“I told the officials to let everyone running close to me give a margin because I’m still not so comfortable running just one lane; maybe one and a half lanes,” continued the Brazilian, who will be classified as a rookie the Indy 500. “I’m not totally at peace with the car. I’m driving okay, but I’m not driving my best just yet because I’m not familiar with everything just yet. I’m definitely a newcomer and it’s an exciting challenge. I truly love this.”

Rubens Barrichello ended the day 11th fastest overall, whilst Charlie Kimball and Dario Franchitti rounded out a Ganassi top 3 behind Scott Dixon. Current IndyCar Series Championship leader Will Power ended the day 4th fastest.

Picture Copyright © LAT Photographic 

IndyCar Receives Rules Revamp For 2012

 

Only a month after becoming the IZOD IndyCar Series President and Race Director, Beaux Barfield has already rewritten new rules for the 2012 season. Coupled with the new Dallara DW12 chassis and the introduction of Chevrolet and Lotus as engine suppliers with Honda, IndyCar will be slightly different in 2012.

In 2012, long-time IndyCar engine suppliers Honda have been joined by two new manufacturers’ in Chevrolet and Lotus. With this in mind, IndyCar will run a Manufacturers’ Championship. Much like the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship, points will be awarded at each race and will tally up towards the end of the season until eventually a Manufacturers’ Champion is crowned.

To assist communications between the teams, race officials and race control, a new instant messaging system is set to be introduced for 2012. Coupled with the teams’ radio communications with their drivers, track conditions and other important information will be quickly transmitted from the track to the Race Director and vice-versa.

Double-file restarts, which were introduced last season, are set to be retained in 2012 with the only exceptions being races held at Indianapolis, Texas and Fontana. This particular rule requires the cars to end a caution period just how they started the race, unlike beforehand when they restarted in single file. 

It has also been rumored by Beaux Barfield that standings starts could well be introduced at some races towards the end of the season, reminiscent of how Formula 1 races are started. IndyCar has always started their races as rolling starts, where the field complete a particular amount of laps behind the safety car before they begin the race. This particular tradition is completed at much higher speeds, and is the only way races can be started on ovals. Naturally standing starts would only work on street and road courses, with ovals remaining as a rolling start procedure.

Another change to the rules for 2012 is how qualifying is set to be held at the Iowa Corn Indy 250 in June. Usually qualifying is held in a single-car format, however this has been changed for this race only to feature heat races to determine the grid. It has been agreed that 30-lap races will determine the grid, with races taking place in three groups. Positions for these races will be decided by practice times. 

With these new changes taking place in 2012, it’s fair to say IndyCar will be slightly different when the season gets underway at St. Petersburg in March. It’ll be interesting to see which of the three manufacturers’ come out top, and how the new qualifying system for Iowa works out.

Picture Copyright © Motor Authority

Rubens Barrichello Closes In On IndyCar Deal

Formula 1 veteran Rubens Barrichello has moved closer to signing a deal to race in IndyCar in 2012 with KV Racing Technology, with the Brazilian set to test again for the team next week.

After loosing his seat at Williams to fellow countryman Bruno Senna, Barrichello joined KV Racing Technology at a test session at Sebring earlier this month. After three days of testing, Barrichello seemed fairly happy with his progress in the new Dallara DW12 chassis and didn’t rule out a possible move from F1 to IndyCar.

However it has now become apparent that Barrichello has closed in on a deal with KV Racing Technology, with sponsors the only thing the Brazilian is waiting for. Last week Barrichello stated he may only race in street and road courses, due to his wife’s fears of oval racing. Whether this is still the case is unknown.

Rubens Barrichello will take to the track again at Sears Point, otherwise known as Infineon Raceway, on the 25th-26th of February. Infineon Raceway will host the 14th Round of the 2012 IndyCar Series in August.

Picture Copyright © LAT Photography

Rubens Barrichello Edges Closer To IndyCar

Brazilian Formula 1 veteran, Rubens Barrichello has seemingly edged closer to a future racing in IndyCar’s after he extended his test for an extra day at Sebring. Rubens Barrichello has also stated he’ll take no time in deciding whether to make the switch or not.

Rubens Barrichello was replaced at Williams for the new season by Bruno Senna, leaving him seemingly without a drive in Formula 1. With HRT as the only option remaining open to him for 2012, he decided to head for the States to test the new Dallara DW12 chassis which will make it’s debut in IndyCar this year.

Testing for the KV Racing Technology team alongside fellow countryman and good friend Tony Kanaan, Rubens Barrichello has been racing around the Sebring circuit, and has even extended his stay for an extra days running.

Rubens Barrichello’s test with the team was set to come to an end on Tuesday, however the Brazilian decided to stay on for the Wednesday to make up for his lack of track time the day before. 

When asked in an interview for O Estado de S.Paulo regarding his future in motor sport, he announced a decision will be made very soon: “I don’t know how things are going to move forward now, I have not spoken with Jimmy Vasser about racing in the season. What is certain is that it [the speculation] will not last long. Whether I race or not will be known soon. There is a lot of work still to do and KV needs to know its driver.”

Rubens Barrichello has competed in 322 Grands Prix since his career began at the 1993 South African Grand Prix, achieving 11 Grands Prix wins, 68 podiums and 658 points.

Barrichello Completes First Day Of IndyCar Test

Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello got his first taste of IndyCar racing today as he completed Day 1 of testing with KV Racing Technology, racing around a shortened version of Sebring alongside other 2012 IndyCar teams’ and drivers’.

Rubens Barrichello, who at first ruled out a switch to IndyCar, was replaced at Williams by fellow countryman Bruno Senna and now has only a drive at HRT keeping his F1 2012 hopes alive. Barrichello’s close friend Tony Kanaan has raced in America since 1998 when he made his debut in CART, before switching to the IndyCar Series full-time in 2003. If Rubens Barrichello completes the switch to IndyCar, Tony Kanaan would become his team-mate, along with fellow South American driver E.J. Viso.

“I’ve always wanted to test an IndyCar. I love speed so it’s natural to want to try this,” Said Barrichello in O Estado de Sao Paulo, a Brazilian newspaper, “As I have no contract with anyone there’s nothing to stop me from testing it. I’m going into this test with my mind wide open. If I leave with the passion I have always had as a driver then why not? I love racing.”

Rubens Barrichello tested in the new Dallara DW12 chassis, named after Dan Wheldon who was tragically killed at Las Vegas last season, and who assisted Dallara in testing the new chassis. 

With a new chassis in IndyCar for 2012, all of the teams will using all the available track time to learn as much as possible before the season opener at St. Petersburg on March 25th. 

Rubens Barrichello To Test For IndyCar

It has been reported by The Associated Press that an anonymous source has told them that Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello is allegedly lined up to test for IndyCar’s KV Racing Technology. This comes a week after Barrichello was officially replaced at Williams by fellow countryman Bruno Senna. 

KV Racing Technology, who receive technical support from Lotus, are set to have a two day test session at the Sebring International Raceway, with the team testing the new Dallara chassis that is set to be introduced to the IndyCar Series in 2012. 

The source from The Associated Press also stated that Rubens Barrichello has not made any future plans beyond the test session with KV Racing Technology. With close friend and fellow countryman Tony Kanaan already racing for the team, there is an obvious lure for Barrichello to join the IndyCar Series which already hosts three South American drivers in Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan and Venezuelan driver E.J. Viso. 

Rubens Barrichello, who spent the majority of his 19 seasons in Formula 1 as second man to team-mate Michael Schumacher, will be hoping that if he does join the IndyCar Series in 2012, he will have the ability to be competitive.

The 2012 IndyCar Series kicks off on March 25th when the Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg gets underway in Florida. 

Dan Wheldon Investigation Concludes

The investigation into how British IndyCar star, Dan Wheldon, died during the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship finale at Las Vegas earlier in the year concluded today with the official report citing he died due to an impact with a vertical post as his car turned upside down, thus resulting in an incident which ripped off the roll hoop atop the car and ended with Wheldon’s head making contact with the post resulting in a non-survivable blunt force trauma.

In a press conference held by IndyCar officials Randy Bernard and Brian Barnhart earlier today, many questions were asked as to where IndyCar was headed after such a traumatic ending to what had been a highly exciting 2011 season. 

When asked if IndyCar would ever return to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Randy Bernard quickly replied stating he would only see IndyCar return if safety measures were improved after it was discovered Dan Wheldon was killed due to a collision with a vertical post which lined the circuit. Some circuits, like the hugely popular Indianapolis Motor Speedway, have the posts in question lining the circuit behind the retaining wall facing the crowd, whereas the Las Vegas Motor Speedway have the posts lining the track facing the cars, something which IndyCar officials will naturally be looking to change in the future.

Next season IndyCar will see a new chassis enter the sport in the DW12 (named after Dan Wheldon), which has been developed by Dallara. When asked during todays press conference whether the new chassis will get easily airborne during incidents reminiscent of the one where Dan Wheldon was killed, it was admitted there is no degree of certainty that the DW12 won’t get airborne and that IndyCar officials are still searching for ways to stop such incidents occurring.

It was also asked whether Dan Wheldon would have survived the crash had the posts been on the other side of the wall. However IndyCar officials still believe the outcome would have been the same and that Dan Wheldon would have still received serious unsurvivable head injuries. Even so, with this in mind it has become preference for ovals to have such vertical posts behind the walls, just like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

With the future of oval racing in IndyCar in doubt over the last few months, the official race schedule looks set to be released either today or tomorrow and is hinted at having only four ovals at Indianapolis, Texas, Iowa and Fontana. The latter returning to the IndyCar series after the series stopped visiting the venue after the 2005 race. Incidentally it was at Fontana in 1999 during a CART (ChampCar) race when Canadian driver Greg Moore lost his life in a horrific incident which saw the car collide with an unprotected concrete wall upside down and at horrendously high speeds.

Dan Wheldon’s death at Las Vegas will make the next oval race, the 96th Indianapolis 500, a very sombre occasion with the hope that the new chassis in his name will help prevent such traumatic occasions not just in IndyCar, but open-wheel motor sport in general.