Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers will be despatched to mailbag@racer.com. We are able to’t assure that each letter will probably be printed, however we’ll reply as many as we are able to. Printed questions could also be edited for size and readability. Questions acquired after 3pm ET every Monday will seem the next week.
Q: I believed it was fairly ironic that Romain Grosjean mentioned in an interview, “I’m truly excited to find one thing new and perhaps placing a bit of little bit of my sauce on prime of it.” I wager he’ll! His historical past of crashes can not proceed with Juncos Hollinger Racing, particularly whether it is together with his teammate. I can see this enterprise turning right into a trainwreck earlier than the season is half over. Now that he’s signed with JHR, does his litigation with Andretti stop or does it proceed?
Dave Wells
MARSHALL PRUETT: His pursuit of cash he believes he’s owed from Andretti is totally separate from his signing with JHR, so the authorized wranglings proceed.
My hope for Romain is we see a return of the unfastened and simple model of himself that drove for Dale Coyne, as a result of if the season with JHR goes sideways, it is going to be the top of the highway for him in IndyCar. And he is aware of that, so I’d prefer to assume he’ll take a special strategy to the brand new season that may profit each side.
Q: I flew into Sebring final week and noticed the No. 30 Mi-Jack Honda turning laps. It was unusually quiet. Are you able to shed some gentle on that, and in addition advise who could have been driving this for RLL together with what testing was occurring?
TJ Spitzmiller
MP: From the video you shared, the sound was precisely the identical. The distinction was having one or two automobiles on monitor, fairly than 20-plus, which makes a number of mixed noise. Fashionable IndyCars aren’t obscenely loud, so in isolation on a check day they don’t sound tremendous spectacular, however there is no such thing as a loss in decibels from final season. You had been watching Pietro Fittipaldi doing his first check for RLL.
Q: With Andretti World working solely three introduced automobiles subsequent 12 months, what is going to occur to Marco? Will Dad pull out the fourth automotive since Honda has a fourth engine by lease, will Marco discover one other crew, or will Marco not run the five hundred in 2024?
Bruce Taylor
MP: I anticipate Marco to provide the five hundred one other strive with Andretti World, however I do marvel if this could be his last try.
Q: The motorsports season is over in my thoughts and 2024 can’t come fast sufficient. To treatment my racing jones, I’ve watched a number of outdated documentaries about Le Mans within the Sixties. I have to say the pit stops had a number of guidelines that we’d deem odd right this moment. I used to be seeing officers utilizing metallic zip ties to seal the gas fill and oil fill caps any time a crew had so as to add gas or oil, so if the seals had been discovered to be damaged it might imply disqualification. I did know in regards to the automobiles having to hold a spare tire, which needed to be taken out and put again in throughout a pit cease. I can’t think about the Toyotas or Corvettes carrying a spare tire.
Have you learnt if guidelines concerning including fluids throughout pit stops nonetheless apply right this moment, and what different unusual Le Mans guidelines you realize of you possibly can add to this record?
Brandon Karsten
MP: Fluids are added as wanted; quick-disconnect fittings are used to make it simple so as to add fluids. One in every of my favourite guidelines entails going behind the wall to work on the automotive. As soon as it’s able to proceed racing, it can’t be pushed onto pit lane after which out onto the monitor. The automotive should be returned to its pit field, and even then, it can not proceed; the engine should be turned off, after which refired, earlier than it could go racing.
Q: I watched with curiosity the movies of Rossi, Kanaan, and O’Ward driving the classic McLarens at Sonoma. Being a Midwesterner, I’m not normally tuned into motorsports occasions in California. Was there a classic occasion at Sonoma? Had been the automobiles introduced in particularly for this occasion? Do they completely reside within the USA? Additionally, what tires had been used? Had been they modern-day racing rubber, modern-day classic automotive rubber or different?
Rick, Lisle, IL
MP: Sure, there was. It was the fourth version of Velocity Invitational. Sure, they had been. The automobiles dwell within the UK and belong to McLaren and are a part of McLaren’s Heritage assortment. All used Avon tires, which is the predominant vendor for contemporary classic highway racing tires.
Q: IndyCar’s video game adventure felt doomed from the start. To cite your self, “Though the deal resulted in failure, which was predicted by many upon its announcement greater than two years in the past.” I’m not the one one which felt this fashion. Penske Leisure, in all of its expertise, deliberately selected a completely pathetic companion. Is there a rhyme or motive out of your view why they didn’t pursue a partnership with a greater enterprise mannequin and confirmed monitor file?
Care to share your favourite reminiscence of 2023?
Dave M., Milwaukee space
MP: I’ve been informed by fairly a number of people that at the very least one decision-maker in Penske Leisure’s management crew has deep ties to the corporate in query which, if true, would clarify how they acquired themselves into this mess.
Favourite reminiscence from the competitors aspect can be Abel Motorsports and RC Enerson qualifying for the Indy 500; a lot of the groups I labored for had been underdogs, so I’m a sucker for tales like Invoice Abel and crew supervisor John Brunner beautiful the sector and making it into the present whereas some huge veteran groups had been left to stress over who would fail to make the present.
Favourite from the private aspect can be the brand new digital video initiative I pushed for with RACER that introduced CoForce into the household and produced one thing new at fairly a number of of the occasions we coated.
