http://youtube.com/watch?v=
GL1_iOqWSEg[/youtube]
With a tweaked Sonoma track awaiting them at the GoPro Indy Grand Prix on Aug. 24-26, a majority of the IZOD IndyCar Series drivers and teams have decided to get an early look in a test session set for next Friday, Aug. 17 (9 a.m.-5 p.m. PT).
As of now, 20 drivers are expected to turn laps around the 2.2-mile, natural terrain road course. The INDYCAR layout will feature modifications to Turns 7 (now a U-turn), 9 (widened by ten feet), and 11 (extended by 200 feet) that are designed to create more passing opportunities.
The roster for the test currently includes:
- Ryan Briscoe/Helio Castroneves/Will Power (Team Penske)
- Ryan Hunter-Reay/James Hinchcliffe/Marco Andretti/Sebastian Saavedra (Andretti Autosport)
- Scott Dixon/Dario Franchitti (Target Chip Ganassi Racing)
- Charlie Kimball/Graham Rahal (Chip Ganassi Racing)
- Sebastien Bourdais/Katherine Legge (Dragon Racing)
- J.R. Hildebrand (Panther Racing)
- Oriol Servia (Panther + DRR)
- Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan)
- Josef Newgarden (Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing)
- Simon Pagenaud (Schmidt/Hamilton Motorsports
- Mike Conway (A.J. Foyt Racing)
As usual with Sonoma, race fans can attend the test for free and are permitted to walk the paddock. Pit tours and a lunch-time drivers’ press conference will also available for fans to enjoy.
