It’s all downhill from here to the season-opening Sao Paulo Indy 300 on March 14 after two days of IndyCar testing at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. Team Penske topped the charts — if you can’t even try to act surprised, I don’t blame you — but while their performance on the 2.3-mile road course garnered attention, it seemed to be second fiddle news when compared to their new black, white and orange paint jobs.
That’s just one of the topics on my mind as I look back on the lone Open Test before Brazil…
Dreyer and Reinbold rising
Penske wasn’t the only team that impressed me with their work at Barber this week. Dreyer and Reinbold Racing has gone a decade since winning in their 2000 debut at the old Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Florida.
But it appears that 2010 will bring them their best opportunity to snap that drought in some time. Justin Wilson quickly got to work in his new surroundings and posted solid times on Wednesday and Thursday. His hot lap on Thursday, a 1:10.0869 second blitz, was good enough for the fifth-fastest time in the entire Open Test. His teammate, second-year competitor Mike Conway, also had a good two days as he posted the seventh-fastest Open Test lap (1:10.2497).
The addition of Wilson will be a major boost to DRR’s program through his veteran know-how and road course experience, and Conway can only benefit from having that kind of help while he aims to be more consistent in 2010. DRR as a road course dark horse (try saying that phrase three times fast) isn’t a stretch by any means.
Now…about that oval program…
Sato set to lead KVRT in 2010
Bucking the trend these days, KV Racing Technology appears set to contest the 2010 championship as a three-car operation. We know about Takuma Sato in the No. 5 car and E.J. Viso in the No. 8 machine, but Robin Miller of SPEED Channel is reporting that English driver James Rossiter will be a third full-time entry for Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser’s operation.
Despite being an IndyCar rookie, Sato seems to be getting picked as another potential interloper in the Penske-Ganassi wars. He didn’t disappoint in the Open Test, posting the sixth-fastest overall time (1:10.2070).
“[Thursday] was a very successful day for the KV Racing Technology team considering the weather,” Sato said. “It was extremely cold this morning so we were unable to run, but once the temperature had improved, we were out on track. I was able to learn a lot again from how the car reacted to the different setups we tried, which was good preparation for the Brazil race.
“However, nothing is ever perfect and I am never satisfied. But I am very positive that I have a good feeling of how the car handles and look forward to going racing in a few weeks’ time.”
Rossiter and Viso weren’t quite as stellar as their more famous teammate, going 11th and 15th quickest respectively in the overall Open Test charts…
The IRL’s next female star?
Simona de Silvestro seems like the racing equivalent of an underground rock star that’s got a cult following but hasn’t “blown up” yet. The Atlantics Championship standout is seeking to make the jump to IndyCars and this week, she took her first official IndyCar test in the No. 78 HVM Racing entry.
Despite the reports that she’ll have to do Firestone Indy Lights work first before she races in IndyCar, it seems like a lot of people are counting on her to be a future force in the league, but perhaps more importantly, to become a rival to the IRL’s undisputed top star, Danica Patrick. However, I wonder if that line of thinking comes from truly recognizing the marketing potential that a De Silvestro-Patrick battle would create, or resentment over the fact that the former has won five races in her career (all in Atlantics) to the latter’s one — and yet, Patrick’s star power beams over the entirety of open-wheel racing and into the mainstream. Hell, she almost dwarfed the Daytona bleepin’ 500 with her mere presence in the NASCAR Nationwide Series undercard.
I’ll leave that as food for thought. Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that de Silvestro (1:11.3351, good for 17th-fastest) ran quicker than Patrick did (1:11.5112, good for 18th) during the Open Test. Make of that what you will, just don’t make too much of it. After all, it was only a test…
Look at the pretty colors
Why oh why do some teams insist on identical liveries for their multi-car programs? I see an opportunity missed over at Team Penske, which dropped their familiar Marlboro chevron scheme and replaced it with the same look for Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves and Will Power. Continuing on this thought process, kudos to Rossiter and KVRT for the No. 32 black-and-gold car that evoked memories of the famous John Player Special from grand prix days of yore. Had to search for what Marisco was, though. Apparently, it’s a type of liqueur and like most IRL-affiliated beverages, it was one I had never heard of and one my local packie doesn’t carry.
