Road and street circuits have served as an equalizer (to a point) over the last few seasons in the IZOD IndyCar Series. This weekend, the chances of a level playing field should increase as the drivers and teams take on a new course that they’ve never raced on.
It’s likely that plenty of computer simulation runs have been done by teams on the 2.3-mile street circuit in the Anhembi district of Sao Paulo, Brazil leading up to this weekend’s race (11:30 a.m. ET, Versus). However, nothing beats real-life experience — gathering information on things such as track width, bumps and landmarks while running on the actual course. There’s plenty of little nuances that drivers will have to pick up quickly. After all, this is a two-day show.
Fortunately for Target Chip Ganassi Racing managing director Mike Hull, his team has two drivers that are well-versed in street course know-how — defending series champion Dario Franchitti and two-time IndyCar king Scott Dixon.
“The common denominator of Franchitti and Dixon is that they are two of the best in the business, who as teammates have won races by sharing the subtleties of the set-up,” Hull said. “When you are comparing every bump on a street circuit, that makes a difference.”
Franchitti won twice on street courses last season at Long Beach and Toronto, while Dixon had more of an up-and-down year in those events (two finishes of 15th or worse, a fourth-place run at Toronto, and a third on the Edmonton airport course). However, expect both of them to have a say in the outcome this Sunday.
But even though TCGR has loads of experience to help them, they still have to learn Sao Paulo like everybody else. De Ferran/Luczo Dragon Racing pilot Raphael Matos seems to believe that the “neutral territory” and his team’s work on street courses can help push him and his team to a solid finish.
“All I know is the design, configuration and some of the simulations that the engineers have done,” he said. “We will learn more of the details once we walk on the pavement and see what kind of grip we will have and finally driving the car on Saturday…I believe that the teams with more experience always have an edge on everybody else, but I think we have a strong street course baseline based on our performance on the streets last year. I’m ready and excited for the challenge.”
Don’t forget a potentially critical intangible for Brazilian drivers like Matos — a chance to win in front of their countrymen. While Matos can’t claim a hometown advantage (he’s from Belo Horizonte), he’s still amped up for the IRL’s first event in South America.
“I’ve dreamed of doing this and now, it’s like a dream come true for me — racing in Brazil with my fans, friends and family around,” he said. “It’s for sure going to be a different atmosphere.”
—–
Materials from team press releases were used in the making of this article.
