The whole rubber issue is a fascinating one. Depending on conditions, Indy cars run a variety of tires resulting in a build up of rubber residue on the track that becomes slippery and unpredictable due to the varying compounds used in the manufacture of tires.
On Toronto’s street track, the rubber issue is aggravated by the non-Indy races taking place beforehand, placing an even more disparate array of rubber compounds on the track for the Indy drivers to cope with. I’m told that the track doesn’t properly “rubber in” until halfway through the big race. That means qualifying laps and early race laps can be particularly treacherous, with numerous crashes and spins encountered - such as witnessed Sunday.
The street track also imposes concerns related to transitions from asphalt to concrete surfaces. During a dinner with retired 1996 Indy World Series Champion Jimmy Vasser, he described how difficult it is for drivers to anticipate the effect different road surfaces will have on an Indy race car during cornering.
On worn concrete, the car tends to understeer however understeer can instantly become oversteer as the car transitions to much grippier asphalt. If the driver isn’t prepared, the outcome is not pleasant. Vasser demonstrated the lightening quick steering reactions needed at the moment the car encounters the transition.
Less experienced drivers return to the pits exclaiming four-letter expletives in relation to the car’s unsuitable “setup,” without realizing that it’s the road surface that’s to blame, not the engineer. It’s impossible to dial-in the perfect setting when a track is comprised of multiple surface materials.
Keeping a driver’s “head in the game” is another challenge; it can require the team owners to be more psychologist than race critic. I had a discussion with Dennis Reinbold, co-owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, regarding the challenge of keep spirits high when drivers are feeling bummed-out. Dennis said it’s all in the eyes.
When the face shield is raised and Dennis is delivering feedback to his drivers, such as Justin Wilson who led most of the weekend’s Toronto Indy, Dennis can sense where the driver’s head is - not so much by what is said but by the non-verbal cues delivered eye-to-eye.
Words of encouragement - and the sincerity that eye-to-eye contact carries - are essential to keeping a driver’s “head in the game,” says Dennis.
I also had the good fortune to chat with Justin Wilson the night before the Toronto Indy. We discussed fuel strategy. He described how essential it is to run flat-out for the first lap or two in order to establish the initial pecking order. Once that’s done, fuel conservation becomes the name of the game with the hope of completing the race with two pit stops rather than three.
The smallest modifications in driving style can preserve sufficient fuel to make the difference. For example, releasing the throttle slightly ahead of the braking zone before a curve may, over many laps, leave sufficient juice in the tank to skip a full-race pit stop and stick it out until a yellow flag presents a more favourable pit opportunity.
During my weekend at Toronto’s Honda Indy, I learned much that I never knew or had never really thought about in relation to the complexity of running a car in this prestigious race. Yes, the driver is an essential element of victory but there are many peripheral factors that don’t steal the limelight but can certainly steal victory from those less strategic about running their race - and that’s the stuff I never knew.
 |
| Alex Tagliani (Photo: Philippe Champoux Auto123.com) |
On Toronto’s street track, the rubber issue is aggravated by the non-Indy races taking place beforehand, placing an even more disparate array of rubber compounds on the track for the Indy drivers to cope with. I’m told that the track doesn’t properly “rubber in” until halfway through the big race. That means qualifying laps and early race laps can be particularly treacherous, with numerous crashes and spins encountered - such as witnessed Sunday.
The street track also imposes concerns related to transitions from asphalt to concrete surfaces. During a dinner with retired 1996 Indy World Series Champion Jimmy Vasser, he described how difficult it is for drivers to anticipate the effect different road surfaces will have on an Indy race car during cornering.
On worn concrete, the car tends to understeer however understeer can instantly become oversteer as the car transitions to much grippier asphalt. If the driver isn’t prepared, the outcome is not pleasant. Vasser demonstrated the lightening quick steering reactions needed at the moment the car encounters the transition.
Less experienced drivers return to the pits exclaiming four-letter expletives in relation to the car’s unsuitable “setup,” without realizing that it’s the road surface that’s to blame, not the engineer. It’s impossible to dial-in the perfect setting when a track is comprised of multiple surface materials.
Keeping a driver’s “head in the game” is another challenge; it can require the team owners to be more psychologist than race critic. I had a discussion with Dennis Reinbold, co-owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, regarding the challenge of keep spirits high when drivers are feeling bummed-out. Dennis said it’s all in the eyes.
When the face shield is raised and Dennis is delivering feedback to his drivers, such as Justin Wilson who led most of the weekend’s Toronto Indy, Dennis can sense where the driver’s head is - not so much by what is said but by the non-verbal cues delivered eye-to-eye.
Words of encouragement - and the sincerity that eye-to-eye contact carries - are essential to keeping a driver’s “head in the game,” says Dennis.
I also had the good fortune to chat with Justin Wilson the night before the Toronto Indy. We discussed fuel strategy. He described how essential it is to run flat-out for the first lap or two in order to establish the initial pecking order. Once that’s done, fuel conservation becomes the name of the game with the hope of completing the race with two pit stops rather than three.
The smallest modifications in driving style can preserve sufficient fuel to make the difference. For example, releasing the throttle slightly ahead of the braking zone before a curve may, over many laps, leave sufficient juice in the tank to skip a full-race pit stop and stick it out until a yellow flag presents a more favourable pit opportunity.
During my weekend at Toronto’s Honda Indy, I learned much that I never knew or had never really thought about in relation to the complexity of running a car in this prestigious race. Yes, the driver is an essential element of victory but there are many peripheral factors that don’t steal the limelight but can certainly steal victory from those less strategic about running their race - and that’s the stuff I never knew.