A few turns around Infineon Raceway's 2.26-mile, 12-turn course stirred the competitive juices of Red Bull Cheever Racing's Patrick Carpentier. And that was in his rental Camry. source: indycar.com by Dave Lewandowski Once the veteran road racer climbed into his No. 83 Toyota-powered Dallara during the IndyCar Series' Open Test in April, the experienced was heightened. Carpentier and 20 other drivers will get back on the track Aug. 26 in preparation for the inaugural Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix - the first major open-wheel series race at the facility since April 1970. "There are so many elevation changes, tight corners and places to pass that they make the track fun to drive and interesting," said Carpentier, who leads the series in laps completed in his first season. Drivers turn up training for physically demanding course. Read Allow Carpentier to take you on a virtual lap on the natural-terrain course in the scenic Sonoma Valley: "You quickly shift from fourth to fifth gear past the start-finish line and enter the first corner, where you have to be careful on cold tires because there's a big bump that upsets the car. Once the tires are up to pressure it will be fine, but you still hit it a bit. "Then you start turning left as the track goes straight up (180 feet). You start braking for the blind corner in second gear. It's really spectacular because you are braking up the hill. I don't think we'll see much passing there. You downshift to third gear in 2; it's a very difficult corner because you can't see what's coming so you have to anticipate. You really don't see the road until you're straight forward. "Then you go downhill to corner 3 - some take it in fourth gear, some in third - which really is a fast corner. You downshift to 3A, and just like the second corner you don't see what's happening. So there are two corners where you basically don't know where you're going. You just have to point the car in the right direction and slide it to the exit, hoping you're at the right place.
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