Official Discusion: Rounds 1 & 2 - St. Petersburg

Allan Craighead

Hi race fans,

Well after an entertaining off-season driver signings, new teams being announced and pre-season testing, the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights season gets underway this weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. Rounds One and Two will take place on April 4-5, with over 25 drivers set to battle it out for he race win on the street circuit. Ahead of the two races, the Indy Lights drivers will have an hour-long morning practice session, followed by afternoon qualifying for race one on Friday. Qualifying for race two will take place on Saturday morning. Both qualifying session will feature the new street circuit procedure, with teams will be split into two groups. The fastest overall time will determine the polesitter, with the fastest car from the non pole-winning group occupying the other front-row starting spot. The remainder of the polesitter's group occupies the odd positions on the grid, while the outside front-row driver's group will make up the even positions. While EFCN is only in attendance on Friday, we will post results and notes as we get them from the track here. Be sure to check back often.

Cheers,
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:46 am Post subject:

EFCN Update: Entry List

Ahead of the first on-track session on the 1.8-mile street circuit in St. Petersburg, here is the official Indy Lights entry list.

2 - Andrew Prendeville - Team Moore Racing
3 - Sergey Mokshantsev - Brian Stewart Racing
4 - Sean Guthrie - Guthrie Meyer Racing
5 - Mario Romancini - RLR/Andersen Racing
7 - James Hinchcliffe - Sam Schmidt Motorsports
9 - Jonathan Summerton - RLR/Andersen Racing
11 - Wade Cunningham - Sam Schmidt Motorsports
15 - Martin Plowman - Panther Racing
16 - Pippa Mann - Panther Racing
17 - Jan Heylen - Team E
18 - Junior Strous - Winners Circle Group
19 - Stefan Wilson - First Motorsports
20 - Ana Beatriz - Sam Schmidt Motorsports
21 - James Davison - Vision Racing
24 - Logan Gomez - Alliance Motorsports
26 - J.R. Hildebrand - AFS Racing, Inc.
27 - Sebastian Saavedra - AFS Racing, Inc.
28 - Daniel Herrington - Bryan Herta Autosport
32 - Brandon Wagner - Davey Hamilton/Kingdom Racing
33 - Pablo Donoso - Brian Stewart Racing
35 - Charlie Kimball - Team PBIR
36 - Richard Philippe - Genoa
37 - Jay Howard - Team PBIR
44 - Gustavo Yacaman - Sam Schmidt Motorsports
49 - Jesse Mason - Guthrie Meyer Racing
55 - Rodrigo Barbosa - ELFF Racing Team
59 - Ali Jackson - Guthrie Meyer Racing
63 - Duncan Tappy - Genoa
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:36 am Post subject:

EFCN Update: Practice Times

As expected, given the weather forecasts, the first and lone practice session for the Indy Lights drivers in St. Petersburg took place in less than ideal wet conditions. While the rain stopped early in the hour-long sesssion, the track never got dry. As a result the times were nowhere near those posted in 2008. When the checkered flag waved series rookie Richard Philippe had turned the quickest time in his Geno entry, edging reigning Rookie of the Year Ana Beatriz in her sam Schmidt Motorsports car on the time charts. Below are the full times from practice. Next up is qualifying for race one of the doubleheader at 4:45 p.m. local time, with the new two group format being utilized.

Practice 1 Times

1. Richard Philippe - Genoa - 1:17.4840
2. Ana Beatriz - Sam Schmidt Motorsports - 1:17.7170
3. Stefan Wilson - First Motorsports - 1:18.2620
4. J.R. Hildebrand - AFS Racing - 1:18.3230
5. James Hinchcliffe - Sam Schmidt Motorsports - 1:18.5280
6. Duncan Tappy - Genoa - 1:18.57700
7. Daniel Herrington - Bryan Herta Autosport - 1:18.8330
8. Jonathan Summerton - RLR/Andersen Racing - 1:18.8650
9. Sebastian Saavedra - AFS Racing - 1:18.9100
10. James Davison - Vision Racing - 1:19.0580
11. Mario Romancini - RLR/Andersen Racing - 1:19.0770
12. Logan Gomez - Alliance Motorsports - 1:19.2090
13. Gustavo Yacaman - Sam Schmidt Motorsports - 1:19.3490
14. Junior Strous - Winners Circle Group - 1:19.3500
15. Martin Plowman - Panther Racing - 1:19.3960
16. Ali Jackson - Guthrie Meyer Racing - 1:19.5510
17. Charlie Kimball - Team PBIR - 1:19.6360
18. Wade Cunningham - Sam Schmidt Motorsports - 1:19:7120
19. Pippa Mann - Panther Racing - 1:19.8400
20. Sean Guthrie - Guthrie Meyer Racing - 1:20.1310
21. Andrew Prendeville - Team Moore Racing - 1:20.6430
22. Pablo Donoso - Brian Stewart Racing - 1:20.7220
23. Jay Howard - Team PBIR - 1:21.0600
24. Jesse Mason - Guthrie Meyer Racing - 1:23.1710
25. Sergey Monkshantev - Brian Stewart Racing - 1:23.6460
26. Rodrigo Barbosa - ELFF Racing - 1:25.9590
27. Brandon Wagner - Davey Hamilton/Kingdom Racing - 1:32.2450
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:51 am Post subject:

EFCN Update: Practice Notes

While it was raining quite hard prior to the Indy Lights cars rolling on-course, it steadily slowed and eventually stopped early in the practice. The track however remained wet for the entire hour-long outing, with no drivers venturing out on slicks.

A number of cars suffered electrical issues during the wet session, with the RLR/Andersen Racing drivers reportedly having dash issues and the ELFF Racing entry of Rodrigo Barbosa stalling.

The only incident of note in practice featured series rookie Pippa Mann making contact with one of the concrete retaining walls i her Panther Racing entry, causing the session to end a couple minutes early.

Surprisingly Team E from nearby Odessa, Fla., is not in attendance as originally planned. It is rumored that karting standout Jan Heylen, who was scheduled to drive with the team, has been in discussions with other teams.

EFCN has learned that HVM Racing, which has two cars, may end up not running this season, rather leasing the cars to teams with drivers following incidents.
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 2:53 pm Post subject:

EFCN Update: Qualifying 1 Times

The checkered flag has just waved for the first qualifying session of weekend, which was used to set the grid for Round One on Saturday. Returning race winner J.R. Hildebrand in an AFS Racing entry will start from the pole position, after turning the fastest time overall and in group one, edging his teammate Sebastian Saavedra. The Winners Circle Group's Junior Strous will line-up P2, having posted the fastest time in the second group. Below are the times from the first qualifying session. A full report will be posted on the front page shortly. Next up for the Indy Lights drivers is the second qualifying session on Saturday morning at 9:55 a.m., setting the grid for Round Two.

Group 1
1. J.R. Hildebrand - AFS Racing - 1:07.7704
2. Sebastian Saavedra - AFS Racing - 1:07.8171
3. James Hinchcliffe - Sam Schmidt Motorsports - 1:08.2292
4. Ana Beatriz - Sam Schmidt Motorsports - 1:08.3678
5. Duncan Tappy - Genoa - 1:08.4559
6. Daniel Herrington - Bryan Herta Autosport - 1:08.5370
7. Stefan Wilson - First Motorsports - 1:08.5533
8. Sean Guthrie - Guthrie Meyer Racing - 1:08.9675
9. Andrew Prendeville - Team Moore Racing - 1:09.0149
10. Martin Plowman - Panther Racing - 1:09.0360
11. Logan Gomez - Alliance Motorsports - 1:09.9424
12. Brandon Wagner - Davey Hamilton/Kingdom Racing - 1:14.849
13. Rodrigo Barbosa - ELFF Racing - 1:16.7400

Group 2
1. Junior Strous - Winners Circle Group - 1:08.1183
2. James Davison - Vision Racing - 1:08.9114
3. Jonathan Summerton - RLR/Andersen Racing - 1:08.9831
4. Jay Howard - Team PBIR - 1:09.1841
5. Mario Romancini - RLR/Andersen Racing - 1:09.2736
6. Charlie Kimball - Team PBIR - 1:09.4608
7. Ali Jackson - Guthrie Meyer Racing - 1:09.6277
8. Wade Cunningham - Sam Schmidt Motorsports - 1:09:9750
9. Gustavo Yacaman - Sam Schmidt Motorsports - 1:10.2635
10. Jesse Mason - Guthrie Meyer Racing - 1:11.1141
11. Pippa Mann - Panther Racing - 1:11.1512
12. Sergey Monkshantev - Brian Stewart Racing - 1:13.2511
13. Pablo Donoso - Brian Stewart Racing – 6:15.4639
14. Richard Philippe - Genoa - No-time
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 6:38 am Post subject:

EFCN Update: Qualifying 1 Notes

Unlike the group one qualifying session, group two featured multiple stoppages.

Richard Philippe's session ended before it even started, as he spun his Genoa entry on cold tires, hitting one of the concrete walls, damaging the suspension on his car. The car will be repaired before Q2.

Pablo Donoso brought out the second full-course caution, when he suffered a suspension failure just exiting the high-speed chicane, becoming standed on-course. As a result of halting the session, the Brian Stewart Racing driver lost his fastest time from the session.

Group two qualifying ended a few moments early when Jesse Mason slid his Guthrie Meyer entry into a tire barrier, damaging his car. The Canadian therefore was penalized his fastest lap.
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 7:53 am Post subject:

EFCN Update: Qualifying 2 Times

With the completion of the second qualifying session on the streets of St. Petersburg, the grid is now set for Sunday's Round Two race. AFS Racing's rookie Sebastian Saavedra captured his first-ever pole position, turning the fastest time overall in group one, narrowly beating his teammate and Round One polesitter J.R. Hildebrand. For a second consecutive day, Winners Circle group's Junior Strous was quickest in group two, ahead of Vision Racing's James Davison, earning a front-row starting position. Below are the times from the second qualifying session. A full report will be posted on the front page shortly. Round one of the Indy Lights season gets underway at 4:45 p.m.

Group 1
1. Sebastian Saavedra - AFS Racing – 1:07.2171
2. J.R. Hildebrand - AFS Racing – 1:07.2765
3. Ana Beatriz - Sam Schmidt Motorsports – 1:07.2960
4. James Hinchcliffe - Sam Schmidt Motorsports – 1:07.4706
5. Martin Plowman - Panther Racing – 1:07.6411
6. Daniel Herrington - Bryan Herta Autosport – 1:07.8620
7. Duncan Tappy - Genoa – 1:07.9270
8. Andrew Prendeville - Team Moore Racing – 1:08.1833
9. Stefan Wilson - First Motorsports – 1:08.2263
10. Sean Guthrie - Guthrie Meyer Racing – 1:08.3299
11. Logan Gomez - Alliance Motorsports – 1:08.8691
12. Brandon Wagner - Davey Hamilton/Kingdom Racing – 1:13.2883
13. Rodrigo Barbosa - ELFF Racing – 1:13.2883

Group 2
1. Junior Strous - Winners Circle Group – 1:07.8227
2. James Davison - Vision Racing – 1:07.8339
3. Richard Philippe - Genoa – 1:07.8806
4. Jay Howard - Team PBIR – 1:08.3146
5. Mario Romancini - RLR/Andersen Racing – 1:08.5149
6. Wade Cunningham - Sam Schmidt Motorsports – 1:08.5621
7. Jonathan Summerton - RLR/Andersen Racing – 1:08.6984
8. Gustavo Yacaman - Sam Schmidt Motorsports – 1:08.9031
9. Charlie Kimball - Team PBIR – 1:09.0739
10. Pablo Donoso - Brian Stewart Racing – 1:09.7618
11. Pippa Mann - Panther Racing - 1:09.7693
12. Jesse Mason - Guthrie Meyer Racing – 1:10.0842
13. Sergey Monkshantev - Brian Stewart Racing – 1:10.8658
14. Ali Jackson - Guthrie Meyer Racing – 1:13.1614
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Ryan Stringfield · Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:01 am Post subject:

Have you received any feedback from the drivers regarding the new qualifying format?

Allan Craighead · Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:47 am Post subject:

EFCN Update: Qualifying 2 Notes

Qualifying for Round Two on Saturday morning feature sunny and warm conditions, providing drivers with the best track conditions thus far during the weekend.

Ensuring both groups got the chance to run last in qualifying group two was the first one on-track in the second qualifying session.

RLR/Andersen Mario Romancini struck a tire barrier on his out lap, but was fortunate to not sustain any damage of note and continue.

The opening session was initially halted when Guthrie Meyer Racing rookie Ali Jackson hit a tire barrier. While able to get going after assistance from the marshalls, his session was over due to suspension damage. As a result of causing the full course caution, he was penalized his fastest lap.

In a repeat of Friday qualifying, the session ended early, when Sam Schmidt Motorsports rookie Gustavo Yacaman spun. He also lost his fast lap for bring out the yellow flags.

The lone incident of note when the group one cars were on-course was a spin and continue by ELFF Racing rookie Rodrigo Barbosa late in the session.
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:52 am Post subject:

Ryan,

Not being at the track I have not had the chance to speak with any drivers other than by email. That being said, those I've been in contact with like the idea of split sessions, as it provides a little more track space. I do however believe they would prefer the groups were split based on speed, so the faster drivers did not have to deal with the much slower cars. You definitely witnessed drivers still being held during the session. I'm sure the drivers and teams will let the officials know what they think after the weekend.

Cheers,
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 2:51 pm Post subject:

EFCN Update: Race 1 Results

Race one of the 2009 season is now in the books, following the waving of the checkered in St. Petersburg, Fla. Rookie Junior Strous emerged as the victor, having taken over the lead via an aggressive mid-race restart pass in his Winners Circle Group car. RLR/Andersen Racing's Jonathan Summerton and AFS Racing's J.R. Hildebrand, having started on the pole, completed the top-three. Below are the provisional results. A full report will be posted on the front page of the website shortly. Next up is Round Two at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

Race 1

1. Junior Strous - Winners Circle Group
2. Jonathan Summerton - RLR/Andersen Racing +0.7205
3. J.R. Hildebrand - AFS Racing +2.1571
4. Ana Beatriz - Sam Schmidt Motorsports +2.7368
5. Jay Howard - Team PBIR +10.1525
6. James Hinchcliffe - Sam Schmidt Motorsports +10.3906
7. Daniel Herrington - Bryan Herta Autosport +14.0362
8. James Davison - Vision Racing +16.4903
9. Mario Romancini - RLR/Andersen Racing +17.9909
10. Charlie Kimball - Team PBIR +18.3014
11. Ali Jackson - Guthrie Meyer Racing +24.7925
12. Gustavo Yacaman - Sam Schmidt Motorsports +26.5042
13. Stefan Wilson - First Motorsports +28.3031
14. Pablo Donoso - Brian Stewart Racing +30.6050
15. Martin Plowman - Panther Racing +34.0431
16. Wade Cunningham - Sam Schmidt Motorsports +34.5276
17. Andrew Prendeville - Team Moore Racing +37.7308
18. Pippa Mann - Panther Racing +48.0470
19. Richard Philippe - Genoa +1 Lap
20. Brandon Wagner - Davey Hamilton/Kingdom Racing +2 Laps
21. Jesse Mason - Guthrie Meyer Racing +2 Laps
22. Sean Guthrie - Guthrie Meyer Racing +4 Laps
23. Rodrigo Barbosa - ELFF Racing +4 Laps
24. Logan Gomez - Alliance Motorsports +19 Laps
25. Duncan Tappy - Genoa +26 Laps
26. Sebastian Saavedra - AFS Racing +34 Laps
27. Sergey Monkshantev - Brian Stewart Racing +39 Laps
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Stefan Rzadzinski · Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Posts: 5

Awesome result for Junior, great finish!

Allan Craighead · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 6:10 am Post subject:

EFCN Update: Race 1 Notes

Sergey Monkshantev suffered a brake failure early in the race, sending his Brian Stewart Racing car into the tire barriers in turn two, ending his race.

Alliance Motorsports Logan Gomez had contact with another car early on, forcing him to pit due to a flat tire. He eventually retired after suffering a brake failure and hitting the tire barriers.

Rodrigo Barbosa was forced to pit for several laps, when his ELFF Racing car had electrical problems.

AFS Racing's Sebastian Saavedra pitted early on and eventually retired on-course with a fuel pressure issue.

The first full-course caution was caused by Jesse Mason spinning and stalling on-course in his Guthrie Meyer Racing entry.

Genoa's Duncan Tappy spun and eventually retired with visibility problems, having failed to place enough tear-offs on his helmet.
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 8:12 am Post subject:

EFCN Update: Race 2 Results

The season-opening doubleheader is now complete in St. Petersburg, following an incident filled Round Two. Winners Circle Group rookie Junior Strous made it two for two on Sunday, utilizing a late race pass on a restart to win his first two series starts. Joining the early championship leader on the podium were AFS Racing's Sebastian Saavedra, having started from the pole position, and Sam Schmidt Motorsports rookie James Hinchcliffe. Below are the provisional results. A full report will be posted on the front-page of the website shortly.

Race 2

1. Junior Strous - Winners Circle Group
2. Sebastian Saavedra - AFS Racing +0.4428
3. James Hinchcliffe - Sam Schmidt Motorsports +1.8116
4. Jonathan Summerton - RLR/Andersen Racing +2.5569
5. Daniel Herrington - Bryan Herta Autosport +3.1994
6. Mario Romancini - RLR/Andersen Racing +5.5715
7. Charlie Kimball - Team PBIR +6.1030
8. Jay Howard - Team PBIR +7.7289
9. Gustavo Yacaman - Sam Schmidt Motorsports +8.4035
10. Richard Philippe – Genoa +8.7013
11. Wade Cunningham - Sam Schmidt Motorsports +9.1643
12. Sean Guthrie - Guthrie Meyer Racing +9.7856
13. Rodrigo Barbosa - ELFF Racing +28.5622
14. Sergey Monkshantev - Brian Stewart Racing +50.0888
15. Andrew Prendeville - Team Moore Racing +1 Lap
16. Martin Plowman - Panther Racing +1 Lap
17. James Davison - Vision Racing +1 Lap
18. Brandon Wagner - Davey Hamilton/Kingdom Racing +7 Laps
19. Jesse Mason - Guthrie Meyer Racing +8 Laps
20. Ali Jackson - Guthrie Meyer Racing +11 Laps
21. J.R. Hildebrand - AFS Racing +13 Laps
22. Stefan Wilson - First Motorsports +13 Laps
23. Ana Beatriz - Sam Schmidt Motorsports +14 Laps
24. Pippa Mann - Panther Racing +23 Laps
25. Logan Gomez - Alliance Motorsports +31 Laps
26. Pablo Donoso - Brian Stewart Racing +35 Laps
27. Duncan Tappy – Genoa +40 Laps
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 11:23 am Post subject:

EFCN Update: Race 2 Notes

Duncan Tappy race ended on lap one when his Genoa car was forced into a tire barrier by another car.

Brian Stewart Racing's Pablo Donoso was forced to pit and eventually retire early on with an engine failure.

Panther racing's Pippa Mann's retired from the race with a suspension failure shortly after being contacted by Ali Jackson.

Ana Beatriz retired on-course with extensive damage to her Sam Schmidt Motorsports entry following contact with J.R. Hildebrand. The AFS Racing driver was able to drive around to pitlane, but subsquently retired with a great deal of damage to his car as well.

While Stefan Wilson was able to initially continue with only front-wing damage to his FIRST Motorsports following the incident between Beatriz and Hildebrand, he subsequently retired when his car turned off with an electrical glitch.

Jackson and Jesse Mason's race ended when the Guthrie Meyer Racing teammates collided exiting turn two.

Both Team Moore Racing's Andrew Prendeville and Panther Racing's Martin Plowman failed to take the checkered flag following a last lap collision.
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