Teams take over Mid-Ohio for test: Agendas varied in the one-day team test Thursday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, but they shared one common goal: finding the quickest way around the 2.258-mile permanent road course in Lexington, Ohio, that plays host to The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio from July 29-31.
A total of 17 cars logged test laps, with official times not reported since it was a team test day. Some teams used the day to fine-tune setups for the upcoming race weekend. Several others used the opportunity to test and evaluate current or former Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, a testing incentive built into the Verizon IndyCar Series rulebook.
Andretti Autosport opted to look at one of its Formula E drivers, Robin Frijns, who split the day in the No. 28 DHL Honda with its regular occupant, 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Frijns, 24, was a Formula One test driver in 2013-14 but hadn’t been behind the wheel of a high-downforce car since then. He has spent the past two years in Formula E and the Blancpain GT series in Europe.
“It’s been more than two years since I drove a downforce car,” Frijns said after his day in the Indy car. “Even though I drove Formula One for two years and I drove GP2, then doing nothing on the downforce side and then jumping back, it’s not that easy. It’s a big change back.”
Frijns said his best lap was 1 minute, 5.3 seconds, two-tenths of a second shy of what Hunter-Reay ran in the morning.
“The car is in one piece. I’m in one piece,” Frijns said. “Overall I feel pretty happy.”
Also testing were Indy Lights drivers Zachary Claman De Melo and Jack Harvey with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, RC Enerson with Dale Coyne Racing and Felix Rosenqvist, who split the day with reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.
Verizon IndyCar Series regulars who tested in addition to Hunter-Reay and Dixon included all four Team Penske drivers (Helio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power), defending Mid-Ohio winner Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, AJ Foyt Racing’s Jack Hawksworth and Takuma Sato, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Tony Kanaan, KVSH Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing’s Conor Daly and Ed Carpenter Racing’s JR Hildebrand and Spencer Pigot.
For a complete recap of the day, click here.
Mid-Ohio weekend features Christmas in July: Honda Racing, Verizon and Firestone are inviting fans to get festive during The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio weekend by camping and participating in Christmas in July themed activities for the return of the #CampingWithHonda initiative.
Honda Racing will host activities for all race fans during the event weekend. Activities on July 30 will feature an “Ugly Hawaiian Shirt” contest judged by Verizon IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe and a community bonfire and s’mores Saturday night, with live music provided by Columbus’ premier party band MidLife Crisis.
For campers, there will be a tent and motorhome decorating contest with drivers Graham Rahal and Conor Daly judging the best Christmas in July theme following Verizon P1 Award qualifying to win a Honda pace car ride at the track. Verizon will also select and award the five most wireless-enabled campsites.
On race day July 31, Santa will be in the Honda Fan Zone. For a donation to the James Cancer Center in Columbus, fans will receive a commemorative Christmas in July Honda Indy 200 ornament.
Honda brings STEAM Connections Tour to Ohio State: Honda Racing’s STEAM Connections Tour makes its second pit stop July 28 at The Ohio State University in Columbus. Co-hosted by Ohio State’s Center for Automotive Research, the event showcases the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in motorsports and the automotive industry.
It will be held from 4-8 p.m. ET at 2200 Olentangy River Rd. in the parking area adjacent to the Longaberger Alumni House and is open to the public.
Verizon IndyCar Series driver Conor Daly, who will compete July 29-31 in The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, will address guests about his interest in STEM and its impact within his profession. Daly will be accompanied by Michael Cannon, lead engineer for Dale Coyne Racing, along with Honda Performance Development’s senior manager and chief engineer Tom Reichenbach.
Daly will arrive at the event driving the street-legal two-seat Indy car with a special Ohio State University athletics department guest who will address the crowd.
“There is little secret that much of what we do on the racetrack leads to advances in our road cars,” said T.E. McHale, motorsports manager, American Honda Motor Co. “Whether race or road car development, events such as this allow Honda to showcase how STEM not only impacts much of what we do, but how fun and rewarding it can be as well.”
Of note: Ed Harris, INDYCAR director of security, was one of nine security professionals recognized for their leadership in addressing safety and security issues with the Professional of the Year Award as part of the 2016 National Sports Safety and Security Conference and Exhibition that took place July 13 in Phoenix. … The sixth annual Chris Griffis Memorial Open Test for all three Mazda Road to Indy levels returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course Oct. 8-9. The test to prepare for the 2017 seasons is named in honor of Chris Griffis, a longtime member of the motorsports community who led the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian Indy Lights organization before he died suddenly in 2011.
Story and photo courtesy of the Verizon IndyCar Series
