Grand Prix Preview

A new era of open-wheel racing is set to begin Saturday as the IndyCar series takes to the hallowed Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

Series points leader Will Power will look to extend his points lead while Ryan Hunter-Reay looks to win his second consecutive race. In total, 25 drivers will be taking the green flag at 3:30 p.m. looking to add a win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to their racing resumes.  

Series point leader and road racing ace Will Power will look to extend his points lead over last week’s winner Ryan Hunter-Reay. Other than a brief trip off the course at Barber Motorsports Park two weekends ago, Power has been nearly perfect thus far this season. The Penske Racing driver has three top-five finishes so far this season and will almost undoubtedly be a threat to win Saturday.

The Grand Prix track is not the same as fans may remember from the days of the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix circuit which last took place in 2007. The redesigned course is 2.434 miles in length and features 14 turns, incorporating portions of Turns 1 and 2 and the front stretch of the conventional Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The racing will begin on a standing start and run clockwise, opposite of the Indianapolis 500 layout. The total race distance will be just shy of 200 miles, with drivers completing a total of 82 laps.

The newly repaved portions of the track have seen little action other than testing and are nearly perfectly flat. This has allowed teams to drop their car’s ride height to measurements rivaling cars meant to race on ovals rather than road course circuits.

Going down the front stretch, fans will see speeds not typically seen out of IndyCars in road course trim. Drivers will reach speeds of around 190 MPH before making a 90-degree right hand corner into Turn 1 which may be the drivers’ best opportunity to pass on the track.

After a brief rhythm section through the newly-designed Turns 2-6 complex, the drivers will head down the backstretch which has remained the same since the days of Formula One. Drivers will get another ideal passing zone heading into Turn 7 as they downshift into lower gears after the straightaway.

The Turns 8-9-10 complex is going to be critical for lap times with a technical section of S-curves that have given drivers some trouble during practice. Over driving one of the S’s will ruin the entire section and ruin a lap time before drivers make their way back onto the conventional track before diving into Turn 12.

Turn 12 is going to be another passing opportunity the Formula One track never saw, but MotoGP drivers have experienced. The transition from the banked oval to the flatter road course section is slight, but could be a point to watch during the race as driver cope with the transition.

The most important corner on the track will be the final turn—Turn 14—as it leads onto the long front stretch where cars will be running at their quickest. Having a good exit off of Turn 14 is critical for the drivers to get up to speed and reach their maximum speeds before hopping back onto the breaks in Turn 1. Botching Turn 14 can make or break a driver’s momentum and can either gain or lose serious track position.

An important technical aspect to keep an eye on will be how much down force teams elect to put into the car with the rear wing. Teams have been experimenting with wing positions during practice, trying to find the perfect blend of straight-line speed down the front stretch and down force for the technical sections of the track.

Too much down force will lead to slower speeds down the long front stretch and backstretch sections. Too little down force and drivers will struggle through the technical aspects of the track like the Turns 8-9-10 complex, especially as the Firestone tires begin to wear down.

The driver who manages to best find the right combination of straight-line speed and technical prowess will add their names to the record books of drivers to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.