REPORT MONACO gp - Mundo Motorizado

pics: williams, abbott, levitt/lat, lyons/getty
Race Rating
★★★★★
Epic race was the
ultimate tribute
to the 2011 winner
me worried, because going
into Turn 1 I thought we’d
have a shot at him on the
back straightaway or coming
to the start-finish line,” said
team boss Chip Ganassi. “I
wasn’t overly concerned.”
His heart rate would have
shot up a few moments later
though, when Sato fired
his car down the inside of
Franchitti at the start of the
final lap, only to lose the rear,
hit Franchitti’s car and then
spin into the wall. A few
of the drivers immediately
behind him suggested that
the move was simply the
latest from a driver known
for occasional bouts of
mistimed extroversion,
although Franchitti himself
was not one of them.
“I thought it was a good
move until the mistake
he made – the car was
obviously too loose,” he said.
“Last lap of the Indianapolis
Sato’s last-ditch move on
Franchitti ended in disaster
500… I wouldn’t expect
him to lift at that point.
I think he did everything
right up until he lost the
rear-end of the car.
“He made a good move.
But I didn’t touch him. I
didn’t squeeze him down.
He just lost the rear.”
Sato, for his part, believed
that Franchitti had not given
him enough space.
“I thought I had the job
done,” he said. “But he kept
pushing and didn’t give me
enough room, so that I was
well below the white line.”
Barring any sudden and
catastrophic mechanical
problem or brainfade, the
win was Franchitti’s from
the moment that Sato’s car
crumpled into the wall and
brought out the yellows for
the last lap, meaning that
nobody would be allowed to
overtake. Franchitti, Dixon,
and Kanaan, any of whom
↗Prior to the Indy
weekend, Chevrolet
had won every race
of the season and locked out
nine of the top 10 places on
the grid. A big part of Chip
Ganassi Racing’s one-two
finish was the job that Honda
did in the week between
qualifying and the race
to turn things around.
The turbo war was settled
in Honda’s favour a few
weeks before the race,
although some within the
Honda camp still believe
that the Chevrolet had an
advantage, especially
when the additional
boost was brought into
play for qualifying.
Both manufacturers had a
new specification of engine
ready for the race, and
Ganassi runner Scott Dixon
was effusive in his praise
for what Honda had done
to close the gap.
“I think we were in a bit
of a tough situation come
qualifying,” he said. “The
140 kPa boost wasn’t to
our advantage [boost is
normally set at 130 kPa for
superspeedways]. We saw
the margin slip away. We
had engines that were
milestone
The 35 lead changes
during the race was a
new Indy 500 record
mileaged out, pretty much to
maximum come qualifying
day. I think our engine
probably didn’t have the
best power at that point.
“The new engine was
definitely better. Fuel mileage
was vastly improved. The
speed even from Carb Day
seemed to be improved on the
car. We were able to run a
little more trim than some of
the other teams, so I think that
added to it, as well. Honda did
a fantastic job to improve the
power and fuel economy.”
The improvements came as
report
INDIANAPOLIS 500
MARk glENDENNINg
reports
Briscoe topped Chevy
hordes to take pole
Honda: push comes to Chev
newgarden was sole
Honda top-10 qualifier
a surprise to some of the
Chevrolet runners, but
leading Honda team boss
Chip Ganassi admitted
that his squad had still gone
into the race with a lot
of question marks.
“I can tell you this, we
didn’t [know everything] in
our race shop the Monday
after qualifying, or with the
chairman of Target on the
phone on the Monday after
qualifying, and the meeting
with Honda soon after that,”
he said. “Let’s just say, it
wasn’t our finest moment.”
May 31 2012 autosport.com 49