2010 Barber Open Test Thread

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Track officials & area contractors finish installation work around the Birmingham, Alabama-based road course


~~~~The stand of evergreens along part of the backstretch might be a good natural debris fence, but just isn't acceptable for the IZOD IndyCar Series cars that will participate in an Open Test at Barber Motorsports Park this week and race on the road circuit April 11. So contractors have installed 8,200 linear feet of 14-foot-tall fencing with tire barriers in front along sections of the 2.38-mile, 17-turn circuit. It's a safety amendment built required by the Indy Racing League and happily accommodated by track owner George Barber Jr.

"The first and foremost thing with Mr. Barber is safety," says Mark Whitt, the track manager who's been on the job before a shovel went into the ground. "We have changed over the (six) years. We've added dirt at Turn 11, moved the guardrail back 60 feet and added paved runoff. No sanctioning body said you have to do this. We did it on our own with direction by Mr. Barber, who said if it's a problem area we have to fix it."

It's taken about a month to install the fencing, which was designed in conjunction with Indianapolis Motor Speedway director of engineering Kevin Forbes. It can either be dismantled and stored or left up permanently.

The scenic facility has been open for operation for almost seven years. Vegetation has matured, pansies are blooming and preparation continues for the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Grandstands will be set in place soon and spectators also can watch from the gently sloping hillsides in many of the corners.

"We have a new hospitality area too inside the track that Alabama Power has rented for the race weekend," Whitt says, pointing to the one-acre spot near pit in. "We poured a concrete driveway under the tunnel; it's been something we've been thinking about adding for some time and this was a good time. We've done a lot of things to get ready for the race weekend. We are so looking forward to it."

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----2010 Barber Open Test Entry List


---Raphael Matos, #2 Luczo-Dragon/DFM Motorsports
---Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske
---(R)Takuma Sato, #5 KV Racing Technology
---Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske
---Danica Patrick, #7 Andretti Autosport
---E.J. Viso, #8 KV Racing Technology
---Scott Dixon, #9 Target/Ganassi Racing
---Dario Franchitti, #10 Target/Ganassi Racing
---Tony Kanaan, #11 Andretti Autosport
---Will Power, #12 Penske Racing
---Vitor Meira, #14 A.J. Foyt Racing
---Justin Wilson, #22 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
---Mike Conway, #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
---Marco Andretti, #26 Andretti Autosport
---Ryan Hunter-Reay, #37 Andretti Autosport
---Sarah Fisher, #67 Sarah Fisher Racing
---Jay Howard, #68 Sarah Fisher Racing
---Alex Tagliani, #77 FAZZT Racing
---Hideki Mutoh, #06 NHL Racing

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....the #3 and #6 will no longer sport the iconic Marlboro colors but will instead sport black sidepods with red/white trim; the #12 will sport a black/red look with Verizon Wireless as sponsor


~~~"OK, let's stop there. We all can go home now," Helio Castroneves laughed as he and Team Penske mates Ryan Briscoe and Will Power peeled off the covering of the No. 3 car. Castroneves' car.

But they followed through with unveiling the Nos. 6 and 12 cars at Barber Motorsports Park. Gone is the familiar red and white paint scheme - in place since 1990 - replaced by black sides, a white center strip and red accents on all three cars. The rear wing end fences are the most distinguishing parts -- the No. 3 painted red with a black numeral, the No. 6 white with a black numeral, and the No. 12 in black with a red numeral.

"We're still getting used to it, as well," Penske Racing president Tim Cindric said. "It's also the first time since 1994 that we've entered three cars full season. So there are a lot of changes for us internally." The reason for the color scheme switch is Philip Morris USA/Altria discontinuing its sponsorship of the team and individual race events. Verizon Wireless is the primary sponsor of Power's car and an associate sponsor on the others.

"We had a taste of the three-car operation last year, and it was very successful," said Briscoe, who recorded three victories and finished 12 points shy of the 2009 series championship. "I'm really hoping to build on the successes of last year."

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(from 24 Feb. 2010)
~~~~Briscoe Fastest on Day 1 of Barber Open Test



new colors........same result; Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe was tops on day 1 in Alabama

-----There were new drivers and familiar faces in different places. New paint schemes and sponsors to decipher. Just about everyone needed a spotter guide on the initial day of an IZOD IndyCar Series Open Test at Barber Motorsports Park. One thing carried over from 2009: Team Penske cars topped the time chart.

Ryan Briscoe posted the quick lap of the chilly day at 1 minute, 10.5052 seconds on the 2.38-mile, 17-turn circuit that will play host to the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 11. Teammate Helio Castroneves (1:10.7148) was second - also set in the second session with the asphalt receiving a few hours of warmth from direct sunlight.

"It's nice to be at the top of the speed charts," said Briscoe, who won three times and finished 12 points shy of the championship in 2009. "It's important because it is our only test before the first race, so we're all comparing times. It's nice to have the Team Penske cars on top. It's a great way to start the year."

The third family member - Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car - was fourth quick (1:10.7637). Scott Dixon, the 2009 championship runner-up, was fifth (1:10.8927). Justin Wilson, driving the No. 22 Z-Line Designs car for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for the first time, slid into fourth on the chart with a lap of 1:10.7397.

"This first day was really open, seeing what we had, how it worked and the team getting used to me and me with them," said Wilson, who competed with Dale Coyne Racing last season. "It seems we were pretty quick. Tomorrow we'll be more structured with items we had planned. We have things we want to try and things I want to test. Today, with no planning, it went pretty well."

Twenty cars piled on 1,025 laps, with a second day of testing scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. (local time) Feb. 25.

New KV Racing Technology teammates E.J. Viso (1:10.9186) and Takuma Sato (1:11.1138) were sixth and seventh, respectively, in the order. Tony Kanaan, reigning series champion Dario Franchitti and Hideki Mutoh (also driving the No. 06 entry for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing for the first time) filled out the top 10. Viso has moved from HVM Racing, where he competed for the past two seasons, while Sato's most recent competition came in Formula One. His wide smile after exiting the No. 5 car told the story of his day.

"I just tried to get used to what the Indy car was like and I really enjoyed it," Sato said. "Everything we did today was just to understand
the car, old tires and new tires, and each other. One item about the car caught Sato by surprise on the circuit - there's no power assist steering as in F1.

"Because of the circuit's characteristics, there are massive G loads and it becomes quite heavy steering," he said. "Beyond that, everything went as I expected. Everything is learning now like pit stops are different, which I will do (Feb. 25). The car is very reliable, so it was a very good day."

Other new drivers to the series included Mario Romancini with Conquest Racing, James Rossiter with KV Racing Technology and Simona de Silvestro with HVM Racing. The former won two races in Firestone Indy Lights in 2009 and was announced Feb. 23 as a full-season driver. The latter two are test drivers for this event.

Pos, Car #, Driver Name, C/E/T, Session, Time
1 6 Briscoe, Ryan D/H/F Practice 2 01:10.5052
2 3 Castroneves, Helio D/H/F Practice 2 01:10.7146
3 22 Wilson, Justin D/H/F Practice 2 01:10.7397
4 12 Power, Will D/H/F Practice 2 01:10.7637
5 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F Practice 2 01:10.8927
6 8 Viso, EJ D/H/F Practice 2 01:10.9186
7 5 Sato, Takuma (R) D/H/F Practice 2 01:11.1138
8 11 Kanaan, Tony D/H/F Practice 2 01:11.1433
9 10 Franchitti, Dario D/H/F Practice 2 01:11.1825
10 06 Mutoh, Hideki D/H/F Practice 2 01:11.2212
11 26 Andretti, Marco D/H/F Practice 2 01:11.3557
12 34 Romancini, Mario (R) D/H/F Practice 2 01:11.4567
13 32 Rossiter, James (R) D/H/F Practice 2 01:11.7759
14 14 Meira, Vitor D/H/F Practice 2 01:11.9171
15 2 Matos, Raphael D/H/F Practice 2 01:11.9924
16 37 Hunter-Reay, Ryan D/H/F Practice 2 01:12.1369
17 24 Conway, Mike D/H/F Practice 1 01:12.1543
18 7 Patrick, Danica D/H/F Practice 2 01:12.5369
19 78 de Silvestro, Simona (R) D/H/F Practice 2 01:12.8124
20 67 Fisher, Sarah D/H/F Practice 2 01:16.0138

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(from 25 Feb. 2010)
~~~Power Leads Penske 1-2-3 at Barber



Penske Racing's Will Power leads a Penske 1-2-3 sweep on the second day of testing at Barber

-----Will Power limbered up before climbing in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car for the second and final day (an afternoon session actually because of a cold snap affecting track temp) of the IZOD IndyCar Series Open Test. Toe touches, squats and contortions that will be part of the Olympic women's ice skating competition were part of the drill on pit lane at Barber Motorsports Park. There's nothing unusual about that, really, except that it's only been six months since Power suffered broken vertebrae during a multi-car incident in practice at Infineon Raceway.

He says there aren't any lingering physical or mental effects from the side impact. "The first lap (Feb. 24) felt like normal," said Power, who led a Team Penske sweep of the top three sports with a quick lap of 1 minute, 09.8724 seconds on the 2.38-mile, 17-turn circuit. "I didn't even give my back a thought. I haven't even really thought of the accident at all. To me, it happened, I've worked really hard to get back to the fitness I had and I'm probably even stronger (in the midsection) because I really focused on it. I did a seven-mile race in Indy the other week and ran six miles over the weekend and that's the last thing doctors let you do is running. It doesn't hurt at all to run, so I say it's healed."

Helio Castroneves (1:10.0084) in the No. 3 entry was second and Ryan Briscoe (1:10.4559), who topped first day lap times, was third in the No. 6 car. Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon (1:10.0594) was fourth and Takuma Sato, in his first IZOD IndyCar Series test, had another impressive outing with the fifth-best time of 1:10.2070. Mike Conway climbed to sixth (1:10.2497) and new Dreyer & Reinbold Racing teammate Justin Wilson (1:10.3878) was seventh.

Power, who won at Edmonton and posted three other top-five finishes in six races in 2009 with Penske Racing, is projected as a title contender. He doesn't disagree.

"I spent a lot of time early on after I broke my back lying down and having a good think about it," said Power, who completed 54 laps at Barber. "Although it ended badly, it was a great season for me and I ended up with a full-time ride with one of the best teams in IndyCar. The situation I'm in and the team I'm with, I'm expected to be there for the championship and I think I will be.

"We have a very strong lineup, and I also have my engineer (Dave Faustino) that I had in 2007 and 2008. It should be a Penske car every time in Victory Lane I feel. It's probably not going to happen but we have no excuses this year. We have great cars, great crews and three really good drivers who work well together. I expect to win some races this year and I just want to be challenging for the championship."

He'll have plenty of company with the experience level increasing again with holdovers and even newcomers such as
Sato and Mario Romancini (Conquest Racing).

"I think there are a number of drivers who will be there, including my two teammates," Power said. "There are teams like KV, Andretti Autosport, Ganassi and Dreyer & Reinbold has two really strong drivers this year, so I think it will be the most competitive year in the series in a long time."

With the driver championship decided in the final race the past four years, it will take some doing. The action in the only preseason test - the opener on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is in two weeks - did give a glimpse of the depth of competition.

The top 14 cars were separated by 0.8399 of a second.

Rank, Car #, Name, Best Lap Time
1 12 Power, Will D/H/F 01:09.8724
2 3 Castroneves, Helio D/H/F 01:10.0084
3 6 Briscoe, Ryan D/H/F 01:10.0459
4 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F 01:10.0594
5 22 Wilson, Justin D/H/F 01:10.0869
6 5 Sato, Takuma (R) D/H/F 01:10.2070
7 24 Conway, Mike D/H/F 01:10.2497
8 26 Andretti, Marco D/H/F 01:10.3956
9 06 Mutoh, Hideki D/H/F 01:10.4451
10 34 Romancini, Mario (R) D/H/F 01:10.5487
11 32 Rossiter, James (R) D/H/F 01:10.5700
12 11 Kanaan, Tony D/H/F 01:10.6704
13 14 Meira, Vitor D/H/F 01:10.6963
14 37 Hunter-Reay, Ryan D/H/F 01:10.7123
15 8 Viso, EJ D/H/F 01:11.3140
16 78 de Silvestro, Simona (R) D/H/F 01:11.3351
17 7 Patrick, Danica D/H/F 01:11.5112
18 2 Matos, Raphael D/H/F 01:11.5484
19 10 Franchitti, Dario D/H/F 01:12.9810
20 67 Howard, Jay (R) D/H/F 01:14.1883