DETROIT, (April 22, 2014) – Team Cadillac drivers Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim will take on the undulating Barber Motorsports Park in this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge Series Barber Grand Prix presented by RECARO.
O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) and Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) will be racing at the 2.38-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park located just east of Birmingham, Alabama for the time. The duo had the chance to get a view of the Alabama track through the windshield of the Cadillac CTS.V.R on the way to the season opener at St. Pete where they had a two days of testing. The duo come into the race with Pilgrim leading O’Connell in the driver standings by 36 points (224 to 188) with Cadillac leading the GT manufacturer ranks.
“The biggest thing the test at Barber showed Johnny and myself was which way the track goes,” Pilgrim said. “This was critical as neither of us has ever raced there. The Barber track has a lot of high-speed and mid-speed transitions that will really suit the FIA GT3 cars. With wider tires, less weight and more down force than our Cadillac CTS.V.Rs it looks like we will have to be pushing to the max and have a little luck to be up front.”
“On a track such as Barber, that has maybe one possible place to pass per lap, qualifying is way more important than normal,” he continued. “This track looks like it was designed for motorcycle racing and as an ex-motorcycle road racer, I’m thinking it’s brilliant for motorcycles, but with 40+ Pirelli World Challenge cars and barely anywhere to pass, we are going to be busy and we’ll find out who can be patient and who chooses not to be.”
O’Connell is coming off of a win at Long Beach.
“At the test we learned a lot about the nuance of the Barber circuit,” O’Connell said. “It was really used more as a shakedown prior to St. Pete, but also to get data that should be useful for the race. The FIA GT3 spec cars should be tough this weekend. Where those cars have a distinct advantage is in higher speed corners. Their aerodynamic advantage over us will be evident there in the fourth gear and higher areas.”
“Qualifying is always important, but the track looks like the type of place where it is difficult to pass,” he continued. “Having watched previous races there, I think most drivers would agree. It is going to be very busy to say the least. One of the advantages, I think, Andy and I have over others is experience working traffic. I’m counting on race craft to play a big role in both races this weekend.”
The Pirelli World Challenge Series Barber Grand Prix presented by RECARO will have the GT cars qualifying on Friday at 4:45 p.m. CT. Race one will go off on Saturday at 3:55 p.m., with race two taking the standing start on Sunday at 10:40 a.m.
LONG BEACH, Calif., (April 13, 2014) – Team Cadillac drivers Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim finished first and second in today’s running of the Pirelli World Challenge Series Long Beach Grand Prix presented by KIA. O’Connell posted his 11th career Cadillac victory.
O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) was able to race to some Long Beach redemption this afternoon in southern Calif. Last year he was winning the event while nursing his CTS.V.R around the 1.9 mile 11 turn closed street course with a three inch piece of a competitors brake rotor lodged in the radiator. Just five turns from the checkered flag he coasted to a stop. Today O’Connell was able to get a great start and head the field the entire race distance of 31 laps. He had to soldier through one restart, following a first lap caution, but was pressed only by teammate Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) who finished second.
“I got a pretty good start,” O’Connell said. “Andy may have gotten a little better launch than I did, but there was no way I wasn’t going into Turn One deep. The first couple laps were very challenging. The car was really sliding around after the restart, then the Pirelli tires came in and the car really came to me. I got some really good breaks with traffic and was never really held up. I know Anthony Lazzaro was chewing on Andy, so I had to keep pushing. I think Andy I were really close I just had the track position. Getting so close last year I was super motivated to get the win today. It was nice to get the victory for the team and all of the Cadillac fans that came out this weekend.”
Pilgrim had a strong start, was being pressed by Lazzaro, but held on to make it a Cadillac one – two finish.
“I got a really good start,” Pilgrim said. “Johnny was on the inside, so I was happy to slot in behind him into Turn One. Our plan was to work hard at the beginning of the race as we thought it would get slippery towards the end with our heavy car. We both were sliding at the end. Traffic worked in our favor. Anthony got hurt twice toward the end of the race with slower cars, so that helped. I had a good car, it was going away at the end, but that is to be expected. A good day for Cadillac.”
The win will have Pilgrim as GT points leader heading into the next round at Barber Motorsports Park.
The race from Long Beach will be televised on NBC Sports, Sunday, April 20 at 5:30 p.m. with a re-air Friday, April 25 at 1 a.m. The Pirelli World Challenge Series will travel to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. for the first time in series for a double race weekend April 25 – April 27.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 13, 2014): Mike Conway scored his first win of 2014 to take Chevrolet IndyCar V6 power to Victory Lane in the Verizon IndyCar Series for the second consecutive race. It is the second win for Conway in the Grand Prix of Long Beach on the Streets of Long Beach, his first coming in 2011.
In only his second race as the road and street course driver of the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Premium Ultra Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Conway led once for two laps to score the win, and move to second in the Series’ championship standings.
Congratulations to Mike Conway and the Ed Carpenter Racing team for a very well executed race in the midst of a number of incidents,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Program Manager, Verizon IndyCar Series. “Today’s competition on the Streets of Long Beach was a solid example of the motto “Never Give Up”. We had our share of issues before and during the race, but persevered, and the breadth of talent and determination across Team Chevy came away with the top two steps of the podium.”
Giving Chevrolet the top-two tiers on the podium was Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. With his runner-up finish on the heels of his victory in the season-opening race at St. Petersburg, Power now holds a 27 point lead on second place Conway.
In his return season to the Verizon IndyCar Series, Juan Pablo Montoya brought his No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet to the finish line in fourth place. Giving Team Chevy four of the top-10 finishers in today’s 80-lap/157.4-mile race was Sebastian Saavedra, No. 17 KV AFS Racing Chevrolet with a ninth-place finish.
Carlos Munoz (Honda) completed the podium.
Next on the 18-race schedule will be on April 27, 2014 at Barber Motorsports Park.
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH MIKE CONWAY, NO. 20 FUZZY’S VODKA/ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – RACE WINNER:
THE MODERATOR: We’ll get started with the remainder of our post-race Verizon IndyCar Series press conference. We’re pleased to be joined by the winner of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Mike Conway. This is Mike Conway’s first win of 2014, and the third win of his IndyCar career. His first one came here in Long Beach in 2011, he also won at Belle Isle in Detroit in 2013. This is Ed Carpenter Racing’s second win in the Verizon IndyCar Series. It previously won with Ed Carpenter at Auto Club Speedway in 2012. Mike, congratulations and tell us about the race today.
MIKE CONWAY: Thank you. Yeah, I was really started back in 17th, and we really had to fight for every position. The guys made a good call on strategy. We were able to bump past some people, and on race restarts we gained some positions as well. So, great job by all the team.
I know on that last restart I had to get by Will, because I knew he had one push to pass left, and I knew that (Carlos) Munoz behind me had four, and Munoz was very good all day, so it was hard it was going to be hard to keep him behind. So managed to get by Will (Power) and then was kind of all over the back of Justin (Wilson) and Scott (Dixon) and they were battling it out as well. And they touched going into Turn 8, and it got close to me and Scott. I was thinking of driving up both of those guys (Indiscernible), but thought better of it.
Then Scott was kind of all over them, but when the safety car came out again, I thought maybe I’ll have a chance to get by him here, but I knew at the same time he may not have enough fuel to get to the end. So I wasn’t sure, because I could see he wasn’t saving much fuel, and the guys are saying he’s saving fuel because he can’t make it. I was like, oh, I don’t know. Maybe he saved enough.
But, yeah, that was I was like, you know, this is it now. We can make this two times winning at Long Beach. Yeah, awesome. I can’t believe it really. It’s been a really tough day to be here. After, yeah, just a fantastic job by the team, and thanks to Long Beach again for putting on such a good show.
THE MODERATOR: A unique situation for you this year. You’re only racing the road and street courses while your team owner Ed Carpenter races the ovals. How gratifying is it for you personally and also for the team to see the results of that strategy pay off in the second race of the season?
MIKE CONWAY: Yeah, I’ve got to say a big thanks to Ed for making it happen, and all the guys at Fuzzy’s Racing to put me in this position. Yeah, I think it’s a great combination. I think everyone’s quite excited about it. It’s great to repay them this soon with a win.
Yeah, I think Ed’s going to be awesome on the ovals, and he’s really looking forward to the Texas test next week and Indy in May. So, yeah, it’s great to be part of it.
Q. There are a lot of great drivers that haven’t won this race. You’ve won it twice. The satisfaction of being able to be a two time Long Beach Grand Prix winner?
MIKE CONWAY: Yeah, it still hasn’t sunk in yet. I mean, as I went over the land, I got that same feeling, that feeling in my stomach and not being able to get any words out because it kind of just meant so much. Probably the same as the first time. You know, it’s always tough the first time as well.
So, yeah, it’s just a really special place. It’s so hard to win around here, and to do it twice, I’ve not done that on many tracks, so to do it here is really cool.
Q. It’s hard enough for drivers to get a full time ride. I was wondering what did you think of your chances were of getting a road course only ride when the season started? What do you have to say to people who were skeptical?
MIKE CONWAY: Slim, definitely slim. Yeah, I wasn’t sure obviously at the end of 2012 too, I wasn’t sure if I’d make it back. But managed to pick up some rides last year and kind of showed that I’ve still got a lot of speed, and we won in Detroit as well. I still wasn’t sure at the end of last year what was going to happen. Yeah, to be able to pick this up is a dream come true. It couldn’t have worked out any better between me and Ed. So, yeah, I’m very thankful for the position I’m in and trying to make the most of it.
Q. A little while ago Will was saying you don’t get many gifts in racing, and he was talking about the big pileup that allowed you guys to do what you did. How do you look at that?
MIKE CONWAY: I didn’t really see what happened. So you know, I saw the last part of it as I was approaching the corner, and I thought someone was going to go around there, and I heard over the radio call there was an incident in the corner, be very careful and stay right. I’m thankful for that call because they really kept me out of trouble through there.
It was tight just to get through with the speed we have. I really had to dive around people. Yeah, I mean, luckily obviously that that happened and advanced us a good four positions. I think we were still within the hunt to get a good result today. But, yeah, obviously, unlucky for those guys and made it fortunate for us.
But it’s always like that on street courses. It gets really close, but I don’t know what really happened. I’ll have to look at that.
Q. Great finish. You didn’t start very well. Describe the start and how that worked snout also heard there was damage to the front wing, and did that affect you at all during the race?
MIKE CONWAY: Yeah, the start wasn’t great. The revs really dropped, and I thought I was maybe going to stall and I had to quickly pull the clutch again and go again and obviously two cars got around me at that point. Managed to get by Ryan and pick that position back up. But all the way through the race it was hard to know where we were going to end up.
There were lots of cars around you, and when you got within a second of a car, you’d lose half a second in pace, and it was really hard to make your way by. But we did manage to pick some people off as the race was going on and made some good passes. But, yeah, it was a real unknown until that last kind of restart where we were going to be. So had to fight all day. Yeah, kind of had the car to do it, so big thanks to the guys for that.
Q. During the race while you were battling, did you notice a major difference between the power characteristics of the Honda and Chevy? Because in qualifying it looked very dominant for Honda. I think they had nine of the top 12 qualifying positions, but we ended up with a Chevy 1, 2 at least. Did you notice any difference coming out of the final hair pin?
MIKE CONWAY: I don’t know. It was really how you get around the hair pin. It was hard to tell sometimes on how you get off. But I mean I was behind Munoz for a good few laps. It felt similar to be honest. I mean, he was on the blacks to that point and his car was really turning well through that last corner, so he could get off well just with traction. So it was really close to be honest. And we did trim out a little bit for the race so I think we had better speed than some people down the strait.
But I forgot to answer your question about the front wing. That did feel like it slowed us down a little bit because it was flapping around. That top element definitely some drag there. But I think we did have some good top end speed because of the downforce level we had, but it felt close.
Q. You mentioned being told over the radio about the accident. Are you one of the few drivers that has a spotter?
MIKE CONWAY: Well, just lucky they saw it. I mean, they were there at the time. I thought he said he was going to be down in turn one, but he must have seen it on the big screen or from where he was standing in one. Normally he doesn’t have to say too much, but obviously if there are any incidents anywhere and he’s there at that point he’ll let me know, otherwise the team will let me know on the TV. But, yeah, kind of lucky he was down there.
Q. The spotters were on turn one, and I think there were only six or seven spotters because it’s not required on a road course?
MIKE CONWAY: Yeah, well, I have (Indiscernible), and he’s a really key part of the team. He’s out there making sure we’re making the most of every corner. He watches what all the other cars are doing. Yeah, he’s obviously in the race. He can’t do so much of that, but he can also definitely help me if there are any incidents, and that definitely helped today.
Q. Regarding the accident, it seemed like it went on for quite some time. I think Takuma Sato came into it five or six seconds afterwards. Were the course marshals signaling adequately that there was a blockage of the track around the corner which I assume you couldn’t see coming through?
MIKE CONWAY: Well, as I said, when I got there it just happened. So, yeah, I mean, I didn’t see any yellows at that point. I don’t recall. But it’s hard to tell because I was so focused on looking for what was around the corner. You know, you kind of miss sometimes what’s on the entry with the marshals.
But, yeah, there were a lot of cars behind me at that point, and some made it through, some didn’t. I suppose it was a bit of luck, I suppose. Yeah, it was definitely not the yellows, but if you didn’t know where the cars were, it was still tricky. You had to slow down a lot to miss it all. There was really one line, and it took a long time to clear up. There were a lot of cars involved.
Q. This is a smaller team in the series, but yet it really seems like they can take on the power teams and whip them at their own game. What is it about Ed Carpenter racing that they seem to do so well particularly at certain tracks in?
MIKE CONWAY: Yeah, I think we’ve got a really good group of people. Some great engineers on board and everyone’s working really hard and they’re always pushing between St. Pete and this weekend, they were nonstop in the shop trying to develop some parts and make things better. You know, I think if you’ve got that drive and that hunger within the team you can definitely achieve anything.
It does make it harder, a one car team, but I think with all the help and all the people we have on the team, we can definitely make some waves.
Q. What do you think about the hair pin? The tightest one in all of Indy racing.
MIKE CONWAY: I mean, it’s Long Beach, it’s been here since the start, I presume. It does make it tricky. Obviously the restarts, first lap of the race it does get quite choked up in there. But I think everyone’s smart enough to stay out of trouble, but I’m not sure. Obviously I saw Graham was spun down around there. I mean, it’s easy enough to hit someone’s back side going in there because if you don’t choke up a little bit and you’re not aware of it can catch you up. But I don’t know. It’s just part of the course, I suppose.
Q. You mentioned that you started 17th, but you didn’t qualify well. Someone asked Will Power how come he was so far down in the field, and he said well, the car was great, he just didn’t hit it during qualification. How come you were like 17th, because after all, you’re past champion here?
MIKE CONWAY: Yeah, it’s very close, the series. As years go on it gets closer and closer. If you’re behind a little bit it can really show up in qualifying. When everyone’s on that ultimate limit putting in really quick times. We felt like we needed a couple more laps to get the tires in. It was taking a little bit longer, and before we knew it, the session was finished. Yeah, that’s all it takes. If you don’t quite get it together, you’ll just miss that advance.
So, yeah. Any slight mistake on a lap, and you really risk not making it through. It was a shame. Obviously, we didn’t want that to happen around here. We thought we had a good car for top eight, maybe more. Yeah, obviously the race we knew made it difficult for us, but we had some good speed and got into the run.
Q. You avoided the carnage in turn four. You finished very strong. What was the biggest challenge you faced in the final laps of the race?
MIKE CONWAY: Having Will behind me and Scott in front, two wily cats. I knew I had my work cut out. I just couldn’t make any mistakes. I had to really push them all the way. Will was very good through the last sector, so I had to be strong through there, and make sure I went through the last hair pin well. I knew he didn’t have many overtakes left, if any, at that point. I didn’t have any either. So I really just had to get as good as I could through that sector and clean down the straight.
But Scott was very good off that last corner, and it was hard to get close to him. I could get close to him on the infield, but he was pretty good out there.
Yeah, it was tricky. I didn’t know whether he had the fuel to finish or not. The guys were telling me he was saving fuel and they weren’t sure that he could make it, but at the same time, you don’t want to rely on that. I don’t know. I was kind of trying to make things happen and maybe get by him. But when I saw pull in I was like, okay, the guys are right, and just have to bring it home.
THE MODERATOR: Before we let you go. In two weeks you’ll be continuing your deal with Ed Carpenter racing at Barber Motorsports Park. Give us a preview of what we can expect at that track?
MIKE CONWAY: I like Barber a lot. It’s a cool track, very fast flowing. The test was okay for us there. We’ve made some progress since then. So hopefully we’ll come back stronger. Obviously, we have two weeks in between and we’re going to keep pushing and make sure the car is quick for me to ride there. But always a good race. Qualifying is really cool around there. It is harder to pass, however, it’s still possible. Yeah, hopefully, we’ll have a good showing.
Q. How much fuel did you have left?
MIKE CONWAY: Loads, loads. I don’t actually know the numbers, but maybe we can let you know after.
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:
THE MODERATOR: We’re pleased to be joined by Will Power, Will Power finished second in this race. His second podium finish of 2014, and his sixth podium finish in nine starts at Long Beach. Will has now finished first or second in his last four Verizon IndyCar Series races and is the current points leader with 93 points. Will, you seem to be on quite a roll dating back to 2013?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I was definitely thinking after qualifying we might have been in a bit of trouble, but we know this track well and IndyCar Racing well. There is always a lot of action, so definitely a good day.
Mike (Conway) was very strong. I kind of regret not using the push to pass on the restart where he got me. I knew he had one and I had one, and I thought I’m going to try to save it and he used it on that restart. But definitely take second from 14th, you know, good for the championship, not that I want to think about that crap anymore. I just want to race. I’m just going to race to win every time.
Q. Will, after finishing first and second, I know you don’t want to look at the points. You’re the leader. If you guys could talk a little bit about it seemed for a while it was Ryan Hunter Reay’s race, and all of a sudden, one thing completely turned the nature of this race around. Just talk about how big an impact that had, and Will, you were able to get through that carnage without hitting anything?
WILL POWER: I saw it unfold. I mean, those two came out of the pits in front of me on cold, black tires, I was on reds and down a lap or two. You know, then all of a sudden I saw Newgarden come out and I’m thinking this is going to be really interesting because all these guys know that that is for the win. It became even more interesting in turn four when they all thank you. Yeah, unbelievable.
I saw Hunter Reay go inside, and me going, oh, this will be interesting if he turns and there they go together. Then Hinch piles into him, and I got through, like yeah, you don’t get those gifts often in racing, so I’ll take it.
Q. Will, talk about the final laps and the temptation to overtake Mike Conway in the last few laps?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, none of us had a push to pass, so, yeah, I did everything I could when I saw Dixon pull in with only two to go. I was like oh, man, that restart got me. But like I said, it was 14th, and we’re going to be happy with a Top 5. So second is okay.
Once Dixon peeled off, Mike was very quick anyway. If I had one push to pass, I’m pretty sure I would have had a good shot. It would have been interesting, maybe he would have ended up winning because Mike and I would have crashed into turn one or something (laughing). Yeah, it was a good day. Definitely a good day.
Q. Two quick questions, first one, Simon Pagenaud and you got hooked up there a little bit. Obviously, he’s upset with you. He said you guys aren’t going on vacation anytime soon together. Do you guys two weeks, six weeks, eight weeks down the road, I know you are good friends, how do you mend that fence? Second question is a lot of really young drivers are showing real strength this year. What do you put that towards?
WILL POWER: Simon, it’s on him. It depends what he wants to do. He’ll probably pay me back at some point on the track. If I got a penalty, he probably wouldn’t have, but he told me he’s going to get me back. I thought he had a flat tire. He was so slow on the restart. He went from second back to he was in front of me. I thought, oh, he’s going to brake early, and I brake, went up the inside and realized he was going to turn. I tried to get out and just touched his back tire.
Yeah, I hate to ruin someone’s race like that. I do. But I think if he looked in the mirror, he could have prevented that incident. We talked about in the driver meeting that there’s got to be a bit of give and take there. But still I hit his back tire with my front wheel, so it’s on me.
Q. And the question about the young drivers?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, man, these guys are definitely putting the pressure on it. They’re quick, really quick. They’re not making mistakes either. Carlos was super quick and very good in the Indy 500 last year. He’s just backing it up this year and showing everyone how to do it on road courses as well. So definitely got a long future in the series, and so is Jack Hawksworth also.
Q. Will, when Ed Carpenter decided to split the driving duties on his team, I was wondering what your thought. Now it may pay off very big in points later in the year. How do you feel about that kind of strategy?
WILL POWER: I thought when they told me that, I thought championship contenders as far as team championship, you know, and they will be because Mike was coming at St. Pete. He was probably going to finish second or third there too. Obviously it was a bit of a blunder in the pits, but those guys were on it every week. Then Ed is definitely capable of winning pretty much in all the ovals too, so it’s a pretty strong combination they’ve got right there on that team.
Q. Describe the standing start because you were kind of in the middle of the pack for the start. So describe what happened for you all.
WILL POWER: Yeah, I thought it was pretty good. We all got a good start. I think it’s definitely better for the fans. It looks cooler for all the people sitting in the grandstands for everyone to have a standing start. See on the luminator the lights going out. And no one stalled so that was good. Unless there was someone behind me, I don’t know. But it was good, a good first lap, yeah.
Q. Will, you talked about them coming out of The Pits on black tires, and you were on Reds. What was your strategy on tires with the constant temperature change here in Long Beach?
WILL POWER: Well, I was surprised that those guys went on Blacks, unless they used up their new Blacks from the start. I don’t know or new Reds from the start. Because Reds to me, I had a good chance to get a couple of those guys coming out of the pits on cold tires. They took care of it themselves. But, yeah, our strategy was start on blacks. Hopefully the Reds would go off and go red red because the Reds were definitely quicker.
THE MODERATOR: Will, you’re the points leader heading into Barber Motorsports Park, a track that’s been historically very good for you. Talk about a preview of two weeks from now what we’ll be expecting at Barber?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, to me I’ve got to qualify a bit better for sure. Definitely aiming to be pole because that track is very difficult to pass. Everyone’s tested there. Everyone’s run a lot of miles there, so there are a lot of good guys with good cars, so it’s definitely going to make it an interesting weekend.
Q. You seem to be quite a significant performance difference in you and qualifying and the race performance today. Can you comment on that at all? Any major changes that went into the car or the set up or to any of the mechanicals?
WILL POWER: Well, actually, this is the worst qualifying in my career. I just didn’t get it right. It’s just one of those laps that I had a couple of laps to do it in, and I just didn’t get it right. Because in the practice session before that, we were quickest. We had a very good car, so it’s just one of those things, you know. We didn’t change anything. The car was the same in the race. That sucks, but we had a good day anyway.
Garcia, Magnussen dominate street race; Gavin, Milner take third-place GTLM finish
LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 12, 2014) – Corvette Racing won its first race with the new Chevrolet Corvette C7.R on Saturday at Long Beach as Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen dominated in their No. 3 Corvette to take the GT Le Mans class of the Patrón Sports Car Showcase. The duo led all but one lap and took the checkered flag by 5.408 seconds in the third round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.
Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner placed third in class in their No. 4 Corvette C7.R. It was the fourth time Corvette Racing placed both of its entries on the podium at Long Beach since 2007.
“Congratulations to Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and the No. 3 Corvette C7.R team on scoring the win today here at Long Beach,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “It was the first win for the Corvette C7.R and a great day. It started with a great qualifying run by Jan to put the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R on the pole, which was a huge advantage in a short, 100-minute sprint race. Antonio did a great job getting a nice lead; the Corvette Racing team had a great pit stop and Jan took it home for the win. It was also great to see Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner put the No. 4 Corvette C7.R also on the podium. Just a tremendous effort for Corvette Racing.”
Saturday’s victory was the fifth at Long Beach for Corvette Racing. Magnussen qualified on pole position Friday, and Garcia led the entirety of his 41-minute stint – the result of a great start that allowed him to put two slower prototypes between himself and the rest of the class. His lead grew as much as seven seconds before handing off to Magnussen.
The Dane’s biggest advantage was 12 seconds during his stint as he won at Long Beach for the second time; Garcia won his first Long Beach race.
The No. 4 Corvette gained one position from its fourth-place starting spot. Gavin and the two competing cars in front of him were balked by the slow prototype that Garcia managed to get around on the opening lap. Gavin also fought high tire pressures but still had the fastest race lap in class for most of his stint.
After the driver change to Milner, the young American whittled down the gap to second place from three seconds to a half-second halfway through his stint. He ended the race just 0.273 seconds shy of the runner-up spot. Milner also set the fastest GTLM race lap at 1:18.954 (89.733 mph).
The next round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship takes place at Laguna Seca from May 3-4.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It’s been a really good race for us. We couldn’t expect more. We saw yesterday that we were very fast. I think 50 percent of the race was done by Jan yesterday in qualifying. Today he stayed away from the walls but yesterday he was really, really close to them! That pole position made a big difference. I knew that the race was all about Turn 1 and the first three laps. I was probably a bit on the high side of being aggressive on the opening laps because I knew the prototypes were struggling to warm their tires. I made it through at Turn 1, and that was mainly it for the race. That risk made the rest of the race a little more relaxing. Taking the first victory for the Corvette C7.R is very big for us. We have been battling really hard from the beginning. All the Corvette Racing and Chevrolet guys have worked really hard throughout the offseason and into this year. A big thanks to them.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It was an important victory for the team and the guys who have worked so hard to get the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R ready for the season. The whole time we have had a fast car but didn’t make the most of it. We had some reliability issues at Daytona and Sebring, so it’s really nice that we can have a weekend like this with pole position and a win by leading from start to finish. I couldn’t be happier for Antonio and myself, and for all the guys on the team. They really deserve it. A big thanks to Antonio. He did all the hard work and got a huge lead. That last hour for me was like a holiday for me! I just drove around making sure I didn’t make any mistakes and stay off the wall.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It was a great result for Corvette Racing today. To get both cars on the podium and to get the first win for the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R is fantastic. It was a little frustrating for myself getting caught up behind one of the prototypes and battling with the BMWs. I was also struggling with high tire pressures for some reason. We just missed that all weekend. I don’t know why but maybe we need to look at the systems we have. We kept the car in the race. Tommy got in and did a sterling job and got us right up behind the BMW but I think it was a bit too much to do to get by that car. It seemed that where we were quick, they weren’t so good but then they were fast in some key spots. Tommy did all he could and drove extremely well. But the main thing for both cars is that we got fantastic results for points and the first win for the Corvette C7.R. It’s a fantastic day for Corvette Racing.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“It was a great day for Corvette Racing. You could really see how strategy plays a part in tire wear and things like that. Great job to Antonio and Jan. They had a great race and got ahead of that one LMP car and could cruise. Our class has always been super-competitive, and it’s fun to see it all play out with pit stops and strategy. It was a great day of racing here at Long Beach.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“What a fantastic race for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing today at Long Beach! The team’s strategy played out perfectly, and Antonio and Jan had mistake-free stints. Having Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin join them on the podium makes this a very rewarding day for the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R program. Rest assured, we will work to capitalize on this momentum in our continued push for the first championship in the new TUDOR series.”
DETROIT, (April 8, 2014) – Team Cadillac drivers Andy Pilgrim and Johnny O’Connell are ready to return to the streets of Long Beach for the Pirelli World Challenge Series Long Beach Grand Prix presented by KIA. Pilgrim comes into the weekend second in points, O’Connell is looking for some Long Beach redemption.
Coming off of a strong weekend at St. Petersburg two weeks ago, Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) is second in points in the Pirelli World Challenge Series GT point standings. Two time defending GT Class champion O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) is looking for a good finish and some Long Beach pay back. After a disappointing start to the season, the Georgian was leading last year’s Long Beach race in the final laps, but was thwarted by a piece of brake rotor from a competitors car that shot through the radiator and stopped him out on the circuit just five corners from the checkered flag. Teammate Pilgrim went on to finish second in the race.
“I enjoy street races and Long Beach is one of my favorites,” Pilgrim said. “I think this track really suits the Cadillac and it’s a blast to drive. Like any track where we have two classes running, patience is key to finishing strong. We really don’t set-up the CTS.V.R much different in Long Beach than St Pete and we were strong at St Pete, so I’m hoping we’re right on the pace again this weekend.”
“I think St. Pete was a set-up run for many of the new cars and drivers,” he continued. “We were ready and Team Cadillac had the CTS.V.Rs set-up. We know the FIA cars are stronger than us, Tomas Enge proved that, so it’s just a question of time until all the new drivers and engineers get their cars sorted.”
“Qualifying is much more important than last year considering the increased number of cars, so look for some serious action with guys putting down some wall scraping runs,” Pilgrim explained. “If you don’t use every inch of track than you’re leaving time out there; I know we’ve got more side mirrors on the truck!”
Long Beach owes O’Connell and needs a strong race to get back into the points chase after a disappointing tenth place finish at St. Pete.
“It’s been a couple years since I’ve won at Long Beach and after coming so close last year I really want to get another win this weekend,” O’Connell said. “I’m not certain that we’re going to be drastically different from St. Pete. Long Beach is a circuit that should suit our car reasonably well versus the GT3 cars. I see Andy, and myself, up at the front and I would expect that the Audis, as well as the McLarens, could be quite difficult.”
“Qualifying is always going to be important, but especially this year,” he continued. “Any positions gained in qualifying just makes your job that much easier in the race with the large GT field as well as being the first to get through the GTS traffic.”
The Pirelli World Challenge Series Grand of Long Beach presented by KIA will be a single race weekend and take the standing start on Sunday, April 13 at 4:30 p.m. PT. Qualifying will take place at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
Looking to turn potential of new GT race car into victory
DETROIT (April 8, 2014) – After the two longest races on the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship schedule, Corvette Racing moves to the shortest event on its calendar. The team’s two Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs travel to the West Coast for the Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase – part of this weekend’s Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Although the race lasts just 100 minutes, the event typically is one of the most challenging of the season. It’s a sprint through the streets of Long Beach – a 11-turn, 1.968-mile circuit that is playing host to a grand prix weekend for the 40th year.
Corvette Racing has been part of the last seven Long Beach weekends as part of the American Le Mans Series, and the results have been overwhelmingly solid. The team has four victories at the circuit to its credit including two years ago for the duo of Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin. A Corvette Racing driver also has set the fastest race lap in class each of the last seven years.
It’s no secret then that Corvette Racing drivers and crew look forward to returning. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen – twice a pole-winner at Long Beach – share the No. 3 Corvette C7.R with Gavin and Milner in the No. 4 Corvette.
Redemption is top of mind for America’s premier production-based sports car team. Both Corvette C7.Rs led significant portions of the TUDOR Championship’s first two rounds at Daytona and Sebring but the results don’t reflect the efforts of the drivers and team.
The No. 4 Corvette of Gavin, Milner and Robin Liddell was the dominant car in class at Sebring, having led a majority of the race before a fuel pressure issue took the car out of contention. Likewise, the No. 3 entry of Garcia, Magnussen and Ryan Briscoe (competing in this weekend’s IndyCar race in a Chevy-powered entry) led at Sebring despite an opening-lap collision and a punctured tire.
Such strong performances underscore the potential of the first-year Corvette C7.R platform. Based on the 2015 Corvette Z06 production car, the C7.R’s rigid frame – which gives the car improved cornering ability and stability – and throttle response from its direct-injection engine make it a contender against entries from the likes of BMW, Ferrari, Porsche and SRT.
Live television coverage of the Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase starts at 6 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
The TUDOR Championship is the result of a merger between the ALMS and GRAND-AM’s Rolex Sports Car Series. Corvette Racing will compete in 11 races around North America plus the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“I’ve always like racing at Long Beach, and I enjoy all street circuits. It is an unusual event because the race is short. I don’t know how it will play out this year with the new fueling and capacity regulations. This always has been a one-stop race for us and I believe it could be again. That is the key thing about this race – how the strategy plays and how you work around that. The number of yellows can play a role as well. You can be up front and use a normal strategy but find yourself in a bad situation depending on when the yellow falls. The number of factors and variables here are very, very high.”
(Long Beach methodology) “At Long Beach, you need to run at 100 percent but you have no room for error. The walls are very close and traffic will be a factor. That’s part of the game but I think that’s why I like street circuits. I enjoy that pressure.”
(Start to 2014) “It’s true that we haven’t had a trouble-free start to our season but everyone at Corvette Racing has been analyzing and working on it. I hope Long Beach is a turnaround for us and our season. The Corvette C7.R has shown at both races that it has speed and can run up front.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“Long Beach is a fantastic venue. There is always an incredible show going on during the weekend. The grip level on the track is very good. The Corvette has always been very strong; we’ve not always been super successful but we always have had a shot to win. I’m looking forward to a trouble-free weekend and hopefully we can get back on plan in terms of the championship.”
(Navigating Long Beach) “There is not a lot of runoff. There are some places that have a safety or escape road you can use. But most other places it is just concrete so you have to drive with a bit of a safety margin. But because of the length of the race, you also have to get things done. In certain situations you might be a little more aggressive than normal but you must also bear in mind that there is a bigger risk here than anywhere else.”
(Race expectations) “For us, it’s the first time with the C7.R at Long Beach. There may be a little bit of a learning curve but I think we have a really good handle on it. We should be in good shape right away. The car has been good. We’ve had bad luck at the first two races and we’re due for a good result. We have been up front in both races. Hopefully those things are part of the past and we can concentrate on getting some wins and podiums to get back on track for the championship.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“I do like Long Beach and the circuit. The new Corvette C7.R should be strong there, and I know the guys at Corvette Racing have been working on the setup for this weekend. Because we have so little track time, you have to make sure you come off the truck fast. In previous years, we’ve done that very well.”
(Keys to success) “A street circuit can make a little difference to a driver but at the same time you have to say to that you can only drive around in the car you’re given. Sometimes little tweaks and little things in just the right spots can make the difference in having a car on the front row and winning or losing the race. Pace is very, very important there because it’s a short race. You need to qualify well and on top of everything. That’s one of the things Corvette Racing has been good at for so long. We’re hoping for that again this year.”
(Strategy focus): “It’s most probably the one race where it’s all focused on your one pit stop if everything goes well. You have to get it right. You don’t get any second chances because there is no window for a second stop to make up any time or turn your strategy around. Once you do your stop, you’re done and you’re committed. As a driver, you’re mindful that the in-lap and the out-lap are vitally important. There are so many things you have to weigh. In terms of the work level that the driver actually does driving the car is quite short, but it’s very focus. You know that any slip-up is going to make a huge difference on the outcome of your race.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“This weekend is equally important as the first two races at Daytona and Sebring but it’s fun for different reasons. It is so short and goes through downtown Long Beach. It’s definitely a whole different mindset. We have such limited practice time. We go there with a new Chevrolet Corvette C7.R unsure of how the car will be on a tight track like Long Beach. I don’t think it will pose any problems for us. Obviously a new car shows us some new things with how it reacts to setup changes and stuff like that. So far, the new Corvette C7.R has been as good if not better in every area of performance compared to the C6.R. I don’t forsee it being an issue for us, but there are always new things to learn.”
(Corvette strengths) “In years past, it seems like what has helped us at Long Beach has been our braking performance. With the Corvette C7.R, one area where we have improved is putting power down. Those are two pretty crucial parts of having a fast car at Long Beach. So if the power-down is improved like it was at Daytona and Sebring then I think we’ll be pretty good shape for Long Beach.”
(A two-class race) “I’m definitely excited to see what the race will be like with just us and the prototypes. The other classes provide for great racing and the fans like to see that. But after some of the issues the series faced at the first couple of races with some long caution periods, hopefully with two professional categories and drivers racing together that we don’t have too many accidents and put on a good show for the fans.”
DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“After two long-distance races to open our season, we head to Long Beach for close-quarters racing on the streets of southern California. We have clearly shown that the pace of the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R is promising; unfortunately, the results so far do not do reflect our performance or efforts. There is no better place to break through than Long Beach. The Grand Prix is one of racing’s premier events and provides an incredible atmosphere for sports car racing with huge crowds throughout the weekend. We’re fully prepared to give all the Chevrolet and Corvette fans in southern California our fifth victory at Long Beach!”
DETROIT (April 7, 2014) – While preparing to hit its stride for the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Corvette Racing has picked up a significant honor from RACER. The renowned publication named Corvette Racing its 2013 Team of the Year in worldwide motorsport as part of its Spring edition. An editorial panel selected America’s leading production-based sports car team for the honor after it won the 2013 American Le Mans Series’ GT championship.
In capturing its 10th ALMS title, Corvette Racing won five times – half the races on the ALMS calendar. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C6.R took three victories and the GT drivers’ championship, while Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner won twice in the No. 4 Corvette.
The 2013 season was the final for the C6.R, which gave way to the new Corvette C7.R at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. In it’s run of four-plus years, the C6.R won 11 ALMS races including nine during the last two seasons despite being at the end of its development life.
“This recognition is appreciated by everyone on the Corvette Racing, Pratt Miller and Powertrain team,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “It underscores the strong teamwork, preparation and strategy Corvette Racing displayed during its 2013 championship run. The team is looking forward to the rest of this season competing with the Corvette C7.R.”
Corvette Racing’s next event is the Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase from the streets of Long Beach, Calif., on Saturday, April 12. Live television coverage will be available on FOX Sports 1 starting at 6 p.m. ET.
Third Consecutive Year the in Season-Opening Victory Lane for Chevrolet IndyCar
ST. PETERSBURG (March 30, 2014) – Will Power, No.12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, won today’s Verizon IndyCar Series Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – the series’ season-opening race. It is the third consecutive year that a driver powered by the Chevrolet IndyCar V6 engine has started the season on the Streets of St. Petersburg with a win.
“Congratulations to Will Power and the entire No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet team on their win in today’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet’s U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Helio Castroneves’ podium finish in the No. 3 Hitachi Chevy and Scott Dixon’s fourth place finish in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car resulted in three Chevrolet powered Indy cars in the top four finishing positions. It is a great start to the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season”.
Today’s victory marked the 22nd career for Power who led three times for 74 of the 110-lap race. It is his third consecutive Series’ victory (Race Two at Houston and season-ending race at Auto Club Speedway preceded today’s win), and the second time he has won the St. Petersburg race.
Joining Power on the podium was Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Hitachi Chevrolet. Last year’s runner-up in the title chase finished third.
Defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion, Scott Dixon, No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Chevrolet finished fourth. His teammates Tony Kanaan, No. 10 Target Chevrolet and Ryan Briscoe, No. 8 NTT Data Chevrolet gave Team Chevy five of the top-10 finishers with sixth and 10th place finishing positions respectively.
Ryan Hunter-Reay (Honda) was second to complete the podium.
Today’s victory was the third win for Chevrolet in a the three major U.S. motorsports series in which it competes. Action Express Motorsports with drivers Christian Fittipaldi, Joao Barbosa and Sebastien Bourdais put the No. 5 Corvette Daytona Prototype in Victory Lane for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the
Daytona 500 behind the wheel of the No. 88 National Guard Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS.
The next race for Chevrolet in the Verizon IndyCar Series will be the Grand Beach of Long Beach (Calif) on April 13, 2014.
An interview with Will Power and Helio Castroneves
THE MODERATOR: We’ll begin our post-race press conference and welcome our third-place finisher Helio Castroneves.
Helio, it was a good day for Penske Racing and for you to continue your quest to capture the championship.
HELIO CASTRONEVES: Correct. I’m extremely happy about it. Yesterday qualifying I heard Ryan saying great conditions for qualifying. I didn’t think so. Well, it was a great opportunity to show how fast our car was, and I knew that since we started here.
I was very confident that 10th place wasn’t our fair spot. But I knew I had to make the move right away in the beginning, and that’s what I did. It put us in a great position here to battle for the win
Q. How does having Verizon as title sponsor feel?
HELIO CASTRONEVES: Just adding to that, certainly Verizon being with us for four years, they saw the potential. They actually perfect for the IndyCar Series. We’re about technology and speed, and they’re about technology and speed. Like I said, I’ve been part of the Verizon team for four years. Now the entire IndyCar Series is part of their team.
We’re talking about exciting people. We’re not talking about people, Let’s just put our name there. I’m very, very happy that they’re onboard.
Q. Talk a little bit about a home-field advantage coming from South Florida.
HELIO CASTRONEVES: It’s funny you say that because I had to ask for a lot of credentials to have my friends come over here. I know you did, too. For us is very difficult. The first race of the season, in Florida, it’s great to be honest. I wish we actually had a doubleheader here.
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THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions for Helio.
Q. The two Penske cars went first and third. Is it an advantage New York Yankees?
HELIO CASTRONEVES: I hope so. Certainly we don’t want to give any inch this year. We don’t want to give any opportunity, whether it’s going to be myself, Will or Juan Pablo. I’ve been saying that in the pre-season interviews. We want to give the championship to Roger no matter what it takes.
Q. Have you had a chance to see the restart or talk to Will about it yet?
HELIO CASTRONEVES: I don’t have to see the restart. I know what happened. When I say wanker, he calls everybody a wanker.
Q. No microphone.
HELIO CASTRONEVES: He did play. You got to understand, Will and I know each other for a long time. He know my tricks. I didn’t quite know that trick from him, and he got me, which is good. I’m not saying that in a bad way. When you’re battling for the win… He knew where I was going, so he did something that I was not expecting and it caught me a surprise. That does not take away anything from the win he did today. Cindric and himself did a very good strategy with the tires, better tires in the end. They were able to pull away. For me, I use everything I got in the beginning because I started from behind and pushed as much as I could. Obviously it will be a very good problem to have if this is going to be the entire season like this, myself and Will battling. That’s what we want. Hopefully Long Beach will be the same, except a different end.
Q. So is that a move he should have made? You talk about it being a trick.
HELIO CASTRONEVES: Should have made? Now I know when I’m restart behind him, I know what I need to do. If he should have made or not, I was not expecting.
One thing for sure, brake check, I did that in the past when I was young. But he did what he had to do, but I was not expect. I always expect a little constant speed, and we did not have that. But the problem is — well, it’s not a problem, it’s competition. You just have to keep learning from your competitors. Today I learned my lesson.
Q. Maybe the back of the field did.
HELIO CASTRONEVES: Well, that’s the problem for me when you have that kind of scenarios. I’m glad I was in the front because that probably could have caught me as well if I would be in the back. I didn’t see the back, to be honest. I saw what happened in front of me. I just had to be careful to not knock him out of the race. But he was very fast in the end. Like I said, this little trick move didn’t take anything away. In fact, good job.
Q. You didn’t see Juan in the race. How would you sum up his first race weekend in years?
HELIO CASTRONEVES: I did speak with him on my way here. He had a blast. He learned about the red tires. He made some changes during the warm-up to the race quite dramatic. But it was good because he learned what to handle. When he was in front of us, I saw that he was running pretty good lap times. That shows he got the hang of it. Trust me, Long Beach, he knows the place, not sure if he won there, but I believe he did. It’s going to be a different picture of himself. Another bullet for Team Penske.
Q. The New York Yankees versus the Florida Marlins, Dario (Franchitti) earlier in the weekend said that Tim (Cindric’s) comments were classless. Would you like to speak to Cindric’s character in rebuttal?
HELIO CASTRONEVES: I know Tim for a long time. Obviously he has his own opinion. To be honest, so many things is said before from competitors. It’s just blowing out of proportion when somebody speaks a little bit louder. I don’t see all the fuss about it. Again, everybody is entitled for your own opinion. It’s too much power for me to comment, so I prefer to stay out of it. Certainly I think everybody is entitled for your own opinion.
Q. Can you talk a little bit about your tire strategy. You said Tim and Will had the tire strategy exactly right at the end. You made some spots up early. Did it work out in your favor?
HELIO CASTRONEVES: Yeah, starting fourth place and starting tenth place, I had to make up some spots. I put the new tires in the beginning so I could pass a lot of people. It worked pretty good. Roger (Penske) decided to put the black tires on the second stint. I asked for no but he said yes. I got to say, ‘Yes, no problem.’ I got to obey the order.
In the end of the day towards the end they saved him and I think Hunter-Reay, they saved the best for last. I pushed as hard as I could the entire race and my tires just gave up in the end about 15 laps. I had a huge moment in turn 10, and I said, Guys, that’s it, I’m not making any progress here. I thought it was a very good strategy. We saved fuel when we had to, we pushed when we had to. Coming from 10th, passing a lot of cars, I’m very proud of the boys.
THE MODERATOR: Helio, we’ll see you in Long Beach. We’ll continue with our race winner, Will Power. This is Will Power’s 22nd career Indy car win. He started the race fourth. He won this race in 2010. Will, you’ve won three consecutive races, finishing out last year with wins in Houston and Fontana. How great is it to start out the year with a win?
WILL POWER: Obviously the perfect way to start. Kind of struggled a little bit during the weekend with the setup. Definitely made a good race car. Obviously qualifying was very mixed up. I don’t think anyone had anything for Sato, he was so fast. For sure we worked hard over the winter. I did personally, as well, on my fitness. As a team I think we worked very well together to get the most out of our cars. It’s been a real team effort. Real happy to get the Verizon car in Victory Lane again.
THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions for Will.
Q. Seems to be one place where you really are the Yankees versus the Marlins. Why do you suppose the Penske cars are so dialed in at this track?
WILL POWER: Honestly, I think a lot of people have good, dialed-in cars. I wasn’t expecting to be that competitive in the race actually as the weekend was unfolding. Just good team strategy, good pit stops, mistake-free driving, and obviously a good car. It’s just hard work basically.
Q. Did you even know who the Marlins were before Thursday?
WILL POWER: I’ve only heard a little bit of that story, so I haven’t paid much attention to it, to be honest. Are the Marlins good? Do they win?
Q. Take me through the first segment when you eventually tracked down Sato to get the lead the first time.
WILL POWER: Cindric pitted me early. It was actually a very good call. I was able to pump out some good lap times. Sato came out on blacks, I think, just like I was. I felt our car was definitely stronger on blacks and was able to hunt him down and pull the move on him that I’ve had pulled on me two years in a row. I learned my lesson and finally pulled it off myself.
Q. I heard what you said on TV about the restart, where people got stacked up. Helio is convinced you were playing with the field there. Can you take us through that.
WILL POWER: Basically the pace car pulls off and you can set the pace you want. I wasn’t even in the zone. We weren’t even in the zone that you have, the 200 yards or whatever it is, to decide for the leader to go when he wants. They actually threw the green before I was even in the zone, so it was confusing to me. So the next restart I just went because I figured, They’re going to throw the green anyway. To me, the only problem people would have had would have been if they gassed back to get a big run. That’s the only problem they should have had. I didn’t touch the brakes, did not touch the brakes.
Q. You talked at the end of last season about how good it was for yourself personally to just stop thinking about points and to just race and have fun. Now that you’re starting a new season, are you still able to do that?
WILL POWER: Yeah, in a way. I just got to keep reminding myself, It doesn’t matter if you lose. You just got to keep reminding yourself that it’s a race, and you race hard to win a race. Sometime years I’ve started here and been so conservative. I just race now, race hard. I just want to race, race hard, and I want to win. That’s the only way to think of it, not think of points. I want to win a championship, but I like winning races. Hopefully the two come together and it happens.
Q. (No microphone.)
WILL POWER: Can you have fun not winning? Do I have fun? No. You know what, you come here to win. Good, hard racing is fun. You start at the back of the grid, you finish up third, that’s fun. There’s nothing worse than just struggling, though, not having the car or equipment to do well. That gives you a good hit, your self-confidence, you start to question yourself. I just remind myself that everyone is human, you’re capable of doing everything everyone else is if you work hard.
Q. What gear were you in?
WILL POWER: First gear.
Q. Helio said letting off the throttle there would be a brake effect.
WILL POWER: The thing to me was Helio was getting out of line. That’s when I lifted off the throttle. Why are you getting out of line? Are you going to go like you did last year and jump-start completely and get the lead that way? I wasn’t going to let that happen. I wasn’t even in the zone, so it did not matter. He got out here, he’s going to do his thing, jump the start, he was getting out of line, I was going to make it obvious by lifting a little. Then I just went.
Q. With an offseason as long as the INDYCAR offseason was this past year, it would probably be pretty easy to lose the momentum you finished the 2013 season with. Apparently you have the same momentum you ended the year with. How important is it to continue that momentum into 2014?
WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s amazing all the development and hard work you do in the off-season. I’m sure everyone else does too. It’s interesting to turn up to the first race and see where you stack up. During practice, it became obvious that the filed had once again even closed up more. You had 21 cars in less than in a second in practice. To me it’s like, ‘OK, no one is going to stick out here, it’s going to be competitive and tough racing.’
At the end of the day the hard work we did to get a good race car, good strategy, good pit stops, all the boxes were ticked that you need to win a race, and that’s just a good team effort basically.
Q. The TV commentators alluded to the fact that the whole off-season the talk has been about Juan coming to INDYCAR, can (Scott) Dixon repeat, everything except Will Power. Have you felt overlooked at all?
WILL POWER: I love it. I hate attention. I just loved last year, too. No one paid attention. I could just do my thing. Yup, I hope it continues. I don’t want people to talk about me. I like to be low-key. I don’t like to be in the limelight. I just like to do my job, enjoy it, race hard, and that’s it.
Q. You should try not winning.
WILL POWER: It happened last year. I didn’t have to do appearances. It was great. No one cared. It was awesome. If I could get wins and not be hassled both, I’d be stoked.
Q. How important was it for Verizon and yourself to win the first Verizon Series race in that car?
WILL POWER: It wasn’t something that I was thinking of, that I was going to think because it’s the Verizon Series. It’s pretty fitting. It’s great to win the first race of a Verizon-backed series. I think everyone is excited to have them onboard. I think the next five years, the series, we got to make good decisions and go in the right direction.
I think with Mark Miles, he’s employed some very good people. Mark Miles, I think he’s doing a very good job. He’s a very good leader. I think Derrick Walker on the technical side is the same. You have good people in the right positions. I can see it going in the right direction.
Q. There was a period of time where it could almost be taken for granted by others and you that Will Power was going to win frequently. After the drought from last year, did you have a rethink about the frequency with which you were winning and consider thinking differently about wins going forward?
WILL POWER: You definitely start to look pretty hard when you have a long period of not winning. You just can’t get complacent. You’ve got to keep working hard, especially in this series. There’s so many good teams, good drivers. It’s just a good thing. It’s a good kick in the ass to have some bad runs. Not actually lack of pace, but just to have some bad runs, be in the back of the field. You just reset, just realize that you can’t leave anything on the table. You just can’t. It’s funny. I was speaking to Mark Webber at some point, Did you lose a little bit of motivation in your 30s? He said, Yeah.
He said to me, You can’t kid yourself. You’ve got to work hard. It’s just the way it is. If you’re not, someone else is. That’s true. You got to get everything right in this business or you won’t win.
Q. You’ve long championed having more horsepower. Are we getting close to the numbers where the cars have that difficulty of driving?
WILL POWER: Yeah, it actually is getting to the Champ Car level now where you’re starting to shift a gear and it still spins. Definitely getting harder to drive. Got good horsepower. They’re definitely getting up there where they used to be.
Q. So how did Dale Jr. get your Vegas car?
WILL POWER: I think Tim Cindric gave it to him. I think he was looking for something to put in his whatever it is down there. I’ve seen a few people tweet that, my Vegas-crashed car sitting up in a tree. Sort of fitting for the way it came down. That’s about where it landed.
THE MODERATOR: Give us a little preview of what we can expect in Long Beach.
WILL POWER: Once again, it’s going to be very tight, great racing. It’s a great track for racing. Hopefully we can repeat. It’s another awesome place to go race.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (March 30, 2014) – Team Cadillac’s Andy Pilgrim started the Pirelli World Challenge Cadillac Grand Prix of St. Petersburg season-opener by driving his No. 8 Cadillac CTS.V.R to a second-place finish. Teammate Johnny O’Connell had contact going into Turn One forcing him to pit and was classified 10th.
Following the cancellation of yesterday’s race due to rain, the Pirelli World Challenge Series only race of the weekend took the standing start today at 11:25 a.m. The 49 car field had difficulty with the standing start, some learching and braking and the rest going. O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) got caught up in the difficult start and was hit several times going into Turn One forcing him to pit the No. 3 Cadillac CTS.V.R early and go down five laps to the field. Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) got a better start and went into Turn One in third position. By the time the field circulated once, he was in second. On lap two, he late braked the Ferrari of Anthony Lazzaro into Turn One and was leading the race. The Floridian managed to lead 26 laps, six under caution, until he was passed for the lead on lap 28 by the ultra-fast Lamborghini of Tomas Enge the eventual winner.
“We didn’t get a great start like we thought we would,” Pilgrim said. “The Cadillac CTS.V.R was great right off of the bat. Enge did not get a good start. He had to come from way back. The yellow really helped him and hurt us. Without the yellow I am not sure he could have caught me. There is a lot of pro drivers in the field with a lot of experience like Enge and Lazzaro. I don’t think they were quite used to their cars yet. I think we know now that the FIA GT3 cars are lighter, have a bigger tire and it is going to come in later. The Cadillac is heavier with a smaller tire so we will get grip faster and I was gone. Enge came back to us. He was running fast laps. A good first race. I am disappointed not to get the win, but happy to be on the podium. It was unexpected.”
O’Connell, the 2013 and 2012 Pirelli World Challenge driver champion, starts his 2014 quest for a hat-trick in the hole.
“Nothing on the start went to procedure,” O’Connell said. “It is a shame the Cadillac is a great car. The line in front of me started to move and then they stopped and I stopped and got freight trained by a bunch of cars. I then got to the first corner and was hit a couple of times. With the glare I couldn’t see the starting lights, so I had to rely on the guys around me. I had to spend several laps in the pits, which in a 50-minute race ends your day. Disappointing race for us.”
The St. Pete races will be televised on NBC Sports Network Sunday, April 6 at 5:30 p.m. (re-air Saturday, April 12 at 12:30 a.m.).
The Pirelli World Challenge Championship will travel to Long Beach for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach presented by Kia April 11 – April 13.
DETROIT, (March 25, 2014) – Team Cadillac’s Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim are looking for a fast start to the Pirelli World Challenge Series at the season-opening Cadillac Grand Prix of St. Petersburg running this weekend March 22-24.
The St. Petersburg circuit traverses through the streets of downtown surrounding the marina and takes up a runway at the Albert Whitted Airport. Measuring 1.8 miles and 14 turns, the temporary street circuit will have the Pirelli World Challenge GT and FIA GT3 specification cars doing battle for the first time.
New for the 2014 Pirelli World Championship is the advent of two GT classes. One for professional drivers, GT, and the other, GT-A, for amateur drivers. Another significant change is the insurgence of FIA GT3 specification cars into the series. FIA GT3 is an international race car specification that allows manufacturers to build their cars so they can run in multiple series around the world. At St. Pete, 21 of the 25 GT entries are FIA GT3 spec including two McLaren 12C GT3s, four Porsche GT3s, six Audi R8 Ultras, four Ferrari GT3s, a BMW Z4 and two Lamborghini Gallardo FL2s. The four World Challenge spec entries include the two Cadillac CTS.V.R’s, the Acura TLX-GT and the Nissan GTR.
Reigning World Challenge GT driver champion Johnny O’Connell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) is going to see a lot of new cars and a lot of new faces to race against this weekend as he embarks on his attempt to get the GT driver’s championship “hat-trick.”
“Normally at the start of the season you don’t think about points too much, but I think that with the competition we will face this year, every point available will be important,” O’Connell said. “The added horsepower should help with traffic a lot. A driver won’t be as likely to force a low percentage pass on corner entry and be more likely to wait until a straight to make a pass.
“All of the new cars are a threat this year,” he continued. “I’ve seen the Audi in its new configuration and it looks very, very fast. Of course the McLaren and Ferrari will be super quick and I would expect the Porsche on the street circuits to be very formidable. It’s a love/hate thing for me having them all there. Love in that it shows the value of the series and its growth, hate in that I know this will prove to be our most challenging year to date. To the new drivers it is great to know that the World Challenge series is now a destination. Anything other than that they will have to learn on their own.”
Pilgrim (Boca Raton, Fla.) is ready to get down to business at St. Pete.
“World Challenge is all about getting right down to business, we have about a 13-hour race season,” Pilgrim said. “You don’t need to win the first 50 minute race to be in contention, but you can sure hurt yourself if you don’t finish, so we need to push hard, think about points and go for the win if we get half a chance.”
“Patience will be key at St Pete,” he explained. “It is so easy to get impatient in the back side of the track and make a move somebody doesn’t expect. We will now have even greater mid corner speeds with the FIA GT3 cars and greater speed differences on the straights. It will take some getting used to for everyone. Any FIA GT3 car will be a threat. I’m looking forward to seeing who shows up ready to run, I know we’ll be ready.”
“Most of the GT drivers coming in have run in other series,” continued Pilgrim. “I think the difference in our races is the need to push hard every second. You don’t have hours to make up for mistakes and no pit stops either. It is funny to say, but every driver needs to all work together, especially on a street circuit with so much traffic. It’s going to be hard for some guys to race patient, but then again that’s not new. The fans don’t come to watch us run around behind the pace car. I think we owe it to them to race hard, but smart, so they get a great show. We had four of our last five races run all green, I think that’s something to be proud of and to build on.”
The Pirelli World Challenge Championship season opener will take the standing start at the Cadillac Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, March 28-30. The race will be televised on NBC Sports Network Sunday, April 6 at 5:30 p.m. (re-air Saturday, April 12 at 12:30 a.m.).
