IndyCar drivers test out their goods at Sonoma Raceway
1. Tristan Vautier Honda 78.56s
2. Sebastien Bourdais Chevy 78.63
3. Simon Pagenaud Honda 78.90
4. Tony Kanaan Chevy 79.0
5. Oriol Servia Chevy 79.2
6. Sebastian Saavedra Chevy 79.5
7. Simona de Silvestro Chevy 79.8
8. JR Hildebrand Chevy 79.9
9. Ed Carpenter Chevy 80.1
02/28/13 Ten driver-car combinations from six IZOD IndyCar Series teams completed a test Feb. 27 at Sonoma Raceway in advance of the first IZOD IndyCar Series Open Test on March 12-13 at Barber Motorsports Park. The season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is March 24.
Spectators were welcome to watch the morning and afternoon sessions and participate in a Q&A with drivers during the break.
"This is a great time of year to be out on track," said JR Hildebrand, driver of the No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing car and a resident of nearby Sausalito, Calif. "Run to run, morning to afternoon, things are much more consistent. Once you get into summer, that element changes. It's a very temperature-sensitive track. As far as the actual track conditions go, they are always a little bit different."
It was the initial on-track activity of the year for Hildebrand and Ed Carpenter Racing owner/driver Ed Carpenter.
Other participants included KV Racing Technology's Tony Kanaan and Simona de Silvestro, Panther Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's Oriol Servia, Dragon Racing's Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Saavedra, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' Tristan Vautier, Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports' Simon Pagenaud, and Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport.
The 23-year-old Vautier continued to impress after successful tests at Sebring earlier this month. He found Sonoma's 2.3-mile, 12-turn road course to his liking.
"It was a good test, but it was different from Sebring," Vautier said. "We got a good lap at the end of the day, but I need to work on my consistency over the course of a stint. It was a positive experience, but I have a lot to learn."
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| Kanaan in deSilvestro's car |
02/28/13 Bay Area IndyCar fans brought their earplugs and cameras to the Sonoma Raceway on Wednesday, February 27th for a free sneak peak at a test session with some top drivers.
Race fans were invited to view the testing, which included cars on the track, an open paddock, and to attend a driver press conference.
Several teams from the Izod IndyCar Series took part in the one-day test session at the raceway to get ready for this summer and the upcoming GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, Aug. 23-25. Some well-known drivers who participated included Sausalito native JR Hildebrand and Tony Kanaan of KV Racing Technology.