2021 R15: Laguna Seca

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2021 R15: Laguna Seca

#1

Post by MonteCristo »

Or WeatherTech Raceway. Whatever.

It's the penultimate round of this year's crazy championship!

Here's the weekend schedule: https://www.indycar.com/Schedule/2021/I ... aguna-Seca

But we're racing this Sunday the 19th. Indy Lights is also in the house.

Here are the points as they stand for the leaders:
RK DRIVER POINTS WINS POLES TOP 5 TOP 10
1 Alex Palou 477 3 1 8 10
2 Pato O'Ward 452 2 2 8 10
3 Josef Newgarden 443 2 3 7 11
4 Scott Dixon 428 1 1 8 11
5 Marcus Ericsson 402 2 0 3 11
6 Colton Herta 348 1 2 5 6
With up to 54 points available per race, anyone in the top 5 can still win the title. You would think it's down to the top 3 realistically, but you can never count out Dixon.

Any takers on who will win the race and title?

Meanwhile: Mongols?

Yes, of course there are Mongols.

In fact, the Mongols originated from California.
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#2

Post by John »

Mongol country!

All Palou needs to do is shadow O'ward for two races but in Indycar that's easier said than done.
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#3

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

I always enjoy seeing open wheelers at Laguna....
As for the title I would like to see O'Ward get it, but reality is anyone but Dixon.

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#4

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Image


.....preferred the (more) yellow / blue JJ livery.

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#5

Post by MonteCristo »

Everso Biggyballies wrote: 2 years ago .....preferred the (more) yellow / blue JJ livery.
There have been some very neat liveries this year.

McLaughlin's PPG one is smooooth.

Pagenaud's Australian Gold was a stunner.

Pretty much all of Johnson's liveries have been nice.

Rossi's updated NAPA one with the red trim caught my eye.

The Sealmaster and PNC Bank liveries are also long term thumbs up from me.

All in all, I think it's a very nice grid.

On the flip side... A bit too much pink at times between Harvey and Rossi when he has his alternate livery (plus Helio thrown in occasionally), and Grosjean's car edges in there too. The single worst car is probably the third Rahal car, followed by Grosjean I think.
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#6

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Grosjean crashes Pace Car at Laguna Seca

Romain Grosjean has reportedly escaped injury after crashing a Honda Civic Type R while filming a promotional segment for IndyCar.

Reports out of the US indicate Grosjean was piloting the Pace Car at Laguna Seca when he crashed at pit entry due to a suspected brake issue.

Grosjean was driving the car with team-mate Ed Jones alongside him when the crash occurred. Reports indicate at least one airbag was deployed. The drivers were restrained by race harnesses. Both drivers were reportedly unhurt.

Images posted to social media showed a frontal impact to the car and a damaged windscreen on the passenger’s side.
https://www.speedcafe.com/2021/09/18/gr ... guna-seca/

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#7

Post by MonteCristo »

That's the Grosjean we know :P.

Friday practice times:
Rank Car Driver Name C/E/T Time Speed Diff Gap Best Lap Total Laps
1 2 Newgarden, Josef D/C/F 01:11.7125 112.349 --.---- --.---- 4 11
2 26 Herta, Colton D/H/F 01:11.7927 112.223 0.0802 0.0802 4 10
3 10 Palou, Alex D/H/F 01:11.9750 111.939 0.2625 0.1823 4 14
4 18 Jones, Ed D/H/F 01:12.0166 111.874 0.3041 0.0416 7 16
5 27 Rossi, Alexander D/H/F 01:12.0625 111.803 0.3500 0.0459 4 12
6 45 Askew, Oliver D/H/F 01:12.1516 111.665 0.4391 0.0891 14 18
7 29 Hinchcliffe, James D/H/F 01:12.1885 111.608 0.4760 0.0369 15 16
8 60 Harvey, Jack D/H/F 01:12.2289 111.545 0.5164 0.0404 4 13
9 51 Grosjean, Romain (R) D/H/F 01:12.3210 111.403 0.6085 0.0921 6 17
10 8 Ericsson, Marcus D/H/F 01:12.3564 111.349 0.6439 0.0354 9 12
11 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F 01:12.4415 111.218 0.7290 0.0851 5 11
12 3 McLaughlin, Scott (R) D/C/F 01:12.4462 111.211 0.7337 0.0047 17 17
13 06 Castroneves, Helio D/H/F 01:12.4757 111.166 0.7632 0.0295 5 15
14 5 O'Ward, Pato D/C/F 01:12.4982 111.131 0.7857 0.0225 4 11
15 12 Power, Will D/C/F 01:12.5701 111.021 0.8576 0.0719 5 18
16 7 Rosenqvist, Felix D/C/F 01:12.7014 110.820 0.9889 0.1313 6 13
17 15 Rahal, Graham D/H/F 01:12.8486 110.596 1.1361 0.1472 6 13
18 14 Bourdais, Sebastien D/C/F 01:12.9506 110.442 1.2381 0.1020 5 14
19 30 Sato, Takuma D/H/F 01:12.9923 110.379 1.2798 0.0417 5 15
20 22 Pagenaud, Simon D/C/F 01:13.0318 110.319 1.3193 0.0395 7 10
21 21 VeeKay, Rinus D/C/F 01:13.0717 110.259 1.3592 0.0399 8 15
22 28 Hunter-Reay, Ryan D/H/F 01:13.1024 110.213 1.3899 0.0307 3 13
23 20 Daly, Conor D/C/F 01:13.1403 110.155 1.4278 0.0379 11 15
24 48 Johnson, Jimmie (R) D/H/F 01:13.2609 109.974 1.5484 0.1206 7 18
25 59 Chilton, Max D/C/F 01:13.3980 109.769 1.6855 0.1371 8 16
26 4 Kellett, Dalton D/C/F 01:13.7256 109.281 2.0131 0.3276 6 17
27 77 Ilott, Callum (R) D/C/F 01:13.7398 109.260 2.0273 0.0142 5 20
Report: https://racer.com/2021/09/17/newgarden- ... guna-seca/

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#8

Post by MonteCristo »

Qualifying results:
Rank Car Driver Name C/E/T Time Speed Session
1 26 Herta, Colton D/H/F 01:10.7994 113.798 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
2 27 Rossi, Alexander D/H/F 01:10.9951 113.484 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
3 12 Power, Will D/C/F 01:11.1317 113.266 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
4 10 Palou, Alex D/H/F 01:11.3317 112.948 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
5 45 Askew, Oliver D/H/F 01:11.8937 112.065 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
6 5 O'Ward, Pato D/C/F 01:24.2715 95.605 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
7 8 Ericsson, Marcus D/H/F 01:11.2581 113.065 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
8 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F 01:11.2768 113.035 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
9 22 Pagenaud, Simon D/C/F 01:11.3067 112.988 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
10 59 Chilton, Max D/C/F 01:11.3088 112.985 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
11 29 Hinchcliffe, James D/H/F 01:11.4567 112.751 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
12 15 Rahal, Graham D/H/F 01:12.5932 110.986 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
13 51 Grosjean, Romain (R) D/H/F 01:11.5303 112.635 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
14 18 Jones, Ed D/H/F 01:11.4692 112.731 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
15 7 Rosenqvist, Felix D/C/F 01:11.5446 112.612 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
16 3 McLaughlin, Scott (R) D/C/F 01:11.5767 112.562 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
17 2 Newgarden, Josef D/C/F 01:11.5503 112.603 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
18 20 Daly, Conor D/C/F 01:11.5921 112.538 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
19 28 Hunter-Reay, Ryan D/H/F 01:11.6721 112.412 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
20 60 Harvey, Jack D/H/F 01:11.6689 112.417 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
21 14 Bourdais, Sebastien D/C/F 01:11.9776 111.935 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
22 06 Castroneves, Helio D/H/F 01:11.8071 112.201 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
23 30 Sato, Takuma D/H/F 01:12.1443 111.676 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
24 21 VeeKay, Rinus D/C/F 01:12.2843 111.460 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
25 48 Johnson, Jimmie (R) D/H/F 01:12.2865 111.456 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
26 77 Ilott, Callum (R) D/C/F 01:12.3558 111.350 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
27 4 Kellett, Dalton D/C/F 01:12.6055 110.967 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
Report: https://racer.com/2021/09/18/herta-rock ... seca-pole/
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#9

Post by John »

"Don't hit your teammate"
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#10

Post by John »

This is pretty damn hectic for Laguna Seca.
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#11

Post by MonteCristo »

Man Rossi is having a horrible year.

Felix has been very lackluster.

Power's reliability is shocking.

Grosjean and Johnson! Oof.
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#12

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

What a great drive from RoGro, and the ovation he got on the podium was nice reward.
The 35-year-old pushed through from 13th, pitting late in the piece before scything through the field on soft compound tyres.

In the end, Grosjean whittled a nearly 30-second deficit to race leader Herta to just 3.7s, hauling his way from seventh to third in just over 20 laps.

After the chequered flag flew, the 35-year-old received a rousing reception from fans, prompting an emotional response.

“It’s difficult to describe really,” said Grosjean.

“It’s just been incredible. As I say, I had a podium, when I got the ovation I almost cried, and I don’t cry very often. It’s been more than anything I could imagine.

“Without the fans, we wouldn’t be racing. Without the fans, there wouldn’t be any TV viewership. If there’s no viewership, there’s no sponsor. If there’s no sponsor, there’s no job.

“They are a very important part of what we do, but what they give me back is just incredible, so I wanted to share with them the podium.”
And he went on to give F1 a bit of a serve which is good to see,
“I was one of the 20 lucky guys in the world to make it to Formula 1,” he said.

“I had an incredible career. Yes, the last few years were a bit tough and frustrating. I knew I knew how to drive but I couldn’t show anything.

“Definitely coming somewhere where you can fight at the front, you have an engineer telling you, ‘You are the fastest car on track, you’re P1’, fighting for podiums, it’s definitely a revival.

“I understand a lot of kids want to make it to Formula 1. If it’s to be at the back of the grid every weekend, I think you’re better here.

“It’s the freedom of driving the car the way you like to drive it,” he added.

“You don’t need to look after charging mode, push mode, tyre temperature, tyre window, so on and so on and so on.

“You just go in the car, leave the pit lane, then you push every single lap. You play a bit with your bars. But as I said, you push, push, push, come in, pit, new tyres.


“The ability to enjoy every single lap that we do, enjoy the fact that you can be competitive in any team, makes it that with the atmosphere in the paddock, obviously with the support of the fans, been just the whole package that I’ve enjoyed a lot.”:
Im liking RoGro a lot in his new career. A big favourite.
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#13

Post by John »

I'm so happy for RoGro and it's great to see these former F1 driver enjoying the challenge. I would imagine K-Mag saying the same.

Good race again. Felix needs to do some soul searching in the off-season and try to figure that car out or he'd be better off finding another team. Askew has been impressive as well in his two races since returning. Makes me wonder if the #7 is a career killer.
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#14

Post by SBan83 »

Just saw the highlights only but bit puzzled by Johnson's heavy defense on Grosjean. He was a lap down according to the scoring chart, so why defend so aggressively?

I guess the answer is he's still so deep in the water just trying to keep an Indycar in control that he doesn't have any mental reserves left to be aware of lead lap cars closing up on him.
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#15

Post by MonteCristo »

Mr_Ferrari wrote: 2 years ago Just saw the highlights only but bit puzzled by Johnson's heavy defense on Grosjean. He was a lap down according to the scoring chart, so why defend so aggressively?

I guess the answer is he's still so deep in the water just trying to keep an Indycar in control that he doesn't have any mental reserves left to be aware of lead lap cars closing up on him.
Nah.

His team told him to do it over the radio, to defend Palou from Grosjean to maximise points.
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