James Winslow
This is sort of old news by now, but still worthy of mention. James Winslow, who competed in the Atlantic Championship last season, completed a test last week with Sam Schmidt Motorsports in an Indy Lights car while at Sebring International Raceway.
James is currently looking to secure a ride in the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights series. Nothing official has been announced at this time.
Last fall, I wrote this about his Atlantic season:
James Winslow didn’t have a break-out season but he was one of the few drivers who actually improved throughout the year. He also earned 3-hard charger awards; Sebring, Mid-Ohio, and Road Atlanta. While racing, he improved on his starting position in 75% of his race starts. His best finish this season was 7th, which occurred at Lime Rock Park, Trois-Riviéres, Road Atlanta, and Laguna Seca.
It would be nice to see James return to North America full-time in 2010. He was running on a very limited budget last season and he was unfamiliar with most of the tracks. If he is able to put together the necessary funding for an Indy Lights season, it will be fun to watch his progress in 2010.
With temperatures hovering just above the 40 degree Fahrenheit mark in Alabama this morning, Indy Lights’ drivers cautiously entered the track for their first official test of the 2010 season. According to the Tweets of several teams… no one wanted to be the first driver on track. Philip Major, who is driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports, was the first driver willing to test the limits of adhesion on the cool racing surface. Shortly thereafter he was joined by the balance of the field, which included 14 drivers.
Martin Plowman (Andretti Autosport) quickly jumped to the top of the timing and scoring page early in the session. It didn’t take long for Canadian James Hinchcliffe (Team Moore) to take away the top spot. Plowman remained close throughout the morning session but was unable to re-take the fast lap.
In the afternoon session, Andretti Autosport’s Charlie Kimball held the top spot for a lengthy period of time but was eventually bumped down the charts by Hinchcliffe.
Keep in mind that lap-times aren’t essential to a “good test” and every team had different objectives heading into today’s session. Regardless, I’ve compiled a few thoughts on today’s test (which tend to revolve around lap-times)… so, as usual, it is up to you how serious you want to take this.
What Was Good
- JK Vernay- Despite a lack of experience in a Firestone Indy Lights car, Jean-Karl quickly jumped up the timing charts (holding the third quickest lap for most of the morning). He was by far the quickest rookie during the test. During the morning session he was over a full second quicker than teammates Pippa Mann and Philip Major.
- James Hinchcliffe- Hinch was very fast in both the morning and afternoon session. He was the only driver to break into the 1:14’s throughout the day, setting a fast lap of 1:14.9604.
- Charlie Kimball- Kimball only ran 15-laps during the morning session due to an engine issue (see below). Despite running very few laps, by comparison to all the other competitors, Kimball managed to post the 3rd quickest time of the morning session trailing Hinch’s fast time by a mere 0.8946 seconds.
What Wasn’t So Good
- Cold Temps- Well, it didn’t snow, but the cold temperatures (especially during the morning session) caused some problems for a few teams and drivers. Not to mention the fact that the conditions greatly affected the amount of useful data teams were able to take away from today’s pre-season test. The afternoon temperatures were in the low-50’s.
- Rodrigo Barbosa- Barbosa has more experience than 57% of the drivers taking part in the Barber Motorsports Park test, but still trailed the field in both the morning and afternoon session.
- Kimball’s Engine Failure- During the morning session, Charlie Kimball was forced to only run 15-laps due to an engine failure. He quite possibly would have been much higher on the time sheets if he was able to run more laps. Regardless, Andretti Autosport did a great job getting him back on track quickly.
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Combined Results Sorted by Lap Time
- James Hinchcliffe 1:14.9604 (session 1)
- Martin Plowman 1:15.0832 (session 1)
- Charlie Kimball 1:15.1716 (session 2)
- Sebastian Saavedra 1:15.3818 (session 2)
- Jan Heylen 1:15.5407 (session 2)
- Stefan Wilson 1:15.5912 (session 2)
- JK Vernay 1:15.6040 (session 2)
- Gustavo Yacaman 1:16.0609 (session 2)
- Pippa Mann 1:16.7144 (session 2)
- Richard Kent 1.16.8621 (session 2)
- Philip Major 1:16.9294 (session 2)
- Adrian Campos Jr. 1:17.5841 (session 1)
- Carmen Jorda 1:18.9406 (session 2)
- Rodrigo Barbosa 1:19.8520 (session 2)
It was announced today that the 2010 Skip Barber National Champion will receive a Indy Lights test courtesy of Bryan Herta Autosport. The new partnership between Bryan Herta and Skip Barber Racing will also allow Skip Barber National competitors the chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at the operation of BHA and Indy Lights competition during race weekends.
This looks like a win-win partnership for both Bryan Herta and the Skip Barber Racing School. It’s nice to see another Indy Lights test being awarded to today’s up-and-coming open wheel drivers. Let’s hope these type of partnerships continue with other teams and series.
The entry list for the Indy Lights open test at Barber Motorsports Park was released today. No huge surprises here but there are some obvious candidates missing from the list. Hopefully, that issue will be resolved in the near future.
As a side note, Charlie Kimball is the lone American entered in the test.
- Richard Kent (Genoa)
- Carmen Jorda (Andersen Racing)
- Gustavo Yacaman (Cape Motorsports w/Wayne Taylor Racing)
- Pippa Mann (Sam Schmidt Motorsports)
- Philip Major (Sam Schmidt Motorsports)
- Jean-Karl Vernay (Sam Schmidt Motorsports)
- Jan Heylen (Team E)
- Rodrigo Barbosa (PDM)
- James Hinchcliffe (Team Moore)
- Adrian Campos Jr. (Team Moore)
- Charlie Kimball (AFS/Andretti Autosport)
- Martin Plowman (AFS/Andretti Autosport)
- Stefan Wilson (Bryan Herta Autosport)
- Sebastian Saavedra (Bryan Herta Autosport)
It was announced this morning that the 2010 Star Mazda champion will receive a Indy Lights test. The prize will also be put into place for last year’s champ Adam Christodoulou. Christodoulou will likely complete the test later this month.
Adam, 20, previously tested a Indy Lights car with Bryan Herta Autosport at Mid-Ohio. He was also scheduled to take part in the “champions test” —along with Alexander Rossi— courtesy of Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
More recently he spent a few days testing an Atlantic Championship car with Team Stargate Worlds. Stay tuned for an official update on his 2010 plans.
Time for another edition of “Who’s Testing With Who?”
Several FIL team owners are in the process of testing and evaluating drivers for the 2010 season. I’ve compiled another testing update below —which will sort of be a work-in-progress. Make sure to check back frequently for updates.
As always, if you have additional information and want some coverage make sure to send me an email.
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Early February Edition (Indy Lights)- Homestead-Miami Speedway
Andretti Autosport
- Charlie Kimball
- Martin Plowman
Sam Schmidt Motorsports
- Esteban Guerrieri
- Yelmer Buurman
- Jean-Karl Vernay
- Pippa Mann
- Philip Major
HVM/Team Stargate Worlds
Andersen Racing recently tested two kart racers in a USF2000 car at their test track (Andersen RacePark). Bryson Schutte (Junior Rotax) and Taylor Gates (Senior Rotax) each won their respective championships in the 2009 TRAK (Toronto Racing Association of Karters) series. Andersen Racing is a series sponsor for TRAK and subsequently offered a USF2000 test to the up-and-coming drivers.
According to the official press release, two other karters received a wild-card prize and will test with Andersen Racing next month. Dalton Kellet (Rotax Junior) and Andrew Waring (Rotax Junior) are the wild-card recipients.
It’s always great to see race teams offering top karters a formula car test and exposing them to the world of junior formula racing. Let’s hope this sort of prize continues for years to come.
The Star Mazda Championship just completed their first official test of the 2010 season over the weekend at Sebring International Raceway. The winter test is great because it gives us a chance to see where people stack up and what kind of field we can expect in the season to come. All things considered, I’d say Star Mazda had a real solid outing and it’s likely they will add quite a few cars/drivers to the mix for the season opener in March.
I’ve decided to bullet a few thoughts on the test. Feel free to add your own thoughts via the comment section.
What Was Good
- -Conor Daly- Daly topped 3 out of the 6 sessions and set the fastest overall lap of the weekend.
- -Connor McCombs- Okay, so this Connor wasn’t racing but Eric McCombs (Star Mazda Webmaster) and his wife welcomed their second son. Congratulations!
- -Anders Krohn- Anders Krohn started off the year right where most people expected him (at the front). He only finished outside the top-three in one session.
- -Tristan Vautier- Tristan Vautier really impressed me. This weekend marked his first time in a Star Mazda car… yet, he consistently ran at the front posting some solid lap times.
- Rusty Mitchell- Mitchell ran into a few issues over the weekend but overall he posted some very respectable times and spent most of the weekend near the front—- driving the family-owned #66 car.
What Wasn’t So Good
- The Minnesota Vikings… oh wait, that’s a different story. Turnovers aside, the officiating was pretty horrific as well.
- Weather -Reportedly there was a pretty big tail wind that was catching drivers yesterday and causing some issues. A few rain showers hit the track surface on-and-off as well. Although, a little rain testing isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
- Speed- Without naming anyone specific there were a few drivers who were considerably off the pace and personally, I expected quite a bit more from them. That said, it’s important to note that everyone comes up to speed at a different pace and the first race is still about two-months away.
- Atmosphere – By all reports, the overall feel of the test was a bit strange without the Atlantic Championship and the ALMS in attendance.
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Full Test Results
The Star Mazda Championship is holding their first official test of the 2010 season this weekend (January 22-24, 2010) at Sebring International Raceway. I will be away from the computer for most of the weekend but make sure to follow the live timing page for live updates.
Watch for a post from me on Monday that hits on some key points from the test. See you then…
Star Mazda Official Results Page
Related Reading: Star Mazda January Test: Roster Updates
AIM Autorsport just submitted their tentative lineup for this weekend’s test at Sebring International Raceway.
AIM Autosport Sebring Test Lineup
- Michael Furfari
- Walt Bowlin
- David Ostella
Michael Furfari has committed to driving for AIM in 2010. Walt Bowlin and David Ostella have not been officially confirmed. That said, it’s very likely that Ostella will return for his sophomore season with the team. In 2009, while driving for AIM, Ostella finished inside the top-ten on 6 occasions. His best finish was 3rd, which occurred at Iowa Speedway.
