2019 NTT IndyCar SeriesOpen Wheel 

SVT Cobra GT
Do we have to have so many commercial breaks in the races?

Watching for the first time on sky sports, enjoying the race from what I've been able to see in between the 2000 commercial breaks, broadcast blackout and them cutting away to statler and Waldorf by turn 1
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IndyCar UK on Twitter is probably the best guy to have a look at on Twitter. He seems to usually have insiders.
Pre-Race


During Race
 
I decided to try the NBC Gold pass and I have mixed feelings.

The Good:
- Vastly improved production value for practice and qualifying.
- The race was uploaded less than an hour after the live broadcast ended.

The Bad:
- The stream window doesn't resize to fit the browser window.
- The commercial breaks are still there, only with a splash screen instead of the actual ads. Hopefully this is something that changes for CoTA.

jamman39
Idk if it's an option for overseas viewers but NBC sells an indycar pass for $80 that includes commercial free races and quali.

The price is too steep for me, personally
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It's only $55.
 
Northstar
- The commercial breaks are still there, only with a splash screen instead of the actual ads. Hopefully this is something that changes for CoTA.
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Alright, I figured I should provide an update on this part as they've uploaded a different version to Gold. Now they continue showing the race during breaks when the race is green, just sans-commentary and overlay and caution periods are edited out (which is kind of annoying if pit stops are happening). Hopefully starting at CoTa this will be the version that gets uploaded immediately after the race only with cautions intact.
 
Leadfoot530
I admit it is interesting seeing what kind of difference the lap times are, but at the end of the day, F1 has enough aero to warrent a pilot's license ompaired to Indy. Not to mention, the tech in an Indycar is on the downlow compaired to today's modern F1 machinery. One's obviously going to be quicker.

Wasn't the layout slightly changed for Indycar as well, either toward the beginning or the end of the lap? If it was, I'm not even sure if it was used during last week's testing.
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Except no F1 driver gets to circuit IMS at 230 plus. Many, my favorite, Lewis Hamilton won't ever attempt IMS.
 
Earlier this week, I saw a GRID Autosport video on YouTube with DW12-type Indy cars around Circuit of the Americas. This was to get an idea as to what it would be like when the real IndyCar Series race the real COTA (albeit with the newer DW18 models, of course). I am a great bit intrigued to see this upcoming round of the 2019 championship.


Good luck to all drivers and teams this weekend.
 
Will Power secured pole at Circuit of the Americas with a time of 1:46.1777 at 115.792 mph. So that's how fast Indy cars go around COTA. For reference, last year's pole time for F1 at COTA was 1:32.237 by Lewis Hamilton. I hear that as the pole winner, if Will Power wins the race tomorrow from Pole, he'll get a $100K USD bonus. Wouldn't be a bad pay day if he pulls it off tomorrow, eh?

Looking forward to the race tomorrow! By the way, I got the time and speed from the official IndyCar Series website looking up timing and scoring.


[OMISSION] Here is another lap reference. In the 2018 MotoGP race at Circuit of the Americas, the pole position time was 2:04.064 by Maverick Viñales. So IndyCar is pretty nicely in the middle between the fastest F1 time and the fastest MotoGP time.
 
Tough luck for Power. Faulty fuel sensor means he can’t get going after pit stop. Lead every lap up until that point.

Edit: Power saying it was a drive shaft after getting out of car.
 
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"Marco Andretti must have looked in his rearview mirror and said.. 'Uh oh'"

Sato's reputation precedes him!






And O'Ward's livery looks like someone was trying to make a 90's Castrol replica in Forza but decided the actual logo was too hard.
 
On the penultimate lap:

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He was doing it last week too before his engine blew up on his final pit stop.
 
Brilliant drive from Colton Herta... Crazy to think that he's just over 2 weeks older than me and he's an indycar race winner. Like the commentators said, if Rossi goes to that 22 car, you can bet that Herta will slot right into that 27.
 
Really enjoyed that race, Herta did a great job after the safety car period. Sky's coverage was better this time. No interruptions and they just cut the commentary but carried on broadcasting the race whilst NBC had their commercial breaks. 👍
 
Hey... I'm proud of Colton Herta. I surely remember the days of Bryan Herta, but Colton did REAL good. I only saw the last nine laps of the race. Still, I'm proud for Colton Herta.
 
JohnBM01
Hey... I'm proud of Colton Herta. I surely remember the days of Bryan Herta, but Colton did REAL good. I only saw the last nine laps of the race. Still, I'm proud for Colton Herta.
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Yeah, a couple big wins this year for Colton. I wonder (and the answer may be out there) which he thinks is the bigger win, yesterday, or the Daytona 24.
 
Indycar 13 seconds slower then F1 is absolutely embarrassing. They're barely faster then F3.5 cars

In 2006 Champcars were only 5-6 seconds slower, which is reasonable.

The series is on the upswing though. Theres lots of fast American drivers and the fields are big again.

The cars need 150 more horsepower and more downforce. That and a second chassis supplier and a third engine supplier and Indycar would be essentially 90s level again
 
Earth
Indycar 13 seconds slower then F1 is absolutely embarrassing. They're barely faster then F3.5 cars

In 2006 Champcars were only 5-6 seconds slower, which is reasonable.

The series is on the upswing though. Theres lots of fast American drivers and the fields are big again.

The cars need 150 more horsepower and more downforce. That and a second chassis supplier and a third engine supplier and Indycar would be essentially 90s level again
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It’s not embarrassing at all, considering the cars aren’t run on anywhere near the budget of a Formula 1 car and aren’t as technologically advanced. F1 may be a lot of faster, but the level of high quality racing in Indycar shows that lap times aren’t everything.

The downforce levels are fine as they are now. It’s great how much simple they are to an F1 car as we don’t ever have to talk about the bucket loads of dirty air ever being an issue.

Really though, it’s pointless comparing F1 and Indycar. Apart from being open wheel, the similarities end just about there.
 
One of the big talking points of Australia involved a gutter. IndyCar has nothing to be embarrassed about when it comes to the product they are putting out. :lol:
 
Earth
Indycar 13 seconds slower then F1 is absolutely embarrassing. They're barely faster then F3.5 cars

In 2006 Champcars were only 5-6 seconds slower, which is reasonable.
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And F1 cars have got much much quicker last few years...


Earth
The cars need 150 more horsepower and more downforce.
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Nope. See the failed aerokit experiment as proof.
 
Earth
Indycar 13 seconds slower then F1 is absolutely embarrassing. They're barely faster then F3.5 cars.

In 2006 Champcars were only 5-6 seconds slower, which is reasonable.
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Back in the day, Can-Am cars were quicker than F1 on several of the circuits on which both ran. Cubic inches beat cubic money & technology. Oh what irreproducible joy!

Earth
The series is on the upswing though. Theres lots of fast American drivers and the fields are big again.
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Yes indeed! it seems the fan base and TV viewership is solid and improving. F1 refugees, lightning quick rookies and crafty ancien pliotes make a great stew.

Earth
The cars need 150 more horsepower and more downforce. That and a second chassis supplier and a third engine supplier and Indycar would be essentially 90s level again
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As much or more than these things, the series needs more sponsorship and more fans.

The current engines are tweaked to the max. They are not realistically capable of more power with any reliability. For more power (I agree, always a good thing) a new engine formula is needed. I'm extremely satisfied with the 2019 road course chassis. But lets see how they do at the ovals.
A totally new chassis is in the works, but I don't know when. A lot depends upon cubic money, as always.
 
New engine formula coming in 2021 allows for up to 200 more horsepower at the road courses when push to pass is included, so about 900 horsepower, and the new chassis won't be out until after that. That said, using F1 as a benchmark for anything is a mistake. Apples and oranges. IndyCar has always been about better racing, and is delivering. F1 recently, while better than the really bad years just a fortnight ago, is still inferior when it comes to the entertainment part of it all. Let IndyCar be IndyCar, not CART, or Champ Car (note how neither exist any more, wonder why?).
 

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