SONOMA — The IndyCar races at the road course here have featured skilled drivers and dashing personalities, in some of the fastest cars in the world. So why have they been so uneventful?
It's because the raceway in Sonoma, while picturesque and unique, simply hasn't allowed for much passing. Track officials think they have found the antidote — a modified layout unveiled Tuesday in a gathering at the apex of the reinvented Turn 11.
"The races have not been that interesting the last couple of years," raceway president Steve Page said. "And ultimately as the promoter, we want to put on interesting races, and we think that if we don't, that will take its toll. Whether they voiced it or not, I think our fans come out and want to see good racing."
The changes focus on three turns.
Turn 7, at the north end of the raceway, is getting tighter. Its shape will be less buttonhook, more hairpin, giving drivers greater opportunity to accelerate out of the bend. Turn 9, a little farther along, maintains its shape but gains some width; it will be about 50 wide as it exits the chicane, giving drivers a chance to pass inside. And the approach to Turn 11 will be about 200 feet longer, meaning the cars will build up a lot more speed before they get there.
The three alterations have a single purpose: to create some legitimate passing zones and give the race fans their money's worth.
"I'm excited about this. I think these changes will really make the racing good," said Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe, on hand to lend perspective. " ... Off this corner here (Turn 11), and just carrying the speed up the front straight here, getting up to Turn 1, we're gonna be going a lot faster up there. In the past, with an Indy car, Turn 1 up the hill has been pretty simple. It may not be so simple anymore."
In the past, it has been all too easy to defend a lead here. Consider last year's event. Will Power started in the pole position, Helio Castroneves at No. 2, Ryan Briscoe at No. 3, Dario Franchitti at No. 4 and Scott Dixon at No. 5. They finished in precisely the same order. Power led 71 of 75 laps, giving way to Briscoe only when he pitted.
Briscoe, who broke in the new course with a couple laps in a mean-looking Chevy Camaro (white with a black racing stripe) on Tuesday, believes the 2012 grand prix will be much more hotly contested.
Raceway president Steve Page and other track representatives solicited opinions from drivers and IndyCar officials at last year's race, beginning a nearly year-long process of analysis and design that included meetings in Las Vegas and Indianapolis. They got input from retired drivers like Mario Andretti and Johnny Rutherford, and from current racers like Power and Briscoe.
Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske, was particularly helpful — a noble gesture considering the team's dominance of the podium at Sonoma recently.
No idea was considered too far out to consider. One suggestion had cars driving down the drag strip after Turn 7, all to way to the drag start, then back in the other direction to the drag finish line before bending around to what is now Turn 8.
"It would have taken about a half an hour to make a lap," Page said. "We all got excited about it until we went and sat down with the IndyCar folks in their trailer, and ... Mario Andretti and Johnny Rutherford just gave us this look."
After what Page described as four or five major revisions of Turn 11 since May, he and his crew had a layout they liked. But as recently as three weeks ago, it looked as though they wouldn't be able to get the project signed off in time for the 2012 race.
FIA, the international organization that oversees all auto racing, had approved the reconfiguration. But IndyCar officials worried that the plan for Turn 11 didn't allow enough run-off should a driver lose his brakes while traveling at high speed. Bill Van de Sandt, IndyCar's director of operations, flew to the Bay Area and spent half a day walking and marking the track, and he and Page were able to agree on a compromise.
The 12-turn road course will lengthen slightly from 2.303 miles to 2.31 miles. The raceway also announced that the race will grow from 75 laps to 85 laps, another move designed to emphasize racing skills. Fuel strategy was a big part of previous IndyCar races here, as teams considered getting by on two pit stops. Now, Briscoe said, everyone should be on a three-stop plan.
Drivers will get their first crack at the new twists and turns on Aug. 17, when the facility hosts a full-field test session.
You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber 521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com.
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