Formula One Goes Stateside for a Journey into the Unknown
17 September 2000
The three remaining races of the Formula One calendar take the teams inter-continental, having concluded the European season at Monza last weekend. Long-distance journeys to Japan and Malaysia await next month, but all attention has now turned to the inaugural visit to the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the United States of America. A sell-out crowd of 250,000 spectators is guaranteed to be thrilled by its first experiences of modern Grand Prix racing and without exception the teams will be looking forward to the unique appeal of this newly-designed circuit, although no-one can really be sure exactly what to expect! Takefumi Hosaka, Managing Director of Honda R&D, explains how Honda has prepared for this race. "Like all the teams, we have never been to the track, but we have prepared simulations to give us an idea of what to expect. The throttle will be fully open for quite a lot of the time, making this a demanding circuit in terms of engine power, so that should suit Honda very well. At the same time, the in-field section will require more than just straight-line speed. I think you will see over the weekend not only who has the best car, but also who has the best simulations! It will be very interesting." This will be the first event ever to run in a clockwise direction and the first turn of the Indy oval circuit will be used to form the final corner of the Formula One track, leading onto the long main straight. The banked curve will present a new challenge for the engineers and tyres will be run with significantly higher pressures than normal to account for the cornering loads. A tight in-field section has been specially constructed for the Grand Prix and will demand a balanced set-up that allows not only straight-line speed but also good handling in the slower parts of the circuit. For BAR Honda driver Jacques Villeneuve, the US Grand Prix represents the chance to return to the scene of his 1995 Indianapolis 500 success, although he is quick to point out that next weekend's race will be an entirely different prospect. "It's great to go to the States," says Villeneuve. "With Indy being one of the centres of open-wheel racing, it is good to go there. The only disappointment is that we are not going to be on the oval, so it is going to be strange to be there. It should be great, but I hope that the American fans understand that it is a different type of event on a road course than on an oval." Indianapolis (with thanks to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway) The Indianapolis event is by no means Grand Prix racing's maiden visit to the States; indeed the Indy 500 was counted as a round of the World Championship from 1950 to 1960. The USA has in fact hosted more Grand Prix races than any other country (54), at least one per year from 1950-91, with two races from 1959-60 and 1976-84 and even three races during the 1982 season. There is little doubt that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the most famous names in world motor racing. Built on farmland five miles northwest of Indiana's capital city in the spring of 1909, it was planned as a year-round testing facility for the fast-growing automobile industry in Indiana. Four turns, each banked at nine degrees and 12 minutes and measuring exactly 440 yards from entrance to exit, were linked together by a pair of long straights and, at the north and south ends of the property, by a pair of short straights to form a rectangular-shaped 2 1?2 mile track as dictated by the confines of the available land. Later in 1909, 3,200,000 paving bricks were imported by rail from the western part of the state in the autumn, laid on their sides in a bed of sand and fixed with mortar, thus inspiring the nickname "The Brickyard." On May 30 - Memorial Day - a gruelling 500-Mile race paying $14,250 to win took place, enjoying instant success and attracting universal recognition...and making history as the inaugural Indianapolis 500. Asphalt was first applied to the rougher portions of the track in 1936, and the remainder of the bricks were finally covered over in 1961. Most of the original paving bricks are still in place underneath the modern asphalt surface, with only the famous "yard of bricks" still exposed at the start/finish line as a nostalgic reminder of the past. Honda in the USA Honda has raced in the USA on 14 occasions, with a large degree of success. John Surtees finished on the podium in 1968 at Watkins Glen, shortly before the end of Honda's first era of F1 competition. Keke Rosberg claimed the first win of Honda's return to the F1 arena in Dallas in 1984 and the Finn repeated his achievement the following year in Detroit. A run of five consecutive Honda-powered victories in the States began with Senna's Lotus-Honda in Detroit (1987), the Brazilian winning again at the same venue a year later, this time for McLaren-Honda. The race switched to Phoenix in 1989, but Honda's success was constant, Alain Prost taking the chequered flag on this occasion. Senna returned to winning ways in 1990 and again in 1991, before the world of Formula One bade farewell to the American market.