Pit Notes
Issue No.3 // Feb. 3, 2010
Track construction Scheduled to Begin Thursday, Feb. 11
The first phase of construction of the 1.8-mile, 14-turn Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg track is scheduled to begin next week on Thursday, Feb. 11. The installation of concrete block and fence will begin on Bayshore Drive at Demens Landing and will move south along Bayshore. Temporary street closure barricades and/or signage will be placed at the intersections of 1st Avenue South and Bayshore Drive and at 5th Avenue South and Bayshore Drive. When the track construction is complete, the track will incorporate 20 million pounds of concrete and 44,000 fee of fencing.
Andretti Autosport Completes Sebring Test
Andretti Autosport, the largest team in the IZOD IndyCar Series, tested its new four car line-up last week in Sebring. The Sebring track is one of the more popular testing sites for cars running in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and last week saw action from Andretti Autosport drivers Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay. The team would probably love nothing more than to replicate their 2005 finish in St. Petersburg, where they made history becoming the first and only team in IndyCar Series history to finish first through fourth in a sanctioned event.
Star Mazda Championship Starts Down The 'Road to Indy'
Twenty-three cars and drivers from seven countries started down the 'Road to Indy' when they participated in the Star Mazda Championship 'Spring Training' test at Sebring International Raceway Jan. 22-24. The fastest time of the test was turned by Conor Daly, son of F1 and Indy Car racing legend Derek Daly. Driving the #22 Juncos Racing Mazda, Daly, who won from the pole at New Jersey Motorsports Park and scored six podium finishes to clinch third in the 2009 Star Mazda Championship during his rookie year, turned a lap of 2:00.588 (110.459 mph). The Star Mazda Championship lap record at Sebring is still held by Dane Cameron, the 2007 series champion, at 1:59.986. The Star Mazda Championship (www.starmazda.com) is one of three 'Road to Indy' series, including USF2000 and Firestone Indy Lights, that will be racing at the 2010 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
