Mark Taylor's first oval laps

B/Mark · 18 Dec 2002, 22:26 (Ref:452977)

Taylor turned his first IPS laps last week according to Motorsport News. Does anyone know how quick he was? Can a driver out of British be competetive round ovals with no experience of that kind of track?

tanalised · 19 Dec 2002, 06:29 (Ref:453194)

Is there anywhere that records testing times for IRL pre season testing? (website wise that is)

gofastturnleft · 19 Dec 2002, 14:16 (Ref:453479)

We reported that Mark ran in the 24 second range at Phoenix. Not much Pro Series testing has been done there but some IRL times we reported last week for comparison had Ganassi, Panther and Menard all in the 20 second bracket.

This is still faster than any NASCAR series that runs at Phoenix. A tick of the watch slower than the top Supermodified times form a few years back and a tick quicker than the USAC Sprint record.

The car looks great. Painted in the Panther livery with Fulmar in place of Pennzoil. Should have pics up today I hope.

Dan

www.tracksideonline.com

Sato san · 25 Dec 2002, 16:54 (Ref:457243)

i dont see why a non oval driver cant comee in a nd impress......i mean Tomas Sheckter was quick.

I hope Mark settles in well over there in the states.

O'Schumacher · 26 Dec 2002, 00:33 (Ref:457419)

Sato San

Yeah Scheckter was quick. But remember Montoya. He was incredible. Going wheel to wheel with Andretti at Michigan in 2000 is a sight that will always stay with me.

B/Mark · 27 Dec 2002, 12:31 (Ref:458126)

Just read that there has been more testing at Phoenix, using the uprated infiniti engine, and experienced IPS drivers. After two days testing they got down to 24s dead.
As they had a reputed extra 60bhp on tap that makes Taylors time of 24.4s look well on the pace. How much time should 60bhp take off. In british F3 it would be at least a second.

Russfeld · 1 Jan 2003, 02:52 (Ref:461357)

Well thats 60hp off a 240hp engine on a 90 second lap. This is 60hbp off a 450hp engine on a 20 second lap. Hard to say really.

I still think Taylor is making a mistake. IPS is way too dangerous ad really provides no development value. He'd be better served in Atlantic. He'd have chances to go to either CART or IRL. Doing IPS pretty much closes a lot of options

gofastturnleft · 1 Jan 2003, 07:00 (Ref:461400)

Russfeld, why would running with the IRL each week on most of the tracks the IRL runs on not provide developmental value? I would guess that he has designs on running the IRL in the future or he wouldn't be running in the Pro Series. He already has sufficient experience to be qualified to run in CART so he is broadening his options by learning ovals as well.

Dan

www.tracksideonline.com

Russfeld · 1 Jan 2003, 08:36 (Ref:461434)

Because ovals, for a road racer, arent that difficult. He'd be better served by Atlantics, even if its only got one oval. He'd learn more in the Atlantic race at Milwaukee than the entire IPS series. And standing out in the Atlantic series gives him more career options than IPS. Yeah he could have gone straight to CART after F3, as well he could have gone to the IRL straight.

Muppet · 1 Jan 2003, 18:15 (Ref:461611)

Darren Turner is also looking at IPS as a route into IRL.

IPS has only had a half season with no obvious top level career drivers (IMO) so I reckon it's a bit early to judge it's merits in the long term.

Good luck to both Mark & Darren for 2003.

gofastturnleft · 1 Jan 2003, 20:39 (Ref:461660)

Russfeld I still don't understand the logic. He has run the equivalent of Atlantics already in an arguably more competitive environment. Yet in order to expand his options/development he would be better served not to do something new but do something that he has already done just in a different location? And how could one race at Milwaukee be better oval training than twelve races from Phoenix to Michigan? Lacks logic if you ask me.

Dan

www.tracksideonline.com

B/Mark · 2 Jan 2003, 21:02 (Ref:462285)

Russfeld, sadly the infiniti engines probably only provided about 360bhp last year, so we are looking at about 420bhp this year. AS usual the hype about engines doesn't match reality

Russfeld · 3 Jan 2003, 14:49 (Ref:462786)

Dan because the one Atlantic oval race is more competitive than the entire IPS season. Besides, he could win the Atlantic title as a rookie and get a lot of people's attention. Granted it wouldnt give him a free ride anywhere, but he'd have something really solid on his CV. IPS will give him nothing that a good IRL test program wont.

Mark might as well step straight up to the IRL if he wants to run just ovals.

Sato san · 5 Jan 2003, 18:44 (Ref:464647)

why ? , surley IPS series will give Mark good oval racing milage ......which is something he's going to need if he wants to go forward and make name for himself at somewhere like Indy.

Russfeld · 6 Jan 2003, 23:40 (Ref:465842)

So why not just test in the IRL. IPS is too dangerous and really wont teach him anything. You guys really have no idea how amateur and silly that series is.

sgw2 · 7 Jan 2003, 00:07 (Ref:465860)

Russfeld,

In all probability - despite Chris Pooks heroic efforts - there wont be much of a CART to go to after this year, unless something radical happens. The sponsors, TV, manufacturers (Honda and Toyota) and big teams (Penske, Ganassi, et al) are at IRL now. That is where you go to get noticed. It also provides a road map to NASCAR, which is where a lot of these guys will wind up (unfortunately).

Atlantics may be a decent training league, although CART teams have simply ignored it when looking for drivers lately, but the problem is who cares if Dale Coyne or Keith Wiggins sees you. Who you really want to be seen by is Mo Nunn, Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi. IPS is benefitting from IRL's upgrade as TA is suffereing from CART's decline. IPS is also cheaper than TA by at least a third.

If Mark is quick he will be as sought after as Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Tomas Scheckter have been, even by F1 teams. Also Sam Hornish is on Roger Penske's short list for 2004. It was ovals that got Jacques Villeneuve his ticket to F1, as Williams were looking for fearless drivers at the highest speeds. Atlanics is Toyota's fourth or fifth concern in North America, while IPS is Nissan's top. I think your argument is thus flawed from multiple angles. If danger is the issue, then perhaps Mark Taylor should simply not consider racing at the top levels. Either that or you need to rethink your attitude.

Sato san · 8 Jan 2003, 22:53 (Ref:467980)

Quote:

Originally posted by Russfeld
So why not just test in the IRL.

Russ...im not a expert on Oval racing , but i do follow it alot ..so im just saying what makes sense to me ...surley there is more experience to be gained by racing in a oval series compared to just testing the next series up .

Andrew Kitson · 8 Jan 2003, 23:15 (Ref:468003)

Knowing Mark and his father as I do, they are delighted with the decision they have made. Mark had a bad year in his second year of F3, which promised so much. All of the Manor guys had a very up and down year not just Mark. So what were the options when they realised two thirds of the way through the season that it wasn't happening?
The decision to go to the US was a brave one but sensible I think. The cost of a ride is also very favourable in the IPS. Who knows what the future holds but a third year in F3 would have lead to oblivion had the season ended up like 2002. Good luck to him!

Sato san · 9 Jan 2003, 19:47 (Ref:468753)

i agree there Andrew......I believe Mark comes from my neck of the wood doesnt he ?.......Im sure we will all be following his progress in 2003...I was just wondering if were going to get any coverage of IPS in the UK this year ?.

gofastturnleft · 10 Jan 2003, 06:23 (Ref:469189)

Quote:

Originally posted by Russfeld
So why not just test in the IRL. IPS is too dangerous and really wont teach him anything. You guys really have no idea how amateur and silly that series is.

Please enlighten us. I'd love to hear a well thought out and presented opinion about a series that has raced all of seven times.

Bottom line here if I am reading this correctly is that you think ovals are silly, racing on ovals is sillier and racing in a training series one step below the top rung of Indycar oval racing is silliest? Methinks your "global" outlook is every bit as provincial as how most American oval track fans outlooks are portrayed.

Bottom line is that the IRL is now the big dog in the US in terms of Formula Car racing. If anyone is truly interested i making a name in US motorsports outside of NASCAR it is going to be done in the IRL. Mark Taylor probably made the wisest choice available to him in terms of exposure, value and expanding his future options.

Dan

www.tracksideonline.com

Russfeld · 10 Jan 2003, 06:39 (Ref:469195)

I am an American. Look at the injury list from those 7 races. Research the drivers CV's from the first 7 races. Look at the quality of the races themselves.

I dont disagree with your assesment of the IRL, but the IPS is not a professional racing series

gofastturnleft · 10 Jan 2003, 07:39 (Ref:469218)

Never said you weren't American. Perceived biases don't have to have cultural boundries.

The IPS has run seven races in half a season. How anyone can base their final, unequivocal opinion on such a small sample is beyond me.

Do I think it has flaws? Yep. Do I think the first handful of races showed a product that was probably not quite ready for public consumption? Certainly. Do I think it has no function, use or purpose based on those races, nearly half of which I attended live BTW? No.

An aside, while we likely have very different views of what a professional series is, we do have some common ground here. The Pro Series has some obstacles to overcome in order to be truly professional. My opinion is that a professional series is one where a driver can run as a profession. Feeder series generally are not professional racing series in my opinion. There are some exceptions of course if you consider NASCAR Busch and Truck Series, USAC, World of Outlaws, etc. feeder series. Until the day comes where feeder series become an option to drivers who race for a living they will always be missing a key element of being "professional".

Dan

www.tracksideonline.com

Sato san · 10 Jan 2003, 19:48 (Ref:470537)

It was said about the IRL that it had many hurdles to over come as well back in 96/97 but look at some of the drivers that it has racing in it now !......Im sorry Russfeld , but although Mark Taylor has taken a gamble with the IPS , i think it could turn out to be a smart move .

OVERSTEER · 10 Jan 2003, 22:24 (Ref:470724)

I agree that the IPS and IRL cars are way too dangerous, especially against a rearward impact, but loads of drivers have injured themselves (sometimes seriously) in these cars when they possibly shouldn't have.

gofastturnleft · 10 Jan 2003, 23:49 (Ref:470787)

All racing is inherently dangerous and any injury or worse is terrible to see.

I'll pass on a safety tit for tat though. Never productive, rarely factual and often times grossly spiteful.

Dan

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