IndyCar racers back standing starts

IndyCar drivers have welcomed the introduction of standing starts to some races this year, even if they admit that adapting to them is going to be a challenge.

The series will use standing starts for the first time in the opening races at the double-header events in Detroit, Toronto and Houston, with the traditional rolling starts being retained for other events.

Panther Racing’s JR Hildebrand said that it will mean another element of the racing is directly down to the drivers.

“I really like standing starts and it adds another piece to the puzzle that is in the driver’s hands,” he said.

“It has little to nothing to do with your car set-up and it’s just a lot about us, because we won’t have any kind of real launch control or any of that.

“I can see why the series is hesitant to implement it everywhere that we go, but I think that there are a lot of tracks that it will work well on.

“It’s definitely an exciting way to get the race going, because there is a certain kind of risk versus reward factor for getting it right versus screwing it up, so I am looking forward to doing them wherever they start.”

Dragon’s Sebastien Bourdais, who has extensive experience of standing starts from his time racing in Europe, which included a stint in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso, agreed the change will bring a new dimension to the series.

“It can always go wrong, you can always stall, you can always screw it up,” he said.

“At the end of the day, it’s another exciting thing for the fans. It’s another thing to try to get on top of, and it will be interesting.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/indycar-news/indycar/indycar-racers-back-standing-starts

Lucas di Grassi Cecil Green Keith Greene Masten Gregory Cliff Griffith