Chapter 11

It’s Thursday, the day before Carb Day.  The Lotus Fan Force United team has been working flat-out since Monday morning to get the #64 FP Journe DW12 prepared for the final day of practice.  We’ve received and installed our new Lotus engine, hopeful that it will provide Jean with just a bit more grunt for race day. 

This little (not-so-little) team continues to write the headlines for the month of May at Indy.  From two days before the Rookie Orientation Program, when this particular effort was announced, to opening day, and right through qualifying, the Fan Force United team, Jean Alesi, the underdog Lotus engine, and the team with a substantial amount of heart and a growing number of fans and supporters has provided Indy with its story-lines.  It is has been our intention and sincere desire to capture the passion of the dream that is Indy, fully cognizant of the fact that it is an incredible privilege to be a part of this amazing and history-laden event.  The legends of auto racing have walked the hallowed grounds of this temple of speed and sport, and we wish to honor the legacy that has been left to us and which we have been charged to carry, as both participants and fans.    

It is more than worth noting that the Lotus Fan Force United team comes to the Indy 500 as the only true “one-off” for this year’s race.  Yes, there are entries that are “Indy-only,” but all of those single-event entries are being fielded in association with a full-time team.  Fan Force United, with tremendous support from Lotus, and with gracious assistance from Dallara and other manufacturers, have taken on the challenge of Indy on its own, doing so along with staffing and scaling up to run an additional car in the Firestone Indy Lights’ Freedom 100 in addition to its full-time Indy Lights program.  As the executives from Lotus have told us, as they have been closely following the team’s efforts, what the team has done is nearly miraculous.  What others said that they could not do in a month, we managed in far less time, achieving each goal that we have set for ourselves along the way.  Many thought this effort would be a recipe for disaster, but all have tipped their caps to the Fan Force United group, for what has been, regardless of speed, a flawless and well-executed leap to center-stage of the world of motorsport.    

Of course, there are more stories than Jean and the saga of the Lotus.  Tyce Carlson, one of the principals of Fan Force United, is yet another former Indy 500 driver making the leap to Indy 500 car owner.  This has been something of a trend of late, with a number of current IndyCar team owners having driven in the 500 in the past. 

Fan Force United comes to Indy with three rookies.  Not only is Jean Alesi an Indianapolis 500 rookie, but both of the team’s Firestone Indy Lights drivers (Armaan Ebrahim and Emerson Newton-John) are Indy rookies as well.  Along with the fact of their rookie status, this is the first oval race for each of the three, thus further multiplying the challenge that is being well-faced by what is proving to be a very deep team.  To make things even more difficult, Jean comes to Indy more than ten years removed from single-seater competition, which is also true for Emerson Newton-John, who is attempting to revive a career that was unfortunately sidetracked a decade ago.  Armaan is making the jump to Indy Lights from slightly lower single-seater formula in Europe and Asia, leaving home and family to try his hand on the “road to Indy.”  Tagging along with Emerson for his re-introduction to the racing world is his famous aunt, Olivia Newton-John, who will be giving the command to start engines for the Freedom 100, while also serving as the grand marshall for the annual 500 Festival parade that takes place on Saturday. 

As the team continued its preparations this morning, word came that Jean’s fellow countryman, F1 driver Jean Eric Vergne, is wearing Jean’s helmet design for this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, in order to honor Jean’s participation in the Indianapolis 500.  It is truly humbling for us to have so many eyes, from all around the world, cast towards our driver and this team, as “the Jean” tackles his newest and perhaps most difficult single challenge.  Working with a driver of his stature has been an incredible experience, and we sincerely hope to be able to do it again next year, as Jean has expressed interest in a return engagement at Indy, with a bit more horsepower available to his legendary right foot.  It seems as if Jean has found something of another home here, with this team and among its fans, and appears to want to be a part of its story on more than just this one occasion.  Interestingly, Jean has made a pointed statement in the last few days, expressing his admiration for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the race, and his team, saying “I have learned more in one week here than I did in my entire Formula One career.”  

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