Carb day at the Brickyard.
The final day of practice for the Indianapolis 500. The Lotus Fan Force United team and Jean
Alesi need their #64 FP Journe Watches sponsored machine to spend as much time
on the track as possible. Alas, this was
not to be.
The green flag flew over the Speedway at 11am, and Jean
Alesi, driving with a freshly-mounted Lotus powerplant, steered on to the
circuit for an installation lap. One lap
is needed for a leak check before the team and driver get busy seeing what
exactly their new and upgraded Lotus engine can muster.
Checking over the rear of the car that has been effectively taken
apart and re-assembled since Sunday’s qualifying run, and with everything
seeming to be in order for the moment, the engine is fired and Jean is motioned
out of the pit at 11:07am. It’s time to
spend the next hour running race condition laps, practicing pit stops and
launches, and making crucial final preparations. Jean’s first lap at speed was in excess of
204mph. This does not equal the pace of
the guys at the front of end of the field, to say the least, but this does
generate intrigued and somewhat satisfied looks all around the Fan Force United
team pit. Jean posts a couple more laps
at a similar pace, running with traffic before returning to the pit to completely
fill the tank and make his first full-tank runs of the month. It’s possible that Jean’s expectations for
the new engine were a bit higher than it was able to deliver, as he expresses a
lack of contentment with the power that is available to him. Nevertheless, the team (and Jean’s fans
around the world) is confident that Jean will be able to get the best from his
car.
Returning to the pit, Jean slides to a stop and the team
performs a live pit stop. Curiously, the
brakes are smoking, which is not exactly expected. This draws a bit of attention, and many are
curious as to the source of this strange smoke.
Naturally, the brakes are hot on a hot day, but that doesn’t offer a
satisfactory explanation. Nevertheless,
the tires are changed, fuel is delivered, the jack is dropped, and at 11:19am Jean
again motors down the pit lane, eager to discover how his fully-fueled mount
will feel around the 2.5 mile creator of legends.
This will prove to be Jean’s final lap on the morning, as
Jean comes right back to the pit, brakes smoking again (something about a
solvent that was used to clean the brakes – a minor issue that has been
addressed). There seems to be a problem
at the rear of the car. As the team
inspects the back end of the racing machine, it is discovered that there is a
leaky seal at the front of the gearbox. Thankfully,
it is not an issue with the engine that limits Jean’s laps. As far as the plan for the day is concerned,
this is a disaster, as it cannot be easily addressed on the pit lane, nor there
is enough time to do so. In addition,
the team is forced to let the car sit and wait until the end of practice, as
they are unable to move the car to the garage for the duration of the
session. This proves to the very first mechanical
issue that has limited the team’s ability to run laps since the month
began. Oddly, it comes not after the 48
hours in which the car was assembled and placed on the racetrack, nor any day
thereafter. Rather, it comes after five
days of careful assembly. The racing
gods do indeed have a sense of humor.
The bright side is that the problem was discovered on Carb Day rather
than race day, which is always an encouraging silver lining.
Though his practice time was short, Jean’s day was just
getting started. After the aborted
attempt to practice, Jean turns his attention to the Indy Lights race, paying
special attention to the two Fan Force United cars of Armaan Ebrahim and
Emerson Newton-John. Afterwards, Jean makes
a trip to the suite of his sponsor, FP Journe Watches, which has a large
contingent of retail partners in town for race weekend. After an appearance there, Jean returns to
the garage, going over details with his team while interacting with guests,
signing autographs, and continuing to enjoy his maiden Indianapolis 500
experience. At 6:00pm, Jean makes an appearance
at the annual “Last Row Party,” accepting his extra prize money of 33 cents for
being the 33rd and final starter in the 500 field. He enjoys some good-natured ribbing and mild
roasting, taking it all in stride with a wink and a smile. From there he is off to the IndyCar Soiree,
for a brief appearance before being whisked off to a dinner with FP Journe and
his guests.
The day is long and full, but not nearly as productive as
had been hoped.
Don’t
forget, to
Join the Fan Force by liking us at www.facebook.com/fanforceunited
Join the Fan Force by liking us at www.facebook.com/fanforceunited
Visit
our website and sign the contract at www.fanforceunited.com
Follow us on twitter @LotusFanForce & @FanForceUnited
Reach us at lotusfanforceunited@gmail.com
Share this with your friends & family and stay tuned for more of our story.
Follow us on twitter @LotusFanForce & @FanForceUnited
Reach us at lotusfanforceunited@gmail.com
Share this with your friends & family and stay tuned for more of our story.
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