Chapter 9

The day finally arrived for the Lotus Fan Force United team and their driver, Jean Alesi, to qualify the #64 FP Journe DW12 for the 96^th running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

Before we get to qualifying, it’s time for one final practice.  There is going to be precious little time to waste, so the team is prepared to hit the track at 9:00am, when the green flag flies.  Of course, this makes for an early day and a long day, while also being both beautiful and productive.  With this session, we’re going to run in cooler temperatures and on a cooler track than we have since this car first hit the track for ROP last week.

Jean took to the track on a set of used tires, on a sunny and slightly breezy central Indiana morning.  We expected to see a gain from our brief session on a very warm Saturday afternoon (on a very warm race circuit), with laps somewhat close to that which we had posted on Friday afternoon.  However, the first run was a bit of a disappointment, as speeds came in around 207mph, 208mph, and 209mph.  However, we can also note that Jean was losing less RPM in the turns, while also not approaching the limits of available RPM.  More speed is available, and it should come down to a simple matter of gear selection.  It’s truly amazing how much this racetrack can change from day to day and from hour to hour.  A team can go out expecting to see one thing and be surprised with something entirely different. 

In between his first and second runs of the morning, with the second proving to be the final run of this final practice session before qualifying, the sun begins peaks over the Tower Terrace suites behind the pit lane, and begins to rapidly warm the air and the racetrack.  At 9:22am, Jean eases into gear again and begins the long drive down pit lane towards the track.  Speed expectations are dashed again, as Jean posts a lap approaching 209mph.  The team begins to wonder if it is encountering its first engine issues of the month, and they decide to return to the garage.  Examining both software and hardware, the engine techs from Lotus determine that there isn’t a problem with the powerplant, and as the Fan Force team has yet to experience a single mechanical issue in nearly 1000 miles of track time, they set to work to determine if there is another source of this seemingly strange turn in fortune.  In the garage, the team quickly discovers a simple issue with the clutch.  No worries. 

Noon arrives and it is time to qualify.  There is a tension in the air.  Even though the team is relatively certain that they are not in danger of being bumped from the field, and even though the team is filled with veterans that have “been there, done that” so very many times, there is nervousness.  It is probably a feeling that the team is feeling on behalf of their massively experienced rookie driver, as it is always said that the four most difficult laps that a driver will ever experience is qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. 

At 12:49pm, with an air temperature of 85 degrees, and a track temperature of 113 degrees, Jean Alesi commences his maiden qualifying attempt for the Greatest Spectacle In Racing.  The Lotus brand ambassador, with a worldwide following - a man that has driven for Tyrrell, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan, and Ferrari, now competes on behalf of Fan Force United (yes, an unlikely pairing).  Speaking of that very team, at the end of the day, when his position was set, Jean had this to say: “This team has worked so hard, and everybody knows the limitations that have been placed on them by our equipment.  We have made the most of our situation and I am quite happy with everything that they have done for me.  I can tell you that next Sunday night, when it is all over and it is time to leave, that I am going to be very sad, because these guys have become like family to me very quickly.  I have not always been able to experience that in my career, and it has been quite nice.”  It could almost go without saying that the team shares in this sentiment, and would offer a very hearty ditto to their celebrated pilot.

The qualifying run is uneventful.  Jean warms up, takes the green, posts four laps (with each lap faster than the one before it), and ends with a four lap speed average of 210.094mph.  He is the 31^st qualifier, but ultimately this will place him 33^rd of 33 on the starting grid.  Jean will be in the catbird seat, riding shotgun on the field.

Obviously this is Jean’s first qualifying attempt at Indy.  This is the Fan Force United team’s first qualifying attempt at Indy.  This is the first qualifying attempt at Indy for team sponsors FP Journe Watches, AMG (Automotive Management Group), and Breeden Legal.  As a bit of a fun fact, this is the 19^th driver to post a qualification attempt at Indy while carrying the logo of team sponsor Jonathan Byrd’s. 

Some may be wondering why the significant drop-off in speed between Friday afternoon practice and qualifying.  On Friday, Jean had pushed the car to a mid-213mph non-towed lap.  This led the team to believe that a lap in the 214’s (maybe even 215mph with enough trimming) was a possibility.  However, during Jean’s qualifying run, the highest lap speed mustered was more than 3mph off that high.  So what gives?  Did the higher temperatures, both air and track, have that much of an impact?  Naturally, the answer to that question is yes, but that would not account for the totality of the drop-off.

 

At the same time, while Jean’s qualifying speed dropped off, the morning practice and qualifying speed of his fellow Lotus-runner, Simona deSilvestro of the HVM Racing team, jumped up to its highest level.  Until today, Jean had regularly been faster than Simona.  Clearly, something had changed.  The explanation of the entire situation is quite simple, in that Simona’s team was delivered a fresh and updated (within parameters of the rules, prior to the mid-June major update window) Lotus engine, which Lotus believed made extra horsepower and would also make a noticeable difference on track.  This proved to be the case.  Part of the team’s goal in qualifying was to at least be “first in class,” and to be the faster of the two Lotus teams, as they had been all week.  With this now out of reach, the team decided to go ahead and exercise a bit of discretion and restraint, de-trimming the car a bit to something closer to the race set-up, and asking their driver to put in four solid laps without taking any unnecessary risks.  That is what he did.  Though this made for something of a disappointment in relation to qualifying and starting position, especially as this was the first goal the team would fail to reach in its short yet eventful journey, but the good and exciting news is that Lotus informed the team that they would have an engine of the same specifications as that of Simona delivered to them for the race.  A bit more power is always good news indeed, especially at Indianapolis.    

Speaking to his qualifying experience, Jean would say “It is a big relief for me to finally get into this race. I have wanted to do this race ever since I was young. I was always watching the 500, and as I progressed in my career, I would tell people that someday I would like to race in that race.  People would laugh at me.  When I decided to do the Indy 500, I talked with my father and my brother. I am close with my family, and we talk all the time, and together, we agreed that I could do it.  So, since that time of making the decision, I have watched many Indy races on TV and recordings of Indianapolis races. I knew who all drivers were, who the announcers were, and, I trained very hard for many months to prepare.  I put a lot of effort to get ready for this.  Of course, I am disappointed because I do not have the car I thought I would have, but it was all we could get, and we took it.  I keep it inside of me. It’s frustrating to not have the same speed as the others.  I am a professional, I have passion inside of me.  I want to do the maximum that I can, with the car that I have.”

Though he is not content with the speed that has accompanied his introduction to Indianapolis, Alesi is gaining respect – respect for the racetrack and respect from officials, fans, and competitors alike.  With every lap turned, Jean gains new fans, as in the face of long odds, the indomitable spirit and never quit attitude that so endeared him to the Formula 1 faithful, is also winning over the most seasoned of Indy 500 diehards.  The result has been to cast Alesi and his Lotus Fan Force United team as something of the month’s beloved underdogs, and as the topsy-turvy, feel-good story of the 96^th Indianapolis 500. 

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