Final practice, air demonstrations and music acts round out schedule Friday, May 24 at IMS. Read More>
Two departure times provide more flexibility for fans who want to commute to the track on their bike on Race Day. Read More>
This partnership represents the first time a major athlete's sponsorship has been decided by a vote using blockchain technology. Read More>
View images from the shortened first day of the Indianapolis 500 Open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. View Photos>
View images from the once-in-a-lifetime Total Solar Eclipse event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. View Photos>
Josef Newgarden unveils the 2024 Indianapolis 500 Ticket View Photos>
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway prides itself on its fire rescue and medical response teams that arrive to the scene of an accident within seconds. But how do they get that good? On Behind the Bricks, IMS President Doug Boles takes you through the annual Motorsports Safety Training at IMS, which features specific training scenarios for INDYCAR, NASCAR, IMSA and more to make sure every driver at IMS is safe. Watch Video>
On this episode of Doug and Drivers, 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson sits down with Doug Boles to talk about the pain of coming so close to scoring back-to-back wins, how he wanted to compete on ovals after his Formula 1 career and the transition to Andretti Global. Watch Video>
Why does Scott McLaughlin move his hands around so much in the car? What "button" is he pushing? What's the pressure of the iconic Yellow Submarine like? We cover that and so much more with Scott McLaughlin on the latest Doug and Drivers. Watch Video>
July 22, 2014 | By IMS
Indirectly, competing on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis in May will assist Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s BMW Z4 GTE cars this weekend in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race. “You get a good feel for what you need there and that can be transferred to BMWs, but how we get there is different,” said team co-owner Bobby Rahal, comparing the Verizon IndyCar Series program to the two-car sports car team. “The IndyCars perform at a much higher level in terms of speed, but there are correlations. We have simulation programs for gearing the BMWs, and those circuits to compare between the two programs – like Long Beach -- you can extrapolate and say we should be this gear.” Also potentially aiding the BMWs on the long frontstretch of the famous oval and the Hulman Boulevard backstraight in the 2-hour, 45-minute race July 25 will be the shedding of 33 pounds under an IMSA directive announced last week. The GT LeMans class has been dominated recently by the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, which under the Adjustment of Performance settings will gain 55 pounds. “The Corvette has been the dominant car and it will be interesting to see if the performance changes will have an effect,” Rahal said. “You just know looking at the circuit that it’s going to be a low-downforce set-up. The front straightaway is very long and crucial to your performance, which for us is a bit of a negative. We lack straightline speed compared to the Vipers and Corvettes. There are also fast corners where you need a good-handling car, which is one of our strengths.” In the most recent race at Cana¬dian Tire Motor¬sport Park, in Bowmanville, Ontario, the No. 56 BMW Z4 car co-driven by John Edwards and Dirk Müller finished fourth and the No. 55 car co-driven by Bill Auberlen and Andy Priaulx placed sixth. “Not one of the drivers (in the GTLM class) has any experience on this Indy course so they’ll all be starting from scratch,” Rahal noted, “though if you’re a good driver you get to know it in six laps or so. Both of our cars compete equally and I expect that they’ll both be right there at the end.” Rahal praised the efforts over the past year to reconfigure the 2.435-mile infield course, which incorporates sections of the 2.5-mile oval. “They did such a fine job with the circuit,” the 1986 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race winner said. “Everybody had great comments about the track during the IndyCar weekend and they modified it and made it a great circuit. I’m looking forward to a great race.”