Round Four of the IndyCar Series in Japan
source: Max d'Orsonnens
Patrick Carpentier has returned this week to Japan, after a three-year
absence, to compete this Saturday for the Indy Japan 300. The overseas race is
Round 4 of the 2005 IRL IndyCar schedule. It will be Carpentier's fifth visit to
the Twin Ring Motegi egg-shape oval track. The Canadian native last raced on the
2.414 km (1.5-mile) track in 2002, recording his best-ever finish in Japan.
In each of his three other races in Japan, Carpentier's car suffered multiple
mechanical failures. In his first visit in 1998, he retired after 163 laps with
a broken wheel bearing. The following year, it was a fuel pressure problem that
ended his day after only 10 laps. He missed the 2000 race, because of a broken
wrist. Memo Gidley pitched-in for Carpentier that year. Carpentier was running
eighth in 2001 when he retired on lap 54 with a broken oil line. Fortunately for
the Joliette native, his last race in Japan in 2002 ended on a better note with
a fourth place finish, even though he was twice penalized by CART officials with
drive through penalties, losing a lap each time.
The Red Bull Cheever Racing driver feels confident that his reversal of fortunes
in Japan the last time will continued this weekend. ''I always liked track, even
more so now that they have installed the SAFER Barrier,'' Carpentier said before
leaving for Japan. ''The track is a little bit tricky because you can't run full
throttle all the way around. We have to brake coming into the tight corner
three, and according to the engineers and their data, we may even have to
downshift one or two gears. This situation should keep us more competitive on
this oval. I'm not sure were we will stand in practice and qualifying, but I
feel confident for the race.''
In the past few weeks, Red Bull Cheever Racing has upgraded its damper systems
on the cars with the addition of the latest Ohlins and Penske's shocks. The team
also spent some time on a shaker rig, a vehicle dynamics rig that simulates
track conditions, to evaluate springing and damping simulations in order to
improve the car performance.
''The team needed to improve the balance on the car if it wants to win some
races,'' Carpentier continued. ''Mecachrome came through with the appropriate
budget to upgrade them. We have been talking for some times on how this would
improve the car's handling and performance. It's piece of the puzzle that is now
in place. This will not make us instant winners because most of the
front-runners have been using the latest dampers since the start of the season,
but it should help us to be more competitive.''