Kohler Grand Prix Weekend Notes And Quotes

Matheus Leist runs through turn six at Road America. [John Wiedemann Photo]

by Paul Gohde

Matheus Leist is kind of caught in the middle. The young Brazilian has won two Indy Lights races in two starts for Trevor Carlin’s team this season. And there are strong rumors that Carlin, his very successful open wheel owner, has hopes of moving up to the Verizon IndyCar series sooner rather than later. Carlin’s team moved to compete in North America a while back after winning about all he could win in Europe’s lower open wheel series. Leist, his most successful driver, would love to make the move to IndyCar with his owner, but some things stand in their way. “We’ve talked about going into IndyCar a few times,” Leist explained after winning Saturday’s Lights race at Road America. “But you never know, it all depends on sponsorship. We’re definitely trying to go to IndyCar next year, but who knows. Trevor really, really wants to go… but he needs some money you know.” Leist is well aware that success in the Lights series, meaning winning the championship along with the dollars that go with it, could be the prompt the team needs to move up. “If we find a budget I’m sure we’ll try, but it’s still too early to tell. It also depends on if we finish in front of the (Lights) championship.” And what would Leist think a Carlin IndyCar team might look like? “I’m sure if he wants to do IndyCar he’s going to do a full season with two cars and to be competitive and not just the Indy 500 and the month of May. He’ll do the whole championship.” And what about Leist moving up with the team? “I’m sure I want to go to IC with the team. But who knows?” Perhaps Carlin does. And perhaps we’ll know more after the Light’s season.

Esteban Gutierrez was confirmed earlier this week as the substitute for the injured Sebastien Bourdais at Dale Coyne Racing for the rest of the Verizon season. But despite having just two Indy car races at Detroit under his belt, he feels comfortable racing at Road America. “It’s a track I enjoy a lot. It’s one of my favorite places. I have great memories from ten years ago when I raced here in Formula BMW USA in 2007. I got up to second and we had a very close margin at the start-finish line,” said the 25-year-old Mexican who has also raced in Formula One. “I’m excited to get back into an Indy car. Very powerful, very grippy, very nice racing car.” Gutierrez, who wasn’t allowed to race for Coyne back in May at Indianapolis due to a lack of oval track experience, tested at Iowa, the next oval on the schedule, last week and was cleared to race there in July. Pocono in August may be a different case…Due to the length of the RA track (4.048 miles), the three segments of qualifying for Indy cars here are 12,12 and 10 minutes versus shorter time windows at other tracks on the schedule…Canadian Robert Wickens opened the weekend in the car assigned to Mikhail Aleshin as the Russian was delayed from departing from France due to visa issues after participating in the Le Mans 24 Hour race last weekend. He was finally able to fly to Chicago, made it to Wisconsin late Friday with very little sleep, and turned his first laps here during Saturday morning’s early practice, and later qualified 19th. Wickens’ stint for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports was short, but he hopes to score a regular Indy car ride sometime in the future.

 

 

 

Related Posts

• 
  Sebring 2024
• 
  Giuseppe Victorious
• 
  Car or Driver