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IndyCar has moved the location in which drivers will take the green flag in tomorrow’s Portland race in a bid to avoid mass carnage at the chicane.
The start will now take place at the exit of the 12th and final corner, rather than further along the main straight.
The theory is that the field will be somewhat more spread out by the time they arrive at the tight Turn 1/Turn 2/Turn 3 complex, which has been a hotspot for drama.
Team Penske driver Will Power, who is set to start from the front row, said the matter came up with drivers last year.
“We gave them input at the Christmas meetings,” noted the series leader.
“We suggested that they start on the back straight. I’m not sure where the starting extremely late came from.
“I could understand you don’t get the tow effects, getting up to speed to get a tow effect.
“If you had half the field in Turn 12 when you went green, that’s half the cars that are spreading out. Might be better to go really early.”
It will be Power’s team-mate Scott McLaughlin who is in charge of controlling the launch from Turn 12 given he took pole in a Penske qualifying one-two-three.
IndyCar has this year also marked out a chicane within the run-off area for the chicane on the race track proper, which drivers will have to negotiate if they do stray off-course.
It was introduced before opening practice, but has been tweaked slightly after it was deemed too tight to negotiate in its original state.
A bulletin to teams advises that drivers who cut Turn 2 must “must make every effort to utilize the second Turn 1 runoff chicane. Failure to follow this procedure will result in a review and penalties may apply.”
Race start is tomorrow at 05:30 AEST, with Stan Sport’s live and ad-free coverage kicking off at 05:00 AEST.
