READY FOR ACTION
Just because Devlin DeFrancesco has never raced an Indy Car around the Road America track in Wisconsin doesn’t mean he’ll be going blind into his debut.
He’s done “hundreds” of laps on a simulator and is therefore quite comfortable with the layout.
“It definitely stops me from being dropped into the deep end, for sure,” said DeFrancesco. “Preparation is key. That’s what
I learned in Europe. The betterprepared you are, the better you’re going to go. It’s going to be my first time there but I’ve done enough simulator prep with the guys, so I’m really looking forward to it. I think we can definitely get some good results.”
Call it common practice in the racing game these days. In an attempt to drive down costs, the governing bodies have put a
“testing” ban in place. In turn, teams have bought simulators to get familiar with the various tracks.
“You can drive exactly the same track, with the same car, in a virtual world, and it gives you sort of the closest thing possible to real life,” said DeFrancesco. “You can do as many laps as you want. I’d say it’s as good as a tester.”
The protocol for races now has obviously been adjusted for coronavirus precautions.
“To follow the COVID-guidelines for sports, so there is not too many people in the paddock at one time, I think us and the series below us race Thursday and Friday, and then Indy Car comes Friday night, Saturday and Sunday,” said DeFrancesco.
“I think we have to leave straight after our race and everything has to get cleaned and disinfected. It’s a real weird world we’re living in.” But an exciting one, nonetheless. “I’m over the moon,” said DeFrancesco.
“I’m honestly over the moon because as I said I have a great team around me and I think we have a competitive car to fight for wins and podiums every weekend.”