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| Honda won its long-awaited first victory in 1995 at the 15th race, which was held in New Hampshire. Andre Ribeiro's machine took the checkered flag before a huge audience of fans. |
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Indy cars as driven on road courses differ little from their F-1 counterparts. However, there are two key differences between Indy and F-1. First, Indy Car racing places greater emphasis on customer satisfaction. Second, the technical standards are very high with Indy cars, particularly because of the CS effort.
Race drivers in the U.S. stay close to their audience. When asked, they'll casually sign autographs, asking the fan's name and writing it down with "Best Wishes" scribbled above it. The signed autograph is then returned to the fan along with a friendly "thank you." The drivers are well aware of their role as entertainers.
The drivers aren't the only ones who feel this way. Race organizers are also excellent promoters. They run Indy Lights and other races before their main event-the fabled Indianapolis 500-so that the crowds can experience a full day of excitement at the track. Accordingly, the Indy audience covers all age groups and backgrounds, including young children and senior citizens. Of course, no motorsports event can survive, let alone prosper, without the support of its fans. This goes back to the essence of customer service: Always keep the audience in mind.
This customer oriented thinking pushes the technical standards as well, for in addition to mastering a diversity of challenging courses the racing teams must meet many other conditions. For example, in order to make the race more interesting, the use of semiautomatic transmissions and automatic power steering is prohibited. This also serves to control costs and level the playing field for all machines entered. There are also restrictions on engine materials, valve-gear systems and variable-speed mechanisms. To enhance performance, a team must develop new technologies to overcome the limitations.
Qualifying races are as a result usually very close battles, with fifteen to twenty cars finishing within a mere second of each other. A delay of one-tenth of a second could mean the difference between the pole position and 20th. And all this is simply a lead-up to the final race, where skillful maneuvering and frequent passing serve to increase the audience's excitement.
Indy, however, is subject to more technological restrictions than F-1. Therefore the challenges are presented on a different level, since each team must find ways to outperform the others within a tightly defined set of limitations. |
