There are now four Kiwis racing in the Firestone Indy Lights Series in the US this winter. Youngest is Marc Williams from New Plymouth, at 19 years old. With experience in F3, Toyota and racing last year in the States, Williams is gaining a lot of race experience and is soaking up being in a fantastic environment for a young driver. Nzracer.com caught up with him before he left to race in Milwaukee this weekend.
1/ Tell us about your run in the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Speedway last weekend?
We had an interesting run at the Freedom 100. It was a last minute deal and we ran with Brian Stewart Racing which is a great environment to be in. We had a 14th starting position which was good but I thought that I could have been higher up the grid.
We learnt a lot from the race. It is the most running that I have had in traffic (on an oval) and that was a huge learning curve for me. It was a great experience and this is what it is about for me at the moment, getting as much seat time and learning the car and racing. There is a huge technique to learn for racing in traffic on an oval. We finished 15th although I thought we had a top five or ten car but literally couldn’t get there. We always seemed to get caught up in the restarts, but that comes down to lack of experience. From a race point of view I have learnt a lot and will now be able to use that experience at Milwaukee this weekend.
Indy and Milwaukee are two totally different ovals. While Indy is a 2.5 mile oval, Milwaukee is a flat one mile track, almost like a road course rather than an oval. There is no banking and from what they say it is a bit scary. It is certainly going to be interesting with 25 cars racing at once.
2/ You did a few races in this series last year. How does this series compare?
It is totally different. The series is getting stronger and stronger. There are more cars and the actual experience of the drivers is huge; a lot of them have raced in many different series. It is tougher but it is a matter of coping with that and racing as best as I can.
3/ What are your expectations for this season?
It would be great to have a full year deal confirmed and work in with an engineer. It is a matter on making taking the opportunities that come along.
4/ How does this experience compare with the F3 and Toyota that you have raced?
The closest would have to be F3. Just the size of the tyre, (a big slick) and the aerodynamics are the closest to Indy Lights. The Toyota’s gave me great experience of running in traffic on a road course (circuit).
5/ When you’re racing on an oval you have a spotter*. Has that taken a while to get used to in terms of having someone in your ear telling you what is going on around you?
Not really. It certainly can make or break you having a good spotter who can read what is happening around you. It actually is a nice feeling as it gives you another set of eyes and certainly going so quick on an oval you really do need it and they can help your strategy for the race.
Do you communicate back to them.
No, we mainly listen and drive. We also have an engineer talking to us. I understand at Milwaukee there are a lot of changes to make during the race with the weight jacker** With Milwaukee being such a flat track there is going to be a lot of changes. You can also manually change the front and rear bar. A lot of it comes down to experience and knowing what to do at the right time but also having an engineer advising what to do. I think it is going to get very busy during the race.
6/ In the Indy Lights Series we have up to four Kiwis running this year. With Scott winning the 500, has this raised the profile of Kiwi drivers?
I think definitely it has opened everyone’s eyes about the Kiwis over here. We also have a couple of Aussies and the field is a truly international one. It has got very big this year and will get even bigger next year.
7/ You’re based in Indianapolis?
I sure am. I share a flat with Jay Howard one of the drivers from the Indy car series.
Jay won the Indy Lights in 2006. Is he able to give you pointers on each of the tracks, cars, etc?
Yes definitely. I talked to him before the Freedom 100 a lot about following and being in traffic. As I have said it was a new experience for me to run so close in traffic with the dirty air coming off the other cars. He helped me to realize what the experience would be like and it certainly helped. I’ll travel up with him tomorrow morning to Milwaukee. It is a 3-4 hour drive in the car and I’ll try and get as much info out of him about the oval.
So who’s the better cook?
Haha… We’ve been eating out a lot I would have to say. Jay said the other day he has eaten in about twenty times since he has been in the US and he’s been here about four years. He doesn’t do a whole lot of cooking.
*Each driver on an oval has a spotter that calls the race for the driver, letting him know where he is in relation to the other cars around him. Typically the spotter is up high so that he can see the whole track
** - A weight-jacker is a weight that transfers inside the tub that the driver manually changes during the race. You can put more weight to the front if you are getting a push or move it to the rear if you have too much over steer.
