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Current Selection: St. Petersburg

Circuit name: Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Circuit type: Temporary street circuit
Track length: 1.8 miles
No of laps: 100 laps
Lap record*: 2010 Will Power 1:01.6026s (105.190mph)
Justin's view of the track:
St. Pete is one of the most flowing street courses we have on the schedule. Compared with Long Beach, which is more stop/start, you’re carrying more speed and you need the car to flow. Although it’s a street circuit, it’s also used as part of the airport runway system. So there are two parts to this track (Turn 1 and Turn13) where you have to really attack and some of the other corners where you’ve got to be very precise. Turn 1 has very wide braking, but there’s a change of surface just before you get to the apex that makes the entry very difficult because it’s easy to lose the rear of the car. In Turn 2 you’re trying to lift as little as possible and Turn 3 is flat out.

Turn 4 has a very difficult, bumpy brake zone. Here you’re trying to brake as late as possible, but also get off the brakes quickly to carry the speed through the apex. Turn 5, 6 and 7 are all one combination and there’s a crown in the road as you brake into Turn 7. This is the key corner. Once you settle the car, and you’re able to turn in, the car will generally understeer until you almost brush the wall on the way out.

For Turn 8, you turn in very early and allow the understeer - you’re just trying to judge where you’re going to run out of road! Turn 10 is another big brake zone. It’s a very tricky corner, because you need the car to react on turn-in, but you don’t want it to wash out at the apex. It’s difficult to get the front of the car to hook all the way through this corner and it’s easy to overdo it on the brakes.

Turns 11 and 12 are a flat out chicane and a lot of fun. In qualifying it’s flat out, but in the race you have to start lifting a little as the tires get old. The last corner is a long radius. You’ve really got to attack on the entry and the exit, but you’ve also got to try really hard not to overpower the car in mid-corner. Then it’s a long blast down the front straightaway towards start/finish.

2010 results:
Race winner: Will Power
Pole position: Will Power
Justin qualified: 4th
Justin finished: 2nd
Justin laps led: -

*IndyCar/Champ Car/CART qualifying record unless otherwise stated