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F1 Young Drivers Test
12.01.2009 - Circuito de Jerez, Jerez, Spain
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Firestone Indy Lights Series - Homestead-Miami Speedway
10.09.2009 - Homestead, FL
Qualified 7th, Finished 2nd |
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Firestone Indy Lights Series - Chicagoland Speedway
08.29.2009 - Joliet, IL
Started 13th, Finished 5th, Clinched Championship |
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Firestone Indy Lights Series - Infineon Raceway
08.23.2009 - Sonoma, CA
Qualified 1st, Finished 1st |
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Firestone Indy Lights Series - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
08.09.2009 - Lexington, OH
Started 3rd, Finished 3rd |
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On Saturday night, much of the country's racing press was assembled at John Force Racing's shop in Brownsburg, IN to honor the members of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association's Auto Racing All-America Team. For the second time in his short career, J.R. Hildebrand received the"Horsepower" award for First Team honors in the "At Large" Category. He first was elected to the First Team in the At Large category after his record breaking 2006 season in the US F2000 Champioship.
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Today again was somewhat of a mixture of major promise with unfortunate, and this time unavoidable, circumstances. What else can you say but thats racin. I went out first in the morning which looked to be a pretty good part of the day, even with a bit of rain overnight. We did a quick run to get back in the swing of things, then went back out on our baseline tire to get a better feel for things. I found the car to generally be on the loose side which was fast in the high speed corners but particularly limiting in the slow and medium speed sections as my issues were mostly when coming off the brakes and turning in - so I really couldnt challenge the braking zones. Even so, at that time of day my 1:19.8 was quite competitive and I was due to have better rubber on the next outing. I hopped out of the car for a few minutes while they re-booted the data system after having a problem with the electricity, and then went out to do a time.
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So today we got into a little bit more serious testing of some things that the team is working on for the future, taking into consideration what both Paul and I had learned yesterday as somewhat of a baseline and going from there. I didnt end up running a massively quick time, but I was really happy with how things went because of the circumstances. I ended up running my best time in an engine conservation mode that didnt allow for maximum power, but had some seriously encouraging data that Ill mention later on. Ill be back in the car tomorrow morning so Im looking forward to continuing to work on things with the team, and bringing things together on the final day.
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As planned, I ran in the morning with Paul di Resta running in the afternoon. The track was cold in the early running and also quite green, so as the day wore on the track continued getting better and better on both fronts. After a brief red flag at the beginning of the session, we started into our planned testing program for the day. Without going into too much detail we ran pretty basic settings on the car to help give me a feel for the various adjustments that the car has as well as some different tire compounds. My first impressions of the car were that its just incredibly quick and capable, and its definitely different than what Im used to in its general attitude through the corner as well, so that took a bit of getting used to.
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This is a copy of the column that JR wrote for Speedtv.com about heading off to his first chance to drive a modern Formula One car. Check it out!
Finally I can talk about some real news! Im sure that there are a few people out there who are wondering how in the world I managed to get myself into a Formula One car for the upcoming test in Jerez, Spain. Im here to say that Ill be happy to tell you, while also giving you the rundown of whats been going on since Ive been overseas. Its been a bit of a whirlwind so far, but Ive gotten the scoop on some pretty trick stuff along the way. And on top of all that, well, Im going to actually drive a modern F1 car& so Im pretty pumped about that all by itself! I know its going to be a serious challenge, but Im excited to get after it and see what I can do.
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For many auto racing aficionados, the FIA Formula One World Championship represents the pinnacle of the sport. Next week, reigning Firestone Indy Lights Champion and 2005 Team USA Scholarship winner J.R. Hildebrand will join that elite level when he drives a Mercedes-Benz-powered Force India VJM02 Formula One car in a test session December 1-3 at the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain.
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You can now follow JR on Twitter at www.twitter.com/JRHildebrand! He's just gotten started but is excited to have another outlet for keeping in touch with everyone. Stay tuned for breaking news as it happens from one of America's finest!
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Firestone Indy Lights champion J.R. Hildebrand - along with other drivers, teams and manufacturers - were recognized during the Indy Racing League Championship Celebration poolside at the W Hotel on South Beach. Hildebrand accepted the mini Firestone Firehawk Cup along with a $10,000 award for the Raybestos Road and Street Course Challenge for scoring the most points on road and street courses, a $5,000 prize as the winner of the Lucas Oil Frequent Pole Sitter Award, a $5,000 "Securing Tomorrow Award" from Gregory & Appel Insurance for winning the most races, the $5,000 Palmer Family Frequent Podium Award and the $10,000 Sunoco Most Improved Driver Award.
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J.R. Hildebrand, of Sausalito, California, had already clinched the Firestone Indy Lights championship heading into last weekends race at the Homestead Miami Speedway, but still managed to put on quite a show in the season finale. After qualifying seventh, Hildebrand went straight to the front of the pack at the start, passing for the lead by the midway point, then fighting to hold off Mario Romancini to the finish, coming up just inches short in the series second closest finish in history. On the Sunday following the race, Hildebrand went on to accept a variety of awards marking his and his teams accomplishments in 2009.
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J.R. Hildebrand, of Sausalito, California, clinched the Firestone Indy Lights Championship this weekend with an extremely hard-fought fifth place finish in the Chicagoland 100. After setting some of the quickest times in Saturday mornings practice, Hildebrand had a fuel pressure issue in qualifying and could only manage 13th on the grid, but was able to work his way up and stay out of harms way to clinch the championship for Andretti Green/AFS Racing.
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