To driver Arie Luyendyk, it's about engineering and racer's edge

To driver Arie Luyendyk, it's about engineering and racer's edge

bf blog arie luyendyk interview
SONOMA, Calif.--Arie Luyendyk, considered one of racing's greatestdrivers, will be the first to tell you it's not just about one guy puttingthe pedal to the metal. Luyendyk, who won the Indianapolis 500twice, talks easily about the role team engineers play in thesuccess of any racing team.

I got a chance to talk with him (video embed below or click here) at a recent IndyCar event here atthe Sonoma Raceway, moment after I took a "hot lap" with anotherracing legend, Mario Andretti. That minute or so of near terrorscreaming around the road course gave me a first-hand appreciationof the role engineers play in racing, and Luyendyk amplified that.

[Learn more about the Indy 500 at the Littelfuse Speed2Design site.]

He also revealed he's no fan of some racing rules that penalizesuccessful teams, a situation we saw in August 2011 while spendingtime with Bobby Rahal's BMW team in Wisconsin and its chiefengineer, Jay O'Connell.

The Sonoma event was part of the larger Speed2Design program,sponsored by Littelfuse, in which lucky engineers from all across thecountry get a chance to attend an IndyCar racing weekend and spendtime with the team Littelfuse and Mouser sponsor, KV Racing. Thisweekend (September 14-15, 2012) will be the last of five such eventsfor engineers--the MAVTV500--and we'll be there to cover it, so stay tuned.

Related stories:

--Thehairy edge of engineering at 150mph
--Dreamengineeringjob?
--Theconsequencesof tight engineering rules
--Indy500:KV Racing's tech director talks track
--Limitinginnovation
--Speed2Design site


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