Sonoma: HVM Racing preview

E.J. Viso, No. 13 PDVSA HVM Racing Honda Dallara

"Sonoma is one of the greatest tracks of the Championship. Last year we did great -- we finished sixth. This year our expectations are a bit higher. We've had some good results on road courses, and why not over there?

"It's a very fast and flowing track. You need very good high-speed compromises on your car. You need to be very aerodynamically balanced, because you don't want to have too much to be slow on the straights, but at the same time you need enough to be as fast as possible in all those flowing corners. It's a pretty demanding place for the driver and also for the car, and the tire wear is quite high as well. So it's something you need to be thinking about during the race. You don't want to push too hard because otherwise you're not going to have any tires left at the end. Tires do great there usually, but take care of them.

"It's good that I have a teammate now after a year and a half. Hopefully it's going to bring some positive information and we're going to be able to develop the car faster."

Robert Doornbos, No. 33 HVM Racing Honda Dallara

"I love road courses. I think it's great for IndyCar to go to road courses. It's great for the drivers. I can use my European experiences in driving on the road courses, and even street courses are fun. Sonoma is another one I haven't been to, but it's very important that we had the (August 13) test there and have a good setup. So it's an advantage to be able to go to the test."

-credit: hvmr