Maybe it’s because all of the tracks near me are set in the middle of a cow pasture, but in-car videos of street courses always just feel surreal, like some special Mario Kart level. Here’s an in-car video from practice for last weekend’s IndyCar race in St. Petersburg that shows just how tight that circuit is.
Welcome (back) to Onboard of the Week, a feature where we spend that pesky time between races looking at awesome footage from inside the car.
We’re onboard Ryan Hunter-Reay’s helmet for this view, and it’s totally insane. While the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg course opens up to a lovely park-like setting near the pits, the rest of the course feels like a crazy gauntlet on beast mode, especially in an über-fast IndyCar.
Hitting the walls is not fun, as IndyCar driver Will Power found out after colliding with one during a Friday practice session. One of the Pirelli World Challenge GT Cup Porsches actually moved the wall when he collided with one during another race from this weekend, however, these IndyCars tend to break apart on the hard concrete barriers.
That’s what makes these street courses all the more incredible to watch. The track limits are defined by walls you really don’t want to hit, and it takes an incredible amount of skill and concentration to use all of the track necessary to put down a fast lap while keeping out of those ultra-close walls.
[H/T WTF1]
Have an awesome onboard video to share? Drop me a line at stef.schrader@jalopnik.com or post it in the comments below.