Helio Castroneves in Question-and-Answer with Fans

Helio Castroneves, the 34-year-old Brazilian racing driver is on a media tour in the Bay Area and met fans for a relaxed question-and-answer session this morning at the Infineon Speedway,


Sonoma...see previous blog

Helio is one of an elite corps of three-time winners of the Indianapolos 500 and a champion for many fans and racing drivers. But for him, fellow Brazilian driver, Ayrton Senna, is his hero.

'Senna is my hero. I was

looking to him....I wanted to be like this driver,' he said of Brazil's national hero who was from the same home city of Sao Paolo. Helio was days away from his 19th birthday when Senna died tragically on the track at the San Marino Grand Prix in Italy in 1994 at the same age as Helio is now, 34 years.

Another driver that has Helio's respect is the highest-ever ranking female driver in Indy racing, Danicka Patrick. In answer to a question about his favourite Indy driver, he replied, 'I like Danicka Patrick!' and added quickly, 'My girl friend's over there. I'm talking about race car drivers!!!' But mention of Danicka drew huge claps and cheers from his audience.

It's not fair to pick one, as they are all talented, he said, but continued with, 'Rick Mears is a phenomenal person first of all, and an incredible driver in the past. And now he work with us...he has some great sayings, for example...'if you want to finish first, first you have to finish. Those things you keep in your mind....if you think you're going to pass somebody, don't pass because you're going to crash!'

Returning to Danicka, he said he respected her a lot for coming into a male sport. 'You've got to have a tough skin to hear a lot of jokes and things like that. She's amazing, she's definitely a very good driver.'

Would he let her pass him?

'No!' he said. 'I will be a gentleman off the track, not on the track!'

'You're so friendly and affable pre-race, always smiling, answering questions,' began Ed of Petaluma. 'What do you do to change your mindset when you step in the car, strap in, put the helmet on....'

'My mum always says, "you've got to be yourself"...so if you're happy, you're happy, if you're sad, you're sad and you've got to respect to have a respect back. The way I am is just because I love what I do...but once I put my helmet on that's the time, like, okay, game is on. It's showtime. I close my visor on and I'm thinking exactly what I need to do.....'

That's the point, he said, that separates the energetic, fun guy from the serious and ready-to-race guy.

'When I'm there, I think I'm in my own world....in my territory and I feel safe there. I can do whatever I want inside that race car....'

Helio started go-kart racing at the age of 11, with his 'legs shaking.' Today, children are tending to start at six or seven-years-old, he said. 'I think it's too young, to be honest.'

His view is that 'Sometimes the dads are the ones that want to race and they want to try to realize their dream in their kid.'

A dad in the audience asked what is the next step for kids in go-karts who are keen to get into Indy racing.

Go-karts are the best place to start for anyone interested in open-wheel racing, said Helio, as karts are very similar to the cars. And after that, he recommended small Series cars like Formula BMW, and training with Skip Barber Racing Schools or Infineon's Jim Russell Racing Drivers School.

But graduating from a go-kart to a car is also 'the biggest difference,' he said. People don't realize that the reaction time of go-karts is so fast. Cars are slower, you have time to down-shift, time to break, time to turn.

'I remember turning too early, breaking too late. It took time for me to adapt,' he said.

'What breakfast do you have every race day?' asked a young lad. 'Good question!' he said as laughter rippled. 'The breakfast of a champion I tell you!' It depends, look, I like Cocoa Pebble. No? Okay, sorry!' he said, looking at his questioner. 'Let me try another one, I like Cheerios? Is that okay?!... And I like Granola.'

Another popular question related to his 2007 win in the TV show, Dancing with the Stars, in which he partnered Julianne Hough. What was his favourite dance?

The Mambo, and the Quickstep for which he wore the yellow suit. After watching Julianne demonstrate the Mambo, he told the audience he had said, "Julianne, if I do that we're going to win this competition!"

Win they did. 'We never stopped jumping, I guess that's why, they couldn't see the mistakes!'

Julianne, he added, was 'just awesome, she was a great teacher,' and people didn't realize she was leading most of the time.

A race other than the Indy 500 he would like to enter? He would like to win the 24-hour Daytona 500, having finished third in it, and also participate in NASCAR. The Le Mans 24 Hour is different, 'but I would keep around here, not over there!'

His favourite factory car? The exotic cars, he answered. 'I used to have a Lamborghini, I sold to pay the attorneys'. As the crowd roared, he said, 'I'm serious. Unfortunately, I really liked that car. Darn it! The Lamborghini was a Gallardo, and it was a nice car!'

'But, you know, Ferraris, you can't beat the sound. It is just an incredible machine'.

A flurry of Ferrari fans pressed him on which model. The 430, the Enzo, the FXX - 'man, that car is super. I don't know how much money you have?! So if you have it...I strongly suggest that one! But you've got to be here on the race track as well to try because it's a fast car.'

'My dream car is the Bugatti Veyron but it's too much money!' he said with a laugh. For those who don't know, that's somewhere over $1.5 million.

What he misses, he said, from the earlier days of Champ Cars, is the turbo speed. 'I remember going on the California Speedway about 250 mph, it was the fastest I had actually ever gone. I remember the next lap, crashing too, it was 247. ...I remember it hurts my kidneys. But I miss that speed.'

As the session came to an end, Steve Page thanked Helio, describing him as a great ambassador for the sport and such a nice person.

And as if to prove it, while it had been said that he would not sign autographs or pose for personal pics, a few of his audience who were at the front and able to mob Helio as he rose to go, got exactly that...an autograph and a pic of themselves with the champ.

Discussing the question of who is the greatest racing driver as we stepped down from the stand, Humberto said, 'I thought he might pick Jim Clark, or Graham Hill, but that's old school.'

Humberto is no ordinary mortal but a man of racing distinction: he shares Ayrton Senna's birthday of March 21.

pics show: Steve Page, President and General Manager of Infineon Raceway, and Helio; Humberto; the open-wheel race car for people to try out!

Helio Castroneves in Conversation in Sonoma

Indianapolos 500 racing champion, Helio Castroneves, is back in circulation with a winning streak and his famous good-natured personality!

The 34-year-old Brazilian racing driver is on a media tour in the Bay Area and met fans for a relaxed question-and-answer session this morning.

Hangin' with Helio was a ticketed 20-minute question-and-answer session at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, half-an-hour's drive from the Golden Gate Bridge. His famous humour and personality bubbling through, Helio chatted in the sun with his back to the track.


Alongside him was Steve Page, President and General Manager of the raceway, who led the session with a few questions and comments before opening it to the audience.

Helio won his third Indianapolos 500 championship last month, two days after emerging in the clear of all charges in a tax evasion case.

'With everything you've been through in the last couple of years, it's just amazing, you have such a great warmth and such a great fan base,' said Steve. 'How meaningful is that?'

'I have to say I'm very honoured and blessed to have fans like that,' Helio said. Confessing to not being tech savvy, he had been set up on Spacebook and Twitter by his brother-in-law and was surprised by what he discovered.

'Once I start checking it out and see the message that everybody was giving me....you guys, sometimes you don't realize that (a) small message just like "Hey, man, we're praying for you!" or "hey man, we're looking for you back in the race car," stuff like that, it was just awesome,' he said.

'For all those years of running out here and racing and winning and having fun, for one of the first times I saw you guys give me back something. Sometimes you forget, I'm a human being....you guys kept me strong...and we're back winning, which is cool!'

Helio was filmed crying in the cockpit at the end of the Indy 500 race in May. Why had there been 'so much emotion,' he was asked. 'I was out on a boat on the delta crying my eyes out!' said his fan, Jan, from Stockton.

'Sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!' said Helio. 'I just couldn't control my emotion either,' he said.

'As soon as I crossed the finishing line, my prayers were answered in that one,' he said. But he had been asking himself, 'Why did this happen to me? What did I do? I thought I was a good person.' On his victory lap 'somehow between me and God, we were having a private conversation, and I'm like, thank you....' he told his audience.

Also, seeing his family who are closely involved with him in his racing, and knowing what they had been through, was emotional, but 'trust me, it was tears of joy.'

Helio arrived at the raceway about a quarter of an hour late after an interview with KGO, the San Franciscan based radio station, and prior to that had travelled yesterday afternoon from Canada.

In the waiting time, a trivia quiz on Helio and the Infineon Raceway was held with a sprinkling of prizes. Grand prize was a ride in a two-seater racer before the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on August 23, which is the second part of the Hangin' with Helio event and a race in which Helio is the defending champion.

What's more exhausting, asked Steve as Helio arrived, the Indy 500 or a 24-hour media tour!

'Man, to be here, what a beautiful place,' the champion replied, settling down in front of an audience of about 100 enthusiastic fans.

'I thought you might recognize the spot!' said Steve, reminding him of last year's win and his signature victory fence climbing, for which he is nicknamed Spiderman.

'I just remember actually,' laughed Helio, 'I got to the point when I had somebody grab my butt!... I thought this is time to get out of here!'

That race that made Helio the 2008 champion of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma had been memorable, Steve recalled. Helio had had a run of 29 races without a victory and a new car had had to be brought in at the last moment. The truck drivers were driving for so long, said Helio, paying tribute to them.

Steve then referred to the dust-up of Helio and Canadian racer, Paul Tracy, in an IndyCar race in Toronto two weeks ago. 'Anyone throwing ice-pucks at you?!'

'I was scared. First time I heard so many boos!' was the reply.

Helio defended himself lightheartedly. 'He's a very talent (ed) driver. If he sees a small hole that does not fit even a tyre, he will go there!' he said. 'And because I know that, I thought I gave him enough room...It's one of those situations, it just happens.'

To be on the safe side, returning to Edmonton this week, he wore an "I love Canada" tee-shirt. 'Peace and love!' he said.

Tongue-in-cheek, Steve pointed out that the new season starts on home territory in Brazil. 'He'd better wear a shirt like "I love Helio!" And "Brazil!"' said Helio.

Much as he is looking forward to racing in his own country, he also stressed how much he loves America and the IndyCar Series, and more than once said how fortunate he was to be able to do something that he loves.

Steve commented that he was struck by the 'incredible' number of different types of tracks that the drivers had to cope with in the IndyCar Series.

Helio agreed about the challenge the race presents. Converting a car for the different races takes 12 hours, he said, but the interesting thing is that the races give opportunity to different teams and drivers, and which is why the champion of the Series has to be good on all types of track, he said.

But the skills set and the different levels of concentration - 'dancing!' added Helio - the thing that's always impressed me is the level of sustained concentration, pressed Steve.

The races were 'very, very diffcult to predict,' explained Helio, as the car reacts differently and drivers are dealing with things like new tyres and lots of things happening at the same time. 'You can't start waving around! Hey, what you doing over there!!!'

How does he train for that?

'I mentalize,' he started to say, and then queried if that was the right word in English!

'Visualize?' tried Steve. The trial had given him new vocabularly, 'I learn a lot about the "objection sustained and overruled!"' Helio quipped.

'You've got to be prepared,' he said, returning to the subject. 'But at the same time you've got to understand the car, feel comfortable with the car.'

More of Helio in the next blog..and for a video by Chris...

Watch the YouTube hosted video

pics show: Helio; Steve Page and Helio; the audience beginning to gather