|
RACE NOTES/QUOTES---- Fontana, California, September 15,
2012
Fast Facts:
- Although Servia qualified 18th yesterday he started 8th due to
the other cars in front him that were issued 10-grid spot penalties
for unapproved engine changes.
- Oriol got a good start, but dropped a couple of positions as he
worked on making adjustments to get his car more comfortable. He
came in for the first time on Lap 37 for fuel, tires and a turn of
front wing. He was P18 when he came in and filtered out to
P21.
- On Lap 57, Servia came in on Lap 57 for fuel and tires. He was
P14 after the stop. Unfortunately the left front tire got loose and
a Panther DRR crew member had to go over the wall to get the tire.
As a result, Oriol had to serve a drive thru penalty on Lap 67 for
an illegal person that went over the wall causing him to go a lap
down.
- On Lap 76, Servia stayed out and got the wave around. On Lap
82, he was back on the lead lap and sat in 17th position. After the
Lap 85 restart he kept moving up and gained a number of
positions.
- The caution came out on Lap 108 and Oriol came into the pits on
Lap 110, for fuel, tires, and a tire pressure adjustment. He
filtered out to P11.
- Trouble would set in on Lap 132. Servia had to come into pit
lane because the water temperatures were too high. Rubber got stuck
in the radiator causing the water temperature to rise. He went from
P13 to P17 and went down a lap as a result.
- The problem continued throughout the race and he had to come in
on Lap 160, 185, 203, and 219. Every time he came in the No. 22
crew had to blow out the rubber that was stuck in the radiator as
well as fill the car full of fuel and switch to a new set of tires.
Servia finished the day 19 laps down and brought the car home in
19th position.
- Yesterday, Servia qualified 18th for the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club
Speedway in Fontana, California. He was 12th in line and secured a
spot on the grid with a two-lap average qualifying speed of 212.533
mph (Lap 1-212.818 mph, Lap 2-212.250 mph). During yesterday
morning's practice session, Oriol was 21st fastest and logged a
total of 27 laps. For the second practice session, Servia was the
10th quickest and completed a total of 35 laps.
- Oriol had the opportunity to test at Auto Club Speedway on
Wednesday. The team logged in a number of laps and as a result,
reached the limit on miles on the Chevy engine, so he has a fresh
engine for this weekend. This put Oriol on his fifth engine so he
did not receive an engine penalty.
- This weekend marked Servia's sixth start at Auto Club Speedway
(two of the six starts were in the Indy Lights championship where
he finished 25th in 1998 and 14th in 1999, clinching the Indy
Lights championship). Oriol competed at the track from 2000-2002.
Hisbest finish was fifth in the 2002 CART race and his best start
of 16th in 2000.
- For the last three years Servia has called Santa Monica,
California home. He moved out west with his girlfriend Jackie at
the end of 2008 and the couple still lives in California, which
will make this weekend a "homecoming" for the Spaniard.
- In nine races, Servia has gained a total of 107 positions (7
positions in St. Pete to finish 16th, 13 positions in Barber to
finish 13th, 7 positions in Long Beach to finish 16th, 12 positions
in Brazil to finish 11th, 23 positions in Indianapolis to finish
4th, 11 positions in Detroit to finish 5th, 16 positions in
Milwaukee to finish 4th, 9 positions in Toronto to finish 5th , and
9 positions in Baltimore to finish 7th).
- Since making the switch to Chevy power, Panther DRR and Oriol
Servia have earned five top-ten results (four of them being
top-five results) in ten races, tying with a season best of fourth
place at the Indianapolis 500 and in Detroit.
- Motegi Racing was the primary livery on the No. 22 machine this
weekend. Through technical partnerships with leading
professional racing teams, Motegi Racing Competition and High
Performance Tuning wheels are designed and engineered for
performance. Motegi Racing is owned by Wheel Pros, one of the
largest suppliers of branded custom wheels, performance tires and
related accessories for cars, SUVs and light trucks.
- Last year, Oriol finished fourth in IZOD IndyCar Series
standings....Recorded 11 top-10 finishes, with a best of second at
New Hampshire and Baltimore....Among three drivers to be running at
the finish in all 17 races..... Led all drivers in laps completed
(2,103 of 2,011)....Oriol was the only driver to finish in the top
10 in first five races of the season.
Panther DRR
- This weekend marked the team's fifth time to compete at the
temporary street circuit. In 2002, Memo Gidley started 27th and
finished 21st. In 2003, Robbie Buhl started the race 6th and
finished 10th and Sarah Fisher started 15th and finished 18th. In
2004, Felipe Giaffone started the race 19th and finished 8th. In
2005, Roger Yasukawa started the race 20th and finished 16th.
- It was announced in May that the Indianapolis-based squad has
united with two-time IndyCar Series champion Panther Racing to form
a strategic alliance on Oriol Servia's entry for the remainder of
the 2012 season. The No. 22 Panther/DRR team will utilize Panther's
second Chevrolet engine lease and work in conjunction with the No.
4 National Guard team and driver JR Hildebrand.
ORIOL SERVIA, NO. 22 PANTHER/DREYER AND REINBOLD RACING
CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 18TH: ON THE RACE: "At the
end...we struggled a little bit with the car at the beginning of
the weekend. But in the race, I really liked my car. But we had
something strange happen, we were having all this debris getting
the radiator. We didn't want to blow our beautiful engine, so we
had to keep stopping because it was getting over heated. Our race
was over then. We had to stop every 10-15 laps to clean the
radiator. Strange. We had a couple of strange things this year.
Filter, fuel and things that usually don't happen. A few more DNFs
than we want. We had a great season, especially since we got the
Chevy power behind us, definitely. Good season. We want much
more, but we had some strong runs. Hopefully we can come back next
year stronger."
|