Indianapolis, IN (August 31, 2011) - Dreyer
& Reinbold Racing is extremely motivated after a successful
race last weekend in Sonoma. The team is ready to carry their
momentum again into this weekend as they hope to continue their
success on the road/street courses. This will mark DRR's first time
to compete at the 2-mile temporary street circuit since the IZOD
IndyCar Series added Baltimore to the 2011 schedule. Luckily, the
team has three road racing pros, Giorgio Pantano (No. 22 Roll
Coater), Ana Beatriz (No. 24 Ipiranga), and Tomas Scheckter (No. 07
SH Racing/Team Redline Xtreme), competing for them.
After a very impressive showing at Infineon Raceway last
weekend, newcomer to the team, Giorgio Pantano, is ready to get
back in the cockpit again and continue to show everyone what he's
got. The Italian had an extremely productive weekend. Pantano
qualified 11th and finished 6th for the Indy Grand Prix of
Sonoma.
Although the Padua, Italy native is new to DRR, he is not new to
the IZOD IndyCar Series. Pantano, who is filling in again for the
injured Justin Wilson, will make his return to the IZOD IndyCar
Series after competing in the Auto GP Series last year and
Superleague Formula in 2009. The Italian brings a wide range of
experience to the table after winning the GP2 title in 2008,
competing in F3000, Formula One and IndyCar for two road course
events with Chip Ganassi Racing. In 2005, Pantano competed at
Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen International Raceway with Chip
Ganassi Racing.
Ana Beatriz is ready to conquer the new Baltimore circuit. The
Brazilian continues to prove that she is graduating from rookie
status. Beatriz, secured her best IZOD IndyCar career qualifying
result in Sonoma last weekend with a 10th place starting spot. In
July of this year, she earned her best IZOD IndyCar result in
Toronto, Canada when she brought the car home in 11th place.
Returning to DRR this weekend will be South African Tomas
Scheckter. The team announced a couple of weeks ago that they have
joined forces with SH Racing to run him this weekend. DRR has
prepared the No. 07 Redline Xtreme Machine that will be in the very
recognizable blue shattered glass livery for the inaugural
event.
Scheckter will visit Baltimore for the first time. This will
also be his first road/street course of the season with DRR.
Scheckter feels fully prepared as he had the opportunity to test
two weeks ago at Infineon Raceway.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will be on track for The Inaugural
2011 Baltimore Grand Prix in Baltimore, Maryland on September 4th.
The qualifying broadcast will air live on Saturday, September 3rd
at 2:00 pm (EDT) on VERSUS. The race telecast will air live on
Sunday, September 4th at 2:00 pm (EDT) on VERSUS. The race will air
live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 94, and Sirius channel
212.
What they have to say...
Tomas Scheckter, No. 07 Redline Xtreme Machine:
"I'm looking forward to Baltimore. The Series looks very
competitive on road and street tracks and I know I come in at a
disadvantage, but I have some great teammates in Pantano and Bia.
My main goal for the weekend will be to reacclimatize myself on
street track and get a solid finish for SH Racing/Dreyer &
Reinbold Racing in the Team Redline Extreme machine."
Giorgio Pantano No. 22 Roll Coater: "The goal
for this weekend is to have a result similar to Sonoma because we
had a very good race there and the car was really good. Hopefully,
we will have the chance again this weekend to compete with the guys
up front because I think we have the car to do it with. We will
just go to Baltimore and do our best to get a good result."
Ana Beatriz, No. 24 Ipiranga: "I think
Baltimore will be interesting. It's hard to expect something when
nobody has been there. I hope that we can carry the good momentum
of Ipiranga/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing from Sonoma and keep
running fast at Baltimore."