Motegi, Japan (Sept. 16, 2011) - Today was filled
with ups and downs for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in Motegi,
Japan today. The Indianapolis-based squad worked diligently to get
the cars just right, but unfortunately things didn't go exactly to
plan for DRR drivers Giorgio Pantano (No. 22 Kona Deep) and Ana
Beatriz (No. 24 Ipiranga). The duo qualified 18th and 21st
respectively.
Today's session didn't go the way Giorgio Pantano had hoped. The
Italian diligently chipped away all weekend and the team made
considerable improvements to the Kona Deep car from yesterday. He
was working hard to advance, but unfortunately he was unable to get
a clean lap in, which prevented him from advancing to the Fast
Twelve. Pantano clocked a time of 01:38.8588 (108.628 mph) and
will start 18th on the grid for tomorrow's race.
Ana Beatriz proved that she is constantly improving as she
continues to conquer the Twin Ring Motegi road course. As she
diligently worked to make it into the Fast Twelve, Bia was nudged
out in the end. The rookie will start 21st tomorrow as
she recorded a fast lap time of 01:39.4724(107.958 mph). Beatriz,
secured her best IZOD IndyCar career qualifying result in Sonoma
last month 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.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will be on track for the Indy
Japan: The Final At Motegi in Motegi Japan on September 17th. The
race telecast will air live on Saturday, September 17th at 11:30 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...
Giorgio Pantano, No. 22 Kona Deep: "I think the car
was pretty good, but I just had a good feeling in qualifying and I
needed that feeling before for the practice and unfortunately we
just arrived a bit too late to put it all together. Our cars look
okay now and we can try and push hard tomorrow for the race."
Ana Beatriz, No. 24 Ipiranga: "The Ipiranga car was
pretty good. It was just so hard to put it together. It was very
slippery out there and you've got to be smoother, because it's so
easy to make mistakes. I think that we have the car, so now we just
need to perfect it overnight and focus on getting a good result for
tomorrow."