|
PRACTICE NOTES/QUOTES---- Baltimore, Maryland,
August 31, 2012
Fast Facts:
- This morning's practice session was red flagged and then
was ended early to get driver opinion on the state of the course.
Oriol's thoughts were that a chicane needed to be put in by the
railroad tracks. As a result of the issues, Servia only completed
three laps in the first session.
- Track officials put tires in to represent the permanent chicane
that will be constructed tonight. Practice was delayed due to the
changes so the drivers only had 30 minutes to try out the new
improvements.
- Panther DRR decided to try something different and the changes
didn't work as planned. The will re-evaluate tonight and be ready
for tomorrow. Servia completed 12 laps in the second session and
clocked the 25th fastest time (1:24.6311).
- This weekend will mark Servia's second start at Baltimore. Last
year he started 14th and finished 2nd.
- Yesterday Oriol visited Oriole Park at Camden Yards and threw
out the first pitch at the Baltimore Orioles versus the Chicago
White Sox game.
- In recognition of his first name being a near-match with
Baltimore's MLB team, Servia will debut a special helmet design for
this year's Grand Prix that incorporates an oriole. Servia hails
from Catalonia, Spain, also home of artist Salvador Dali, which
prompted his series of unique, Dali-inspired helmet designs.
- Servia currently sits 13th in the championship with 249 points
and is 37 points from 10th place.
- WIX Filters will be the primary on the No. 22 machine this
weekend. Since 1939, Wix has been an innovator in filtration
products. Wix designs, manufactures, and distributes filtration
products for automotive, diesel, agricultural, industrial, and
specialty filter markets. Its product line includes oil, air, cabin
interior, fuel, coolant, transmission, and hydraulic filters for
automobiles, trucks and off-road equipment.
- In eight races, Servia has gained a total of 98 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 and 9 positions in Toronto to finish
5th).
- Since making the switch to Chevy power, Panther DRR and Oriol
Servia have earned four top-five results in nine races, tying with
a season best of fourth place at the Indianapolis 500 and in
Detroit.
- 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 will mark the team's second time to compete at the
temporary street circuit. Last year, Ana Beatriz qualified 22nd and
finished 18th, Tomas Scheckter started 24th and finished 22nd , and
Giorgio Pantano started 15th, but was at the wrong place at the
wrong time when he made contact in all of the mayhem in Turn 3. His
day was ended early on Lap 43 and he finished the race 26th.
- 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 DRR, on practice for the
Grand Prix of Baltimore Presented by SRT: "We're having
some issues out there and obviously more than anybody else. We
tried something very different that obviously didn't work. We'll go
back tomorrow to our normal starter setup and we should be better.
I think that we really needed the chicane and it was a good
addition. The rails became a non-issue and with the permanent one
put in tonight I think that it will be good."
Back on Track: Panther DRR will be back on
track at 9:00 am ET tomorrow for the Grand Prix of Baltimore
Presented by SRT. The race is scheduled for Sunday, September 2nd
at 2:30 pm ET. Live coverage will be on the NBC Sports Network and
the IMS Radio Network. Please visit www.dreyerreinboldracing.com
for more updates.
|