PRACTICE NOTES/QUOTES---- Los Angeles, California, April
13, 2012
Fast Facts:
Oriol Servia
- Rain hindered both practice sessions today, but Servia was able
to get out for a couple of laps in the first practice. He ran a
total of 7 laps and recorded the 15th fastest lap time of
1:23.2228.
- This morning Lotus DRR had to change the engine for the No. 22
Motegi Racing machine, and as a result, the team was penalized for
making an unapproved engine change and will be penalized 10 grid
positions for the race.
- This weekend will mark Servia's 10th start at the Toyota Grand
Prix of Long Beach. Last year he started 4th and finished 6th.
After a late race collision, Servia, who was in contention for a
podium finish did a great job to avoid the pile up which resulted
in Oriol doing a 360-degree spin, got the car back in control and
finished the race in 6th position. He competed in CART/Champ Car
races at the track from 2000 to 2008. His previous best starts were
8th in 2003 and 2006 and his best finish was 2nd in 2007. Servia
has led 12 laps at the track.
- 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.
- Motegi Racing will be 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.
Lotus DRR
- This year will be Lotus DRR's 13th season of IndyCar
competition, making them one of the longest tenured teams in the
series.
- This weekend will mark the team's 4th time to compete at the
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
- In 2009 the team started 16th with Darren Manning and finished
19th and with Conway, started 16th and finished 21st. In 2010, the
team started 3rd with Justin Wilson and 16th with Mike Conway at
Long Beach and finished 2nd with Wilson and 10th with Conway in the
race. Last year Wilson started 5th and finished 22nd and Ana
Beatriz started 26th and finished 19th in the race.
Oriol Servia, No. 22 Lotus DRR, on the first day of
practice in Long Beach: "We didn't get as much running as
we wanted with the rain. With not having rain in the forecast for
tomorrow and Sunday, it didn't make sense to go out and risk
crashing a car. We had a couple of outings in the first
session to make sure that everything was working ok and it all
worked well. It will be a two day weekend like it was for us at
Barber, and we got a 10 spot penalty again like at Barber.
It's a track that I like a lot and know very well. I
think not running today didn't hurt us as much, especially because
there are drivers out there that don't know the track. Having just
one day of practice for us won't hurt us that bad."
Back on Track: Lotus DRR will be back on track
tomorrow starting with practice at 10:25 a.m. PT for the Toyota
Grand Prix of Long Beach. The race will take place on Sunday, April
15th at 3:30 pm ET. The race will be telecast live on NBC Sports
Network. Please visit www.dreyerreinboldracing.com
for more updates.