RACE NOTES/QUOTES---- São Paulo, Brazil, April 29,
2012
Fast Facts:
Oriol Servia
- Servia started the race 23rd and finished a season best of
11th. Yesterday in qualifying he clocked the 24th
fastest time, but there was an issue with the motor and the team
had to change it after the session. As a result, Servia was
penalized 10 grid positions for the unapproved engine change, but
other teams had to make engine changes and as a result, Oriol
started 23rd.
- After this morning's warm-up session, the team had an issue
with the alternator and had to change it. It was a push to get
Oriol out for the start, but the team got the No.22 WIX Filters car
on the grid just as the drivers were given the command to start
their engines.
- Servia came in on Lap 19 for the first time to fill full with
fuel and switch from the Firestone Firehawk primary
(black-sidewall) tires to the alternate (red-sidewall) tires.
Unfortunately, he was penalized for speeding in pit lane and had to
come back in on Lap 21 to complete a drive thru penalty, which cost
him some positions.
- The yellow came out on Lap 23 and Servia came back in to top
off on fuel. The restart was on Lap 26 due to a multi-car pileup.
Co-Owner Robbie Buhl was spotting for Oriol and helped him to miss
the chaos. As a result, he filtered up to P8.
- Oriol came in on Lap 48 for a full fill of fuel and to switch
from Firestone Firehawk alternate (red-sidewall) tires to a fresh
set of "red-sidewall" tires. The caution came out again on Lap 62
and Servia would come into the pits for the final time for a full
fill of fuel and to switch from the "red" tires to another set of
"red" tires, as he found he got better grip with the Firestone
Firehawk alternate (red-sidewall) tires. On Lap 66 the green flag
flew, but there was another multi-car pileup, but Servia, who was
P18 on the restart, made it through the mess and filtered up to
P11.
- This weekend marked Servia's second start for the São Paulo
Indy 300. Last year he started 16th and finished 5th.
- WIX Filters was 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.
- 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.
- This weekend marked the team's third time to compete at the São
Paulo Indy 300. In 2010, Mike Conway qualified his car 19th and
finished 8th, Wilson started on the second row in 3rd position and
finished 11th, and Beatriz qualified 22nd and brought the car home
in 13th place. Last year Wilson started 8th and finished 7th and
Beatriz started 25th and finished 24th in the race.
- Lotus and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing have reached an amicable
resolution to end their agreement. The two entities had entered
into a contract back in November for Lotus to be the team's engine
supplier in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Lotus remains completely
committed to IndyCar and has worked diligently to rise to the
challenge. Given the circumstances of the regulatory requirement to
supply multiple teams, the late timing of Lotus' entry and the
unanticipated difficulties caused by the change of ownership, Lotus
has made the decision to reduce the number of cars it runs. As a
result, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will run the Lotus engine for
the final time in Brazil.
Oriol Servia, No. 22 Lotus DRR, on the race in
Brazil: "Life, especially in racing, is very interesting.
We almost didn't make the start of the race. The guys did an
amazing job. They were working until the last second putting the
engine together and we didn't think that we were going to make it.
Somehow we picked up the best result of the year and we'll take it.
The engine got up and running, but it was definitely challenging as
we lacked top speed on the straights, which made it difficult. I
knew that I just had to survive and stay out of trouble. I was
hoping to not get hit and we were lucky that didn't happen.
We had a great race and thank you to WIX Filters and the
entire team. We are now turning the new chapter. This rough
beginning of the season has helped us to mature together. We've
grown a lot, very fast and it will be a great way to proceed for
the rest of the season."
Back on Track: Lotus DRR will head back home to
Indianapolis to prepare for the Indianapolis 500. Please visit www.dreyerreinboldracing.com
for more updates.