Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 – Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil
IZOD IndyCar Series
QUALIFYING NOTES/QUOTES – Saturday, May 4, 2013
CHALLENGES LIMITED RAHAL AND JAKES’ STARTING POSITIONS TO 19TH AND 25TH FOR THE ITAIPAVA SAO PAULO INDY 300
POLE: Ryan Hunter-Reay 1:20.4312 / 113.508 mph (set in Round 3)
19th: Graham Rahal 1:22.2998 / 110.931 mph (set in Round 1; Group 1)
25th: James Jakes No Time / No Speed (set in Round 1; Group 2, Red Flag penalty deleted his 2 lap times)
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 blu eCigs Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We started off right where we wanted to be, pretty competitively; the blu eCigs car felt pretty good. Unfortunately as the track gripped up, the handling started to go away from us a little bit. We tried to chase it between Practice 2 and qualifying and unfortunately we put some wing back in it for qualifying and it looks like it cost us. But the timing of the red flag killed us though. So instead of starting where we have been starting — around 13th place, because that’s what lap time we did — we’re going to start near the back. It’s pretty frustrating because we had a pretty good car this morning we just lost it a bit. We’re going to have to do some work overnight here. I think there will be some opportunities to move up between strategy and passing. We’re going to have to do everything we can to make up the positions.”
JAMES JAKES, No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We were working on the Acorn Stairlifts car all day and made some improvements before qualifying but we went out to make a run and had a problem with the engine. We’re not quite sure what it is right now but we will identify it and try to come up with a solution. If we have a good car we will be able to pass and there are a few places to pass on this track so that should help but this is obviously not ideal.”
RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING PODIUM IN LONE SAO PAULO RACE… This will mark the second time for RLL to compete in the Indy car race in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2012, then-driver Takuma Sato was penalized 10-grid spots for an unapproved engine change prior to qualifying but was unable to make an attempt due to the engine change still being performed and ultimately started 25th of 26 cars. In the race he passed four cars at the start but was later given a drive-through penalty for exceeding the speed limit on his first of three stops. He capitalized on mistakes of others and good pit strategy to move to fifth late in the race. On the second to last restart he passed Franchitti and Castroneves for third and held the position for his best series finish to date…. OTHER BRAZIL RACES: Team Rahal competed in CART-sanctioned events in Rio de Janeiro from 1996-2000 with Bobby Rahal (1996-1998), Bryan Herta (1996-99), Max Papis (1999-00), and Kenny Brack (2000). The best start for the team on the 1.86-mile, D-shaped oval in Rio was third by Rahal in 1997. The team’s best finish in Brazil is fourth, by Herta (1998) and Papis (1999). Over the 10 entries between 1996-00, the team had four top-five and eight top-10 starts as well as two top-five and seven top-10 finishes. (chart available)
NEXT UP: Pre-race warm-up will take place tomorrow morning from 8:00 – 8:30 a.m. local time (7-7:30 AM ET). Timing and Scoring information is available for all sessions from www.indycar.com. The Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 will be televised live on NBC Sports Network at 11:00 AM ET Sunday, May 5.
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