Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Verizon IndyCar Series
RACE NOTES/QUOTES – April 13, 2014
SERVIA AND RAHAL FINISHED SEVENTH AND 13TH RESPECTIVELY IN THE TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 National Guard Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a crazy day for us. The National Guard guys did a great job for us. I must say the engineering staff and all of the mechanics were down because we were starting where we did and to charge up like that feels awfully good. When we stopped out strategy was working perfectly. We were able to click by guys, going and going. I hit Justin and they called a penalty on me and then I got hit by Aleshin and he doesn’t get a penalty. Same exact situation but I got one and he doesn’t. Honestly I feel like we had a great car today. The National Guard guys did a fantastic job and I really can’t be disappointed. We could have won this race because the car was definitely quick enough but on a day like today, you just have to take what you’re given.”
ORIOL SERVIA, No. 16 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was one of those races where you feel frustrated no matter where you finish because I basically ran two thirds of the race with a broken front wing. I broke two front wings actually. On the first one, out of the hairpin I think Conway went into neutral or anti-stall because all of a sudden he slowed down when I was out of the hairpin so I kind of nailed him on exit and broke the front wing. We ran around 15 laps like that and I was really struggling so on the next pit stop we changed the front wing which cost us some positions but at least the car felt great then. And three laps into it, Marco tried a bonzai move in the hairpin and I had to move and hit Pagenaud and broke the second one so I was without a front wing again. I was amazed about how the car was still great. I had a lot of under steer but I was able to keep the pace. I wasn’t able to pass anybody because I was slow in the corners but the car was strong. It’s just frustrating because there was not one lap where I could show how fast the car was and I think it was really fast. It’s encouraging that we found a good pace for the next street race, which I hope I will be in.”
NEXT UP: Graham Rahal will test at Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday, April 16. The next round of the Verizon IndyCar Series will take place at BarberMotorsportsPark for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, April 25-27.
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