Practice Day 2 for the Indy 500 Came With Mixed Results; Sato and Servia in Top-10

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500
Verizon IndyCar Series
PRACTICE NOTES/QUOTES – May 16, 2018

PRACTICE DAY 2 FOR THE INDY 500 FOR SATO, SERVIA AND RAHAL CAME WITH MIXED RESULTS; SATO AND SERVIA IN TOP-10

1)   Marco Andretti          227.053 mph             117 laps
3)   Takuma Sato             226.108 mph              112 laps
9)   Oriol Servia               224.934 mph             115 laps
34) Graham Rahal           222.102 mph             78 laps

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 United Rentals Dallara/Honda/Firestone:  “It wasn’t a great day obviously. The car isn’t very close so we will keep working on it.  We spent the first few hours working on qualifying sims (simulations) and did two of them. So we knew that early in our day was committed to that but certainly it wasn’t the finish to the day that we were looking for.”

• FAST FACTS: Will be his 11th Indy 500. His best qualifying position in the Indy 500 is fourth in 2009 with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and best finish is third with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing in 2011 after he led six laps. He ran in the top-five in six of his nine previous races here. Detailed Indy 500 information available upon request. Has SIX IndyCar Series wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course; 2016 – Texas Super Speedway; 2017 Detroit Race 1, Detroit Race 2) and THREE poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015… He dropped from being tied for third in the standings to sixth with 142 points, only 10 out of third place.

TAKUMA SATO, No. 30 Mi-Jack / Panasonic Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I would say it was a very productive day. Mid-day we were struggling a little bit in terms of balance but we were trying to find new philosophies. In the end, in the evening I think we were finally able to do a quite-good run in the pack which was quite encouraging. Still there are a few bits and pieces we need to get sorted because I had a huge moment in traffic. But I think it was a very good day with the three of us working together. We’ll be heads down the next two days and do our jobs and hopefully keep climbing up the chart and make the car faster.”

• FAST FACTS: Reigning winner of the 2017 Indy 500.  The 2018 race will be his ninth Indy 500 and second with RLL. In 2012 with RLL, he was alongside eventual winner Franchitti in Turn 1 on the final lap but his race ended due to contact after he was squeezed down on the apron and lost control of his race car. Prior to his 2017 win with Andretti from his best start of fourth place, his highest finish was 13th in 2013 and 2015 – both with A.J. Foyt Racing… Has TWO IndyCar Series wins (2013 – Long Beach street course, 2017 – Indy 500 oval) and SEVEN poles (2011 Iowa oval, Edmonton street; 2013 Houston Race 1 street; 2014 St. Pete street, Detroit Race 2 street; 2017 Detroit Race 2, Pocono oval). He is 13th in series point standings with 90 points.

ORIOL SERVIA, No. 64 Scuderia Corsa / Manitowoc Dallara/Honda/Firestone, entered by Scuderia Corsa with RLL:  “Well today is only Wednesday, there is still a lot to accomplish but it was definitely a way better day than yesterday. We did a couple of runs completely alone this morning to check our balance towards qualifying and we were quite pleased with the car. Towards the end of the day we did more runs in traffic to see how the car will be in race conditions and we are still not as happy as we want to be on race day but we are definitely making gains. The car is pretty good and no worse than anyone out there. I would say we are a Top-10 car right now. We obviously are aiming higher than that and still have a few days to keep working on our goal. I’m looking forward to tomorrow!”

• FAST FACTS: Will be his 203rd Indy car start… The 2018 Indy 500 will be Servia’s 10th in the famed race and fifth with RLL. His best finish overall is fourth in 2012 with Dreyer & Reinbold and best start is third in 2011 with Newman/Haas Racing.  In the 2009 Indianapolis 500 with RLL, Servia was in ninth place halfway through the race when a mechanical failure led to his retirement in 26th place.  In 2014, he competed for the team in Long Beach, at Barber Motorsports Park and two events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway where he led seven laps in the road course race but finished 12th, qualified 18th for the Indy 500 and finished 11th.  In 2015, Servia retired in 29th place from the Indy 500 with RLL after Ed Carpenter attempted an inside pass while Servia was 15th and took both drivers out of the race after 112 of 200 laps… A native of Pals, Spain, Servia has made 202 starts in CART, Champ Car and the IndyCar Series since his rookie season in 2000.  His Indy car highlights include one win (Montreal 2005) and one pole (Surfers Paradise, Australia 2005) as well as a total of 19 top-three, 51 top-five and 101 top-10 finishes.

NEXT UP: Practice will take place from 11-6 p.m. ET tomorrow.

PHOTO AND VIDEO AVAILABLE: Media members who register on the IndyCar Series media site have access to photography as well as video. Register for access to photos at: www.indycarmedia.com/pages/ApplyforAccess