Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
REV Group Grand Prix at Road America
NTT IndyCar Series – Round 10 of 17
QUALIFYING NOTES/QUOTES – June 22, 2019
RAHAL AND SATO TO START FIFTH AND SIXTH FOR THE REV GROUP GRAND PRIX OF ROAD AMERICA
1) Colton Herta 1:42.9920 / 140.306 mph (Group 1, Round 3)
5) Graham Rahal 1:43.8076 / 139.204 mph (Group 1, Round 3)
6) Takuma Sato 1:43.8790 / 139.108 mph (Group 1, Round 3)
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 GEHL / Manitou Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a good day for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the end considering how we ran in Practice 3 to rebound like that and qualify fifth and sixth. It’s a good accomplishment. The Gehl car was strong in qualifying. We’ll be able to race from there. Tire wear is going to be a major issue for tomorrow so we’ll have to see how it all shakes out. Starting up front, you can’t lose the track position so we’re starting on reds and you’ve got to go. But if the (bad) weather comes, we’ll face that challenge at the time.”
TAKUMA SATO, No. 30 Mi-Jack / Panasonic Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a great recovery from the team. We struggled and were nowhere on the time sheets. The balance, grip level, trim and all the things just felt disconnected. We didn’t make major changes but we just reviewed every single area and I think we got everything together. Graham and I were able to push 100 percent without major mistakes so I think as team, we should be happy with the performance. Tomorrow we are looking for more speed and hopefully we can have it. The red tire seems to degrade more than last year and so do the primary tires so tire wear will be the key and also the weather.”
RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT ROAD AMERICA … The 2019 The 2019 REV Group Grand Prix at Road America will mark the 16th time for Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) Racing to compete in an Indy car race here and fourth since 2003. The team competed in CART and Champ Car-sanctioned races here from 1992-2003 and again since 2016 with a best starting position of pole by Kenny Brack in 2001 and best finish of second place by Bobby Rahal in 1996. The team has earned a total of five podium finishes here (2nd – B. Rahal 1996; 3rd – B. Rahal 1992-1993, Kenny Brack 2000, Graham Rahal 2016). The team has also competed in ALMS and IMSA-sanctioned races here under the name BMW Team RLL since 2009 and has three wins (2009, 2010, 2012), three poles (2009, 2011, 2014) and a total of eight podium finishes here.
NEXT UP: The 55-lap REV Group Grand Prix of Road America will take the green flag at 11:50 a.m. CT. The REV Group Grand Prix will be televised live on NBC beginning at 12:00 PM ET Sunday, June 23.