Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda Indy Toronto – Streets around Exhibition Place
Verizon IndyCar Series
RACE NOTES/QUOTES – Sunday, July 15, 2018
RAHAL AND SATO BOTH RAN IN THE TOP-THREE OF THE HONDA INDY TORONTO BUT SEPARATE INCIDENTS LIMITED THEIR FINISHES TO 21ST AND 22ND
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Rousseau Metal Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I’m disappointed; there isn’t anything else to say. Obviously as we showed there at the end once we got back in the race, the car was fast. The start was awful; we got boxed in and just couldn’t go anywhere so that was disappointing. The blacks were okay to start, it was really that we just got boxed in and that was my fault. I just didn’t get the right lane and it bit us a little bit. Overall the Rousseau car was fast and I feel bad for the guys. We wanted better and we expected better and it hurt us a lot in the championship. We go on to Mid-Ohio after opportunities lost again. We’ve just got to make one (win) happen soon. (On L33 restart:) I had a really good run and was going to the right and then King popped out and hit the brakes. I went left to try to avoid him, got into the back of Chilton just a little bit but we were kind of okay. We started to get to mid-corner and were okay and then wham, I got absolutely drilled from behind. I don’t really know by whom but ultimately, obviously, I started the whole train of it. I just don’t know what happened behind me.”
- FAST FACTS: Started 13th in the 80-lap race and was one of only four drivers that started on the harder primary tires to go off-strategy. Andretti and Kanaan got by Rahal on the faster alternate tires and then by Bourdais. He got by Chaves for 15th and then began cycling up from L13 on as drivers began making their first stops. He cycled into second behind King by L24 and held the spot when Hunter-Reay drove into the tires and Rossi and Power made contact. The timing of the caution hurt Rahal, who had yet to pit as had leader King and eighth place Pigot. Once he made his stop under caution and returned to the track, he was in 16th place and was unable to capitalize on the track position. On Lap 34 the race restarted and he had to take evasive action to avoid running into King ahead which set up a chain reaction behind him and another full course caution came out. Once the six-car accident was cleared, he came to the pits and the team had to ultimately pull the car behind the pit wall to replace the tow link and lower rear wishbone. When he got back on track, he was 15 laps down in 23rd place but the team needed to make every attempt to gain points if others dropped out. Ultimately he finished 21st… Was his 13th Indy car race here and 14th overall including his 2006 Atlantic race… In 12 Indy car races, his best Toronto start is second last year and his best finish is fifth in 2010 with Newman/Haas Racing. He has three, top-five starts and four, top-10 finishes… His highest start of the season is fifth at Long Beach and his highest finish is second in St. Pete… 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… Rahal dropped from a tie for sixth in series point standings to eighth with a total of 313.
TAKUMA SATO, No. 30 Mi-Jack / Panasonic Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “All weekend we were competitive. Obviously the weather situation for qualifying was tough for us but still we were competitive again in the warmup before the race. Then in the race we had some issues but the car was fast all day. I feel sorry for the boys who gave me a great car the whole weekend. I think we have great momentum. I’m looking forward to going to Mid-Ohio.”
- FAST FACTS: He made a great start from seventh place and passed Pagenaud on the first corner and then Rossi in Turn 10 for fifth place. He held the position until his first stop on Lap 20 and returned to the track in 12th place before he began cycling up as others made their stops. He was in sixth place on Lap 27 and took over fifth when Hunter-Reay drove into the tires. A few front runners dove into the pits and Sato cycled into third place during the caution. When the race restarted on Lap 33, he was caught behind previous leader Newgarden, who hit the wall on the restart to run sixth. He gained two spots back to run fourth on Lap 34 and was later challenged by Andretti for a few laps but when he attempted to utilize Push to Pass, it did not work and Andretti was able to take the spot. After holding fifth place for many laps, he brushed the wall on the final corner of lap 66 and drove into the runoff of Turn 1 with too much damage to continue. He ultimately was scored with a 22nd place finish… Was his 11th race here. In his 10 previous races, his best start is eighth in 2015 and his best finish is fifth in 2016 and Race 2 in 2014 – all with A.J. Foyt Racing. He has four top-10 finishes… He has finished no lower than seventh place in four of the last five races dating back to fifth place in Dual 1 of Detroit and finished the past two races fourth (Road America) and third (Iowa Speedway)… His highest start of the season is fifth at St. Pete and his highest finish is third at Iowa… 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 remained 12th in series point standings with a total of 245.
NEXT UP: The series will take next weekend off before returning to action at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Honda 200 on Sunday, July 29.
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