Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda Indy Toronto 2 in T.O. – Streets around Exhibition Place
Verizon IndyCar Series
RACE 1 NOTES/QUOTES – Saturday, July 19, 2014
STANDING WATER AND LIMITED VISIBILITY FORCED THE POSTPONEMENT OF RACE 1 OF THE HONDA INDY TORONTO 2 IN T.O UNTIL SUNDAY; TWO RACES IN ONE DAY
GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 National Guard Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The conditions were difficult today; you just couldn’t see. And it’s not a matter of racing because all of us want to. The problem is that it’s got to be safe and when the visibility is like it was; there’s just nothing you can do, you could hurt somebody. They made the right call. Its unfortunate for the fans but it is what it is. This is a great fan base and they are troopers for staying here. I feel terrible for them but there weren’t many good options.”
LUCA FILIPPI, No. 16 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The conditions were not ideal that’s for sure. It’s a bit strange that the only place that is not bumpy is the back straight and there is new asphalt but it doesn’t drain the rain at all so with a lot of speed and the downforce of this car we had so much spray that even running seventh I couldn’t see a thing so I think that in the back it was even more dangerous. You reach a high speed and after that there is a slow hairpin. It’s a bit of a shame because with a better surface you can easily race with rain like that. For our side it was a good day. In qualifying we did everything we could so we will just wait and see what happens.”
RLL AT TOROTO: The Honda Indy Toronto will mark the 15th year of Indy car racing for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) here and the team’s 16th and 17th races. The team also competed in the Atlantic Series races here in 2003 and 2004. The team earned a total of four second place finishes (Rahal 1992, 1994, 1995; Michel Jourdain Jr. 2003) and best start was pole in 1992 by Bobby Rahal. Prior to the 2014 event, the team prepared a total of 26 Indy car entries for drivers Bobby Rahal (1992-98), Mike Groff (1994), Raul Boesel (1995), Bryan Herta (1996-99), Max Papis (1999-2001), Jimmy Vasser (2002), Michel Jourdain Jr. (2002-03), Takuma Sato (2012), Graham Rahal (2013 x 2) and James Jakes (2013 x 2).The team also prepared three Toyota Atlantic entries (Danica Patrick 2003-2004; Chris Festa 2004).The team has earned FIVE podiums (3rd – Rahal 1996), 9 top-five’s and 17 top-10 finishes at the track. Team co-owner Rahal competed in Toronto from 1986-1991 as a driver and from 1992-1998 as a team owner/driver. In 13 events, he earned one WIN (1986), two POLES (1987, 1992), and seven PODIUMS. He also started on the front row three times, earned 10 top-five and 11 top-10 finishes.
NEXT UP: Two 75-lap races – a rolling start forRace 1 at 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday and standing start for Race 2 at 4:15 p.m. will take place. Both will be televised by NBCSN.
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