RACE NOTES/QUOTES---- St. Petersburg, Florida, March 25,
2012
Fast Facts:
- Servia qualified 23rd for the race and finished 16th, clocking
the 14th fastest lap time of 1:03.54.
- Katherine Legge spun on Lap 12 and Oriol pitted on the same lap
before the yellow came out, making it a three-stop strategy for
Lotus DRR. The No. 22 TranSystems crew filled the car full of fuel
and switched from the Firestone Firehawk primary (black-sidewall)
tires to the Firestone Firehawk alternate (red-sidewall)
tires.
- Servia pitted again on Lap 43, receiving a full fill of fuel
and switched from the Firestone Firehawk alternate (red-sidewall)
tires to the primary (black-sidewall) tires. As he was leaving pit
lane, the No. 22 TranSystems machine stalled several times due to
the clutch not being able to engage. Oriol was unable to put the
car into first gear as result and he lost a lap.
- Oriol came in for the final time on Lap 72 to fill full with
fuel and switch from the Firestone Firehawk alternate
(red-sidewall) tires to the Firestone Firehawk (black-sidewall)
tires.
- This weekend marked Servia's third start at the St. Petersburg
track. In 2008, he qualified 7th and finished 7th and in 2011 he
qualified 15th and finished 9th.
- Last year Oriol Finished fourth in IZOD IndyCar Series
standings....Recorded 11 top-10 finishes, with a best of second at
New Hampshire and Baltimore....Among three drivers to be running at
the finish in all 17 races..... Led all drivers in laps completed
(2,103 of 2,011)....Oriol was the only driver to finish in the top
10 in first five races of the season.
- This year will be Lotus DRR's 13th season of IndyCar
competition, making them one of the longest tenured teams in the
series.
- This weekend marked the team's 8th time to compete at the St.
Pete street circuit.
- In 2010, the team started 4th at St. Pete with Justin Wilson
and finished 2nd in the race. Last year Wilson started 6th and
finished 10th.
Oriol Servia, No. 22 Lotus DRR, on the
race:
"I'm very, very happy and the happiest I've been all weekend.
The TranSystems car was fantastic to drive. I was pulling away in
the corners. We're lacking top speed, there's no doubt, but I'm
super encouraged at the improvement that we made with the car. We
had a little hiccup with the clutch and it was not engaging, so we
couldn't put the car in first gear during the stops, which put us a
lap down. Those are mechanical things that in racing you cannot
avoid, especially with a new car. We kept our heads down after a
tough qualifying and we came up with a good racecar, which gives me
confidence for the next 15 races."
Dennis Reinbold, Co-Owner Lotus DRR, on the
race:
"Today our goal was to finish the race and improve our position
significantly with a poor starting position. We just
worked hard all day. We had a problem with our clutch, which cost
us a lap and what could have been a pretty good finish. We're
disappointed with that, but happy with the way the car came
together during the race."
Back on Track:
Lotus DRR will be back on track next weekend for the Honda Indy
Grand Prix of Alabamaon Sunday, April 1st at 2:00 pm ET. The race
will be telecast live on NBC Sports. Please visit www.dreyerreinboldracing.com for more
updates.