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RACE NOTES/QUOTES---- Baltimore, Maryland, September 2,
2012
Fast Facts:
- Servia qualified 18th, but started the race 16th due to two
cars in front him receiving a 10 grid spot penalty due to
unapproved engine changes.
- The Spaniard got a good start and maintained his 16th position.
Things got interesting as the yellows started to come out with the
first yellow coming out on Lap 8. The restart came out on Lap 13,
and Oriol started P15. He felt that he made contact with Charlie
Kimball, but the team looked at it and he was okay and continued
on. He gained one more position to P14 as a result.
- Servia came in on Lap 18 for his first stop to receive a full
fill of fuel and to switch from the Firestone Firehawk Primary
(black-sidewall) tires to the Firestone Firehawk "wet" tires due to
the rain causing parts of the track to be slick. The
team also had to replace his front wing because Oriol made contact
with Marco Andretti in Turn 1 on the Lap 17 restart.
- As the track started to dry, Oriol had to come in on Lap 25 for
a full fill of fuel and to switch from the "wet" tires to the
Firestone Firehawk Alternate (red-sidewall tires). He came in P12,
but filtered back to P22.
- After continuous yellows throughout the race, Servia would
bounce back and forth on the grid. He came in for his final stop on
Lap 56 for a full fill of fuel and to switch from the Firestone
Firehawk Alternate (red-sidewall) tires to the "sticker" set of
"red" tires. When he came in he was P2 and after the stop he
filtered back out to P7.
- On the Lap 73 restart Oriol made some great passes with two
laps to go and went from P10 to P7. Servia brought the car home in
7th place.
- Servia was in Group 2 for yesterday's qualifying session.
Unfortunately, he missed a spot in the Fast 12 by three tenths of a
second. He clocked the 18th fastest time today of 1:19.3365 (92.568
mph).
- This weekend marked Servia's second start at Baltimore. Last
year he started 14th and finished 2nd.
- Servia currently sits 12th in the championship with 275 points
and is 30 points from 10th place.
- WIX Filters was the primary on the No. 22 machine this weekend.
Since 1939, Wix has been an innovator in filtration products. Wix
designs, manufactures, and distributes filtration products for
automotive, diesel, agricultural, industrial, and specialty filter
markets. Its product line includes oil, air, cabin interior, fuel,
coolant, transmission, and hydraulic filters for automobiles, trucks
and off-road equipment.
- In nine races, Servia has gained a total of 107 positions (7
positions in St. Pete to finish 16th, 13 positions in Barber to
finish 13th, 7 positions in Long Beach to finish 16th, 12 positions
in Brazil to finish 11th, 23 positions in Indianapolis to finish
4th, 11 positions in Detroit to finish 5th, 16 positions in
Milwaukee to finish 4th, 9 positions in Toronto to finish 5th , and
9 positions in Baltimore to finish 7th).
- Since making the switch to Chevy power, Panther DRR and Oriol
Servia have earned five top-ten results (four of them being
top-five results) in ten races, tying with a season best of fourth
place at the Indianapolis 500 and in Detroit.
- 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.
Panther DRR
- This weekend marked the team's second time to compete at the
temporary street circuit. Last year, Ana Beatriz qualified 22nd and
finished 18th, Tomas Scheckter started 24th and finished 22nd , and
Giorgio Pantano started 15th, but was at the wrong place at the
wrong time when he made contact in all of the mayhem in Turn 3. His
day was ended early on Lap 43 and he finished the race 26th.
- It was announced in May that the Indianapolis-based squad has
united with two-time IndyCar Series champion Panther Racing to form
a strategic alliance on Oriol Servia's entry for the remainder of
the 2012 season. The No. 22 Panther/DRR team will utilize Panther's
second Chevrolet engine lease and work in conjunction with the No.
4 National Guard team and driver JR Hildebrand.
Oriol Servia, No. 22 Panther DRR, on the Grand Prix of
Baltimore Presented by SRT: "It was a good result,
especially from where we started, but I really had high hopes of
revisiting the podium again, but we are going to have to next year
and next race. I don't even remember everything that I went through
during the race. There was so much chaos. First with the rain and
actually it was the worst conditions where it's not wet and it's
not dry. We ended up with the wrong tires at the last second there
when it was drying up and we had to come in on the green. That put
us at the back of the field and we had to make our way up the grid.
I have high hopes for Fontana. I've always liked big ovals and
500-mile races and I think we will be strong there in 15 days.
Back on Track: Panther DRR will head back home
to Indianapolis and prepare for the final race in Fontana. The race
will be at 8:30 pm ET on Saturday, September 15th. Live coverage
will be on the NBC Sports Network and the IMS Radio Network. Please
visit www.dreyerreinboldracing.com for more updates.
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