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ADVANCE NOTES/QUOTES---- Indianapolis, IN, July
31, 2012
Fast Facts:
- This weekend will mark Servia's 8th start at
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (four of those starts were in Champ Car
from 2000-2003). Last year, he started 20th and finished 8th. In
2000, he started 17th and finished 10th, in 2001 he started 26th
and finished 9th, in 2002 he started 12th and finished 10th, in
2003 he started 8th and finished 18th, in 2008 he started 8th and
finished 5th, in 2009 he started 14th and finished 11th.
- Additionally, the team feels extra prepared this
weekend because they had the opportunity to test at Mid-Ohio Sports
Car Course last week with Servia. He had a very successful test and
logged in plenty of miles.
- Servia currently sits 11th in the championship with
227 points and is 10 points from 10th place.
- In eight races, Servia has gained a total of 98
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 and 9 positions in Toronto to finish
5th).
- Since making the switch to Chevy power, Panther DRR
and Oriol Servia have earned four top-five results in seven races,
tying with a season best of fourth place at the Indianapolis 500
and in Detroit.
- The Mecum Auction Company will be the primary
sponsor on the No. 22 this weekend. Mecum Auctions has
been specializing in the sale of collector cars for 25 years, now
offering more than 10,000 vehicles per year. Mecum Auctions
is the world leader of collector car, classic motorcycle, vintage
wooden boat and road art sales. Auctions are held throughout the
United States and broadcast live on Discovery's Velocity Network.
For further information, visit www.mecum.com or call 262.275.5050.
- For the Edmonton Indy, Servia qualified 20th, but
due to an engine change the night before the race for precautionary
reasons, Panther DRR was penalized 10 grid spot positions. The race
was going according to plan until the last pit stop. Unfortunately,
the stop didn't go as planned for the team. As Servia went to leave
the pit stall he kept stalling due to a problem with the clutch and
went down five laps as a result. Fortunately, on Lap 54 he got back
out and was in 24th position. As there was nothing more to gain due
to being down five laps, he came in on Lap 71 and called it a day,
finishing the race in 24th position. Despite the mechanical issues,
Servia clocked the third fastest lap of the race.
- 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 will mark Panther DRR's sixth time to
compete at the 2.258- mile circuit. Last year, Justin Wilson broke
his back during practice and Simon Pagenaud had to fill in for him
for the race. Pagenaud qualified 18th and finished 13th and Ana
Beatriz started 25th and finished 17th. In 2010, Wilson qualified
11th and finished 27th and JR Hildebrand started from 18th position
and finished 16th.The team finished best of eighth in 2007 after
starting ninth with Buddy Rice. In 2007, Sarah Fisher qualified
17th and finished 15th. In 2009, Mike Conway started 16th and
finished 20th and Duno started 20th and finished 21st. In 2008,
Rice qualified 7th and finished 20th and Duno qualified 26th and
finished 23rd.
- 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 Honda
Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio: "Mid-Ohio is a track that I've
competed at for many years and it's very technical. I like it a lot
and it's a great challenge. We came from a race in Edmonton where
we were not happy with our performance, except at the very end
where we set one of the fastest laps of the race. I was happy at
the Mid-Ohio test to see that we are keeping the form that we
finished Edmonton with and we were competitive and understanding
the car more and more. It was our first test that wasn't on an oval
with the Chevy engine and we had a lot to learn and we did learn
quite a bit so I'm looking forward to the race. We want to finish
the season strong and get those podiums that we have been getting
closer to and we are focused and working hard for it."
Back on Track: Panther DRR will hit the
track this weekend for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio in Lexington,
Ohio on August 5th. The race is scheduled at 1:00 pm ET. Live
coverage will be on ABC and the IMS Radio Network. Please visit www.dreyerreinboldracing.com
for more updates
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