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PANTHER DRR QUALIFIED
FOR THE 96th RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
QUALIFYING NOTES/QUOTES---- Indianapolis, Indiana, May 20,
2012
Fast Facts:
Oriol Servia
- Servia qualified 27th for the 96th Running of the Indianapolis
500. He was fifth in line today for qualifying and only had to make
one attempt. He secured a spot on the grid with a four-lap average
qualifying speed of 222.393 mph.
- Yesterday didn't go as planned for Panther DRR. During the
morning warm-up session the team had a gearbox issue that they had
to fix. Panther DRR hurried to get the problem repaired and had the
No. 22 car ready to line-up for qualifying. As Oriol was on his
warm-up lap during his qualifying attempt, he got loose in the exit
of Turn 4 and he made contact with the wall. Fortunately, the team
was able to repair the damage on the primary car.
- Unfortunately, Oriol wasn't able to get any track time on Fast
Friday. As the team warmed the car up in the morning there was an
issue with the car smoking. Fortunately, what was thought to be a
problem with the motor ended up not being the reason, so the team
will not have to take the penalty in Detroit for an unapproved
engine change. However, the team had to spend most of the day to
change the motor and then change it back to the original, which
resulted in not being able to get out on track, but the team did
get to the bottom of the problem.
- On day one of practice Servia was 11th fastest (217.20 mph), on
day two he was 19th fastest (217.656 mph), on day three he was 8th
fastest (220.304mph), on day four of practice he was 15th fastest
(219.948 mph), on day five he was 21st fastest (219.021 mph), and
on day six he was 13th fastest (220.643 mph).
- With all six practice days combined, Servia has completed a
total of 283 laps.
- Teammate JR Hildebrand (No. 4 National Guard/Panther Racing)
locked in his spot on the grid for the race yesterday as he clocked
a four-lap average speed of 223.422 mph. He will start 18th for the
96th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
- Oriol Servia will be vying for his fourth start for the
greatest spectacle in racing.
- Last year, Oriol qualified on the front row for Newman/Haas
Racing. He started 3rd, finished 6th and led for 18 laps. In 2009,
Servia ran for Rahal Letterman Racing and he started 25th and
finished 26th as his day was ended early due to a mechanical issue.
In 2008, he qualified 25th for KV Racing Technology and finished
11th. In 2002, Servia practiced for the month of May and attempted
to qualify for Walker Racing, but did not make the show.
- In the last four races combined, Servia has gained a total of
39 positions (7 positions in St. Pete to finish 16th, 13 positions
in Barber to finish 13th, 7 positions in Long Beach to finish 16th,
and 12 positions in Brazil to finish 11th).
- 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
- DRR has competed in the Indy 500 for the last 12 years.
Last season the team ran four cars: Davey Hamilton (SP: 15th
/ FP: 24th), Justin Wilson (SP: 19th/ FP: 16th), Ana Beatriz (SP:
32nd/ FP: 21st), Paul Tracy (SP: 24th/ FP:
25th)...2010: Justin Wilson, Tomas Scheckter and Mike
Conway all led laps for the 500-first time in DRR history for three
of the four entries entered to lead the Indy 500. Wilson (SP: 11th
/FP: 7th), Scheckter (SP: 20th / FP: 15th), Ana Beatriz (SP: 21st /
FP: 21st). Both Bia and Mike had contact on the last lap of the
race....2009: For the first time in the team's
history, DRR entered four cars for the 500 with one of the entries
being with Richard Petty (making it his first Indy 500 entry). Mike
Conway (SP: 27th/ FP: 18th), John Andretti (SP: 28th / FP: 19th),
Milka Duno (SP: 30th / FP: 20th), Davey Hamilton made contact (SP:
22nd / 29th).....2008: Buddy Rice (SP: 17th/ FP: 8th),
Milka Duno (SP: 27th/ FP: 19th), Townsend Bell (SP: 12th/ FP:
10th).....2007: Sarah Fisher (SP: 21st/ FP: 18th),
Buddy Rice (SP: 16th/ FP: 25th), Roger Yasukawa (SP: 23rd/ FP:
21st)....2006: Al Unser Jr (SP: 27th/ FP: 24th
---accident), Buddy Lazier (SP: 25th/ FP:
12th)....2005: Roger Yasukawa (SP: 17th/ FP: 18th
-mechanical), Jeff Buknum (SP: 21st/ FP: 22nd
-accident)....2004: Felipe Giaffone (SP: 25th/ FP:
15th), Buddy Lazier (SP: 28th/ FP: 23rd ---fuel
system)...2003: Robbie Buhl (SP: 18th/FP:
22nd-engine), Sarah Fisher (SP: 24th/
31st-engine/accident)...2002: Robbie Buhl (SP: 2nd/
FP: 16th), Sarah Fisher (SP: 9th/ FP: 23rd)....2001:
Robbie Buhl (SP: 9th/ FP: 15th)...2000:Robbie Buhl
(SP: 9th/ FP: 26th), Steve Knapp (SP: 27th/ FP: 19th)
- Lotus and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing reached an amicable
resolution to end their agreement. The two entities had entered
into a contract back in November for Lotus to be the team's engine
supplier in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Lotus remains completely
committed to IndyCar and has worked diligently to rise to the
challenge. Given the circumstances of the regulatory requirement to
supply multiple teams, the late timing of Lotus' entry and the
unanticipated difficulties caused by the change of ownership, Lotus
made the decision to reduce the number of cars it runs. As a
result, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing ran the Lotus engine for the
final time in Brazil.
- Last week it was announced 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
beginning with this month's 96th Running of the Indianapolis
500.
Oriol Servia, No. 22 Panther DRR, on
qualifying: "To win it you've got to get in it and we just
wanted to get in the race, so we put a lot of downforce on the car
and got the it in the show. The team did a great job and they were
able to prepare the same car and that's what we were able to
qualify with today. Yesterday we woke up hoping to be in the top
nine and we thought that we had a good shot because we had good
speed all week. Then we crashed and we really had to change our
goals. All of a sudden your priority is to make sure that you are
in the race and that's what we did this morning. We put a lot of
down force in the car to make sure that we were
consistent."
Back on Track: Panther DRR will be back on
track Friday, May 25th for final practice for the 96th Running of
the Indianapolis 500. The race is scheduled for noon (ET) Sunday,
May 27. Live coverage on ABC and the IMS Radio Network will start
at 11 a.m. Please visit www.dreyerreinboldracing.com for more
updates.
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