Another Great Comeback During Wild Race for Panther DRR & Oriol Servia
QUALIFYING NOTES/QUOTES
Fast Facts:
• Today marked the second top-five finish in a row for Panther DRR and Oriol Servia.
• Before the start of the race Oriol moved up to P16 from P17 because Alex Tagliani, who was in third position on the grid was unable to start the race. As the green flag waved Servia gained three positions, going form P16 to P13 on the first lap.
• On Lap 25, Servia came in for a full fill of fuel and switched from the Firestone Firehawk primary (black-sidewall) tires to the a fresh set of alternate (red-sidewall tires). After the round of stops Servia, he was 12th before he came in and then filtered out to P14.
• Things began to get interesting on Lap 39 when the caution came out for James Hinchcliffe making contact in Turn 7 and Takuma Sato making contact in Turn 12. As a result of that, Servia went from P14 to P12. The pits opened and cars came in and the Spaniard gained another two positions to put him in 10th place.
• The yellow was extended due to the track breaking up in Turns 6, 7, and 10. The red flag came out on Lap 44, which lasted for two hours as repairs were made to the track.
• Before it was time to go green again all cars were able to come in to put fresh tires on and the No. 22 Panther DRR crew put a set of sticker Firestone Firehawk alternate (red-sidewall) tires on the car.
• On the Lap 46 restart, Servia started in 9th position and went from 9th to 5th before the yellow came out on Lap 47. As a result he was able to maintain that position for the remainder of the race.
• Servia was in Group 1 for yesterday's qualifying session. Unfortunately he did not advance to the Fast 12. He clocked the 17th fastest time of 1:12.5754. Yesterday morning's practice session did not go as planned for Panther DRR and Servia. On the first lap out, Oriol made contact with the wall in Turn 13. There was significant damage to the right front suspension and he was unable to run the remainder of the session. Fortunately, the No. 22 crew got the car fixed in time for qualifying.
• This weekend marked Servia's 4th start at the Detroit Belle Isle track. In 2008, he started 3rd and finished 4th. During his rookie season in 2000, Servia finished on the podium, earning a 3rd place result. He has finished in the top four twice in three starts at the Belle Isle circuit.
• In the last six races combined, Servia has gained a total of 74 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, and 23 positions in Indianapolis to finish 4th, 12 positions in Detroit to finish 5th).
• The Mecum Auction Company was 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.
• Servia qualified 27th for last weekend's Indianapolis 500 and finished a career-best at the IMS track with a 4th place result. After a last minute stop due to a tire going down in the early part of the race, Servia went a lap down for most of the event as a result. During the last stint, Servia got his lap back and went from 18th to 4th place in 20 laps.
• 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 weekend marked the team's 3rd time to compete at the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.
• Today was Panther DRR's best finish at Belle Isle with a 5th place result. In 2007 the team finished 7th in with Buddy Rice driving. The team's best start of 15th in 2007 with Buddy Rice.
• Last weekend's Indianapolis 500 marked a career-best result in the race for Oriol Servia and Panther DRR. It was the Spaniard's fourth start and he finished the day with his best result for the race. It was the same story for the team. Last Sunday's race was Panther DRR's 13th start and their best result for the Indianapolis 500 race as well.
• 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.
Oriol Servia, No. 22 Panther DRR, on finishing 5th for the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix: "Again, it's the story of our season, whenever we give up, we come back. I have to give big credits to the team, because I crashed Saturday morning and that put us way behind schedule. We were a session behind everyone and in qualifying it was difficult, but we just kept improving. It's been a season of never giving up. Another top-five with our second race with Chevy and a second top-five in a row for the team so I'm very happy of what's to come for the rest of the season. We had Mecum again on the car. It seems like every time we have them with us we have a good ending so I'm very happy. It's just a shame we couldn't bring a win or a podium to Chevy at their home, but that's the way destiny works sometimes."
Back on Track: Panther DRR will be back next week in Texas. The race is scheduled for Saturday, June 9th. Live coverage will be on the NBC Sports Network and the IMS Radio Network. Please visit www.dreyerreinboldracing.com for more updates.
About Panther DRR:
Panther DRR will be entering its 13th season of full-time competition in 2012, making it one of the longest-tenured teams in IZOD IndyCar Series competition. Current Co-Owners, Dennis Reinbold and Robbie Buhl, first teamed in full-time competition at the Walt Disney World Speedway in January of 2000. With Buhl behind the wheel, the two owners tasted victory in their debut race. DRR now has over 305 starts to tuck under its belt and has qualified a total of 31 cars for the Indianapolis 500. In its history, the team has boasted a championship list of alumni drivers. Besides Buhl, the team has run Indianapolis 500 winners, Al Unser, Jr., Buddy Lazier, and Buddy Rice, along with IZOD IndyCar Series race winner, Ryan Briscoe. The team has one of the longest lines of heritage in American open-wheel racing and the Indianapolis 500 as Dennis Reinbold's grandfather, "Pop" Dreyer, built leading roadsters that raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the 30s, 40s, and 50s.
Panther DRR
Elizabeth Power
Media Contact
(317) 341-2222
ecannon@dreyerreinbold.com
