Though only his second week with the team, Oriol Servia really seemed to be gelling with Forsythe Championship Racing after a successful weekend in Houston. Servia, subbing for the injured Paul Tracy, again piloted the #3 INDECK/Cosworth/DP01 to another top-five finish following an interesting series of pit stops.
The team ran the same pit strategy that paid off for them a week ago in Long Beach and landed them on the podium. During the first stop, Servia’s team short-filled the car, giving the driver a quick advantage of getting back into the race in second position behind Sebastien Bourdais. However, it was the second set of stops that almost saw disaster strike as both Servia and teammate Mario Dominguez were called in to pit at the same time. Servia quickly completed his stop, but as he tried to make his way back down pit lane, he found himself nose to nose with Dominguez who was just pulling in for his stop. Servia’s quick reflexes may have been the only thing that kept the two from colliding. Though no damage occurred to the cars, the real damage was already done and Oriol lost any shot of getting back in with the frontrunners.
The #3 Forsythe team hung in there and battled back to finish the race in fourth position, just one step off another podium finish.
Team owner Gerry Forsythe had joked with Servia prior to the race, promising him a ride for the remainder of the season if Servia brought home a win. However, given his two strong finishes already for the team, Oriol’s days of pounding the paddock for a ride just may have come to an end.
The Champ Car World Series now takes a hiatus until the next race at Portland the beginning of June, but stay tuned to OriolServia.com for all the latest updates!
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Servia climbs back in the saddle and onto the podium
After speaking with Oriol briefly in Las Vegas a week ago, he assured me that he was really close to a ride. But I don’t think that even he suspected just how close that ride was after #3 INDECK Forsythe Championship Racing driver Paul Tracy was injured this past weekend during morning practice for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Servia was immediately named Tracy’s replacement and did not fail to impress, starting in 14th position and quickly working his way up the grid. The Catalonian was one in a small contingency of drivers who pitted early, throwing the #3 entry off sequence and allowing Servia to lead several laps once the rest of the field stopped. However, it was the team’s quick and precise second stop that landed them in with the front-runners while Oriol fended off Alex Tagliani on cold tires to hold his second-place position.
While it was a day where nobody had much against Sebastien Bourdais, Servia certainly gave him a run for his money at the end and landed the team on the second step of the podium.
Oriol received much praise following the race for once again being able to pinch-hit. “How many times do I have to show that I’m ready to go?” remarked Servia after climbing from the car. “To be honest, I had pretty big shoes to fill today.”
Paul Tracy is expected to be out of the cockpit for up to three months recovering from his injuries, and Servia fans certainly have their pick made for his temporary replacement. However, Tracy’s teammate, Mario Dominguez, is also only contracted through the first three races of the season.
How will all this play into a fulltime ride for our driver? A lot will most certainly rest on Servia’s performance this upcoming weekend on the streets of Houston (provided the Forsythe team asks him to stay on; no official press release has been made by the time this story was published). One thing’s for sure -- we certainly haven’t heard the last from this Spaniard and I believe we will see several more podium stops before the season’s end.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Servia was immediately named Tracy’s replacement and did not fail to impress, starting in 14th position and quickly working his way up the grid. The Catalonian was one in a small contingency of drivers who pitted early, throwing the #3 entry off sequence and allowing Servia to lead several laps once the rest of the field stopped. However, it was the team’s quick and precise second stop that landed them in with the front-runners while Oriol fended off Alex Tagliani on cold tires to hold his second-place position.
While it was a day where nobody had much against Sebastien Bourdais, Servia certainly gave him a run for his money at the end and landed the team on the second step of the podium.
Oriol received much praise following the race for once again being able to pinch-hit. “How many times do I have to show that I’m ready to go?” remarked Servia after climbing from the car. “To be honest, I had pretty big shoes to fill today.”
Paul Tracy is expected to be out of the cockpit for up to three months recovering from his injuries, and Servia fans certainly have their pick made for his temporary replacement. However, Tracy’s teammate, Mario Dominguez, is also only contracted through the first three races of the season.
How will all this play into a fulltime ride for our driver? A lot will most certainly rest on Servia’s performance this upcoming weekend on the streets of Houston (provided the Forsythe team asks him to stay on; no official press release has been made by the time this story was published). One thing’s for sure -- we certainly haven’t heard the last from this Spaniard and I believe we will see several more podium stops before the season’s end.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
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