Spaniard Oriol Servia has been on a “roll” lately, producing top-notch results for the second time in a week as he competed in last weekend’s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Servia again drove for Doran Racing in the #77 Ford entry with Kodak sponsorship and partnered with past CART drivers Memo Gidley and Michel Jourdain, as well as Italian racer Fabrizio Gollin.
The team of drivers started the race Saturday afternoon in 16th position in the DP class as Gidley led the first few stints of the race, followed by Gollin. Servia did not get his chance at the wheel until later in the day, but continued to run high in the rankings. The team saw some difficulty in the overnight hours which forced them to retire to their garage, and despite rain, they were still able to hold their position, running as low as 6th in the standings.
Other Champ Car notables in this weekend’s field include Graham Rahal, Paul Tracy, Alex Tagliani, Katherine Legge, Jimmy Vasser (though his team was knocked out of contention before he ever had the chance to get behind the wheel), DP01 test driver Roberto Moreno, and Atlantic grad Ryan Dalziel who had a most impressive drive in the final few hours of the race, holding off road racing veterans in his rookie run.
The #77 Doran Ford entry fought hard until the end and finished the race in seventh position, quite a feat considering the extensive field of road racing legends on hand over the weekend.
For further information including team photos and lineups, visit the official 24 Hours of Daytona website.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Monday, January 29, 2007
Servia Tops Sebring
It’s about that time of year again (despite the snow on the ground here in the Midwest) to dust off those Bridgestones, pull out the newly minted chassis and get to work preparing for another season of racing on the Champ Car World Series circuit. Along with the new year comes a new series logo, new drivers, and new rumors as the dust has yet to settle on the final driver lineup.
Last week’s testing sessions in Sebring proved valuable to our favorite Spaniard as Oriol Servia found himself atop the speed charts by the end of testing. Unfortunately, the beginning of the week was not quite as favorable for this veteran driver as Servia was forced to pound the pavement in the paddock looking for an opportunity to jump into one of Champ Car’s new chassis, much like several other drivers out there who are still unsigned for the 2007 racing season.
The first few test sessions came and went without Servia so much as putting a tire on track, and by the third session he was listed under the 19X car for Dale Coyne’s backup, but again never set a time.
However, rolling into the last practice day, Servia was listed under a new ride, the #22 PKV Racing entry, and finally had the opportunity to stretch his legs in the new DP01. The morning session saw him fifth quickest on the charts, clocking in his quickest lap time at 1:04.207. But it wasn’t until the afternoon session that Uri really blew the field out of the water, setting the quickest time of the entire week at 50.741.
While this test has not yet secured him a ride at the PKV Racing stables, team co-owner Jimmy Vasser has certainly alluded to the fact that he’d like to see Oriol return for another season. A lot still depends on sponsorship, and only time and money will tell whether we’ll see the red and yellow stripes flying over the Champ Car circuit again this season.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
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