A great article which appeared at RACER.com that I just couldn't pass up!
Oriol Servia: IndyCar’s most overlooked talent?
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Monday, May 25, 2009
Fuel Pressure Problems Thwart Indy Run
Oriol Servia and the Rahal Letterman Racing Team put up quite a fight in this year’s Indy 500, yet the leapfrog strategy was just not enough to carry them through to the end of the race.
Servia and RLR started 25th in the field, on the inside of Row 9, and in this race plagued with yellows, Oriol made a slow and steady move to the front of the field, picking off his opponents one by one.
A combination of on-track passes along with mishaps on the part of drivers ahead of him allowed Servia to climb as high as 9th position, passing drivers such as Justin Wilson, Ryan Briscoe and Paul Tracy along the way. All was going well for the team until just before the fourth round of pit stops when the #17 DAFCA Special experienced a fuel pressure problem which took them out of the race.
Servia commented, “Everything was going according to plan…the machine was amazing. It was really a car to win. Honestly I felt faster than everyone around me.”
Oriol was officially recorded in 26th position. Though this race was a one-off for Servia, it was a rough road for a handful of drivers and I’m certain his entire fanbase will wait to see if the super-sub is called upon as early as this coming weekend as the Indy Cars return to the legendary Milwaukee Mile.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Servia and RLR started 25th in the field, on the inside of Row 9, and in this race plagued with yellows, Oriol made a slow and steady move to the front of the field, picking off his opponents one by one.
A combination of on-track passes along with mishaps on the part of drivers ahead of him allowed Servia to climb as high as 9th position, passing drivers such as Justin Wilson, Ryan Briscoe and Paul Tracy along the way. All was going well for the team until just before the fourth round of pit stops when the #17 DAFCA Special experienced a fuel pressure problem which took them out of the race.
Servia commented, “Everything was going according to plan…the machine was amazing. It was really a car to win. Honestly I felt faster than everyone around me.”
Oriol was officially recorded in 26th position. Though this race was a one-off for Servia, it was a rough road for a handful of drivers and I’m certain his entire fanbase will wait to see if the super-sub is called upon as early as this coming weekend as the Indy Cars return to the legendary Milwaukee Mile.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Qualification Nation
After running second quickest in this morning’s practice session, Oriol Servia was all ready to get the #17 DAFCA Special on track for qualifying. However, the weather had other ideas.
Following a delay which lasted several hours to allow the track time to dry, Servia placed wheel on track around 3:07 p.m. local time in his first qualifying run. Laying down an average speed of 220.984 mph, the Rahal Letterman Racing Team firmly planted the car on the starting grid in 25th position.
Servia mentioned that he was happy with the car the moment he stepped into it, though the wind did play a factor during the qualifying session. “I honestly want to go back out there because I think we have a car to be the fastest today,” commented Servia. “We have a car in the race now and that’s where we want it.”
Due to the late start of the day’s events, drivers had the opportunity to make only one qualifying run today with a few teams withdrawing before finishing their initial runs.
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On a side note, the announcers on today’s Versus coverage provided some insight into the retro paint scheme of the #17 entry. In honor of the speedway’s centennial celebration, the DAFCA Special is reminiscent of the Dan Gurney Eagle models of the late 60’s with the stripe down the nose of the car. In addition, the tub displays not only the driver’s name, but those of the owners “Bob and Dave” and chief mechanic as well.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Following a delay which lasted several hours to allow the track time to dry, Servia placed wheel on track around 3:07 p.m. local time in his first qualifying run. Laying down an average speed of 220.984 mph, the Rahal Letterman Racing Team firmly planted the car on the starting grid in 25th position.
Servia mentioned that he was happy with the car the moment he stepped into it, though the wind did play a factor during the qualifying session. “I honestly want to go back out there because I think we have a car to be the fastest today,” commented Servia. “We have a car in the race now and that’s where we want it.”
Due to the late start of the day’s events, drivers had the opportunity to make only one qualifying run today with a few teams withdrawing before finishing their initial runs.
--------------------------------------------------
On a side note, the announcers on today’s Versus coverage provided some insight into the retro paint scheme of the #17 entry. In honor of the speedway’s centennial celebration, the DAFCA Special is reminiscent of the Dan Gurney Eagle models of the late 60’s with the stripe down the nose of the car. In addition, the tub displays not only the driver’s name, but those of the owners “Bob and Dave” and chief mechanic as well.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Friday, May 15, 2009
Back to the Track
Though he wasn’t out for long, Oriol took a moment to shake down the car once more before qualifying tomorrow. Servia set his quickest lap late in the day, posting a 221.140 for seventh quickest overall.
The track closed early for repairs, but be sure to tune in tomorrow as Oriol takes the green flag and has the opportunity to make up to three qualifying attempts to land the team on the starting grid.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
The track closed early for repairs, but be sure to tune in tomorrow as Oriol takes the green flag and has the opportunity to make up to three qualifying attempts to land the team on the starting grid.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Quotables
"Everyone has been asking me today if there's any pressure," said Servia, who placed 11th in the Indy 500 last year with KV Racing Technology. "I haven't felt this relieved in a long time. Finally I am in a car and I know I'm going to be in the race. I'm in a great team and there are great people around me. I feel great right away from the first lap."
"When you are driving for Rahal Letterman, you better step on it. They won this race in 2004, and honestly, the car felt great the moment I stepped into it. That makes the job of the driver a lot easier. Hopefully, we have another dry day (May 15) so we can prepare for qualifying and just keep the focus on the last lap of a 500-mile race. It's probably the most important race of my life, so I'm very happy with the way things have started."
Read the full article here.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
"When you are driving for Rahal Letterman, you better step on it. They won this race in 2004, and honestly, the car felt great the moment I stepped into it. That makes the job of the driver a lot easier. Hopefully, we have another dry day (May 15) so we can prepare for qualifying and just keep the focus on the last lap of a 500-mile race. It's probably the most important race of my life, so I'm very happy with the way things have started."
Read the full article here.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Getting Up To Speed
Oriol Servia completed his first practice day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after it was announced yesterday that he has joined the Rahal Letterman Racing Team for this one-off event. Servia put in a considerable number of laps throughout the day's session and landed on top of the charts for those drivers not yet qualified, posting a speed of 221.353 mph.
Tune in again tomorrow to follow another day of practice at IMS. You can catch all the action live at IndyCar.com.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Tune in again tomorrow to follow another day of practice at IMS. You can catch all the action live at IndyCar.com.
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Servia Returns to Brickyard
Word has just been released that Oriol Servia will return to the Yard of Bricks in this year’s 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 as he competes with Rahal Letterman Racing. Servia hopes to land himself a place on the starting grid this coming Saturday during the race’s third qualifying session. The Spaniard will pilot the #17 entry, carrying primary sponsorship from DAFCA.
Given Servia’s former experience at Indy and seeing how he has past Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal at the head of the team, I’d say his chances of landing a spot on the starting grid come May 24th are pretty good.
Click here for more and stay tuned for updates throughout the month of May, all the way up to the running of “the greatest spectacle in racing.”
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
Given Servia’s former experience at Indy and seeing how he has past Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal at the head of the team, I’d say his chances of landing a spot on the starting grid come May 24th are pretty good.
Click here for more and stay tuned for updates throughout the month of May, all the way up to the running of “the greatest spectacle in racing.”
Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer
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