Controversy Continues

Just when we thought the battles were over amongst the drivers at this past weekend’s Edmonton Indy, our own Oriol Servia decides he’s sick of sitting on the sidelines being the agreeable guy who’s not getting noticed and goes for his slice of the pie.

Starting in Saturday’s qualifying session, Servia had a great run, just squeaking by into the second round for the Firestone Fast 6, but the Telemundo entry soon received monster air at the end of his second qualifying session when the #2 was approached and then brake checked by the #28 entry of Ryan Hunter-Reay who feels that Servia was holding him up on a quick qualifying run. Hunter-Reay was not happy with the Spaniard, visiting the Newman/Haas Racing pit immediately as the flag dropped on qualifying and sharing his dissatisfaction with the veteran racer. Ryan felt as though Oriol had already thrown away his last lap and should have moved over to allow room as he was still putting in a hot lap. However, Servia argued that given the short time left in qualifying, he had to do everything possible to try to make a good lap too. He noted that he did try to move over for Hunter-Reay, but could only give so much. Neither pilot made the final cut for the Fast 6, and Servia qualified eighth, alongside Hunter-Reay.

Cut to the race and the drama continues just after Oriol’s first pit stop. Servia was experiencing severe understeer and pitted before anyone else on Lap 24. However, just one lap later he found, much to Dixon and Franchitti’s consternation, that his car was the one with a huge target on it as the #27 Andretti Autosport entry of Mike Conway punted him into the tire barriers when Oriol tried to overtake the #27 in an area not typically known for passing. There just wasn’t room enough for both of them and Conway came up into the #2 Telemundo machine. Servia was able to get underway again following the incident, but soon after lost his rear wing and found himself unable to recover from such a loss. Conway, on the other hand, bounced back from the incident leading the field, and though he was still forced by Race Control to serve a penalty, he was able to rebound to a decent finish. Oriol hung on for the remainder of the race, finishing four laps down in 22nd position, for his worst finish so far this season.

If any positives came out of the incident, it’s that Servia was once again recognized for his driving skills, as Graham Rahal (taken out of the race early and commenting from the announcers’ booth) remarked immediately following the incident that “Servia doesn’t make mistakes.” This speaks quite a bit of the respect Oriol has earned amongst his peers and around the paddock.

On a bit of a side note, Oriol was just featured on Racer.com reviewing the features and handling of the Porsche Carrera GTS. Given his astute observations, when Servia eventually decides to hang up his racing shoes, perhaps there will be another gig waiting.

I hear Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond may need some top-notch auto handling skills of another variety.

Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer

Happy Birthday Oriol!

(Feel free to leave your birthday wishes for Oriol below)

NHR Taken For a Spin in Toronto

As IndyCar passes the halfway point in the season, Newman/Haas Racing has earned impressive marks from analyst Robin Miller in his mid-season report card, scoring a solid “B” for performance thus far this year. And it’s not hard to see why when examining the pairing of Spaniard Oriol Servia and Canadian James Hinchcliffe, a duo which not only has breathed new life into the team, but brings home results as well.

However, this past weekend’s Honda Indy Toronto left little breathing room as fans were treated to another festival of carbon fiber. While the weekend started out on a high note with Servia and the crew of the #2 Telemundo car once again landing their entry in the Firestone Fast Six, their good fortune could last only so long.

Servia started 6th on the grid, alongside Graham Rahal and wasted no time in taking Rahal’s position on the opening lap. And though Oriol lost position during the double-file restart following the first caution, his team brought him in on an early pit strategy (Lap 15) which allowed him to cycle all the way up to second following a full-course yellow under which all the leaders were forced to pit.

News flash of the day…apparently the track is quite bumpy as the television announcers have just brought it to our attention for the umpteenth time this broadcast. Thanks. We get it already! Though I can’t imagine the uneven terrain, paired with a heavy buildup of marbles, makes it much fun for any of the drivers.

Lap 44 we see the #22 of Justin Wilson and #2 Telemundo entry make slight contact, which allows both Wilson and Ryan Hunter-Reay to pass Servia. And by the second pit stop, Servia exits down another two positions. What is going on lately with these pit stops NHR? It’s time to work out the ghosts!

And speaking of ghosts, former Newman/Haas driver Sebastien Bourdais appears to be a bit of an apparition as we haven’t heard anything about him all race. We are told he’s competing in Toronto. His name appears in the hat (the ticker that runs across the top of the screen). But can they prove he’s actually on track?

Lap 57 Servia again plays the dark shadow, slipping between the chaos caused by the Will Power/Ryan Briscoe incident. Who’s got the tally? What is that, like three times so far this season that Servia has switched on stealth mode to avoid nearly impossible (or should we say “impassible”) situations?

But even shadows disappear when adverse weather approaches, and with only seven laps remaining, Oriol is punted from behind by the #26 car of Marco Andretti and sent into a spin which sends him into the #22 entry of Justin Wilson. Five cars in all are collected in the accident, including Servia’s NHR teammate Hinch. While both team cars are able to get restarted and underway, the results are costly, dropping Servia back to 13th position and Hinchcliffe back to 14th.

After all the dust of the bumping and grinding settles, Servia finishes the race in 12th, and while he retains his fourth-place standing in the championship, he drops even farther from the lead. Yet considering that today was Servia’s first on-track contact with another racer so far season, and one which was not his fault, that “B” average might just get “bumped” up to a “B+” yet.

Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer