Servia Sees Red at Sonoma

So if I didn’t know any better, I’d say Servia and the Panther DRR Team were checking in on the blog, as it appears they took some of the advice I offered following the race at Mid-Ohio. (Read Here)

Right off the bat, the car is red for this weekend’s GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma! Well, technically it’s got red in the paint scheme Oriol’s running for this race thanks to his sponsor, TranSystems. The livery on the DW12 also shows the same self-portrait of Salvador Dali you see depicted on Servia’s helmet. (Read More Here)

Secondly, Servia picked a fight…sort of. Oriol was in rare form over the weekend as he decided to play not one, but two rounds of bumper cars during the race. The pilot of the #22 DRR entry is known to all his peers in the paddock as a guy who is consistent, races clean and can bring the car home (and in one piece!). But this past weekend’s race found him involved in two separate incidents when he tagged cars from behind. The first incident occurred around Lap 36 when Oriol got up behind the #7 entry of James Hinchcliffe and locked his wheels, sending the GoDaddy car into a 360 spin. The second occurrence happened with just five laps to go when the DRR entry came upon the #14 A.J. Foyt entry of Mike Conway, making contact. Servia was assessed a drive-thru penalty on that second incident, dropping him to a finishing position of 19th.

While the team may have had a less than desirable outcome to the race, look at all the televised coverage they received for TranSystems! If you ask me, this is one driver who finds himself in a bit of a predicament: drive clean and consistently and remain unnoticed, or sacrifice position and get some air time. I’m glad I’m not in his shoes.

Prior to the race, we learned that DRR seems to be happy with their partnership with the Spaniard, and as long as Servia feels the same way, he may just be able to skip Silly Season and retain his ride for next year. Fingers crossed…

Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer

"Ghost Driver" Makes Another Appearance?

So, for the benefit of all us fans watching at home, can someone in attendance this past weekend at Mid-Ohio confirm that Oriol and Panther DRR were indeed there? I’ve seen photos from the weekend, read tweets, and heard about a very respectable qualifying effort, yet when I tuned in to yesterday’s coverage on ABC, I spotted the Mecum car on one lone occasion (Lap 26).

For the past two races, driver Oriol Servia and the DRR Team have encountered more than their share of mechanical issues. And while the team did a great job getting the #22 entry back on track following gearbox issues at the start of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, Servia was relegated to running the entire race down seven laps. Yet on top of all of that, the team also posted the three quickest laps of the race. Perhaps Mecum would have gotten more exposure for their money had Servia not completed the race and could have snuck in an interview.

To combat this streak of “absenteeism” and to ensure future exposure for driver, team and sponsors, I’ve come up with a few suggestions for the DRR crew:

1. Paint the car red (no offense, Mecum). And put a bullseye on it.

2. Change your driver’s name to something inspirational that the press can have a field day with. How about Moe Tivashun?

3. Break a rule. The penalties as of late for rule infringements seem to be pretty lax versus a potential positive outcome (see Texas and Toronto).

4. Pick a fight. The media loves a good bout of in-fighting and fans appreciate a little controversy from time to time.

The IndyCar Series takes a few weeks off, but tune in again August 26th when the series returns to Sonoma, California and see if any of the above suggestions are implemented.

Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer