Honda IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Qualifying Report

Honda Racing Report

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Circuit:                        Bayfront Park (1.8-mile temporary street circuit) St. Petersburg, Fla.

2013 Winner:  Will Power(Team Penske) 93.572 mph average

Weather:         Sunny, mild, 67 degrees F

Top-12 Qualifying Results:

Ps. Driver     Team Manufacturer Best Time Notes
  1. Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 1:00.6931 106.767 mph [new record]
  2. Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 1:00.7252 +0.0321 seconds
  3. Helio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet 1:00.8356 Fast six shootout
  4. Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske Chevrolet 1:00.8532 Fast six shootout
  5. Takuma Sato A.J. Foyt Racing    Honda 1:01.1496 Fast six shootout
  6. Sebastien Bourdais KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 1:01.1545 Fast six shootout
  7. Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1:01.1182 2nd round qualifying
  8. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 1:01.1670 2nd round qualifying
  9. Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1:01.2285 2nd round qualifying
10. Josef Newgarden Carpenter Fisher Hartman Chevrolet 1:01.2478 2nd round qualifying
11. Simona de Silvestro Andretti Autosport Honda 1:01.3657 2nd round qualifying
12. Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Honda 1:01.4765 2nd round qualifying

Other Honda-powered Results

14. Carlos Munoz Andretti Autosport Honda 1:01.4890 1st round, Group 2
15. Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda 1:01.5742 1st round, Group 1
16. James Hinchcliffe Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 1:01.5780 1st round, Group 2
20. James Jakes Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 1:01.8323 1st round, Group 2
21. Jack Hawksworth A.J. Foyt Racing    Honda 1:02.0095 1st round, Group 1
22. Gabby Chaves-R Bryan Herta Autosport Honda 1:01.9705 1st round, Group 2
23. Francesco Dracone-R Dale Coyne Racing Honda 1:04.2654 1st round, Group 1
24. Carlos Huertas Dale Coyne Racing Honda 1:01.9716 1st round, Group 2

 

Sato to start fifth for Honda at St. Petersburg

  • Leads Honda qualifying at St. Petersburg for second consecutive year
  • Andretti Autosport places three drivers in top 12
  • First Indy car race of 2015 starts Sunday at 3 p.m. EDT

Takuma Sato led the Honda contingent Saturday in qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and will start Sunday’s season-opening Verizon IndyCar Series race from fifth in the 24-car field.  It is the second consecutive year Sato has paced the Honda qualifying effort at St. Petersburg, as the A.J. Foyt Racing driver started from the pole in the 2014 event.

Reaching the second of three rounds of Indy car “knockout” qualifying, Ryan Hunter-Reay will start tomorrow’s 110-lap race from eighth, with Andretti Autosport teammates Simona de Silvestro and Marco Andretti qualifying 11th and 12th, respectively.

The opening round of the 16-race 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series starts Sunday at 3 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on ABC.

Takuma Sato (#14 A.J. Foyt Racing Honda) qualified 5th for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg:  “We did everything we could today.  Obviously, we’re not on the front row, but we’ve made significant gains throughout the weekend and I’m happy with our qualifying performance.  Team Penske is very strong here, and has been in recent years, but thanks to all of the hard work from Honda, HPD and the Foyt team, we are in very good shape for tomorrow’s race.”