GRAND PRIX OF INDIANAPOLIS, RACE REPORT
The weather held for today’s second running of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis with light rain showers falling just before and after the 82-lap race. Ryan Hunter-Reay ran as high as 10th before settling into an 11th-place finish with the DHL Honda after rolling off from 19th and fighting a fuel-saving strategy. Colombian Carlos Muñoz was seen as high as eighth place, gaining 13 positions on the start before finishing 13th. Third-generation racer Marco Andretti came to the twin checkers in 16th on the 2.439-mile circuit. The racing machine of Justin Wilson suffered a mechanical issued which forced the Brit to retire early in his first event in the No. 25 car, recording a 24th-place result.
The team now looks ahead to the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 and working to defend the championship title. Practice on the historic oval kicks off Monday with the week leading into the two-day qualifying process beginning May 16. The week of practice sessions can be followed via your smartphone or tablet with the INDYCAR15 app or via Race Control at IndyCar.com.
RYAN HUNTER-REAY
NO. 28 DHL HONDA
“We had an unfortunate start to the day — got caught out on the start and dropped a few positions when we had the chance to gain about 10 (positions); had to go through the grass and avoid (the wreck in Turn 1) so it was a hole to start in to begin with and then we just worked out way up to 10th. We saved fuel all day which is unfortunate. It’s just part of the strategy starting at the back so we were never really able to attack and go for it. It’s kind of a product of the situation but we definitely need to figure this out. We’re struggling to understand where the rest of the speed is.”
CARLOS MUÑOZ
NO. 26 ANDRETTITV / CINSAY HONDA
“I think I had a great first lap – I moved from P21 to ninth position. Afterwards, it was just a saving fuel kind of race; I need to work on saving fuel, but I think it was a good recovery. We’ll put this difficult weekend behind us, work hard and concentrate on the Indy 500 – that’s the big goal for this year.”
MARCO ANDRETTI
NO. 27 SNAPPLE HONDA
“It’s just so on top of the road — the car is not in the racetrack, I think we are fundamentally missing something. Sort of the worst case scenario because we lost like 10 seconds in the (pit)stop. We were ahead of Ryan (Hunter-Reay) then came out almost a straightaway behind him. If we would have finished ahead of Ryan we’d probably be leading he team in points — as bad as that looks, but… right now I just have to look at the Indy 500.”
JUSTIN WILSON
NO. 25 ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT HONDA
“It was a tough race today, unfortunately I got caught up in the stack up down in Turn 1 and ended up breaking off the endplate. I thought we were still fighting away after that incident and we were trying to work out how our strategy would play out. The No. 25 crew was telling me to push and then save fuel, so I stayed pretty close to the pack, but about halfway through the race we had a slight hiccup during our pit stop and we ended up losing a couple of spots. At that point we struggled a little bit to get back in it and ultimately suffered a mechanical issue. It’s a frustrating way to end the race, but that’s racing so we’ll focus on the 500 now and look ahead.”