Pippa Mann Qualifies for 100th Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., (May 22, 2016) – Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pippa Mann qualified 25th for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, entering herself into the legendary event for the fifth time in her motorsports career. Racing in the No. 63 Susan G. Komen car, Mann completed her four qualifying laps with an average speed of 226.006 miles per hour on the 2.5 mile circuit.
“I’m just so proud of the whole Dale Coyne Racing team, and of my guys on the 63 car,” said Mann. “From the way we bounced back from yesterday, and a tough situation this morning in warm-up. It feels fantastic to go out there, and be back up to speed when it mattered in our qualifying run. We’ve had such a great car all week, that in different circumstances we would have liked to have gone faster today, but I’m really pleased with our effort, and now we can get back to focusing on our car for the race next weekend.”
A delamination resulted in a rear wing end fence failure in turn two during her first qualifying lap, causing Mann to spin. Despite being able to prevent the car from making heavy contact, the Dale Coyne Racing crew was still faced with overnight repairs to ready the car for day two of qualifying to set the final race starting grid. Continuing issues from the day before resulted in Mann being unable to complete any flying laps in practice. However, after the session the team diagnosed and solved the remaining problems in time for Mann’s car to make it to the front of qualifying line. With no previous time from Saturday, Mann was scheduled to be the first qualifier of the day, and took to the track on schedule at 2:45PM. Her first series of flying laps since Friday saw her qualify the Dale Coyne Racing car supporting Susan G. Komen in 25th for the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
Mann’s 2016 effort will mark her fourth Indianapolis 500 with Dale Coyne Racing, and her second representing Susan G. Komen. The partnership is part of a greater cause to raise $100,000 for Susan G. Komen, joining in the fight against breast cancer. Funds raised in this year’s efforts via the official Indiegogo websitewill be used for breast cancer care and research.
The 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place Sunday May 29th, and will be broadcasted live on ABC at noon eastern on ABC. For more information, visit indycar.com.