Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Verizon IndyCar Series

RACE NOTES/QUOTES – Sunday, April 22, 2018

SATO AND RAHAL WERE EIGHTH AND 11TH, RESPECTIVELY, WHEN THE HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA WAS POSTPONED UNTIL MONDAY DUE TO TRACK CONDITIONS

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone:  “It was a tough beginning but when we kind of got going it was okay and kind of fun to challenge for a while but visibility was a major issue today no doubt. I’m glad that the series postponed it.  I would have like to get it in today but that’s life. We will go racing tomorrow.”

• FAST FACTS: Rahal started 15^th and was in 11^th when the red flag came out for track conditions. Once the race was restarted 37 minutes later, he spun under caution and lost two positions and the red flag was brought out again and the race was postponed until Monday… He played a major factor in the most exciting races of the 2015 and 2016 seasons as he challenged for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama win but finished second  both times.  In 2017, he qualified 21st and alternate strategy didn’t pay off so he was only able to gain eight positions to finish 13th. In 2016, he started sixth and moved into fourth when Bourdais and Dixon made contact on the first lap. He stretched his fuel the farthest and cycled into the lead by the time he made his first of three pits stops and returned to the track in fourth.  He cycled into second place before his second stop on Lap 43 and returned to the track in third place and reclaimed second place on Lap 65 by passing Power.  On Lap 81, Rahal attempted to pass Pagenaud but the Frenchman made an evasive move and the two made contact sending Pagenaud off course and he returned second to Rahal.  Later the pass was deemed a racing incident. On Lap 85 of 90, Rahal was behind traffic which enabled Pagenaud to close. Sixteenth placed Hawksworth allowed Rahal to pass but the two made contact which allowed Pagenaud to take the lead. Rahal’s already compromised front wing (mechanical failure on a portion since approx. Lap 50) took a fatal blow and he struggled to hold on to second place until the checkered flag.  The 2015 race at BMP kicked off a strong run of races for Rahal that largely continued for the rest of the season. He started eighth and passed Kanaan on the opening lap. He later lost a position to Filippi but passed Dixon for 7th. He pitted and ran ninth place but moved to third as others made their stops. He held off charges from fourth place Hinchcliffe on several restarts and later built a gap on him while leading Laps 35-46. He pitted from the lead for his second stop, dropped to 15th but cycled back into the lead for Laps 65-69. He made his final stop on Lap 71 and returned to the track in sixth place, approx.. 20 seconds behind the leader. With new tires and more fuel than others, he consistently turned lap times that were one-to-two seconds quicker than those in front of him and eventually passed Power, Hunter-Reay and Castroneves before he was able to close the gap on second-place Dixon in the closing laps. With less than two laps to go, he passed Dixon but ran out of time to catch eventual race winner Newgarden and finished second.  In 2014, Rahal started 18th on a wet track, ran as high as 10th, dropped four places after being hit by two cars and ultimately finished 17th.  In 2013, Rahal set a lap time fast enough to progress to Round 2 and qualify in the top-12 if he had been in Group 2 but he was in Group 1 and ultimately qualified 21st.  He had to pit for a new nose on the opening lap after the field checked up and he hit Servia. He moved up to 12th place but ran out of fuel on the final lap due to a malfunction in the fueling system and dropped to 21st.  He started 8th, led one lap and finished fourth here in 2012 for Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing (SCCGR). He started 10th and finished 18th in 2011 for SCCGR and started 15th and finished 17th for Sarah Fisher Racing in 2010.

TAKUMA SATO, No. 30 Mi-Jack / Panasonic Dallara/Honda/Firestone:  “As you could see on TV, if you couldn’t see the car, it was probably three times worse in the cockpit on the main straight or any straight. You had to completely trust the guys that they were accelerating.  Never the less I made good progress on the short stint and I made up a few positions.  The car was working well but also was aquaplaning a lot too so I have to respect INDYCAR’s decision for everyone’s safety.  Now we really need to concentrate on having a good car for tomorrow. I’m sorry for the fans that sat in rain all day but thank them for their support.”

• FAST FACTS: Started 18th for his ninth race here and moved up to eighth before the red flag came out for track conditions after 19 laps.  The race was restarted after 37 minutes and he maintained eighth place until the red flag came out again and the race was ultimately postponed…. His highest start here is sixth in 2010 with KVRT and highest finish is ninth in 2017 with Andretti Autosport which are both his only top-10 starts or finishes here.  It will be his second time to compete with RLL here.  In 2012 he qualified 16th but retired due to mechanical failure in 24th place. The team tested at BMP February 20 and March 20.  The February test took place under mild conditions while rained ended the March test early… Has TWO IndyCar Series wins (2013 – Long Beach street course, 2017 – Indy 500 oval) and SEVEN poles (2011 Iowa oval, Edmonton street; 2013 Houston Race 1 street; 2014 St. Pete street, Detroit Race 2 street; 2017 Detroit Race 2, Pocono oval).  He is currently ranked 12th in series point standings with 37 points.

NEXT RACE:  The Grand Prix of Indianapolis will take place on Saturday, May 12 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.