INDYCAR NEWS AND NOTES – April 14, 2015
Saavedra, Karam to Share Car for Ganassi
Saavedra will be backed by AFS Racing/Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc., one of the western states’ largest full-service fire sprinkler companies, for the race in Long Beach, the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma in addition to the Indianapolis 500 through a fifth entry overseen by Chip Ganassi Racing Teams.
After starts in St. Petersburg and New Orleans, Karam will rejoin the team in the No. 8 Chevrolet for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park and the Indianapolis 500, and is scheduled to run the balance of the season until Sonoma.
“It’s good to be back in the Verizon IndyCar Series,” said Saavedra, who has made 56 Verizon IndyCar Series starts dating to 2010. “This is an amazing opportunity for me with AFS to work with one of the most prestigious teams in all of racing. I’m very grateful to Chip and the team, which have had an incredible history in the sport, and specifically in the Indianapolis 500. I’m looking forward to Long Beach and doing everything I can to help get the No. 8 car to the front.”
Saavedra earned his first Verizon P1 Award in 2014 for the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis while competing for KV AFS Racing. Like Karam, Saavedra made his Verizon IndyCar Series debut in the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Both drivers are Mazda Road to Indy graduates.
“I’m excited about this coming together quickly with the Ganassi No. 8 entry,” said AFS Racing owner Gary Peterson, who has been involved in Indy car racing as an owner and competitor. “It looks to be a great alignment between AFS Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, and Sebastian Saavedra. My heart has always been in racing and it will be great to see Sebastian have the chance he deserves with a great team.”
Karam, the 2013 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires champion, finished 19th in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 29 and 18th in the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana on April 12.
“I’m grateful to Chip and the team for their ongoing commitment to me, and I can’t wait to get back in the car at Barber,” Karam said. “I just take things one day at a time and nothing has really changed for me since I started as a development driver here. When Chip calls, I’m ready to go race.”
Added Ganassi: “We’ve been committed to Sage and to running the No. 8 car in the full Verizon IndyCar Series season since day one, and this plan reflects our continued investment in the series and in the team. Sage continues to grow his race craft in his development role with us, and we look forward to having both he and Sebastian contribute to the No. 8 team moving forward this season.”
- Servia Joins Rahal Team for Indy 500: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that Oriol Servia will return to the team for the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 24.
Servia competed for RLL Racing in the 2009 Indy 500 and in four races last season, including the Indy 500.
“I honestly couldn’t be any happier to announce that I will be entering the 99th Indianapolis 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” said Servia, who finished 11th in the race last year. “There is a saying in Spanish, ‘A la tercera va la vencida’ (third time lucky), that I feel fits our effort very well. This will be our third attempt together to cross the most famous brickyard first after 500 miles.
“The first two efforts were very promising and encouraged all parties to go for it again with the most ambitious aspirations. I have followed closely all the changes that the team has gone through over the winter and I am really excited as I have worked with most of the new hires. I believe the whole team is perhaps the strongest and most talented group in the whole INDYCAR paddock. I can’t wait to jump in the car and team up with Graham (Rahal) again. This will be a great month of May.”
Servia, of Pals, Spain, will participate in the May 3 Promoter Test on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval with the Honda speedway aerodynamic package. He has a best finish of fourth in the Indianapolis 500 in 2012 with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Overall, Servia has made 195 Indy car starts since his rookie season in 2000. He has one win (Montreal, 2005) and one pole (Surfers Paradise, 2005), a total of 19 top-three, 51 top-five and 101 top-10 finishes.
“Oriol is a very talented driver,” said Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with CBS “Late Show” host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan. “He’s a smart driver and he’s got a lot of experience, so we’re looking forward to bringing him back to run the Indy 500 with us for the third time.
“Having teamed with Graham before at Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and again last year, their setups seem to be quite similar, so you can really take advantage of having a multi-car team. When we looked at who the best driver was to join us for the Indy 500, Oriol was our first choice. He’s competitive; he’s smart, has good race craft, and brings it home.”
- Jakes Makes Most of Soggy Day at NOLA: A promising start to qualifying for the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana, which saw both James Hinchcliffe and James Jakes advance to the second round, quickly turned disappointing when Saturday’s session was canceled because of rain.
The starting grid for the inaugural Verizon IndyCar Series race on the 2.74-mile, 13-turn NOLA Motorsports Park road course was set by entrant points, placing Hinchcliffe 16th and Jakes 22nd.
Through the rain clouds, however, the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports duo’s race day brightened considerably as Hinchcliffe won under caution and Jakes was the biggest mover of the race by finishing third.
“Nice to be back after a year out, second weekend and second (career) podium,” said Jakes, who did not compete in the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2014. “Thanks to the team. We’ve not had the season start we kind of wanted. We struggled a little bit pace-wise; I think not entirely all our fault. But everybody is working their butts off and we look forward to the next rounds. I knew that if it was going to be a tricky day and if you just kept your nose clean and we run the right strategy, we’d get a good result.”
Added Hinchcliffe, who registered his fourth career victory: “It was a stellar day for the team with a first and third finish. What an awesome way to leave New Orleans.
“Even though I’m a bit gutted for the fans that they didn’t get more green flag running, I’m super happy for the team – Arrow Electronics, Lucas Oil, Spyder, everybody – to come here with a new team like this in our second race and get that first win out of the way feels really good. Especially after the year that I personally had last year, we really just wanted to start this relationship off well and, so far, so good.”
Simona de Silvestro, making her second start with Andretti Autosport, advanced from 18th on the starting grid to finish fourth.
“This was huge for us. We struggled earlier in the weekend, but conditions played into our hands,” said de Silvestro, who earned her fourth top-five finish in 67 starts. “The car was fantastic on rain tires and I passed a lot of people early in the race. The team made a great call on the pit stop for (dry) tires and on the second stop as well. That gained us a few more positions and then I finally got Tony (Kanaan, for fourth place).
“It is a great day, for us and for Honda, and a great result for the Andretti Autosport team.”
- Inside the Box Score – Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana: Numbers to note following the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana – the second round of the 2015 Verizon Indy Car Series season.
4 – Career Indy car victories by James Hinchcliffe.
5 – Consecutive races led by Juan Pablo Montoya dating to 2014.
15 – Finishing position of Gabby Chaves, the highest-placed Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate.
19 – Positions improved by James Jakes (22nd to third), most of any driver in the race.
120 – Career top-five finishes for Helio Castroneves (second place) after his finish at NOLA. It broke a tie with Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Bobby Rahal, and Dario Franchitti for sixth all-time.
235 – Consecutive starts by Tony Kanaan, extending his all-time record.
Sources: Mike Kitchel/Verizon IndyCar Series PR