Race Report: Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, FL March 29, 2010—“We looked really good for
a while, until the last stop!” Vitor Meira said after the Honda
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg which was postponed until Monday due to
torrential rain on Sunday afternoon.
Starting 17th, Meira’s ABC Supply team used a different tire and pit
strategy to try to gain track position and it seemed to be working
as he moved into the top ten after 20 laps. However, the yellows
needed to fall differently for the team to capitalize on its
two-stop pit strategy.
“The strategy? Yeah, now it was wrong, I admit and I’m part of it
but in order to win, you’ve got to risk it starting that far back,”
said Meira. “Yeah, we didn’t finish good but we raced good all day
long and we put ourselves into position to win. We needed to be a
little lucky, so it didn’t happen. We have to put ourselves in
position. So you roll the dice and it wasn’t our turn, one day it
will be.”
The team decided to run the softer compound alternate tires at the
end of the race when the track was rubbered in, and hopefully make
it the shortest stint since the alternate tires didn’t last as long
as the primary black tires. Being on the different
fuel strategy vaulted Meira’s No. 14 ABC Supply car into the lead on two
different occasions when others pitted; he led for a total of 12 laps. In the
final stint, however, the alternate tires faded faster than anticipated and ten
laps into the run, Meira was radioing in that he had no front grip at all. He
slowed down about three seconds a lap trying to make it to the end. When he
pulled into his pitbox after the checkered fell, the team saw that the left
front tire was completely worn out.
“We asked too much of the left front tire, either myself or the car,” Meira
admitted afterwards. Meira finished 15th and is now eighth in the point
standings, just one point behind Ryan Briscoe.
Pole winner Will Power won his second straight race despite heavy pressure from
runner-up Justin Wilson. Power’s teammates Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves
were third and fourth with Dario Franchitti recovering from an early race
incident to finish fifth.
The IZOD IndyCar Series returns to action April 11th when they race at Barber
Motorsports Park for the first time.
Rain Postpones Honda Grand
Prix of St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, FL March 28—Torrential rain postponed the sixth running
of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg until tomorrow morning. The race is
scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.
“You can't complain about what you can't control but this is disappointing for
the fans,” Vitor Meira said after the race was postponed.
“This [delay] could play to our advantage, who knows?” he said. “It will change
the mindset because it will be a new track tomorrow. It will be green and have
no grip plus it will change a lot throughout the race. Adaptation is going to be
key!”
Although past races on the street course have been run in the rain, it is the
first time that this race has been postponed until the following day. The threat
of lightning strikes plus the standing water throughout the circuit forced
officials to postpone the race. It is the first time the IndyCar Series has had
to postpone a race due to weather since the Indy Japan 300 in April, 2008.
Meira will start the race in 17th position in the ABC Supply Dallara/Honda.
Qualifying Report: Honda
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, FL March 27, 2010—“It wasn’t the birthday present that
you wanted, but you did a good job,” A.J. Foyt told his driver Vitor Meira after
qualifying the ABC Supply Dallara/Honda for the Honda Grand Prix today.
Meira, who turned 33 today, was in the first group of twelve which was a stout
group of contenders. Meira was popping in and out of the top six to advance to
the next round but when the checkered fell he was ninth quick. He is set to
start 17th on the grid but his lap time of 1:02.26 was 13th quickest overall.
“It was a good effort,” said Meira of the weekend to date. “Every time we went
out to the track and came back to the trailer we made improvements, made
sensible changes. And when it came time to put a lap down, we did put a lap
down--a very good lap--but it was just that our group was so strong. So once
again, our starting position is not going to translate to our performance for
the race. I think we’ll have a lot to do in the race because we are going to be
able to get positions. If we play it smart like we did in Brazil, I think we’re
going to finish strong.
“I like the car very much –it’s the best car I had here from last year and years
past but it’s just very strong out there—unbelievable. It’s unbelievable how
competitive IndyCar is getting.” Team Director Larry Foyt is also
looking forward to the race tomorrow, saying, “Even though we’re starting 17th,
I’m pretty optimistic about the race because Vitor’s been really happy with the
car. We’ve just been fine-tuning the adjustments. The whole field is very tight
so it’s very competitive. If we can have another good race, we can stay in the
top-five in points.”
Will Power won the pole which wasn’t a surprise as he has been fastest in every
session. Tony Kanaan was second followed by Scott Dixon and Justin Wilson. Helio
Castroneves and Marco Andretti rounded out the Firestone Fast Six.
The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be televised live Sunday afternoon
starting at 3:30pm on ABC-TV.
Notes & Quotes - Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
• Vitor Meira on his third place finish in Sao Paulo--his career
best finish in a season opener: “It was a real confidence
builder for us-- our team, A.J., myself and our sponsors. It makes
everyone believe more in themselves and makes us all prouder to go
to work.”
• On working with chief engineer Jeff Britton: “It was
awesome. We didn’t lose anything from where we left off in 2005. In
fact, in our final race that year in California, we finished third.
He’s still the same way he was when I left, which is good.”
• How did Meira celebrate his podium finish? “I went to
dinner at a Brazilian Steakhouse with my family and a few close
friends. It was a quiet celebration.”
• Meira on key factors to success this weekend: “It’s very
important to have the car dialed in during the first practice and I
think that’s going to play a lot into the whole weekend. We need the
core set-up to be right when we unload the car.”
• Meira on why St. Pete is so physically demanding: “The
track is very demanding physically and a bit misleading because when
you start the weekend, there isn’t any rubber on the track. But as
the weekend goes on, the track rubbers up and gets more grippy.
During the race, it really rubbers up and with full tanks and new
tires, the steering gets very heavy and that’s when things start to
get difficult.”
• Meira on street courses: “Street races are harder on the
cars’ gearboxes because of the bumps and more shifting—there are a
lot of second gear corners. You can do things as a driver like not
use as much rear brake because when you do, you’re locking the rear
wheels which makes it harder on the downshift. And you have to be
careful on upshifting too but in the end, it’s all a balance between
gaining speed or losing time. If you do things like shift earlier
and not right on the edge then you lose time and speed.”
• Meira’s record at St. Pete: Last year in his first race for
Foyt, Meira started 17th, survived a couple race incidents and
finished ninth. In 2008, Meira was running in the top 10 when he and
Franck Perera crashed, relegating Meira to 19th. In 2007, Meira,
running fifth, had a gearbox failure on lap 38—he went straight into
the barrier at Turn 4. They repaired the car but he placed 16th. The
first two years he started 12th and finished fifth.
• ABC Supply returns for its sixth year as primary sponsor of
A.J. Foyt’s No. 14 with GAF-ELK signing on for another year on the
car’s engine cover.
• ABC Supply roofing customer Atlantic Total Solutions, of
Jacksonville, FL, won the ‘Your Name Here’ contest for the Honda
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The company name will be atop the
sidepods of the No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Honda. Kevin Maxwell will
receive selected merchandise, race tickets, hospitality and garage
passes, plus a Meet and Greet with Vitor Meira. The “Your Name Here”
promotion selected winners by random drawing from a pool of entries
sent in by ABC Supply customers earlier this year.
• The Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be televised
live March 28th, Sunday afternoon starting at 3:30pm eastern
time on ABC-TV. |
