Hunter-Reay’s Race Ends Early in Japan
MOTEGI, JAPAN September 19—Driving the No. 14 ABC Supply car,
Ryan Hunter-Reay got off to a good start in the Indy Japan 300 at
Twin Ring Motegi, however the finish was anything but.
Starting 15th, Hunter-Reay was running between the 13th to 11th
position throughout the race. The crew made adjustments to the car
on the pit stops. Moreover, he had to pit early in the fuel window
because of a leak in his fuel cell, so he was always the first to
pit which put him at a disadvantage.
On lap 158 of the 200-lapper, he spun coming through turn four and
the car backed hard into the wall and whipped around with the left
side, coming to a halt at the exit of turn four. Hunter-Reay was
able to get out of the car under his own power. He escaped with some
minor abrasions to his right knee.
“We had a decent start as I passed a couple cars on the first few
laps,” said Hunter-Reay. “We started with way too much push in turns
3 and 4, so on the first stop we added some front wing, which gave
us more front grip at turn four but made the car loose on exits.
There were a few times I nearly lost the ABC Supply car in turns 2
and 4 but was able to save it.
“We were also handicapped all day to a fuel cell leak that made
us pit 4-5 laps earlier than most of the rest of the field,” he added. “With all
considered, we had an ok day going. On the last set of stops I had already put
2-3 laps on my tires as Kanaan, who we were fighting with for position, was
coming out of the pits on cold tires. He entered turn 3 low and I entered high
to set up a pass at the exit of turn. As he pushed wide at turn four I kept the
car as low as possible and went back to power early to get the run out, but the
rear immediately came around. It was a long day in the car, I got loose a few
too many times and it finally bit me. It's a shame because I really enjoy racing
at this track in front of the Japanese crowds. It's been a pretty tough year,
but we're determined to end on a high note in Homestead.”
Hunter-Reay was credited with 21st place.
Scott Dixon beat his teammate Dario Franchitti to win his fifth race of the
season and take over the points lead. The task was made easier when points
leader Ryan Briscoe hit the inside retaining wall exiting the pits midway
through the race. The impact damaged his front suspension which had to be
replaced. He rejoined the race and eventually placed 18th and eight points
behind Dixon. However, a win in the season finale would give Briscoe the title.
The final race of the season is at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, Oct.
10th. The twilight race will be televised by Versus starting at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Ryan Hunter-Reay To Start 15th
MOTEGI, JAPAN September 18 -- Ryan Hunter-Reay will start
15th with the ABC Supply Dallara/Honda Indy car in the Indy Japan
300. Scott Dixon won the pole as the final qualifier posting an
average speed of 202.031 mph.
Hunter-Reay qualified 16th with a four-lap average speed of 198.226
mph around the egg-shaped Twin Ring Motegi circuit. However, Tony
Kanaan's speed was thrown out when his car was disqualififed after
failing post-qualifying inspection. Kanaan will start last.
Since Hunter-Reay was ninth quickest in both practice sessions
earlier in the day, the team was disappointed in the qualifying
result.
"We screwed up qualifying," said Larry Foyt bluntly. "The early draw
definitely didn't help. Two big crashes made qualifying run late,
and the track cooled considerably but that's not really an excuse.
The only change we made was a gear and it was not the right thing to
do. Regardless, Ryan was a tick too free to be as aggressive as he
wanted to be. We didn't change anything on the setup, so I'm not
sure where that freeness came from. It's disappointing because we
had been running well this weekend and expected a better qualifying
run. I believe we'll be better in the race."
The IndyCar race will be televised Friday night on Versus with
pre-race coverage starting at 10:30pm ET. For those who don't
receive Versus, the race can be followed free of charge through
indycar.com's "Race Control" as long as you sign up with "Indycarnation",
the indycar.com community which is also free.
First Practice in Japan
MOTEGI, JAPAN Sept. 17 9:45pm ET -- Ryan Hunter-Reay and the
ABC Supply team placed ninth in the first practice session at Twin
Ring Motegi Friday morning. His speed was 198.145mph. Team director
Larry Foyt said, "Everything is going okay so far. We spent the
entire session taking the push out of the car. We were very cautious
and just did one change at at time. We have one more practice before
qualifying."
Fastest of the session was Helio Castroneves who clocked in at
200.193mph. He was followed by Graham Rahal, Ryan Briscoe, Dan
Wheldon, Scott Dixon, Mario Moraes, Danica Patrick, Raphael Matos
and Hunter-Reay. Oriol Servia rounded out the top-10. The next
practice will start at 11:30 pm ET. The 23 cars will be split into
two groups with each group getting 30 minutes of practice.
Qualifying will begin early Saturday morning at 2:30 am ET.
NOTES & QUOTES: Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi
• Ryan Hunter-Reay on Twin Ring Motegi: “I’m really looking
forward to getting back to Japan—I had a good time there last year.
It was my first time to Motegi. It’s a fun track because it’s like
no other track we go to. It’s a big superspeedway-like corner on one
side and a short track corner on the other and it’s just fun racing
there. You definitely have to drive on the tighter end of the track
[as opposed to flat-footing it] so it sets up for some passes. It’s
not dead easy in traffic. For a race car, we need a car where the
front’s working really well and the rear is staying under us over
the bumps in turn two. The Japanese fans are very passionate about
the race. They are also very nice and welcoming. We fly a long way
to race there and they’re very appreciative so it’s definitely
well-worth making the trip.”
• Larry Foyt will be the race strategist in Japan: With his
father opting to stay home, young Foyt will be calling the shots
this weekend. However, it won’t be the first time since A.J. didn’t
stay at the track last year when the race was postponed to the
following day due to torrential rain. In that event, Darren Manning
started 12th and finished eighth. Foyt also called the race in
Australia last year when Vitor Meira made his debut with the Foyt
team. In that event, Meira started 11th and finished 14th. He
tangled with Mario Moraes on the first lap and had to pit, dropping
to last. Through pit strategy, he worked his way back to into the
top-10 but ran short of fuel with less than half a lap remaining.
• A.J. Foyt and Vitor Meira will be watching from home this
weekend: Both A.J. Foyt and Vitor Meira will be watching the
Indy Japan 300 from the comfort of their homes this weekend, marking
the first time that both men will miss the event since they began
attending. Foyt’s first race was in 2003 and Meira’s was in 2004.
Foyt decided to follow his doctor’s advice and not make the trip
after suffering an infection in his leg last month from which he has
not completely recovered. The 14-plus hour flight from Houston to
Narita could make him susceptible to thrombosis so despite his
desire to go, he is listening to his doctor. “I wanted to go to
Japan and felt like I needed to go but my doctor didn’t think it was
a good idea because of the possibility of blood clots from the long
flight,” he said. If you think A.J. has gone soft by following his
doctor’s orders, don’t worry. Foyt also said, “My leg is still
pretty swollen and they want me to go into the hospital to get it
treated and keep it elevated but I won’t do that. I’d go crazy lying
around in there for 4 to 5 days! Besides, I have too much to do.”
• Vitor Meira to test at Indy: Meira will return to the
cockpit of the No. 14 ABC Supply car when the Foyt team tests at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway September 30th. The test will be Meira’s
first time back behind the wheel of an Indy car since he broke his
back when he and Raphael Matos crashed in the Indianapolis 500 in
May. “We’re not going for any track records, I just want to give him
some seat time so he can adjust to being back in a race car after
being out for so long,” said Foyt. Foyt also indicated that Meira
will not be competing in the final race of the season. Foyt said, “I
don’t have the people to put together the proper effort for both
Ryan and Vitor. When I made the deal with Ryan, I had told him he’d
have a ride for the rest of the season because I didn’t really know
if Vitor would be ready. And even though Vitor has been cleared to
drive, the more I thought about it, I don’t think having his first
race back being at Miami is the best thing for Vitor. There’s a lot
of risk and not that much to be gained. We want to get a good start
on 2010 with Vitor and do more testing over the winter so I think
it’s in all of our interests to have him focus on next year.”
• Past performance in Japan: In his only start at the track,
Hunter-Reay started 10th and finished seventh last year. The Foyt
team’s best finish came last year when Manning finished eighth and
their best start was ninth in 2006 with Felipe Giaffone.
• The Indy Japan 300 will be shown live at 10:30 p.m. ET Friday
night, Sep. 18th on VERSUS.
• For more information on the Foyt Racing program, please
check these web sites: www.ajfoytracing.com and www.ryanracing.com. |
