Race Report: Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS May 14, 2016—The Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis turned into one of those races that the AJ Foyt Racing team would like to forget. Instead the engineers and drivers will go through the post mortem and try to figure out just where everything went so wrong.

The struggle to find speed started the first day. And despite some bright moments—a top-five showing in practice three for Takuma Sato’s No. 14 ABC Supply Honda and then a first-ever appearance in the Firestone Fast Six for the No. 41 ABC Supply Honda driven by Jack Hawksworth—the frustration continued on race day.

The drop in temperatures—it was just over fifty degrees ambient temperature on a cloudy race day—only served to exacerbate an already difficult situation.

Hawksworth qualified sixth and started fourth when two cars ahead of him were penalized for being underweight. Through the first fuel stint he was able to run in the top six. However a messy pit stop saw him drop to 16th which is where he ran for most of the race. He fell back to 21st when an element on his front wing broke with about 15 laps to go.

“The first stint wasn’t great but I thought we could hold our own,” said Hawksworth. “When we came in to put on the other reds we were P6 but we did not have a good pit stop. We fell way down in the order. We had some issues with the car after that and then the front wing broke, and I hadn’t hit anything, so that just added to the day we were having. It was a long day.”

Sato, who qualified 22^nd and started 20^th, said of his 18th place finish, “A tough and long day. I didn’t have the speed to compete. A lot of things were unfortunate as well. We really need to go back and see why we were not quick enough. At one stage we were competitive in Practice 3 but since qualifying we lost speed and couldn’t get it back. It was really a tough day but the boys did a good job on the pit stops. We fought hard but it was a tough one.”

Alfe Heat Treating pilot Alex Tagliani was the only driver not complaining about his car after the 82-lap race.

“I think out of our three cars, we had the strongest, we just got into some really weird situations on track,” said Tagliani, who finished 23rd, a lap down. “I think we had more of a car than we could’ve shown, but we had lots of little situations, and a pit road penalty that cost us. But in regards of pace, we definitely had something to fight with for a Top-10 finish.”

Simon Pagenaud extended his point lead by winning his third straight race. His teammate Helio Castroneves finished second ahead of James Hinchcliffe, Graham Rahal and Charlie Kimball.

Qualifying for the 100^th Running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place next Saturday and will be televised by ABC-TV from 4-6 pm ET. ESPN3 will broadcast live from the track that day from 11 am to 3pm ET.

Qualifying Report: Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS May 13, 2016 – Jack Hawksworth led the way for AJ Foyt Racing as he qualified with a time of 1 minute, 9.5141 seconds, to put the No. 41 ABC Supply Honda sixth on the grid for the third annual Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Hawksworth is no stranger to the front of the field on this road course. He started second in the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis in 2014, led 31 laps, and finished in seventh that year.

“It’s nice to make the Firestone Fast 6. Real proud of the ABC Supply guys this weekend,” Hawksworth said after posting his first Fast 6 result for AJ Foyt Racing. “It’s been a tough weekend until this point but we had a very strong performance and I’m happy for the guys. This is the first step towards a great race tomorrow.”

Takuma Sato, in the No. 14 ABC Supply Honda, had a strong final practice session in the morning where he finished fifth, but that did not transfer over to qualifying. Sato will start in 22^nd tomorrow afternoon.

“It was a tough qualifying session,” the Japanese veteran said afterwards. “After making good progress in the morning from yesterday, we thought we had a good balance but going into qualifying, it was a dramatic difference in terms of the balance. We just struggled—a lot. We couldn’t get the speed right—we failed. Hopefully we find something tonight and come back strong tomorrow.”

Alex Tagliani, in the No. 35 Alfe Heat Treating Honda, will start in 23^rd tomorrow. Alex has had a tough weekend so far in this his first IndyCar race of the 2016 season. Tagliani is still adapting to the team, his car in road course trim and to the course as this will be his first road course race in three years in an IndyCar.

“It’s been a tough day for the team,” Tagliani said. “Obviously we missed the set up on the red tires, but I think we can regroup from that. One of our teams has a good set up, and it’s working really well for them. I think we need to try to regroup tonight to see if we can get as good of a car as they have, then play a little bit of a strategy game tomorrow to get ourselves some position towards the end of the race.”

Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud will start from pole in tomorrow’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis after posting a time of 1 minute, 8.6868 seconds. Charlie Kimball, Graham Rahal, James Hinchcliffe, Josef Newgarden round out the top five. The Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis will be broadcasted tomorrow on ABC at 3:30pm ET with the green flag to fly around 3:50pm ET. 

Practice Report: Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS  May 12, 2016—Unlike previous road/street races this year, the AJ Foyt Racing drivers were not at the top of the speed charts on the first day of practice. However, they are aiming to have their cars at the sharp end of the grid after qualifying tomorrow.

Alex Tagliani, who is returning to a road course for the first time since 2013, was 19^th in the No. 35 Alfe Heat Treating Honda. He ran a total of 31 laps for the day, and posted a best time of 1 minute, 10.51 seconds.

“We didn’t run much in the first practice,” Tagliani said. “We had some telemetry issues but the second practice was okay. We tried to catch up and get some laps in to get back into the groove in the second practice. I think it was decent, and I think there is more to come. We just need to get the car where it needs to be, and for me to put a good lap in. I think we’ll be alright.”

Takuma Sato, who ran the most laps of the Foyt team at 50 in the No. 14 ABC Supply Honda, posted his best time of 1 minute, 10.6312 seconds which was 22^nd on the time chart.

“Bit of a tough day but it was an interesting day,” said Sato, adding, “We went through quite a few test items. We split the menu items up among the three cars and I think we found some positives. The tires are good for just the first few laps, so I wasn’t able to do a quick lap but in the end we found some direction. The weather helped by staying dry today. Hopefully tomorrow we will be moving up the chart!”

Jack Hawksworth had held the highest ranking of the Foyt drivers in the first practice when he was 14^th in the No. 41 ABC Supply Honda with a time of 1 minute, 10.6321. He posted a total of 39 laps with his clocking of 1 minute, 10.7248 seconds which was 23^rd on the time chart.

“I felt comfortable in the car both sessions,” Hawksworth said. “We ran our race set up for both sessions today; we’re still working some kinks out. We’re trying to find the right balance on the brakes, but for the car overall, it felt good.”

There is one more morning practice before qualifying for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis takes place tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. It can be followed live on Indycar.com.

Notes & Quotes: Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis

Takuma Sato: No. 14 ABC Supply Honda
Jack Hawksworth: No. 41 ABC Supply Honda
Alex Tagliani: No. 35 Alfe Heat Treating Honda

TAKUMA SATO ON:

•The circuit: “It’s a very unique circuit. It has one of the longest straights followed by a heavy braking zone which gives us a great overtaking opportunity. Also this is one of few tracks again that both the high downforce and low downforce setups mean similar lap times, so the difference between the teams’ setup philosophies makes for an interesting race.”

•Why he likes it: “I like it because the track is flat but some corners are challenging and it is a great track for racing. I also have several unforgettable memories from both the IMS road course and speedway so it is a very special place for me.”

•The track being closer to a street course or road course:  “A great road course. We had been much stronger on street courses than road courses historically, but we were very competitive in the Indy GP last year. Our recent record shows we are much happier in road course set up so I am really looking forward to going back there.”

•Difficulty of transitioning from road course to superspeedway:  “In some way of thinking it might be yes but I think it’s more of a fun and exciting feeling than difficult one. I mean it’s so different. The superspeedway package specifically for IMS is so light on downforce so you have a very fast car. It is nothing like any other track we drive. So although we’re in the same cockpit, the feeling is so different --even the main straight because we’re going 180 degrees opposite way! I enjoy this transitioning and can’t wait to take part in the INDY500.”

•Friday the 13th Superstition:   “We all know Friday the 13th but it doesn’t mean anything in Japan so I believe there is no effect on me!”

JACK HAWKSWORTH ON:

•         Difficulty of transitioning from road course to superspeedway: “The difficulty is more from a crew perspective. They have a lot of work to do between the end of the road course race and the start of 500 practice. They have to work long hours to turn the cars around. From a driving perspective it's a different approach and mentally it's a new challenge.”

•The circuit: “Indy's a fun circuit, super smooth and has some big braking zones which opens up many overtaking opportunities and chaos on the start and restarts. It is a very European style race track.”

•         Key to a good finish: “Qualify well and have a good consistent car over the longer runs. This will be the key to victory.”

•         Friday the 13th Superstition:  “I don't believe in superstitions or any of that BS. You have to work hard and concentrate on the job at hand, and at the end of the day, the best team will win. Qualifying on the 13th, 14th or 15th, it makes no difference to me.”

•         Whether the GP course is closer to a street circuit or road course: “It is much closer to a road course. The track is extremely smooth, which is the polar opposite of the street courses we go too. In terms of the corner radii there are some similarities between this track and some of the street courses we go too, there are quite a few 90 degree corners.”

ALEX TAGLIANI ON:

•Returning to AJ Foyt Racing for two races: “I appreciate being back with AJ Foyt Racing. Last year they welcomed me like I was one of their own for a long time. I made a lot of good friends and a lot of strong partners who are supportive of the team. I’m really thankful to represent Alfe Heat Treating, a company from Fort Wayne, Indiana so there will be a lot of friends and fans supporting the No. 35 Alfe Heat Treating Honda.”

•On driving the No. 35: “Driving a commemorative car with a special number—35 for A.J.’s 35 straight Indy 500s as a driver--makes me feel really honored. A.J. was on the grid with me with a bunch of pole winners in 2011 when I won the pole. I felt privileged that day to be on the same track with guys who have accomplished so much in the 500. Driving his car with a special number is huge.”

•His first time on this circuit: “I don’t have experience on this track—in fact it’s been three years since I’ve driven an Indy car on a road course. The cars have changed—new downforce levels—and I know it’s going to be challenging. I don’t want to raise expectations because just getting back in the groove is going to be challenging, never mind getting to know the car, etc. I’ll probably feel like when the weekend is over, I could have done better and would do better if I had another shot.

•Representing Alfe Heat Treating: “I’m very excited to represent Alfe Heat Treating again. They are a great group of guys and gals. I felt honored to know all of these people. The way they welcomed me into the Alfe family meant a lot to me. To be back in the car is an honor which I appreciate deeply. I will do the best job I can do, and if I can put a smile on their faces, then mission accomplished.”

•Friday the 13th Superstition: “I don’t have any superstitions about qualifying on Friday the 13th. I have some other superstitions though [which he was not prepared to divulge].”