Sunday, May 4, 2008 Rookie Orientation Program for the 92nd Indianapolis 500
Round 5 of 18 in the IndyCar Series
McDONALD’S DRIVER WILSON AND HOLE IN THE WALL CAMPS DRIVER RAHAL COMPLETED ROOKIE ORIENTATION FOR THE INDY 500 TODAY
OVERALL: The annual Rookie Orientation Program (ROP) allows rookies to get up to speed gradually. The rookies must complete 10 laps at different speed levels. Phase 1 is 200 to 205 mph; Phase 2 is 205 to 210 mph; Phase 3 is 210 to 215 mph while Phase 4 is 10 laps above 215 mph. The track was open from 12 -5 PM EDT. Rahal completed his fourth and final phase at approx. 2:30 PM while Wilson finished soon thereafter. Wilson and company headed to the garage area while Rahal made one more run before calling it a day.
Rahal - Fastest of 51 Laps: 41.1675 / 218.619 mph
Wilson - Fastest of 43 Laps: 41.2576 / 218.142 mph
Justin Wilson, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “This definitely feels like the right way around the track. This is a completely different place from when I ran in Formula One here. Someone told me it was like four quick corners on a road course and that is what I have found. The car goes where you point it whereas on some of the other ovals that is not the case. It’s a really cool feeling when the car releases out of the corner and onto the straight. Looking at Turn 1 is pretty cool. You just head down there and all you can see is the wall and just when you start to panic the corner opens up and you turn in and the car flows so well. It’s a real pleasure; I’m having fun driving the McDonald’s car here. It was a smooth day everything went to plan. The McDonald’s car is working well and the team is doing a great job. It’s a good starting point and hopefully we can start to work on our setups and begin to take some drag out of the car. You can get to a certain level then you have to start taking downforce out to go quicker. That’s when the car starts to get more difficult and you have to start driving it”
FAST FACTS: Will be his second race at IMS and first in the IndyCar Series (ICS) after having competed here with Jaguar in 2003 where he earned his first Formula One point in the USGP with an eighth place finish after running as high as third. He started 16th…He has competed on an oval track seven times…Qualified 17th but started 15th in the season-opener in Homestead due to two cars having their qualifying speeds disallowed. Dropped one lap down when he was hit by Will Power on a restart after approx. 22 laps and had to pit to replace a deflated tire but rallied to finish 15th…Started third in his street course ICS debut in St. Pete but alternate fuel and tire strategies dictated by intermittent rain led to a ninth place finish after he led a total of 18 of 83 laps…Was the pole winner on Friday and Saturday in the Long Beach Champ Car finale and dropped to second on the start but engine failure on Lap 13 ended his race and he finished 19th … Gained valuable experience after he was first to qualify and started 22nd in Kansas, led five laps after staying on track while others pit and finished ninth…Is ranked 17 in the point standings with 71 and is sixth in ROY…Finished runner up in the Champ Car championship to the driver he recently replaced, four-time champion Sebastien Bourdais, in 2006 and 2007. Was a championship contender until the conclusion of the penultimate race of each season.
Graham Rahal, No. 06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Surprisingly I wasn’t nervous at all. I think if you get yourself worked up about it you get really nervous. Then you make errors and mistakes which can lead to a crash. It’s a big weight off our shoulders to finish ROP and now we can get down to work and get on with the month and that’s the biggest thing. Of course it feels good to get a day under our belts and it’s pretty cool running here too. We didn’t want to use too many sets of tires today. It’s all about conserving those right now. We completed ROP then ran another couple of outings and parked it. We’ll regroup and go back out tomorrow to get a little more track time. Justin and I were both running pretty well and we’re both running high downforce right now. I don’t know what everybody else is running but we’re going to start peeling it off here and see what happens. It’s a big place. When you run 220 here the speed doesn’t get to you really. We need to gain another nine or so to get where everyone was last year. I didn’t expect to go as fast as we did right away. I didn’t know what to think but I’m pretty happy with the way its gone.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his first Indy 500 and only his second on an oval track after having finished 12th at Kansas Speedway last weekend. He previously ran in a junior formula, Star Mazda event in 2005 at the Pikes Peak oval. In his IndyCar Series debut on a road/street course he became the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing in North America after winning in St. Pete on 4-6-08 at 19 years, 93 days old…He is ranked 10th in series points with 88 points.
1 POLE (1987) & TWO SECONDS AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY (IMS): The 2008 entry will mark the 16th year for NHR/NHLR in the event and the third since 1995. Prior to 2008, the team prepared a total of 23 entries for drivers such as Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Paul Tracy, Bruno Junqueira and Sebastien Bourdais. The entry of Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal in 2008 will bring the total to 25. NHR’s highest finish in the Indy 500 is second place with Mario Andretti in 1985 and Michael Andretti in 1991 although team drivers have led many laps here. Mario Andretti also brought the team its highest start in the event when he won the pole position in 1987. NHR’s 2004 entry of Junqueira marked the first time for the team to compete here since 1995 and they returned in 2005 with Junqueira and IMS rookie Bourdais. They have earned Rookie of the Year once, with Mansell in 1993 when he finished third.
Day 2 of ROP will take place tomorrow with on-track practice time from 12 noon to 5 p.m. CT. Log onto www.indycar.com for live timing and scoring.
