Lotus Gets In Full Day Of Practice In Preparation For 2011 Indy 500

After two days of inclement weather that prevented the team from turning a wheel, KV Racing Technology – Lotus got in a full day of practice today in preparation for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.

On the sixth day since the track opened, conditions were ideal for the first time and all three KVRT – Lotus drivers took full advantage making significant progress with their car development program. Tony Kanaan, No. 82 GEICO – KV Racing Technology – Lotus lead the way with a fast lap of 225.802 mph putting him 13th on both the session and combined speed charts.  Takuma Sato, No. 5 KV Racing Technology – Lotus also topped the 225 mph mark with a speed of 225.308 mph placing him 19th  while E. J. Viso, No. 59 PDVSA - KV Racing Technology – Lotus, recorded a fast lap of 224.056 good for 32nd on today’s report.  This was just the second full day the team has been able to practice and the third out of the six days they have been on track.  Last Saturday’s Opening Day session was cut short by rain.  It is also the first time the team has had two drivers exceed the 225 mph mark.

Commenting on his day, Kanaan, who ran 72 laps today (total of 122), said, “Finally a full day of practice for everyone.  I was kind of scared when I saw the sun coming out today.  I wasn’t used to that.  It was an okay day.  It is the second to last day before qualifying and people have a tendency to get a little bit anxious, but when you get older, like me, you don’t panic anymore you just look at your chances.  You have to be realistic.  To qualify on the first day is going to be a huge accomplishment, but I can’t start any worse than last year anyway.”

Sato, who is making just his second appearance at the Brickyard and ran 66 laps today (a team high total of 123 in two and a half days of practice) said, “At last a dry day.  We made good progress throughout the day.  We did both a qualifying run and a race run.  We had the positive side today, but also we learned some things that we need to improve before tomorrow.  So it was a good day because we understand what we need to do.” 

Viso, who ran a 45 laps (a total of 112), said, “We were finally able to put some laps together after some rainy days.  I think it was a pretty efficient day for the whole team.  We were able to work on some of the things we needed to try.  We did a lot of quality testing.  Again all of the laps we did were without a tow or in traffic.  Tomorrow is going to be a mixed day.  We will do some more testing for qualifying and then work on our race setups.  We still need to find a little bit of speed to be safe for qualifying, but I believe with the progress we have made we should be okay.”

Practice began promptly at 12:00 noon.  All three KVRT – Lotus cars went on track shortly after 12:00 p.m. and began working through their individual assignments.  A total of 40 cars ran a total of 2394 laps today.  Alex Tagliani posted the fastest speed at 227.778 mph.  

KVRT - Lotus will resume practice tomorrow, weather permitting, in preparation for this weekend’s Indianapolis 500 qualifying.  Pole Day, when the pole and the first 24 spots on the grid will be determined is scheduled for Saturday, May 21.  Bump Day, when the final nine cars will qualify is scheduled for Sunday, May 22.  The 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 will be held Sunday, May 29.  It will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Two KVRT – Lotus cars qualify for IZOD Pit Stop Competition:

Kanaan and his No. 82 GEICO – KV Racing Technology – Lotus crew qualified for the IZOD Pit Stop Competition scheduled for Carburetion Day, Friday, May 27, from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. ET.   Nine crews, including Takuma Sato’s No. 5 KV Racing Technology – Lotus crew, were already qualified for the event based on their pit stop performance at previous races.  A total of nine other crews competed today including E. J. Viso and the No. 59 PDVSA – KV Racing Technology – Lotus crew.  The No. 82 crew posted the fastest time of the nine with a stop of 7.895 seconds.  The winning crew of the competition will earn $50,000.