Paul Tracy Leads 4-Car Top Ten Edmonton Run For Kv Racing Technology S

[Mark H]

EDMONTON, Alta., Canada (July 25, 2010) —  Paul Tracy led a four-driver Top Ten performance for KV Racing Technology Sunday on the rough tarmac at the City Centre Airport before an enthusiastic racing crowd at the Honda Indy Edmonton.

 

Tracy, the oldest driver in the field at age 41, had the crowd on their feet throughout the 95-lap feature with the No. 15 Honda Canada—Make A Wish—Motegi Wheels—KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone entry with a solid sixth place finish.  Starting from his 15th position, Tracy kept his aggressive reputation by passing five drivers in the first two laps and ran as high as fifth before taking his second consecutive sixth spot in the Alberta city. 

 

The Las Vegas resident made a valiant passing maneuver for fourth with two laps remaining but Penske driver Ryan Briscoe held off the challenge and moved Tracy wide.  Ryan Hunter-Reay was able to slip by for the fifth spot ahead of the No. 15 driver.

 

The  bumpy 1.96-mile, 14-turn circuit near downtown Edmonton always provides wild action and Sunday’s competition didn’t disappoint.  While Tracy was the focus of many Canadian fans, the other three KV Racing Technology drivers also performed well.

 

An impressive drive was turned in by Mario Moraes, who came from the 14th starting spot with a superb fuel mileage drive to place seventh in his No. 32 KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone car.  It was the Brazilian’s third top-ten road finish in 2010.

 

E.J. Viso, driver of the No. 8 PDVSA — KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone machine, started sixth Sunday after a tremendous qualifying performance.  However, a mid-race tangle with Simona de Silvestro hurt Viso’s chances for a possible top-five finish.  The 25-year-old Venezuelan fought his way back to finish eighth, his best road placing in 2010.

  

Formula One veteran Takuma Sato, driver in the No. 5 Lotus — KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone mount, turned in an impressive performance in his debut on the tough Edmonton track as he raced into seventh late in the event.  However, Sato’s car was hit from behind on the final lap and the Japanese star lost two positions for ninth overall.

 

Sunday marked the first time KVRT had four drivers finish in the Top Nine in a race.

 

DRIVER QUOTES:

 

PAUL TRACY, #15  HONDA CANADA—MAKE A WISH—MOTEGI WHEELS—KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE, Finished 6th:  “It was a good finish for the Honda Canada– Make A Wish–Motegi Wheels–KV Racing team today.  Our goal was to make money for Make A Wish these last two weeks and they raised over $112,000 for the two races.  It feels great to help the kids and the families.  My second goal was to have a good time.  Then we wanted a good  finish and we pulled it off today.  It feels so good to race in front of the Canadian fans.  They really enjoy their racing.  Both Toronto and Edmonton support these events so well.  It is tough to come in as a spot driver and perform well.  This place is so hard and physical on a driver.  So coming from 15th and finish sixth feels very good.  I just wish we could get the car figured out earlier in the weekend to get a better starting spot.  With a better qualifying, I think we can race with the leaders.  Overall, today was good for the whole KV Racing team.  I wish I could race again this year.”

 

MARIO MORAES, #32 KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE, Finished 7th: “It was a good race for our KV crew.  I was trying to be patient with the tires in the first stint.  We were able to run long on fuel in the first stint and that helped us.  I am happy with the top-ten finish after the problem we had in qualifying.  We had some great pit stops and a great team effort in the race.  Now, I hope we can continue that momentum in two weeks at Mid-Ohio.”

 

E.J. VISO, #8 PDVSA — KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE, Finished 8th: “It was definitely a tough race.  I made a couple of mistakes early in the race.  But overall, my PDVSA – KV Racing crew did a great job with a strong qualifying performance.  The car was good in the race.  We were in a fuel conservation mode and I lost a few positions.  I considered it a racing incident with Simona (de Silvestro).  She didn’t give any space and I think she didn’t see me.  So we banged tires.  The officials gave me a drive-through penalty and that didn’t help us going back in the pack.  But we recovered well and we got back to eighth.  We want to be ready for Mid-Ohio now after the team did a good job this weekend.”

 

TAKUMA SATO, #5  LOTUS - KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE, Finished 9th:  "It was a good day for the Lotus - KV Racing Technology team.  I enjoyed racing here and the race itself was very exciting.  There was a lot of side-by-side and overtaking on this circuit, which I experienced a lot of today.  On the last stint, I was so frustrated being stuck behind a lapped car.  Its okay for a few corners or even a lap, but it held me up for so long, almost 15 laps.  We tried to speak to their team to ask them to move over but for some reason it wasn't happening.  On the last restart, my teammate PT (Paul Tracy) went wide and onto the grass.  I was alongside him when he came back on track forcing me wide and nearly losing it, but I managed to hold on and and keep position.  Later TK (Tony Kanaan) hit me from behind and spun me round, so I lost a couple of positions on that lap, but he did apologize to me after the race.  That was a shame but it was still a good day for the Lotus team."

 

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