‘Month of May’ Beckons for Belardi Auto Racing at Indianapolis
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| Felix Serralles |
With its race shop located just west of Indianapolis in the city of Brownsburg, Belardi Auto Racing is excited to have the opportunity to direct all of its focus on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the next month. The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires team will be part of this weekend's Grand Prix of Indianapolis doubleheader (May 7-9), which will put Belardi's drivers on the track's popular 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course. Just over a week later, they will return to IMS for testing ahead of the prestigious Freedom 100 on May 22.
Team driver Juan Piedrahita competed on the road course circuit last year, although that was in the old version of the Indy Lights car, while Felix Serralles has yet to sample the layout, which when run clockwise utilizes turn one and front straight of the famed oval. Serralles is coming off a strong fourth place finish at Barber Motorsports Park two weeks ago, and maintaining the momentum he gained will be crucial as the season progresses. Both drivers are expecting solid results.
"Coming home after back-to-back weekends at Long Beach and Barber has provided our guys with a chance to take a breath and assess our performances, our successes, and to plan out our attack on the IMS road course this weekend," offered Brian Belardi, Team Principal. "We've enjoyed some high points this year, including a podium at Long Beach and another top-five at Barber, along with recording four top-eight finishes in the last two doubleheaders. I'm happy with our momentum and I'm confident that we'll be able to maintain our momentum."
Serralles now has a pair of top-five finishes to his credit and sits fifth in the Indy Lights championship standings. A stellar third at Long Beach was backed up by a strong fourth in the second event at Barber, which was a positive recovery from engine issues that plagued the #4 S&S Discount Tire entry throughout the weekend. It was a positive turn-around for Felix and the team as well. Piedrahita was also very racy in the Sunday event at Barber, battling it out with RC Enerson for seventh, but he was dealing with a hand injury leftover from his contact with Jack Harvey in Long Beach. Now properly healed, Juan is ready to attack the weekend.
Belardi's Indy Light drivers will take to the track for two 45-minute practice sessions on Thursday, May 7 to begin the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, one in the morning at 10:00 am EDT and the second in the late afternoon at 4:55 pm. On Friday, May 8, qualifying is scheduled for 12:00 pm. Serralles and Piedrahita will take the first green flag at 4:00 pm that afternoon. They will receive a short 15-minute warm-up session on Saturday morning at 10:00 am, in preparation for the second race of the doubleheader at 1:25 pm, which will be run directly before the Verizon IndyCar Series main event. Live timing and live commentary will be available on the series website (www.indylights.com) and on the new Road to Indy app, which is available free for iPhones and Android devices through iTunes or Google Play.
BELARDI AUTO RACING – DRIVER INFORMATION
Felix Serralles – #4
Age: 22
Hometown: Ponce, Puerto Rico
Residence: Atlanta, Georgia
Sponsors: S&S Discount Tire, Sterling Performance, Skater Powerboats
Social Media:
Website: www.felixserralles.com
Facebook: FJSRacing
Twitter: @felixserralles
2015 Record:
Point Standings: 5th – 78 points
Best Finish: 3rd – Long Beach
Juan Piedrahita – #5
Age: 22
Hometown: Bogota, Columbia
Residence: Indianapolis, Indiana
Sponsors: Petrosur, Coldeportes, Marca Columbia
Social Media:
Website: www.juanchopiedrahitac.com
Facebook: juan.piedrahita.351
Twitter: @jpiedrahita77
2015 Record:
Point Standings: 8th – 67 points
Best Finish: 6th – St. Petersburg – Race 1
Driver Input: "The Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course is a great track, and it's always special to race at IMS, even if we're not turning left. The team and I have been working hard and we know what we need to change to improve on our recent performance and to run in the front. We're very excited for the weekend!"
EVENT INFORMATION:
Series: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
Event: Round #4 – Grand Prix of Indianapolis – Indianapolis, IN
Date: May 7-9, 2015
Website: indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/grandprix
WEEKEND SCHEDULE (all times Eastern Time Zone):
Thursday, May 7
- Practice 1: 10:00 – 10:45 am
- Practice 2: 4:55 – 5:40 pm
Friday, May 8
- Qualifying: 12:00 – 12:45 pm
- Race 1: 4:30 – 5:30 pm
Saturday, May 9
- Warm-up: 10:00 – 10:15 am
- Race 2: 1:25 – 2:25 pm