Winterfest: Andretti Autosport day 1 quote board
NO. 51 STARSTRUCK MAZDA
– Tested at the 2.74-mile circuit with three sessions over the last two days
– The 23-year-old's best time came on Wednesday's afternoon session at 1:25.5781
"It was an up and down test for the No. 51 Andretti Autosport Indy Lights team. It's really cold down here at Nola (Motorsports Park), which makes it really hard to test for things when we are going to race in complete opposite conditions when we come back in April. The car was the best during the middle of the day when it was the warmest, but the second day of testing didn't make it into the 50s. In the end we learned a lot and hope it continues at Barber (Motorsports Park) next month."
WEIRON TAN
NO. 22 WEIRON TAN ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT MAZDA
– The rookie impressed during the practice session coming away fastest out of the 15
– Held the fastest time for most of the qualifying session but was knocked off the top spot on the final lap to give him a second-place starting position
– After avoiding contact at the start, the Malaysian dropped back and later regained his momentum enabling him to make a few attempts at a pass for first but saw the checkered flag in second
"Under braking I had to avoid a car that came in pretty hard, so hopefully tomorrow I don't have to do the hard part of chasing Jack (Aitken) down! It was really fun, actually, until Jack started weaving; I'm not sure you're allowed to do that. But the race was good – Jack defended well and we learned a lot from Race One. This track doesn't give you much opportunity to pass, but hopefully I learned something today that I can apply to tomorrow. I'm disappointed we didn't win the race today, but second place is still good. The team did a great job, and we have five more races in Winterfest, so hopefully we can do even better."
DALTON KELLETT
NO. 28 K-LINE INSULATORS USA ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT MAZDA
– The Canadian came away third quickest during the lone practice session
– Started the 19-lap race from the seventh position
– The 21-year-old avoided an incident at the start forcing him to lose a few spots, but was able to recover to move into P6 at the finish
"Exciting first race of the season. I was making passes off the start when two cars spun in front of me in Turn 4, so I had to swerve and slow to avoid them. This knock me back a few spots, but I was able to get back to sixth and hold that position for the rest of the race. The car was handling well, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow's races! The temperature has been quite low these last couple of days so that has provided an interesting challenge. I have to thank K-Line Insulators USA for their support for the K-Line green No. 28 Andretti Autosport Pro Mazda."
Andretti Autosport