Rain further complicates ex-Champ Car teams’ Indy transition
The two Indy rookies from KV Racing Technologies knew it was an almost impossible task. Even so, it was a blow when they came up just short.
"Even though we knew it probably wouldn't happen, we focused on that 11th spot and, at the end of the day, it was harder to take than we thought it would be," said Servia, once a runner-up in the defunct Champ Car World Series. "But we weren't that far off, so that's encouraging for everybody on the team."
With the second day of qualifying for the May 25 race rained out Sunday, KV Racing and the other teams that made the move from Champ Car to the IRL's IndyCar Series will have to split their practice time this week working on qualifying and race-day setups.
Then this weekend, they'll try to put their cars into the 33-car lineup.
"It's going to be a matter of good planning and hoping for the best," Servia said. "I know we have the speed to qualify, so it's no big deal. It just kind of messes up the planning and complicates things."
The weather hasn't been kind to the new IRL teams so far this month, with rain also washing out 2½ days of practice in the opening week.
"The days that you don't run, they drain you," Servia said. "You're here working with the engineers and you're in that room all day just talking and you're here to drive and try things. So it's tough. But, again, it's the same for the guys in other garages."
Still, everything at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is new to the KV drivers and most of the other team members. Their biggest learning curve comes with the Dallara-Honda cars KV and the other former Champ Car teams have struggled to put together and figure out since the long-awaited unification of the two American open-wheel series' in February. More at CBS Sports