Plowey

[SmartWombat]

The reason I was at Indy Lights in St Petersburg.
His first race of the season.

[brmill26]

Looking great there Paul. His car is definitely one of the better looking ones in the group; gotta love the big "Plowey" on the rear! So how'd he end up?

[SmartWombat]

Quali 5th in his group.
Strange quali setup as the two groups form the two sides of the grid.
So even though he beat the fastest driver in the other group, he's still 5th.
At one point he was 3rd, we found after there was a car problem and his braking wasn't all it should be.
Yesterday's first quali he was again up in 2nd in the rain, but the team were slow to find the right setup and he finished much lower down.

In the race he was fighting hard, but the main overtaking point is at the end of the runway straight into the first corner. Everyone knows that So they were expecting a move there.
Still managed to make some great out braking manouvers there, but looked like he had understeer towwards the end of the race.

We have good hopes for today, if his hands hold out.
When we shook hands after the race, I was careful to avoid his blisters.

[SmartWombat]

Punted out of the race and spun, regained 5 places..
He was excellent on the restarts after yellow, unfortunately too much yellow running.
His team mate ended up out of the race, in the tyres.
Before that, he was leaving her behind at about a second a lap (rough guess) which isn't bad.
If you can't beat your team mate in the same machinery, or at least challenge them, you're in trouble.

[brmill26]

Thanks for the update, Paul. Hmm, weird way to qualify for sure. Obviously he's quick! But it's early days. Sounds like the usual early season hitches and jolts and getting to work with a new team. Blisters on his hands though? I know St. Pete is rough, but do those cars not have power steering?