DETROIT WEEKEND REPORT
SATURDAY – DUAL 1
Race 1 of the Verizon IndyCar Series double-header weekend in Detroit saw 70 laps dictated by fuel strategy and the threat of rain. When the twin-checkers flew, Andretti Autosport saw three of four entrants finish inside the top 10, with Carlos Muñoz leading the way in sixth, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay in seventh and Alexander Rossi 10th. Marco Andretti battled handling issues, preventing the needed fuel conservation and resulting in a 16th-place finish
Carlos Muñoz – No. 26 Magneti Marelli Honda
“Again another race where strategies and cautions played a big factor. The Magneti Marelli car was fast out there. The risk we took to stay out longer didn’t work a lot and in the end, I had to save a lot of fuel. The good thing is the fuel number I had to reach was so high, I am happy I could hit that number while being fast. But, we finished sixth after a gamble and are climbing in the championship points, which I am happy about.”
Ryan Hunter-Reay – No. 28 DHL Honda
“Our strategy was all over the place today – just one of those Detroit races, you never know what’s going to be the right call. You just have to go with it and stick to it. We spent half the race saving fuel in the DHL car, trying to make a certain strategy work. Then we found out our fuel numbers were wrong, we didn’t need to save that much fuel maybe. Unfortunate, because we finished seventh while saving fuel and maybe could have challenged for a bit higher.”
Alexander Rossi – No. 98 NAPA AUTO PARTS / Curb Honda
“Starting 17th on any street track is going to be tough. We did a decent job maximizing our potential – I believe we could’ve gained a couple more positions though. I think generally it was an okay result. It is very important we qualify the NAPA AUTO PARTS / Curb Honda higher on the grid tomorrow so we have a better ability to prove we have a great race car.”
Marco Andretti – No. 27 United Fiber & Data / Snapple Honda
“Not a great result for us today. I battled with the back end of the car all day and wasn’t able to save fuel like we needed to. Without being able to make the mileage, we just got crushed. But, we get to do it all over again tomorrow, so we’ll take a look at the UFD / Vernors car tonight and come back fighting again for Race 2.”
SUNDAY – DUAL 2
DHL driver Ryan Hunter-Reay is leaving Detroit’s Belle Isle with a third-place finish, his second podium of the 2016 season and 34th of his career. Marco Andretti climbed his way to a 86th career top-ten finish today, after starting from the 22nd position and taking the twin checkers in ninth. Rookie Alexander Rossi was credited with leading one of today’s 70 laps and climbs to fifth in the championship points standings after collecting valuable points this weekend. Carlos Muñoz is leaving Detroit sixth in the championship standings after running a three pit-stop strategy on his way to a 15th-place finish.
Ryan Hunter-Reay – No. 28 DHL Honda
“It’s a solid finish for sure, we had a pretty decent car today. I was pushing as hard as I could. Congratulations to Team Penske this weekend, they’ve just been pretty much untouchable. They just had the pace and there’s only so much I could do about it. I was getting every last bit out of (the car). It’s great to get that No. 28 DHL Honda up to the podium after such a heartbreaking end to the Indy 500 for us.”
Marco Andretti – No. 27 United Fiber & Data / Snapple Honda
“It was a brutal weekend for us in Detroit. That last yellow today helped, but we need to improve our pace. We have to settle for a top 10 and turn that into a Texas win next weekend.”
Alexander Rossi – No. 98 NAPA AUTO PARTS / Curb Honda
“We had a broken front wing at the start – that didn’t help us at all. I think generally the pace was good, we had to make up a lot of time with having to change the front wing. The biggest thing we need to understand is why it takes us so long to come up to speed on cold tires. That’s something we need to address. Otherwise, I’m looking forward to racing in Texas next week.”
Carlos Muñoz – No. 26 Magneti Marelli Honda
“This was another race where the yellows didn’t help us at all with our strategy, and we lost a little bit of pace compared to yesterday so we will have to see what happened. This kind of race was all about strategy. We will move to the next (race) with Texas and hope for a good weekend.”
Round 8 of Verizon IndyCar Series competition has come to a close and teams are headed south to Indianapolis for a short turn around at home base before departing to Texas Motor Speedway for June 11’s Firestone 600.
