A1 Team USA's Phil Giebler is one of six drivers with A1GP experience taking part in this weekend's Indianapolis 500 - but there are links with several others. source: a1gp.com The Indianapolis 500 is a popular and prestigious American race that takes place annually at the end of May for cars called IndyCars. This year's event will be its 91st running. Six drivers - Giebler, Darren Manning, Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon, Vitor Meira and Al Unser Jr - all have raced or tested A1GP cars for their nations, but this weekend they be will competing for themselves. There are several other links too - A1 Team USA is the co-entrant of Buddy Rice's car, which is liveried with A1GP and A1 Team USA logos. Team decals also appear on the cars of Rice's team-mates' Roger Yasukawa and Sarah Fisher. "It's a very different type of race compared with A1GP races," Giebler insists. "You drive on an oval - and all four corners are slightly different, but they turn the same way. It's also one of the most demanding tracks compared with other ovals. "It's one of the biggest races of the year and it is a little crazy and the pressure is definitely on. But I feel really comfortable out there." Giebler starts the race from 33rd - and last - on the grid, but says with the traditional attrition rate a top-ten finish on Sunday is a realistic target. "We have one of the few Panoz chassis out there this weekend," he added, "which is definitely not the car to have but we're a small team with a tiny budget and we're doing quite well. "As long as we don't make any major mistakes, we can actually surprise a lot of people . The 'power house' teams occupy the top ten cars so if we can make the top ten it would completely blow away the field. It is the ultimate goal."
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