Clerical Medical and Manx Sports Aid Foundation backed 22-year-old Alex Lloyd completed the Liberty Challenge double header weekend at the Indianapolis Motorspeedway supporting the Formula 1 Grand Prix. source: Alex-Lloyd.com The weekend started with Alex qualifying a decent 2nd. "We weren't capable of the pole today," said Lloyd. "We didn't start with the car we hoped for and 2nd was all I could get out of it. We will work hard over night to find some additional speed." Race 1 was held on Saturday afternoon at an unpleasant 94 degree F. Lloyd held onto 2nd into turn 1 and that was to be a position he held until the chequered flag. "To be honest I am disappointed with today," proclaimed Alex. "Obviously our win streak has come to an end but I am more disappointed with our pace today. We just didn't have it. The positive is, if on a bad day we still finish 2nd, then that is encouraging." The grid for race 2 was a reverse of the top 8 finishers from race 1 meaning Lloyd and the Sam Schmidt Motorsports, Lucas Oil Team had to start from the 7th spot. With the team proposing a dramatic setup change overnight and a short 18 lap sprint race to move up the field from 7th, all signs were that it was shaping up to be an exciting race. At the start Lloyd moved swiftly up to 5th with a daring move down the inside, squeezing his Dallara, Indy Pro Series car into the smallest of gaps. The safety car was then deployed after an accident at the 1st turn. When the wreckage was cleared, again, Lloyd pounced and made a similarly aggressive move against the pit wall up to 3rd. The next 6 laps were full of frustration as Alex was being held up by the 2nd place driver but a yellow flag into turn 1 prevented Lloyd from passing meaning all he could do was watch the race leader disappear into the distance. Once the yellow flag was eventually removed, Lloyd swept into 2nd and began chase of the leader. With only a small number of laps remaining, Alex ran out of time and had to settle for 2nd. "2nd is certainly not the result we were hoping for but given our grid position, the short distance of the race and the yellow flag at the main passing spot we have to happy. We improved the car a lot today so I must say a big thank you to my team. We got everything we could out of the race today and looking back I wouldn't have done anything differently. Starting from 7th was a lot of fun and I was able to show my skills as a racer. Looking over the weekend I am disappointed not have won both races but sometimes things don't work out and I think the key when things like this happen, is to get the maximum out of what you have. Two 2nd places are good points and the best we could do. We will try to get back into victory lane next weekend in Iowa." The Indy Pro Series returns this weekend at the all new 7/8 of a mile speedway in Iowa. A short oval with high banking which should lend itself to close, high speed racing. You can watch the practice sessions and race live on www.Indycar.com/pro Championship Positions after 7/16 rounds 1st - Alex Lloyd 340 (5 wins) 2nd - Hideki Mutoh 236 3rd - Bobby Wilson 207 4th - Jaime Camara 176 5th - Chris Festa 167
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