DOORNBOS SOARS IN CLEVELAND source: minarditeamusa.com It was a race full of ups and downs for Minardi Team USA, but amidst it all, they found themselves on the podium once more. Robert Doornbos drove an amazing race to finish second, but unfortunately it wasn't 'Speedy' Dan's day, and he finished eleventh after looking strong all day. Robert started fifth on the grid, and after everyone made it safely through turn one, he found himself in fourth being chased by Graham Rahal. However, Robert was accused of moving off line, and this earned him a drive through penalty which left him in last place. Ever the racer, Robert put his head down, and even after a spin on lap fifty-five, he never gave up, and fell just half-a-second short of first place. Claiming his fourth podium in just five races, he moves into second place in Championship points, just three behind Bourdais. Robert Doornbos 2nd Place 106.912 mph "This was the longest race of my career! Who would have thought it would happen like this? I went from the front to the back of the field, and then back to the front again. I was given a penalty for blocking, and in this Championship, blocking is a very big word. I feel that I did nothing wrong, but I got punished, and then pushed really hard to recover. We had amazing pit-stops, and our engineers worked out a brilliant strategy. I have to thank the team more than anybody else, they kept me motivated, and it's due to them that I finished where I did. I never gave up and kept my head down until the very end. It's crazy that you can come from the very back and finish on the podium, but that's part of why I love this Championship!" Dan Clarke's day started with great promise. He fell from sixth to eighth in the opening laps, but quickly began picking off the cars in front of him, one at a time, and was up to fourth place before the first round of pit-stops. He was turning lap times as quick as the leaders, and made some impressive passes moving through the field. He was looking to have a strong finish, but unfortunately, it wasn't in the cards for Speedy. He got in the middle of a racing incident and spun and stalled the car. The safety crew quickly restarted the car, but by then Dan was one lap down. He fell to eleventh, with nobody on his lap to race against, and settled in for the remainder of the race.
Recent Articles
|
Racing Multimedia
Recommendations |