The pole position for the Inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis is set, and it belongs to Sebastian Saavedra, driver of the AFS KV AFS RACING car for KV AFS Racing. If that team sounds familiar it’s because Tony Kanaan won the Indy 500 with last year with them. Qualifying for the Grand Prix is different than what most Indy 500 fans are used to, but the thing to know is that the last segment of qualifying contains the top 6 cars from the first two segments. The final segment, that sets the top 6 starting positions, was shortened by about 2 minutes due to DHL driver Ryan Hunter-Reay crashing as he came out of turn 14 (turn 1 on the 500 course).
Grand Prix of Indianapolis Qualifying Results
1. (17) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 01:23.8822 (104.675)
2. (98) Jack Hawksworth, Dallara-Honda, 01:24.0788 (104.431)
3. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 01:24.8882 (103.435)
4. (77) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 01:25.2881 (102.950)
5. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 01:25.5216 (102.669)
6. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Chevy, 01:25.6548 (102.509)
7. (11) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 01:24.5187 (103.887)
8. (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevy, 01:24.6209 (103.762)
9. (10) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 01:24.7099 (103.653)
10. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 01:24.8839 (103.440)
11. (27) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 01:25.1318 (103.139)
12. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 01:25.4748 (102.725)
13. (25) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 01:10.2488 (124.990)
14. (8) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 01:10.2261 (125.030)
15. (67) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 01:10.3601 (124.792)
16. (14) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 01:10.2804 (124.934)
17. (18) Carlos Huertas, Dallara-Honda, 01:10.4264 (124.675)
18. (19) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 01:10.4141 (124.697)
19. (34) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Honda, 01:10.5097 (124.528)
20. (41) Martin Plowman, Dallara-Honda, 01:10.4591 (124.617)
21. (26) Franck Montagny, Dallara-Honda, 01:10.5571 (124.444)
22. (16) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 01:10.5996 (124.369)
23. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevy, 01:10.6413 (124.296)
24. (20) Mike Conway, Dallara-Chevy, 01:10.6535 (124.274)
25. (7) Mikhail Aleshin, Dallara-Honda, 01:11.2704 (123.198)
The Grand Prix course is 2.439 miles and contains 14 turns, five left and nine right. Along with running the opposite direction around The Indianapolis Motor Speedway than the Indy 500, the Grand Prix also differs in that it will begin with a standing start.
When asked if the road course changes as drastically as the oval at IMS, Saavedra said, “[It] is very sensitive to temperature…It’s very crucial to pursue the track and almost predict what you’re working on because it is very sensitive.” With that in mind tomorrow’s race is sure to be a good one.
Saturday, May 10 GRAND PRIX OF INDIANAPOLIS RACE DAY
(Tickets start at $25, 12 and under free)
7 a.m.-6 p.m., Public Gates Open
7 a.m.-4 p.m., Celebration of Automobiles
10 a.m. Firestone “Race Car” Pin Distribution, Pagoda Plaza
11:00 a.m.-11:50, USF2000 Race #2
12:10 p.m.-1 p.m., Pro Mazda Race #2
1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Indy Lights Race #2
2:45 p.m., IMS Grid Girl Entrance – Pagoda Yard of Bricks
3:50 p.m., Grand Prix of Indianapolis Race Begins