Race Report: Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, FL April 6, 2008--Ten minutes. That was the
amount of time Darren Manning needed to drive the No. 14 ABC Supply
Dallara/Honda to his first top-five finish of the 2008 season in the
two-hour Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Sunday afternoon.
The race, scheduled to run 100 laps, had been deemed a timed event
and officials informed the teams that the race would be called final
after two hours.
As Manning was about to pass sixth place runner Enrique Bernoldi
coming onto the front straightaway, the gearbox failed. A.J. Foyt
instructed him to just try to run to the end.
“The car was fast at the end,” said Manning. “I was just getting
Bernoldi set up for the pass when the gear shift stuck in third. As
good as the car felt, I really think we could have given Tony Kanaan
a run for third.
“This track owes me,” he’d said coming into the weekend. After his
13th place finish, his feelings hadn’t changed. It was a
disappointment after a hard fought race.
Rain, predicted for the weekend, made its appearance just minutes
before the start of the race, causing the teams to change from slick
(dry condition) tires to rain tires. The race began under yellow as
the drivers tiptoed around the track in the downpour. Manning, who
started 11th, quickly jumped into ninth on the first green flag lap
and moved into eighth by lap 20. But as the rain slackened, he began
losing spots. He was 11th when the caution came out for debris on
lap 34.
“The car lost overall grip but I think I just ran the rain tires too
hard when the track was drying and used them up,” said Manning.
During that caution period, the team gambled, and made a critical
pitstop to put on slick tires, and was one of the few teams that
did. The bet paid off as his lap times dropped immediately and he
began moving up the grid in dramatic fashion, climbing from 20th to
fourth in 11 laps. He ran there until Ryan Briscoe hit the wall
bringing out a full course yellow.
Manning pitted for tires and fuel while some drivers who had pitted
earlier under green, only took fuel and others, like eventual winner
Graham Rahal, gained track position by not pitting. Manning emerged
in ninth barely missing Kanaan in pit lane who jumped out in front
of him. As Kanaan threaded his way through traffic, Manning followed
until the mechanical problem occurred on lap 76.
A three car accident on that same lap brought out another full
course yellow. The race ran the final four laps under green and
Manning picked up two additional spots by staying out to finish
13th.
Rahal, 19, won the race in his first start in the IndyCar Series to
become the youngest winner ever in the history of IndyCar racing.
Helio Castroneves finished second ahead of Tony Kanaan, Ernesto Viso
and Enrique Bernoldi.
The next race for the IndyCar Series is on the oval at Twin Ring
Motegi in Japan. It will be shown as a tape-delayed event on ESPN
starting at 12 noon on Saturday, April 19th.
However, Rahal will join the other Champ Car teams as they make
their final start in the Long Brach Grand Prix Sunday afternoon,
April 20th.
Notes & Quotes: Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Darren Manning: No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Honda/Firestone
· Manning on St. Pete: “I’m looking forward to returning to
St. Pete because I have some unfinished business there. This will be
our first race of the year where we have a good set-up going in
based on our experience from last year and I see that being the case
for the rest of the year. St. Pete’s the first of those races so I’m
a little anxious to see how it all goes.”
· Manning on new qualifying procedure for road/street
courses: “I think it’s good because it will build more excitement
for the fans. It makes qualifying more of an event. Before we had
just one lap which is why we used tire warmers. We don’t have tire
warmers this year but the field is split in half and each group gets
a 20-minute session. You have to try to get a clear lap which can be
challenging. They’ll take the fastest six from each group and then
those 12 guys will get a 15-minute session to determine the fastest
six who will then go into the Firestone Fast Six. It should get
quite good over the course of the season. Hopefully, we’ll be in the
top-six overall so it won’t matter.”
Note: The cars that don’t advance to the top 12 are gridded
according to their lap times from 13th back, and those cars that
don’t advance to the Firestone Fast Six, are gridded in positions 7
through 12 according to their lap times in the Top 12 session].
· Manning on street courses: “The street courses have no
margin for error. Unlike the road courses where you can horse a car
around, on the street courses you must be very precise—know how to
drive the cambers, bumps and manhole covers. It suits my style of
driving.”
· Manning’s record at St. Pete: His first time on the street
course was in 2003 driving for Walker Racing in the CART Series
where he started 11th and had climbed to sixth. Midway through the
race he lost the clutch on a pitstop and was finished for the day,
placing 13th. In 2004, he drove for Ganassi Racing, where he was
third quickest in practice sessions, but a sticky throttle hampered
him in qualifying so he started 16th. In the race, he climbed to
second and then on his final stop, he took fuel only allowing him to
lead three laps. He was running second when Tony Kanaan made contact
with Manning, dropping him to eighth. He ran out of fuel on the
final lap and finished ninth.
· Manning’s R & R in Florida: With his parents Peter and Val
visiting from the United Kingdom, Manning took the opportunity for
some rest and relaxation in Naples. “I played a couple of games of
golf with my dad, and my spotter Larry Arnold [who lives in an Indy
suburb] joined us one day. My mum would keep us company—she doesn’t
play,” said Manning, adding, “But I was working out every day too.”
· Last race: At Homestead, Manning started 12th and finished
13th.
· The Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be
televised live April 6th, Sunday afternoon starting at 2:30pm on
ESPN.
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