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Crazy Weekend in Toronto for Hawksworth

Topics: Jack Hawksworth, Honda Indy Toronto

Crazy Weekend in Toronto for Hawksworth

Monica Hilton
Bryan Herta Autosport
July 20, 2014

After a weekend of rain delays and multiple red flags, IndyCar was forced to postpone Race 1 of the Toronto Doubleheader, meaning two races on Sunday. Jack started both races in the 18th position, Race 1 grid having been set on Qualifying while Race 2 grid was determined by points. Hawksworth survived two frantic races to finish Race 1 in 13th and Race 2 in 6th place.

Hawksworth made steady progress in race one and fought his way up to 8th place by mid distance. Shortly past midway through the 65 lap race Hawksworth brushed the wall and caused minor damage to the right rear suspension. Despite the damage to the car he was able to stay on track to finish P13. “A bit of an interesting race, we started quite strong in the beginning, but didn’t quite work out the way wanted in the end.” said Hawksworth.

Team co-owner, Bryan Herta stated, “On and off the track, we had our adventures in Race 1 and we had a little bit of damage on the car we had to fix as well as an oil leak and a fuel leak in the short time between races. They did an amazing job even to get the car back to the grid for Race 2.”

Race 2 was ultimately shortened to a timed 80 minute race as rain played havoc with the field resulting in several yellow and a red flag. As drivers changed back and forth between dry and wet weather specification Firestone tires, Hawksworth’s fortunes changed almost by the lap. After recovering from a spin on wet tires, Jack was able to move aggressively forward as well as capitalize on other drivers’ mistakes to ultimately cross the finish line in the 6th position.

“One of the craziest races I’ve ever been involved in before.” Said Hawksworth, “We had a reasonable start and halfway through I made a mistake on the rain tires and spun the car so we ended up in the back. Once the track dried we opted to put the slicks on and gained a few positions and ended up P6. All in all a very good day, well done to everyone on the team, it was a good job!”

“Well what a busy day.” Bryan Herta continued, “Jack was able to capitalize at the end when we got him on slick tires and he moved back through the field from about 18th to 6th in the last few laps. Overall it was a weird weekend, but certainly an interesting one for the fans which is great as we appreciate their patience throughout the last two days fighting the weather here in Toronto.”

The team travels to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in two weeks on August 1-3. They take on the final stretch with four races remaining in the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Season.