Up and Down Day for Saavedra on Fast Friday

Topics:  Sebastian Saavedra, Indianapolis 500

Andrew Herta
Bryan Herta Autosport
May 21, 2010

Weather: At the start of practice at 12:00 pm, 65°F with south southeast winds at 10 mph. At 3:00 pm, 70° F with south southeast winds at 12 mph. At 5:00 pm, 70° F with winds out of the south at 11 mph, gusting to 17 mph.

Practice Summary: Saavedra turned a total of 74 laps today with a best lap of 222.245 mph.

Qualifying Draw: 70

Fastest Speeds of the Day:
1. Helio Castroneves 226.558 mph
2. Will Power 226.429 mph
3. Alex Tagliani 226.153 mph

Sebastian Saavedra, #29 William Rast Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was quite a hard day for us. We were at a good point in our learning curve and setting up the car but today was a bit different. We tried several new things from yesterday and lost quite a bit of momentum on the progress we were making speed-wise. As soon as we located the problem we were having, I started to feel comfortable again and to search for speed but by then the day was over. However, I am very positive for tomorrow as we found our mistakes and we will be putting into practice what we know has worked for us.”

Bryan Herta, Team Co-Owner: “We struggled at first when we started to trim the car out and had to go back to the garage to look at everything. We found a much better solution for the setup this afternoon for Sebastian. He was much more comfortable so now we are in a good position to, again, go looking for speed.”

Roberto Guerrero [Mentoring Saavedra]: “It was a positive day overall but it was a little frustrating in the middle. We made some progress but it is going to be pretty tough tomorrow because it is very close for everyone. I remember in my years that you always knew if you were 10 mph from the pole you would be safe. Now, I think the pole is going to be around 225.500 mph and the last row will be the middle 223s. It is going to be very close but I think we will be okay.”