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IndyCar
IN THE COCKPIT: Alex Tagliani, Long Beach
I was really hoping that Long Beach was going to make us forget the way we had started in Barber, when we didn’t even have a chance to do a lap.
Alex Tagliani has experienced a rather unfriendly opening to his 2012 season. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
I always look forward to the race in Long Beach and overall, we had an amazing weekend there this year.
We had lots of sponsors visiting from Barracuda Networks and Bowers & Wilkins. The Motegi hospitality and Cuda Lounge looked like they were rockin’ and I think the guests had a lot of fun.
On Saturday, we hosted a visit from my new friends Maggie Elizabeth Jones and Colin Ford from the movie We Bought a Zoo. They came with their moms and spent a lot of time with Bronte, checking out the paddock and getting the IndyCar experience. There was even some break dancing in the hospitality suite!
So off-track, the weekend was a success and I heard a lot of nice compliments.
On track was a little different. I was pretty pleased with the car and we left maybe two-tenth on table during qualifying. We benefitted with a top-ten start because of penalties from other teams changing their engines.
In the race though, obviously everything just went wrong. There’s a safety device on the car that doesn’t allow you to rev the engine when it’s too cold. That ended up being bad because I was trying to rev it – I was trying everything I could but the pace car speed was too low. If I had been starting last, it would’ve been okay but I was up near the front of the pack, so I had to pull off track as a safety precaution as the green flag dropped.
It just wasn’t a good start to the race and we didn’t get the opportunity to take advantage of our top-ten starting position. When we got back out, I had another opportunity to make some ground. I passed quite a few drivers and made it all the way to Rubens. By that point, it looked like we were back on pace for a good finish. Our pace was similar to the guys running up front and I was pleased with that.
We did another pit stop and came out before a restart. As I was coming out of the hairpin, E.J. Viso hit me from behind and put me into the wall on the front straight. It was disappointing and uncalled for.
I was really hoping that Long Beach was going to make us forget the way we had started in Barber, when we didn’t even have a chance to do a lap. I sound like a broken record but I think that as a team, we’re doing good things. The crew is really working hard and we’re not giving up.
Thank you to all of the fans who continue to support me and Team Barracuda – BHA. We appreciate all of you and will continue to work hard toward Victory Lane!
Alex Tagliani drives the No. 98 Team Barracuda BHA car in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series. Learn more about Alex, the team and their sponsors at http://www.bryanhertaautosport.com, and follow Alex on Twitter @Tagliani.
We had lots of sponsors visiting from Barracuda Networks and Bowers & Wilkins. The Motegi hospitality and Cuda Lounge looked like they were rockin’ and I think the guests had a lot of fun.
On Saturday, we hosted a visit from my new friends Maggie Elizabeth Jones and Colin Ford from the movie We Bought a Zoo. They came with their moms and spent a lot of time with Bronte, checking out the paddock and getting the IndyCar experience. There was even some break dancing in the hospitality suite!
So off-track, the weekend was a success and I heard a lot of nice compliments.
On track was a little different. I was pretty pleased with the car and we left maybe two-tenth on table during qualifying. We benefitted with a top-ten start because of penalties from other teams changing their engines.
In the race though, obviously everything just went wrong. There’s a safety device on the car that doesn’t allow you to rev the engine when it’s too cold. That ended up being bad because I was trying to rev it – I was trying everything I could but the pace car speed was too low. If I had been starting last, it would’ve been okay but I was up near the front of the pack, so I had to pull off track as a safety precaution as the green flag dropped.
It just wasn’t a good start to the race and we didn’t get the opportunity to take advantage of our top-ten starting position. When we got back out, I had another opportunity to make some ground. I passed quite a few drivers and made it all the way to Rubens. By that point, it looked like we were back on pace for a good finish. Our pace was similar to the guys running up front and I was pleased with that.
We did another pit stop and came out before a restart. As I was coming out of the hairpin, E.J. Viso hit me from behind and put me into the wall on the front straight. It was disappointing and uncalled for.
I was really hoping that Long Beach was going to make us forget the way we had started in Barber, when we didn’t even have a chance to do a lap. I sound like a broken record but I think that as a team, we’re doing good things. The crew is really working hard and we’re not giving up.
Thank you to all of the fans who continue to support me and Team Barracuda – BHA. We appreciate all of you and will continue to work hard toward Victory Lane!
Alex Tagliani drives the No. 98 Team Barracuda BHA car in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series. Learn more about Alex, the team and their sponsors at http://www.bryanhertaautosport.com, and follow Alex on Twitter @Tagliani.
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