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IndyCar
IN THE COCKPIT: Alex Tagliani, Sonoma IndyCar
"I really feel bad for the incident," Tagliani writes of his contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay. "I did apologize and I can apologize a million times."
Along with changing the team's name to Barracuda Racing and a revised livery, Sonoma will also be remembered for the contact between Tagliani and RHR. (Photo: LAT)
As I say every week, I’m very proud of the Barracuda Racing team. We’ve been on a roll since May, getting the pole at Texas and making into every Firestone Fast Six. In Sonoma, we were trying to continue that sequence but we just missed it. Only a tenth of a second separated us from the Firestone Fast six and we qualified eighth.
Nevertheless, I think that qualifying run was a great recovery by the team. This was our first time at Sonoma Raceway with the DW12 and we had struggled with the handling of the car during the early practice sessions. So to make the right changes for a solid qualifying run was a good effort by the Barracuda Racing boys.
I was happy with our starting position for the race because from P8, everything is possible. I think on every type of road and street course, we have been very strong. Credit to the engineers and the team for their hard work and dedication.
When the race started, we had a really good opening lap. We were able to fight Simon [Pagenaud] off and then took a couple of corners side-by-side. I had a good fight for position with Dario [Franchitti] and Ryan [Hunter-Reay]. Then we settled into fifth place for a while until the sequence of pit stops started.
As the laps wound down, we had set ourselves up to bring the car home in a good position but then there was an unfortunate incident between [Josef] Newgarden and [Sebastien] Bourdais. It caused a yellow flag, so all the guys got bunched up and we had to go through the restart.
At that point, we were still in position to finish in the top five. The No. 98 car, towards the end of the race, was even better. It was more stable, there was more grip on the track and I thought we had a pretty good shot at getting our best result of the season.
On the restart, I came out of turn six like a bullet and had a really good run on Dario. I was literally side-by-side with him. When I got on the brake, I missed the apex by a foot. Unfortunately, that extra foot that I needed was Ryan’s bumper. It was a light touch but enough to make him spin and cost him a good finishing position.
I really feel bad for the incident. I did apologize and I can apologize a million times. I’m going to live with the fact that he may never forgive me for this, but it’s racing. Ryan has been involved in incidents and had his share of contact so he understands that in racing, we all fight for the same piece of real estate. I do hope that he’ll move on and we’ll continue because he’s a great guy.
To all the fans, we deserve – our team deserves – the chance to race against anybody out there. We’ve been through a lot together this year. We want to have the best finish possible in the championship. We want to be in the Leaders Circle for next year. Before we switched to Honda this year, we had a slow start in the points. From that moment, our goal was just to try to climb back and make up for those massive point losses.
One of my idols in racing, Ayrton Senna, said, “If there’s a gap in racing and you don’t take it, you’re no longer a racing driver because we are competing, we are competing to win.”
Still, after the drive-through penalty, we brought home a ninth-place finish and can now focus ahead to this weekend’s race in Baltimore.
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.
Nevertheless, I think that qualifying run was a great recovery by the team. This was our first time at Sonoma Raceway with the DW12 and we had struggled with the handling of the car during the early practice sessions. So to make the right changes for a solid qualifying run was a good effort by the Barracuda Racing boys.
I was happy with our starting position for the race because from P8, everything is possible. I think on every type of road and street course, we have been very strong. Credit to the engineers and the team for their hard work and dedication.
When the race started, we had a really good opening lap. We were able to fight Simon [Pagenaud] off and then took a couple of corners side-by-side. I had a good fight for position with Dario [Franchitti] and Ryan [Hunter-Reay]. Then we settled into fifth place for a while until the sequence of pit stops started.
As the laps wound down, we had set ourselves up to bring the car home in a good position but then there was an unfortunate incident between [Josef] Newgarden and [Sebastien] Bourdais. It caused a yellow flag, so all the guys got bunched up and we had to go through the restart.
At that point, we were still in position to finish in the top five. The No. 98 car, towards the end of the race, was even better. It was more stable, there was more grip on the track and I thought we had a pretty good shot at getting our best result of the season.
On the restart, I came out of turn six like a bullet and had a really good run on Dario. I was literally side-by-side with him. When I got on the brake, I missed the apex by a foot. Unfortunately, that extra foot that I needed was Ryan’s bumper. It was a light touch but enough to make him spin and cost him a good finishing position.
I really feel bad for the incident. I did apologize and I can apologize a million times. I’m going to live with the fact that he may never forgive me for this, but it’s racing. Ryan has been involved in incidents and had his share of contact so he understands that in racing, we all fight for the same piece of real estate. I do hope that he’ll move on and we’ll continue because he’s a great guy.
To all the fans, we deserve – our team deserves – the chance to race against anybody out there. We’ve been through a lot together this year. We want to have the best finish possible in the championship. We want to be in the Leaders Circle for next year. Before we switched to Honda this year, we had a slow start in the points. From that moment, our goal was just to try to climb back and make up for those massive point losses.
One of my idols in racing, Ayrton Senna, said, “If there’s a gap in racing and you don’t take it, you’re no longer a racing driver because we are competing, we are competing to win.”
Still, after the drive-through penalty, we brought home a ninth-place finish and can now focus ahead to this weekend’s race in Baltimore.
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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