Rocketsports Racing Denver Report - Friday

DENVER, Col. (August 12, 2005) – Track conditions were a bit slick this morning as the Rocketsports Racing duo of Ryan Hunter-Reay and Timo Glock began preparations for Sunday’s Centrix Financial Grand Prix of Denver Presented by PacifiCare,  but they were able to start out the weekend in the top ten.

Running as high has P2 at the beginning of the morning practice session with a loose car, Hunter-Reay and his #31 Rocketsports crew began to work on finding the perfect setup for the 1.65-mile temporary street course in downtown Denver.  A minor incident stopped the American in the tires towards the end of the session, when the rear popped out on him.  Some paint was chipped off the front wing, but no major damage was caused during the contact.  Hunter-Reay ended the session ninth, overall.

His teammate, Glock, also started off strong during the practice session.  Despite a stall on his first attempt around the nine-turn course, the German quickly started to learn his way around the track.  An incident occurred in Turn One when his brakes locked up on him, causing him to spin 90 degrees and make contact with the wall.  Some damage was done to the front nose wing, but the rookie headed back out with a new nose and continued to practice.  His session ended as he posted the tenth quickest time of the morning.

Encouraged with the morning results, which saw both Rocketsports machines in the top ten, the team geared up for provisional qualifying.  A rough warm-up session during the afternoon saw Glock spin and Hunter-Reay back in the tires.  A bit of regrouping was done before the green flag began the provisional qualifying session.  Four laps into the session, the Rocketsports stablemates were running in the top five.  Both drivers were comfortable inside the cockpits of their racecars and just looking for the right opportunity to get in a good run. 

The session ended with Glock posting his fastest time of the day on his seventh qualifying lap of 1:00.957 (97.859 mph).  Hunter-Reay, who felt his car was better than the final result this afternoon, finished the day running his quickest lap of 1:01.342 (97.245 mph) on his last lap out.  Glock and Hunter-Reay sit sixth and twelfth, respectively, after the first round of qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix. 

Rocketsports Racing will be back on the streets of the Mile High City tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. for another practice session before final qualifying takes place at 2:00 p.m. local time.

Quotes
Timo Glock #8 DHL Global Mail/Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone
“It is a real funny track, in the sense that there is little grip and it feels like you are driving on a wet track.  When I went out for my first laps during the morning practice session, I felt like I was driving on ice.  I then found a rhythm and a good line to drive around this course, so I am feeling comfortable.  We are working slowly, and we are making good progress.  It is good to be in the top ten on the first day out, and especially good to be the top rookie of the day.  It may rain tomorrow, so we will have to wait and see because that could change everything, but overall I am happy with our achievement today.”
 
Ryan Hunter-Reay #31 Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone
“It was a bit of a disappointment this afternoon considering that we were running solidly in the top ten during this morning’s practice session.  I finished the session ninth, and my teammate, Timo (Glock), finished tenth.  I lost overall grip in qualifying this afternoon that we had in the morning.  What we had during the practice session felt right, but I am not sure where it went, so we need to find out where it is missing from.  Once we get it all back together, I guarantee we will qualify in the top ten tomorrow.  We should have been in the top ten today, there is no doubt about that.”