Indy Lights - Krohn Finishes Sixth at Trois-Rivieres

TROIS-RIVIÈRES, Aug. 9, 2011: Anders Krohn improved four positions in Sunday’s Firestone Indy Lights race on the Trois-Rivières street circuit, as he started tenth and finished sixth in the Liberty Engineering Racing Special No. 9 fielded by Belardi Auto Racing.

Krohn, a native of Stavanger, Norway who resides in Houston, Texas, is sixth in the driver point standings heading into the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this coming Sunday, Aug. 14.

Unlike many of the courses he’s faced in his rookie season of Firestone Indy Lights, Krohn had driven at Trois-Rivières in the past in Star Mazda events.  He needed to draw upon every bit of that past experience on Sunday, because he and his team were hampered by gearbox problems in the practice sessions last weekend. The lost time that would have been spent working on the car’s set-up and getting more experience on the course resulted in a tenth-place starting spot, so the bright red No. 9 started deeper in the field than it has in any other race so far this year.

Street courses are notoriously tight, and passing is typically at a minimum. The eventual winner of the race, Esteban Guerrieri, led all 58 laps on Sunday. But the Belardi Auto Racing crew gave Krohn a good car to drive despite all the challenges, and at the end of the day it was the second consecutive sixth-place finish for the entry sponsored by Liberty Engineering, Logi Trans Offshore Express, Trallfa, PM International Suppliers, Allied Building Products, ZAT Graphics, Eagles Canyon Raceway, OMP and Bell Helmets.

Krohn got right to work as soon as the flagman dropped the green in the scheduled 60-lapper on the 1.5-mile, 10-turn street course. He passed Bruno Andrade and Victor Carbone on the first lap, and then spent most of the race in eighth place, running between Stefan Wilson and David Ostella under cloudy skies.

Those clouds opened up with a deluge of rain about two-thirds of the way through the race. The race was red-flagged for six minutes from laps 43 through 46 so the drivers could pit for Firestone Firehawk rain tires.

When the race restarted Conor Daly spun and hit the wall in Turn 3 while running second, which advanced Krohn to seventh. He moved into sixth after Mikael Grenier dropped out with 54 laps completed after contact with Wilson. The time constraint came into play shortly thereafter and the race ended with Krohn still in sixth place with 58 laps complete.

Guerrieri recorded his third victory of the season over Gustavo Yacaman and Josef Newgarden. Wilson, Peter Dempsey, Krohn, Ostella, Duarte Ferreira, Jorge Goncalvez (who is Krohn’s teammate) and Carbone rounded out the top 10.

Krohn’s best lap during the race was a 59.262. His time in Sunoco Qualifying was a 58.5812 (92.794 miles per hour).

“We didn’t get many laps in during practice due to gearbox issues, so we headed into qualifying already behind,” Krohn said afterwards. “We only had about a half-hour to work on our set-up, but the Belardi Auto Racing guys never gave up and we were fourth in the warm-up Sunday morning.

“We had our lowest starting position of the year. It was quite cloudy at the start of the race, but we started in the dry,” Krohn continued. “We made a move to the outside of Turn 1 to get by one car and then we got around another one to the outside in Turn 2 on the first lap, and then we ran in eighth place for a long time. I couldn’t keep up with Wilson, but no one behind me was challenging.

“Then the skies just burst open, and we had a red flag to get rain tires,” he added.  “I couldn’t see at all on the restart. One of the drivers ahead of me had a problem in Turn 3 and then Grenier and Wilson made contact and Grenier dropped out, so we ended up sixth. Considering our horrendous start to the weekend I’m quite happy with sixth. The Belardi Auto Racing guys did a heck of a job to recover, and our second consecutive sixth was a good way to end the weekend considering everything.

“We feel we were good in qualifying trim at Milwaukee, so we’ll go on to the oval at New Hampshire and try to get back in the top five or challenge for the podium,” Krohn said. “I love ovals, so even though I’ve never been to New Hampshire we have high hopes. I’ve heard that the oval at New Hampshire is a lot like Milwaukee, so it should be a great challenge for teams and drivers alike.

“I really want to thank the Belardi Auto Racing team and our sponsors for all their hard work and support,” he emphasized. “Those sponsors include the series’ sponsor, Firestone. They had a new Firestone Firehawk rain tire for us this weekend and like always, it was great.

“I also want to thank IndyCar and its great fans for their support,” he added. “Through IndyCar we made up some vinyl for our rear wing, and fans signed it at the autograph session to show support for the people of Norway following the recent terrorist attacks there. It was very touching to see how many people cared. My car’s rear wing was packed with signatures of people of all ages. Most people in Norway are still in shock over it, and I think it was very nice to show them that people across the pond really do care about Norway and they send their best wishes to my country and its people.”