Indy Lights: It's Servia vs. Mears in teh Season Finale
14 September 1999
MONTEREY, Calif. (Sept. 13, 1999) - - The 1999 PPG-Dayton Indy
Lights Championship will not know its champion until the final Lights race
of the year following more stellar performances from Dorricott Racing's
Oriol Servia and Casey Mears at Laguna Seca Raceway and the Honda Grand
Prix of Monterey, Sunday, Sept. 12.
Series leader Servia started 11th and finished seventh to push his
season points total to 130. Mears, who started the race 18 points behind
Servia, closed the gap with a fifth place finish to guarantee no worse than
second place in the championship but keep his title hopes alive with 116
points. Heading to the 12th and final Indy Lights race of the season at
California Speedway, Sunday, Oct. 31, Servia can win the championship with
a seventh place finish or better.
Dorricott Racing's Philipp Peter was eliminated from the
championship chase after finishing eighth place at Laguna Seca Raceway and
now trails Servia by 32 points, 130-98. Peter, however, is still within
reach of second place should he make up the 18-point advantage that Mears
holds over him. A maximum of 22 points could be earned by a single driver
in the final race including 20 points for a victory, one bonus point for
winning the pole, and one bonus point for leading the most laps.
The dynamics of Laguna Seca's race were two-fold. First, there was
Didier Andre taking the lead from pole-sitter Guy Smith on lap two of the
34-lap Indy Lights sprint and leading the rest of the way for his second
consecutive victory at Laguna Seca. Andre held off a race-long challenge
from rookie Scott Dixon to win by 0.571-seconds at an average speed of
91.713 mph.
Second, there was a "race-within-a-race" among the Dorricott
drivers. Going into Laguna Seca, the only drivers remaining who could
mathematically win the Indy Lights crown were Servia, Mears, and Peter.
Servia made his first move on the opening lap when he passed Geoff
Boss for 10th place in turn two of the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course.
Peter, who started eighth, passed Mears while exiting turn two and both
passed Chris Menninga to improve to sixth and seventh place, respectively.
"On the race start, the inside lane slowed and nearly stopped,"
said Mears. "Philipp had the outside lane. I was stuck behind a bunch of
cars while he flew around me. Felipe Giaffone beat me on the outside for a
short while but I was able to get the spot back. It actually felt a little
uncomfortable being on the inside. I'm used to getting to the outside."
Servia then passed Andy Boss on lap three for ninth place after
Boss spun and struck the tire barrier at the exit of turn four. A yellow
flag was issued. Boss was uninjured but forced to retire from the race.
The race restarted on lap seven but was abruptly interrupted when
Mario Dominguez made contact with Guy Smith in turn two. Dominguez spun and
continued but spun again in turn eight and stopped off-course. Another
yellow flag was issued, but not before Peter moved to fifth place, Mears to
sixth, and Servia to eighth.
Racing resumed without incident on lap 11 with Servia continuing
his charge to the front by passing Menninga for seventh place on lap 12.
Dorricott Racing controlled fifth, sixth, and seventh place for the
next 14 laps before Peter placed two wheels off track in turn six to lose
three positions and drop to eighth.
"I lost a lot of positions going up the hill on lap 26," said
Peter. "The gear jumped out because I didn't put it in well enough. I tried
to accelerate but the engine couldn't respond. I lost complete control of
the car for a moment. It took everything I knew to save the car from
veering too far left or right. Casey, Oriol, and Menninga all passed me."
Trouble for Peter re-surfaced on lap 33 when Geoff Boss attempted
to pass Peter on the inside of turn two. Contact ensued with Boss veering
into the tire barriers between turns two and three to draw a local yellow.
Boss's car suffered substantial right front suspension damage. Peter,
meanwhile, maintained remarkable control of his Red Bull/
Remus/Estebe/Chicco d' Oro Lola and continued for eighth place.
"Geoff Boss and I mixed it up a bit," said Peter. "I saw him coming
in my mirrors but I braked late. He braked late. I didn't see his tires
when I turned in. He may have locked it up a little but I'll have to see
the television replay to be sure. At that point, there wasn't any room left
so we made contact. He took away the aerodynamics of my car so I had to
focus on just finishing the race.
"If I just would have stayed in fifth, I would have finished fifth.
After dropping to eighth, one pretty much has to figure he's going to
finish eighth at Laguna Seca. The car was well set for the most part. I
struggled with a little push but who doesn't? It was good enough run in the
top-five but not enough to win a race."
Besides seeking to finish the Indy Lights season in first, second
and third place, Dorricott Racing has two drivers who will vie for the
coveted "winner-take-all" $10,000 Bosch Platinum+4 Speedway Challenge at
California Speedway. After five of six rounds, Mears holds a 13 point lead
over Servia, 70-57. Scott Dixon is third with 48 points and remains the
only other driver in mathematical contention.
"We'll finally sort this season out at Fontana," said Servia. "That
wasn't my desire. I wanted to win the championship at Laguna Seca but
circumstances make it clear that Casey and I will be running for the Indy
Lights championship at the last race of the year in Fontana.
"My first objective at the beginning of the year was to win the
Indy Lights championship. I think I only have to finish seventh to achieve
that objective, but I'm also looking to win that race."
Editors Note: For hundreds of hot racing photos and racing art, be sure to visit The Racing ImageGalleries and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.