JV Finishes 14th at the Indianapolis 500

fonte: Sam Schmidt Motorsports

JV Finishes 14th at the Indianapolis 500 

26th, May, 2014 

INDIANAPOLIS (May 25, 2014) - Jacques Villeneuve gained 13 positions to finish 14th in his first appearance at "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" since winning in 1995 on May 25 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

1997 Formula One World Champion Villeneuve stayed calm early in his third Indianapolis 500 start while the crew worked to improve the handling of his car. 

"Today went according to plan," Villeneuve said. "I started toward the back, so I took a very easy start and didn't go for broke on the first lap. Early on, I wasn't happy with the car, so I hung back and focused on not losing a lap." 

Unfortunately, Villeneuve's No. 5 Dollar General Dallara/Honda/Firestone car lost a lap to the race leaders. But Villeneuve regained his lap thanks to the multiple caution periods in the last 125 miles of the race. 

"During the pit stops, we steadily improved the car, and luckily we got our lap back," he said. "At the end of the race, I felt that my car was really starting to catch its stride, and I drove more aggressively." 

The first 149 laps passed without caution. That shocked Villeneuve, who recalled many more on-track incidents in his first two Indianapolis 500 appearances, in 1994 and 1995. 

"Normally this race feels like a marathon, but today I felt like it was flying by," he said. "It was almost like nothing was going on. Everyone was just minding their own business turning laps." 

Following the race, Villeneuve made it clear he has no intentions of waiting another 19 years before returning to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

"After being away for 19 years, I was happy to be running quickly at the end," he said. "We ended on the lead lap and stayed away from the wall, so I think that's an acceptable result for being away for so long!" 

Villeneuve returns to action in the FIA World Rallycross in Hell, Norway on 14th June. 

Fonte: www.jv-world.com

Como falei ontem nos meus comentários depois da corrida, acredito que para Jacques foi um bom resultado, afinal de contas foram 19 anos longe de um oval andando de monoposto.

Não foi vitória, não foi top 10, nem top 5, mas acho que valeu a pena.

Beijinhos, Ludy