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Difficult day for Vasser, KVRT drivers at Infineon
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CommentSONOMA – Yellow is not Jimmy Vasser’s favorite color.
Sunday’s Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County broke the IndyCar Series record for fewest cautions for fewest laps with just one for two laps. That yellow – on lap 16 — didn’t bode well for KV Racing Technology drivers Oriol Servia and Will Power.
Sunday’s Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County broke the IndyCar Series record for fewest cautions for fewest laps with just one for two laps. That yellow – on lap 16 — didn’t bode well for KV Racing Technology drivers Oriol Servia and Will Power.
Servia, who started sixth, finished 15th while his teammate started third but finished 25th. The caution caught Servia and Power at a bad time and the lack of cautions didn’t really allow the KVRT drivers to mix up their strategies, but rather hindered their race.
“It’s a very disappointing day for us today,” KVRT co-owner and Napa Valley businessman Vasser said. He added that the early yellow helped the front runners of the race “big time.”
“It’s a very disappointing day for us today,” KVRT co-owner and Napa Valley businessman Vasser said. He added that the early yellow helped the front runners of the race “big time.”
“Right now I hate yellow,” Vasser said. “We had a chance for a finish on the podium and maybe even a win. It didn’t come together for us.”
Servia’s No. 5 was the fastest in Sunday morning’s practice and ninth over the three-day weekend at Infineon Raceway’s 12-turn, 2.245-mile road course.
Servia’s No. 5 was the fastest in Sunday morning’s practice and ninth over the three-day weekend at Infineon Raceway’s 12-turn, 2.245-mile road course.
“This was a very disappointing race for KV Racing Technology,” Servia said. “The cars were fast all weekend, but we got caught out by a caution flag at just the wrong time and could not make up the track position.”
Power’s No. 8 rig was the eighth-fastest in the final practice and seventh overall. But neither of their practice statistics proved to matter Sunday afternoon.
Both were running in the front of the pack after many of their competitors pitted their second time. By lap 30 Power was running fifth and Servia sixth. But since they were both on different fuel strategies, they couldn’t manage a break and soon fell back in the pack.
Infineon is notorious for being difficult to pass on. Even with the new Turn 6 — that was changed to add another potential passing zone — Power was stuck behind the much-slower Enrique Bernoldi for more than 15 laps which caused him to lose 25-30 seconds, according to Vasser.
All that happened after Power was struck with a penalty and required to drive through pit row on lap 57. He took a shortcut on Turn 9 three times after he kept losing his brakes.
“My rear master cylinder failed early in the race and that pretty much ended any chance we had of competing for a podium finish,” Power said. "We had a really good car in qualifying and early in the race.”
With two races left, the end is in sight for Vasser and his crew. KVRT has a lot to do in the offseason to better their program and be eligible to run up front with the powerhouses of Target Chip Ganassi, Team Penske and Andretti Green Racing. Despite a lot on Vasser’s daunting to-do list, he’s clear that they’ll “never throw in the towel.”
Despite the lack-luster finish at Infineon, Vasser is looking forward to next weekend’s road course race at Detroit’s Belle Isle. His drivers have more experience with the left and right turns so are hoping to finish their first IndyCar season on a high note.
Servia earned 15 points on Sunday and now stands ninth in the points. That position still ranks him as the highest transition driver. Power racked up 10 points and sits 15th in the standings but is still in second for Rookie of the Year. He’s 38 points behind Hideki Mutoh.
Despite it being Servia’s first year in IndyCar as well, he’s not eligible for the Rookie award since he has more overall oval experience than his teammate.
The IndyCar season concludes at Chicago on Sept. 7 with the championship going to points leader Scott Dixon or Infineon winner Helio Castroneves, who sits second.
Vasser’s day started out well
Vasser got into the wine business largely in part to being “a huge consumer.” He found himself in the Napa Valley 10 years ago when he bought several car dealerships and instantly fell in love with the area.
The local businessman now owns eight acres of cabernet vineyards north of Chimney Rock on Silverado Trail. He hopes to start picking grapes for his first-ever harvest in three to four weeks.
Because of his involvement in the wine industry, Vasser and KVRT co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven joined Infineon president and general manager Steve Page in cutting the first bunch of grapes from the race track’s one acre vineyard of pinot noir grapes.
Kalkhoven also has an eight-acre plot of vineyards, in Alamo.
The track planted its grapes in 2005 just below its main offices. The vineyard isn’t fully producing just yet, but once it does, it’s expected to fill up to 300 cases of wine.
Pual Giusto of Highway 12 Vineyard and Winery and Keith Kunde of the Dirt Farmer have partnered with Infineon to develop the vineyard. After the grapes are crushed and fermented by Highway 12 Vineyard and Winery, the wine will eventually be a part of the special bottling to be marketed on behalf of Speedway Children’s Charities.
Power’s No. 8 rig was the eighth-fastest in the final practice and seventh overall. But neither of their practice statistics proved to matter Sunday afternoon.
Both were running in the front of the pack after many of their competitors pitted their second time. By lap 30 Power was running fifth and Servia sixth. But since they were both on different fuel strategies, they couldn’t manage a break and soon fell back in the pack.
Infineon is notorious for being difficult to pass on. Even with the new Turn 6 — that was changed to add another potential passing zone — Power was stuck behind the much-slower Enrique Bernoldi for more than 15 laps which caused him to lose 25-30 seconds, according to Vasser.
All that happened after Power was struck with a penalty and required to drive through pit row on lap 57. He took a shortcut on Turn 9 three times after he kept losing his brakes.
“My rear master cylinder failed early in the race and that pretty much ended any chance we had of competing for a podium finish,” Power said. "We had a really good car in qualifying and early in the race.”
With two races left, the end is in sight for Vasser and his crew. KVRT has a lot to do in the offseason to better their program and be eligible to run up front with the powerhouses of Target Chip Ganassi, Team Penske and Andretti Green Racing. Despite a lot on Vasser’s daunting to-do list, he’s clear that they’ll “never throw in the towel.”
Despite the lack-luster finish at Infineon, Vasser is looking forward to next weekend’s road course race at Detroit’s Belle Isle. His drivers have more experience with the left and right turns so are hoping to finish their first IndyCar season on a high note.
Servia earned 15 points on Sunday and now stands ninth in the points. That position still ranks him as the highest transition driver. Power racked up 10 points and sits 15th in the standings but is still in second for Rookie of the Year. He’s 38 points behind Hideki Mutoh.
Despite it being Servia’s first year in IndyCar as well, he’s not eligible for the Rookie award since he has more overall oval experience than his teammate.
The IndyCar season concludes at Chicago on Sept. 7 with the championship going to points leader Scott Dixon or Infineon winner Helio Castroneves, who sits second.
Vasser’s day started out well
Vasser got into the wine business largely in part to being “a huge consumer.” He found himself in the Napa Valley 10 years ago when he bought several car dealerships and instantly fell in love with the area.
The local businessman now owns eight acres of cabernet vineyards north of Chimney Rock on Silverado Trail. He hopes to start picking grapes for his first-ever harvest in three to four weeks.
Because of his involvement in the wine industry, Vasser and KVRT co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven joined Infineon president and general manager Steve Page in cutting the first bunch of grapes from the race track’s one acre vineyard of pinot noir grapes.
Kalkhoven also has an eight-acre plot of vineyards, in Alamo.
The track planted its grapes in 2005 just below its main offices. The vineyard isn’t fully producing just yet, but once it does, it’s expected to fill up to 300 cases of wine.
Pual Giusto of Highway 12 Vineyard and Winery and Keith Kunde of the Dirt Farmer have partnered with Infineon to develop the vineyard. After the grapes are crushed and fermented by Highway 12 Vineyard and Winery, the wine will eventually be a part of the special bottling to be marketed on behalf of Speedway Children’s Charities.
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