Kentucky Speedway Race Report

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Brake problems hamper the FAZZT Race Team in Kentucky

Sparta, Kentucky (September 4, 2010) - Brake problems hampered the FAZZT Race Team during Saturday night's Kentucky Indy 300 held at the 2.414 km tri-oval Kentucky Speedway. Starting 13th on the grid, Canadian Alex Tagliani ran as high as 10th place before the situation occurred around the halfway mark. Tagliani had to make two extra stops under a full course yellow to try and correct the problem, but to no avail. He finished in 15th place.


Against all odds, Brazilian Helio Castroneves won the race crossing the finish line more than 13 seconds ahead of polesitter Ed Carpenter. Team Penske's race strategy worked its magic during his fuel economy run near the end of the event as all his opponents had to pit for a splash of fuel in the closing moments of the 200-lap affair. Dan Wheldon finished third ahead of Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti. Marco Andretti came in sixth, followed by Scott Dixon and Will Power.


 "Again I'm very proud of the team I think they did a great job on the car," Alex Tagliani said. "We had a really good solid car to finish in the top 10 easily. When we were in traffic, the car was fast. We seem to be quicker than Dario; definitely in turbulence, the car was good really. At one point, we started to have brake problems, and every time I came in the pits, I really had a hard time slowing down as I came into my box. It was the same to get onto the speed limiter entering pit lane. With this problem, we kept losing a lot of positions. We've had a good car for the last two oval races, and I'm pleased with the way the car is set up. It's just unfortunate that we didn't have a good clean race. Every race is a big learning curve for the team, but the team is progressing well at every race. This is also my first time here in Kentucky. A year from now when we come back here I think it's going to be totally different."

Kentucky Speedway Qualifying Report

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"From where we are starting for Saturday's race we can definitely make it to the front." - Alex Tagliani

 
Driver:
ALEX TAGLIANI
Entry:    
No 77 Bowers & Wilkins/TorcUp FAZZT Race Team Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Event:    
Kentucky Indy 300 - 200 laps/ 483 kilometers
11th IndyCar race at Kentucky Speedway
Track:       
Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Kentucky - 2.414 km tri-oval
Event Dates:    
Race on Saturday, September 4 at 7:45 p.m. ET;
Tape delay broadcast on TSN2 at 11:00 p.m.
Live Timing & Scoring and Video is available at www.indycar.com
Race:   
15 of 17



Sparta, Kentucky (September 3, 2010) - On his first-ever visit to the 2.414-km Kentucky Speedway tri-oval, Canadian Alex Tagliani placed his No 77 Bowers & Wilkins Dallara in 13th position in Friday's lone qualifying session. Tagliani will start Saturday night's Kentucky Indy 300 from the inside of row seven next to rookie Takuma Sato. The FAZZT Race Team driver averaged 348.247 km/h during his two-lap qualifying run (49.2443 s), only 348 thousandths of a second from pole winner Ed Carpenter (48.8958 s). Carpenter, who averaged 350.728 km/h, edged points leader Will Power by only 23 thousandths of a second to score his first-ever IndyCar pole. For the first time in his IZOD IndyCar Series career, Carpenter will lead the field of 27 cars on the opening circuit of the 200-lap round 13 of the 2010 season schedule. Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon will share Row two, while the cars of Hideki Mutoh and rookie Bertrand Baguette will fill the next row.


 "It was a good effort from everyone. The car was a little bit loose in qualifying but we were faced with gusts of wind, which was very different from the conditions we experienced in the morning," Alex Tagliani said. "Our first qualifying lap was a P9 lap but we dropped off on lap two as I got loose and lost momentum. Overall, it was still very good. The car was a little closer to what we are looking for than it was when we first got to Chicago last weekend, and eventually we had a really fast car for that race. From where we are starting for Saturday's race we can definitely make it to the front."

Chicagoland Speedway Race Report

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Joliet, Illinois (August 29, 2010) - During a race restart on Saturday night's PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 held at the 2.086-kilometer D-shaped tri-oval Chicagoland Speedway, Canadian driver was punted out of the race following an incident between Brazilian Vitor Meira and Hideki Mutoh of Japan. An off course excursion by rookie Ana Beatriz had caused the second full course yellow on lap 78 of 200, and as the cars were ready for the restart on lap 86, Meira bumped Mutoh's car which collected Tagliani's FAZZT racecar causing left side pod and left rear suspension damage. While Tagliani retired in the pits in 25th place overall, Meira would go on to finish ninth and Mutoh 12th.


Tagliani pitted early in the race following the first caution and returned to the track in 20th position. He steadily moved up the field to eventually take command of the event on lap 58. As he was entering pit lane for his second stop, he ran out of fuel on, losing a lap to the leaders. He was soon back on the leaders lap, but the fuel incident had put him in a situation where he was near the tail-end of the field, were race incidents often occur on race restart.

Rapport de la course au Chicagoland Speedway

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« Je pense que nous étions l'équipe à battre » - Alex Tagliani

Joliet, Illinois (29 août 2010) - Lors d'une relance du PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 disputé samedi soir sur l'ovale du Chicagoland Speedway, le pilote québécois Alex Tagliani a été littéralement sorti de la course à la suite d'un incident impliquant le Brésilien Vitor Meira et le Japonais Hideki Mutoh. Une excursion hors-piste de la recrue Ana Beatriz avait provoqué cette deuxième neutralisation au 78e des 200 passages de la 14e des 18 étapes de la série IZOD IndyCar 201, et alors que les voitures se préparaient à reprendre le combat au  86e tour, Meira a heurté l'arrière de la voiture de Mutoh qui a été poussée sur celle de Tagliani, endommageant la suspension arrière gauche et le ponton gauche. Tagliani terminera sa course dans les puits au 25e rang, tandis que Meira finira en neuvième position et Mutoh 12e.


À la suite d'un premier arrêt aux puits au neuvième tour alors que la course était neutralisée, le pilote de l'équipe de course FAZZT s'est retrouvé en 20e place, mais il a remonté le peloton pour prendre la tête au 58e tour. Alors qu'il entrait aux stands pour son second ravitaillement, il a manqué de carburant dans la ligne des puits, ce qui lui a fait perdre un tour sur les meneurs. Même s'il a éventuellement repris son tour perdu, cette situation dans les puits l'avait placé dans le dernier tiers du peloton, là où les incidents sont fréquents lors d'une relance de la course.

Chicagoland Speedway Qualifying Report

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Tagliani and the FAZZT Team looking to move up the field during the race

 
Joliet, Illinois (August 27, 2010) - As he did in 2008 on his first visit to the 2.086-kilometer D-shaped tri-oval Chicagoland Speedway located in Joliet, Illinois, Canadian driver Alex Tagliani has once again qualified 19th out of 29 in Friday's qualifying session. The FAZZT Race Team driver will start Saturday's PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 from the inside of row 10 next to Belgian rookie Bertrand Baguette. There is however a ray of hope for Tagliani in the fact that Brazilian Helio Castroneves won the 2008 race at Chicagoland after starting 28th on the grid.


 "I'm very frustrated! It's disappointing not to have qualified better but the race is obviously what counts," Alex Tagliani said. "The mile and a half ovals are all a little different and as a first year team, we are learning a bit each time on them. I think we've gained a lot in set up and what we've found will be good for the race tomorrow (Sunday), as well as Kentucky and the rest of the season. I know I can rely on the team to give me a good race car and I know that we can move forward from our starting position."

Alex Tagliani recovers from race incidents to finish 14th in California

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Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma Race Report

Sonoma, California (August 22, 2010) — Starting from fourth place on the grid, driver Alex Tagliani had great hopes for round 13 of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series held Sunday at the Infineon Raceway road course, in Sonoma, California. Unfortunately, his dream of another top five finish vanished quite rapidly as his first set of tires lost all grip starting on lap 14 of the 75-lap race. He lost several positions, and four laps later, an opponent punted his FAZZT racecar, puncturing the right rear tire. When he came out of the pits on lap 19, he dropped down to 23rd overall. Several incidents marked the sixth running of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, and Tagliani, who had moved up to 15th by lap 53, got involved this time with Hideki Mutoh who spun him around. Once again, Tagliani found himself down in 20th place. Fortunately for the Canadian driver, several drivers started again to bump one another off and he climbed back to 14th place at the checkered flag after passing Vitor Meira on the last lap.

 “It was a tough day; unfortunately the first set of tires went away more quickly than we anticipated,” Tagliani said. “We lost a few positions and then coming into turn 11 on lap 18 I’m not sure who punted me but I got hit and got a flat right rear tire. After that, we were just trying to recover. We got back up to P15 and then, I was punted by Mutoh (Hideki) in turn 7 which put us to the back again! I’m really proud of our team. We fought back to get a 14th place finish, which helps us for the championship. Three incidents in one race left us too much to do to get the result that we wanted which is unfortunate.”

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma Qualifying Report

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Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma Qualifying Report

Alex Tagliani Impressive in Sonoma qualifying with a fourth-place on the grid

Sonoma, California (August 21, 2010) — On a racetrack unknown to the FAZZT Race Team and especially to Alex Tagliani, the Canadian driver showed great skills all weekend long on the Infineon Raceway road course to post the fourth best time in Saturday’s qualifying. Tagliani will start round 13 of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series from the outside or row two, next to Dario Franchitti. The dedicated work done by the rookie team over the course of the last few months finally paid off even though Tagliani had to wait five months, since the opening round in Brazil, before making it back to the Firestone Final Six qualifying. In Brazil, Tagliani qualified second on a track no one else in the IRL knew. This weekend in California, a track that has been on the IndyCar schedule for the last five years, the rookie team was in the top four in all sessions.

 “It was a great showing for our team obviously,” Tagliani said. “Since we made major technical changes on the car at Mid-Ohio, it has been all positive and everything we have tried on this track has worked. I’m very proud of what the team has been able to accomplish and to make major changes in our approach in the middle of the season was a bold move that seems to be paying off. Rob Edwards, Allen McDonald, and the entire FAZZT team have been making great calls, which have really helped the team. I’m very proud to finish the road course qualifying segment on a very good note and hopefully tomorrow we can continue what we’ve been doing the last couple of weeks.”

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma Friday Report

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A very quick lap by Tagliani on his final run propels him to third

Sonoma, California (August 20, 2010) — Canadian driver Alex Tagliani almost drove a perfect lap on his final run in the opening practice session of Round 13 of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series held Friday at the 3.707 km Infineon Raceway road course located near Sonoma in northern California. On his final circuit, Tagliani bettered his previous best lap time by more than a second and three tenths to jump from 20th on the chart to third overall, only 26 hundredths of a second from Dario Franchitti, the quickest of the 25 drivers registered for this race. Tagliani’s best lap time was clocked at 1 minute 18.5661 seconds for an average speed of 169.827 km/h, while Franchitti stopped the clock at 1:18,2969 (170.411 km/h) Will Power was second quickest with a time of 1:18.3011, only four thousandths of a second from Franchitti.

Scott Dixon finished fourth ahead of Justin Wilson and Marco Andretti. On Saturday, following the afternoon practice session, the knockout qualifying round will begin at 5:30 p.m. The elimination rounds will eventually set up the Firestone fastest six drivers of the day who will battle for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma pole.

“I’m very happy with the session; the team did a fantastic job getting the car ready for this track,” Tagliani said. “We found some things in Mid-Ohio that have helped us move in the right direction. I think we’ve turned a corner in the last race and even though we didn’t get to test here last week, what we have found has stayed with us. This is my first time on this track so I think we’re going to need to learn the track better and improve our performance at every outing. Overall, I think we finally found what we were looking for, and we now have a car that can run up front.”

Alex Tagliani Looking to Repeat, this Time in Sonoma

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Indianapolis, Indiana (August 19, 2010) — Canadian driver Alex Tagliani and the FAZZT Race Team will once again find themselves in uncharted territory this weekend as they tackle the 3.707 km Infineon Raceway road course located near Sonoma in northern California for round 13 of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series. The team will have to come up with the correct setting right out of the box in order to perform well this weekend. Action begins on Friday at 6:00 p.m., Eastern Time, with the opening practice session. On Saturday, following the afternoon practice session, the knockout qualifying round will begin at 5:30 p.m. The elimination rounds will eventually set up the Firestone fastest six drivers of the day who will battle for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma pole.

“I hear that Infineon Raceway is a very nice track,” Alex Tagliani said. “Since this will be our first time there, I’m curious to see it, but I’ve heard great things about it. We’re coming off a good result in Mid-Ohio and if we can continue to build on that to finish the season strong that would be great. The team has been working really hard on improving our car for road courses and I think we made giant steps in Mid-Ohio. I’m looking forward to getting on track in Sonoma and see if we can continue on the improvements to the car that have been made.”

Maryeve Dufault Sponsored by Dodge Dealers

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Maryeve Dufault Sponsored by Dodge Dealers for

NASCAR Canadian Tire Trois-Rivières and Montreal Rounds

 

Montréal, August 10, 2010 - The Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram Quebec Dealers recently concluded an agreement with FAZZT Race Team racecar driver Maryeve Dufault. The Quebec native will drive the number 10 Dodge Avenger during the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series rounds scheduled for the Trois-Rivières Grand Prix on August 13 to 15, and the Autopro 100 race to be held on Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, August 28 and 29.


A native of Sorel, Maryeve Dufault discovered her passion for racing at a young age. Like her father and brother, she began her career in motocross before moving to karting and single-seat racecars. The Quebec-born driver has competed in the Jim Russell and Skip Barber Series, the Star Mazda Championship and Formula BMW USA. In addition to her career as a driver, Maryeve also uses her talents as a stuntwoman in Hollywood films and works as a precision driver for automotive and motorcycle companies. She currently resides in California. To learn more on Maryeve Dufault, go on line at: www.maryeveracing.com.