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Molson Indy - Vancouver
Race
Jonny Kane Racing, 2nd September, Vancouver: Ulsterman Jonny Kane had a disappointing day at the Molson Indy Vancouver when Luis Diaz tried to cut under him going into turn six and took him out.
Championship leader Scott Dixon took the win from Felipe Giaffone. Jonny's teammate, Jeff Simmons, finished third closely followed by Townsend Bell. Dixon now leads the championship going into round nine with 114 points. Bell lies in second with 92 points and Giaffone third with 82 points. Jonny remains in tenth place with 35 points.
Jonny comments:
"I saw Diaz behind me and coming down the inside. I thought I'd braked late enough and that he had backed out of it and that there was enough room. I tried to leave a little bit of room, but we still came together and that was it. I'm just really disappointed for the Team KOOL Green crew."
Saturday qualifying
Jonny Kane Racing, 2nd September, Vancouver: Ulsterman Jonny Kane qualified fourth in today's final qualifying for tomorrow's Molson Indy Lights race on the streets of Vancouver. Kane was sitting on the pole when the field came in to change to their second set of tyres.
Times continued to fall and in a frantic final five minutes Felipe Giaffone snatched the pole with a quick time of 1:07.462 seconds followed by Scott Dixon (1:07.532 seconds). Jonny's teammate, Jeff Simmons, will line up third (1:07.557 seconds) with Jonny alongside in fourth (1:07.566 seconds).
Jonny's comments:
"It is a busy track out there, although I guess it is the same for everyone. I did a good lap on my first set of tyres and I should have gone even quicker on my second set but I just couldn't get a clear lap. I am disappointed really as the car doesn't feel as good as before on the streets. We'll just have to see what we can do tomorrow."
Team KOOL Green Press Release, 2nd September: Team KOOL Green's Jeff Simmons and Jonny Kane fill the second row of the starting grid for tomorrow's Dayton Indy Lights race through the streets of Vancouver. Simmons earned the third spot after he set a fast lap of 1 minute, 7.557 seconds, an average of 94.907 mph around the 1.781-mile street course.
Kane will line up fourth on the grid, having turned a lap of 1 minute, 7.566 seconds, for an average speed of 94.894 mph. The front row of the grid is comprised of pole winner Felipe Giaffone (1:07.462 = 95.040) and Scott Dixon (1:07.532 = 94.942 mph). Tomorrow's 42-lap Indy Lights race, round 8 of 12, is set for 10:30 a.m.
Jonny's comments:
"I'm not very full of words right now. I'm really disappointed for the Team KOOL Green crew. This is a very busy track - there is lots of traffic, but everybody has to deal with it. I put a pretty good lap in on my first set of tires. I didn't go so quick on my second set, which I should have been able to. We missed the pole by very little (one-tenth of a second).
"I made a mistake on one of my better laps, which probably would have been enough to get me pole position. We're starting fourth and we'll just have to see how good we can do from there. I think we've got a pretty good race car. I probably would feel better about the car if we were on the pole."
Friday qualifying
Jonny Kane Racing, 1st September, Vancouver: Ulsterman Jonny Kane was hampered by problems in today's first qualifying for the Molson Indy Lights race at Vancouver this weekend. He came away with ninth place on a time of 1:10.761 seconds.
The session opened with a red flag after only one lap, when Rudolfo Lavin spun into the wall. This caused the session to be shortened by ten minutes. Eventually the field managed to get running when Kane incurred a drive through penalty for a track line infringement. Minutes later the rain arrived and this saw most drivers sit out the remainder of the session.
With only around seven minutes of dry running Kane had been able to qualify third. However at the end of the session his time was disallowed due to the earlier infringement. Championship leader Scott Dixon took the provisional pole with a time of 1:08.697 seconds. Second went to Jeff Simmons (1:08.762 seconds) with Mario Dominguez third (1:09.535 seconds).
Kane will be hoping for a dry qualifying session tomorrow to optimise race advantage for Sunday's 75-mile race at the Vancouver street circuit.
Jonny's comments:
"I think we have a good chance of pole position tomorrow. I made a mistake and put four wheels over a yellow line, which we are not allowed to do because it is our pit lane exit, which is different to the champ cars. Unfortunately that caused us to get a drive through penalty and that is when all the quick times were done as it rained after that. I can only compare myself to Jeff, my teammate, who is second. Halfway round the lap I am two tenths quicker than him so I think we have a good shot for tomorrow as along as the weather goes with us."
Team KOOL Green Press Release, 29th August: Team KOOL Green's Jeff Simmons set the second fastest time of the day, while TKG teammate Jonny Kane had to settle for ninth fastest in today's provisional qualifying for Sunday's Indy Lights race in Vancouver.
Simmons clocked a lap of 1 minute, 8.762 seconds (93.243 mph) around the 1.781-mile temporary street circuit in downtown Vancouver. Kane had his fastest lap - good enough for third on the provisional grid - disallowed for a pit exit violation. He had to settle for his next best lap, a 1:10.761 (90.609 mph), which placed him ninth for the day.
Simmons is just sixty-five thousandths (.065) of a second behind provisional pole sitter Scott Dixon, who set a fast lap of 1:08.697, an average speed of 93.332 mph. Kane was particularly disappointed, having won the pole at Long Beach and Detroit this season, the only other street circuits where the series has raced. Simmons, a rookie in the series, is looking for the first pole of his Indy Lights career.
Indy Lights drivers have one more 30-minute practice tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. before final qualifying begins at 12:15 p.m. (All times are Pacific Daylight Time)
Race Previews
Jonny Kane Racing, 29th August, Vancouver: The Team KOOL Green Indy Lights team will travel to Vancouver, Canada this week for the up coming Indy Lights race. Ulsterman Jonny Kane will be hoping to change his run of misfortune from recent races and prove his abilities to the many Champ car owners who are making their driver selections for next season.
The eighth round of twelve of the Dayton Indy Lights Championship will be the official support race to the CART FedEx Molson Indy of Vancouver. The race will be run through the streets of downtown Vancouver over a 1.8-mile temporary circuit at Concord Pacific Place. The Indy Lights series last visited Vancouver in 1998 when Christiano de Matta took the win from the pole.
Kane's last outing at a street course was at Detroit, Michigan earlier this year for Team KOOL Green. Jonny dominated all weekend in practice and took the pole with ease. He then went on to a crushing victory over the rest of the Indy Lights field. Kane is confident that a similar weekend will follow at Vancouver.
Jonny comments:
"I am really looking forward to the race at Vancouver. We have been extremely fast on all the road courses so far this year especially on the streets, which are generally more challenging. I hope to continue my qualifying form because as we have seen in recent races it all comes down to qualifying and getting a good start."
Team KOOL Green Press Release, 29th August:
"Three races on three different types of circuits on three consecutive weekends," Jonny said. "That's what I like about racing for Team KOOL Green in America! I'm glad the street circuit is up first, because it seems to suit my style of driving the best. I've won the pole on both street circuits this year (Long Beach and Detroit) and I think I'll need to do that this weekend in Vancouver, as this series is so competitive and the track appears to be fairly tight. It's a new track for me, but my friend Dario (Franchitti) knows his way around here. I'm sure I'll spend some time with him before first practice."
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