Tag: Esteban Guerrieri

  • Esteban Guerrieri Scores Third Consecutive Sonoco Pole Award in Toronto

    On July 9th, the Firestone Indy Lights hit to the 11-turn temporary street course at Exhibition Place in Toronto, which saw Esteban Guerrieri score his third consecutive Sonoco Pole award with a lap of 1 minute, 2.986 seconds. With the pole, Guerreri gave team owner Sam Schmidt his 42nd pole award.

    “Since the beginning, everything worked quite well,” he said. “We were quick yesterday and we didn’t put any tires, we saved the tires for qualifying this morning, and I was feeling good straight away. I love the circuit, I love the city, the atmosphere, everything, so I had a lot of fun. The reward for the guys is the best I can give them, so I’m very grateful to them and to my sponsors.”

    Stefan Wilson will join him on the front row (1:03:45) after losing his quickest lap (1:02:8714), and what would’ve been his first pole start, due to a local caution on the course.

    “I felt like I got the best out of my car and pushed it to the limit,” he said. “Unfortunately I still had my last lap taken away with the yellow flag, so I’m pretty upset about that. It felt amazing; the car felt good. We made some really good changes this weekend and I was definitely a contender for the pole. It’s just heartbreaking to get that taken away. It just gives us more motivation to go for the win tomorrow.”

    Wilson’s teammate Peter Dempsy qualified third, followed by Anders Korhn and Josef Newgarden.

    Gustvao Yacaman got sixth, followed by Duarte Ferreira and Bruno Andrade. The race in Toronto on the 1.755-mile course will mark Andrade’s Firestone Indy Lights debut.

  • Esteban Guerrieri Scores Second Indy Lights Pole in a Row at Iowa

    Esteban Guerrieri Scores Second Indy Lights Pole in a Row at Iowa

    For the second straight week in a row, Esteban Guerrieri will start from the pole as he won the Sonoco Pole Award for the Sukup 100.

    [media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”276″][/media-credit]”It is very important at this track to do the right thing in qualifying because it is difficult to overtake during the race,” Guerrieri said. “We are in really good shape for tomorrow and I am pleased to start in the front.

    “I was able to maximize the short amount of time I had on the track (one practice session), and that is basically what motorsports is in Europe. It is all about making the most of the little time you have on the track. I try to be accurate and visualize what my position on the track will be. This strategy has been working for me so far, but it wouldn’t work if I didn’t have a good car. I have to thank Sam Schmidt and the team because without them I couldn’t do it.”

    Last week at Milwaukee, Guerrieri transferred his pole start into his first ever Firestone Indy Lights victory. Guerrieri’s average speed of 160.787 mph puts Sam Schmidt Motorsports on the pole for the forth consecutive week.

    Gustavo Yacaman qualified second at a speed of 159.520 mph for his first front-row start.

    “It took me three years to get there, but I made it,” Yacaman said. “We were the second car out and that didn’t help us because the track was very dirty from the USAC Silver Crown and Midget cars. When I was out there I was able to work my bars and my weightjacker enough to get a good lap.

    “I think if we would have drawn something a little later we would have had a better run. I want to thank my team because this is my best qualifying attempt so far and this is the first time I am starting on the front row. I think we are looking good to run for pole position in the next few races. This is a really hard track to race on and I think we can get it done and hopefully get our first podium of the year and build momentum from there.”

    Bryan Clauson qualified in the third position (159.434), followed by Josef Newgarden and Duarte Ferreira.

    Victor Carbone qualified sixth, followed by Stefan Wilson and Brandon Wagner.

    The green flag for the Sukup 100 at Iowa is set to be drop at 6:30pm EST tomorrow and can be seen on VERSUS.