Monday, April 05, 2010
Bell Micro's Matos charges from the back row to a stunning 8th place finish in rain delayed St. Petersburg Indy Car Race
A back row start did nothing to distract Raphael Matos or the Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports crew from producing a stirring rally and 15 spot improvement to finish eighth in the rain delayed Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
By rallying from 23rd to eighth, Matos not only delivered a second straight top 10 finish, but the 15 place improvement was a race-high, a career-high for Matos and the best in team history. He also led the race for three laps for the second time in his career.
"I'm so proud of Rafa's maturity and development," Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports co-owner and race strategist Jay Penske said. "From where we started the guys on this team really put together a car that could compete with the race leaders and Rafa ran a very smart race."
By coupling the eighth place finish with the fourth place run in Sao Paulo, the second year driver now sits fifth in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings with 56 points.
The dramatic turn around was evident from the start when Matos moved up four positions on the first lap. He continued his climb all the way to the top, jumping into third on lap 27 and surging into the lead on lap 34 and holding it for three laps until coming in for the team's second stop.
"We were really strong in the first stint," Matos said. "It was exciting being in the lead. The car had really good balance and I was able to really push it hard."
Matos did have enough to hold off Graham Rahal and Tony Kanaan to clinch eighth and record the 10th top 10 finish of his career.
The race was completed a day later than scheduled after rain washed away Sunday's start time. The green flag dropped under cloudy skies and 65 degrees, but dry conditions. The 100 laps were completed in just over two hours.
The next race will be April 11, The Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
The race can be seen on Versus, Sunday at 3:00 PM Eastern
archives
- 8/31 :: DAVEY HAMILTON TURNS IN COMPETITIVE RUN DURING BITTERSWEET RACE IN CHICAGO FOR DE FERRAN DRAGON RACING
- 8/24 :: LATE RACE INCIDENT SPOILS POTENTIAL TOP 10 RUN FOR RAPHAEL MATOS AND DE FERRAN DRAGON RACING
- 8/9 :: FAST CAR AND FAST CREW HELP RAPHAEL MATOS AND DE FERRAN DRAGON RACING POST BIG CLIMB IN HONDA INDY 200 AT MID OHIO
- 7/27 :: From rear of the grid to the podium, BMW triumphs at Lime Rock Park once again.
- 7/25 :: DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN FOR RAPHAEL MATOS AND DE FERRAN DRAGON TEAM AT HONDY INDY EDMONTON
- 7/20 :: AVNET JOINS BMW RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING SPONSOR LINEUP
- 7/19 :: LATE RACE INCIDENT STEALS TOP 10 RUN FROM RAPHAEL MATOS IN THE IZOD INDYCAR SERIES HONDA INDY TORONTO
- 7/14 :: THE PATRON RECAP: LARRY H. MILLER DEALERSHIPS UTAH GRAND PRIX
- 5/30 :: AFTER PROMISING START TO MAY IN INDIANAPOLIS DE FERRAN DRAGON RACING SUFFERS TWO CRASHES IN 2010 INDY 500
- 5/27 :: Bell Micro’s Raphael Matos Qualifies on 4th row for Indy 500
- 5/22 :: Solid Second Place for BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team at Laguna Seca
- 5/1 :: Bell Micro’s Rafa Matos finishes 16th at Kansas and moves into the top 10 for the session championship
- 4/21 :: Bell Micro’s Raphael Matos Finishes 20th at Long Beach Grand Prix
- 4/16 :: Long Beach ALMS Preview
- 4/5 :: Bell Micro's Matos charges from the back row to a stunning 8th place finish in rain delayed St. Petersburg Indy Car Race
- 3/22 :: Bell Micro and BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team Finish second and third at Sebring 12 Hours
- 3/18 :: Bell Micro at Sebring 12 Hours this weekend
- 2/26 :: BELL MICRO PRODUCTS JOINS BMW RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING TEAM SPONSOR LINEUP FOR 2010 AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES SEASON
- 1/10 :: ALMS – New Class Structure for 2010