Ryan Dalziel said on Saturday his goal was to earn a top-eight finish in today’s Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto. He exceeded his goal and nearly made history. Dalziel took advantage of an early race yellow to top-off his fuel tank on lap six. As the leader pitted for their next round of stops, Dalziel was able to stay out two laps longer. Everything changed in those two laps as the storm that had washed out most of the morning returned. Dalziel returned to the pits for his scheduled stop on lap 40, just after the rain began and Dalziel took a full load of fuel and four Bridgestone rain tires. He returned to the soaked and slick track with an advantage, he was the only driver on track with rain tires and the entire field would need to make an extra stop for theirs. As the stops occurred, Dalziel shot to the front of the field and took the Champ Car lead for the first time in his career, it was also the first time a PCM car had led a Champ Car race.
Dalziel defended his lead as the field charged behind him and as the torrential rain conditions continued, so did the incidents and yellow flags. Dalziel was as quick or quicker than the field under green flag conditions but struggled to defend his position on the re-starts. Justin Wilson made an aggressive pass by with just two minutes to go and punted Dalziel into the tires. His day finished in seventh position, the best of his career and the top finish for his rookie team, Pacific Coast Motorsports.
Alex Figge’s day ended almost as soon as it started due to a first lap incident that destroyed or nearly destroyed one-third of the field. Figge approached turn-eight to a track full of debris and crashed cars everywhere. The American rookie had no where to go and his day ended in the wall.
Ryan Dalziel #28 SUN/Molecule/DP01/Cosworth/Bridgestone
Session Position Time Speed
Started 11th 58.912 107.215
Highest Race Position 1 (led 16 laps)
Race Result 7th
Ryan on the race: “What a day. The guys made a great call and did a great job in the pits. We struggled a bit on the re-starts since our pressures were low, but once we got going we were good. The visibility wasn’t too bad out there; it was actually one of the better wet races I’ve seen in terms of visibility. It felt great to lead at the time but it feels so disappointing now. I think it was a stupid move Justin made and quite disappointing for a veteran. ”
Alex Figge #29 SUN/Molecule/DP01/Cosworth/Bridgestone
Session Position Time Speed
Started 17th 59.973 105.347
Finished 17th (contact)
Alex on the race: “By the time Katherine and I came around the corner, the was debris scattered all over the track and we had now where to go. It was a forgettable weekend for sure. ”
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