British rookie Pippa Mann got an unwelcome birthday present in the opening practice sessions for this weekend's IZOD IndyCar Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, as she had a pair of spins in Turn 2. The second resulted in slight contact with the wall and minimal wing and suspension damage. Mann was unhurt in the incident and will be able to continue competing over the rest of the weekend in the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's NTB No. 30 entry.
“We worked very hard throughout the morning on making the car better and the RLL guys made some really good changes to the car that felt like they were going to help us,” Mann said. “We found some grip and some stability and were working on gathering speed over the bumps when we had our incident. I am disappointed but I know that the whole team will work very hard to get everything where we need it to be for Saturday's qualifying!”
The team conducted the session in 10-lap increments throughout the early part of the day, letting Mann test each of the changes that were made on the car, while also allowing her more time to gather feedback on subsequent improvements. The pace was picking up and both the car and the driver were showing good pace before the day ended.
“We didn't have the day we wanted today, but racing is like that and I know that Pippa will be even more determined to do great things when we get running again on Saturday,” said team co-owner Bobby Rahal. “She worked hard today and pushed the car hard, which is what you have to do in order to get the most out of it. Our Rahal Letterman Lanigan guys will work hard to put a good car under her and Pippa will do her best to move it up the grid.”