Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Morning Warmup - Hunter-Reay Brake Problem
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Morning Warmup
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – RIS – Sunday morning warmup for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was stopped for 13 minutes after Ryan Hunter-Reay’s rear brakes failed and he drove his car head-on into the Turn 10 tire barrier.
Hunter-Reay, driving for Andretti Autosport, was not injured. He said his rear brakes suffered a complete brake failure. His front brakes locked and were unable to slow the car enough to avoid serious head-on contact with the tire barrier.
The 30-minute practice session was restarted after Hunter-Reay’s car was removed from the runoff area.
Scott Dixon’s Honda powered Dallara was quick in the last practice prior to the race. His best lap speed was 104.636. Helio Castroneves followed at 103.676. Defending IndyCar series champion Simon Pagenaud, Spencer Pigot and Graham Rahal rounded out the top five,
Dave Chess
Dave Chess has been writing for RIS since the late 1980s during the CompuServe days. His work has also appeared in Auto Week magazine, Chicago Gearhead News newspaper, ATA airlines in-flight magazine, National Speed Sport News and on many websites.