EDMONTON, Alberta, Saturday, July 21, 2012 – David Ostella loves racing in the rain, and despite starting last in the Edmonton 100 things looked like they might go his way when the green flag dropped on a very wet Edmonton City Centre Airport track Saturday.
Ostella passed several cars on lap one and looked very strong in his No. 22 Team Moore Racing–Global Precast–Xtreme Coil Drilling car.
“I had a phenomenal start and passed four or five guys right away,” Ostella said. “The car was great in the rain, so we were doing really well in the first stint of the race because the track was so wet.”
Conditions changed however when the sun peaked out of the Edmonton clouds and the track quickly dried. Firestone Indy Lights races rarely have pit stops because of their short distances, but drivers and teams knew that the speed gained in switching from rain to slick tires would be crucial.
“When the sun came out it was all about coming in to change tires,” Ostella said. “Unfortunately I think we came in a lap or two too late and lost ground to the leaders.”
Ostella then switched focus to ticking off the best laps he could in his No. 22 machine.
“I made sure that I stayed consistent and conserved the tires in case I had a battle at the end of the race, which I did,” he said.
In the closing laps of the race, Ostella was challenged for ninth position by Jorge Goncalvez of Belardi Auto Racing.
“We were racing each other pretty hard and I ended up spinning on the last lap in Turn 12,” Ostella said.
Ostella crossed the finish line in 10th position and leaves Edmonton eighth in Firestone Indy Lights driver points standings.
“It’s not the way we wanted the weekend to go, but we were able to fix some braking issues we had at the last race in Toronto,” Ostella said.
Carlos Munoz of Andretti Autosport won the Edmonton 100. It was his first Firestone Indy Lights victory.
The next stop on the Firestone Indy Lights circuit and final leg of the series’ Canadian races is on the Streets of Trois Rivières, Quebec on August 5.
For more information, follow David Ostella on Facebook, Twitter, and on-line, and for racing and news updates, follow @OstellaCorsa.