1st RBR 500

The RBR Clan 500 was the first running of the Red Bull Indy 500 Megarace. It took place between May 25, 2010 and May 30, 2010.

Race Report
Finally race day has come and it has shaped up to be a great one.

Only 8 drivers run a warm up lap before the race begun. Out of these drivers Marcin Nelkowski run the quickest lap, closely followed by Caamen Soukup and Andy Jones.

The cars have taken to the track and formed up the grid ready for the start. Paul Smart was on the inside of the front row with Andy Jones in the middle and Chris Dickinson made up the outside of the front row. As the cars pass the start finish Smart manages to hold from Dickinson, but Jones makes a dreadful start falling through the field quickly. Paul DiGiovanni makes a brilliant start and begins tearing his way through the field. There is a collision between Wayne Ellis and James Matthews while defend 10th, neither driver could do much about that and while Ellis seems fine Matthews will most likely need to pit to repair his car after that one. James Morris leads the field across the line for the first time as we head into lap 2. Lap 2 and Smart continues to fall through the field as everybody begins to settle into a good driving rhythm. The pole sitter is now down to 5th. Lap 3 and Wong Ka Meng takes the lead from Morris. He has done it at blistering speed to as he sets the fastest lap of the race at 29.965 seconds. Lap 5 and Pedro Caseiro makes a pit stop from 2nd. DiGiovanni has assumed 2nd from Caseiro after starting from 11th position. The cars set into a good rhythm and begin settling down for the long haul ahead of them. On lap 18 Ka Meng makes his first pit stop from 1st position, which leaves DiGiovanni in the lead of the race.

And now the first safety car of the day as Smart makes an error going into turn 3 and hits the wall, the car seems to be alright and he will have to now nurse it back to the pits so he can continue on in the race. Caseiro also pits from 12th. A few cars now taking advantage of the pace car by pitting, these are DiGiovanni from 1st, Mcadam from 2nd and Matthews from 13th as well as Smart from 6th to get repairs done on that car of his, this now leaves Morris back in the lead from Jones and Wayne Static. Safety car in on lap 25 and we are back under green and we have another accident as Static collides with Ka Meng while they are fighting over 3rd, Ka Meng has slipped back to 11th and Static has managed to hold 3rd, not all good news though as he looks to have a problem with his car and will need to pit to get it back in good running order. Ka Meng on a mission now after that incident as he sets another new fastest lap this time at 39.939 seconds. Ka Meng really flying with yet another fastest lap a 39.879 seconds this time he is now up to 4th. Jones takes Morris for the lead while Ka Meng into third now with yet another fastest lap a 39.873 this time around. And again Ka Meng with another fastest lap, the lap time now stands at 39.859 seconds, Static must have really ticked Ka Meng off as he is driving like a man possessed. Lap 35 now and for the 4th lap in a row Ka Meng has set a new fastest lap. The benchmark is now 39.790 seconds. Morris in to the pits from 2nd on lap 38, he has taken on board a further 38 laps of fuel in that 12.4 second stop. Jones and Ka Meng are now pitting from 1st and 2nd respectively, this puts Dickinson into the lead of the race. Ka Meng’s pit crew were outstanding there with a 5.82 second stop this will get him out in front of Jones as they now rejoin in 8th and 9th respectively.

So into lap 41 now and Dickinson leads from DiGiovanni by 1.2 seconds with Soukup a further second behind them. Static has just posted a new fastest lap, a 39.697 second lap for the Andretti Green driver. Radio chatter coming from Andretti Green now, it appears that Static is running out of fuel, I don’t want to take anything away from Static here but perhaps that is why that last lap was so quick. Lap 53 and the second safety car of the day after Nelkowski put his car into the wall at turn 4, he should be able to continue after pitting though. Now the top 5 Dickinson, DiGiovanni, Nelkowski, Ka Meng and Mcadam are all taking advantage of the safety car by taking there next pit stop this moves Jones into the lead from Morris. DiGiovanni’s crew has done a marvelous job there to get him out in front of Dickinson.

Lap 61 and we are racing again, Jones leads from Morris and DiGiovanni. Ka Meng has managed to get around Dickinson there and is now up to 4th, wait no make that 3rd after that great maneuver on DiGiovanni. Morris and Jones fighting over 1st now, I don’t think that Jones will be able to hold Morris this time. Probably a good idea if he just lets him go, and that is exactly what he does, James Morris now leads the RBR Clan 500. Ka Meng now pushing Jones hard and another spot lost there for Jones as he surrenders 2nd to Ka Meng. Wow what a pass from Ka Meng as he storms past Morris to take back the lead, I don’t think Morris saw him coming. There is bit of shuffling in the mid field going on now as the drivers swap and change positions.

Morris is in from 2nd on lap 76 that moves Jones back up to 2nd and DiGiovanni to 3rd. Now Jones into the pits on lap 79, which will move DiGiovanni up to 2nd and Nelkowski up to 3rd. A good recovery there from Nelkowski after his earlier brush with the wall, but can anyone catch Wong Ka Meng he has opened up an 11.8 second lead here on lap 80.

Lap 85 now and there is drama with Soukup’s car, it looks like one of his tires has let go what a shame he will have to try and nurse that car back to the pits and get it replaced. Now Ka Meng is pitting from 1st that will move DiGiovanni into the lead of this race. Mcadam has made an error at turn 3, looks like he will have to pit to repair that damage. Soukup on a real charge now with that fresh set of tires, he has just posted a new fastest lap a 39.610. A bit of radio conversation going on between Smart and Team Penske, it seems that they are concerned with the oil pressure in his car and they want him to come in and get it checked out. Man that is a quick lap, Smart first lap out of the pits and he sets a new fastest lap, a 39.508 seconds. Nelkowski takes DiGiovanni for 1st that one has been on the cards for a while now Nelkowski has really been putting the pressure on DiGiovanni over the last few laps.

Lap 93 and we have another incident at turn 4, who is it this time. It’s Smart, my god he is really having a rollercoaster of a race one minute a fastest lap the next his in the wall again. Looks like he will need to pit to repair the damage again. Static has made an error at turn 1, thankfully he has managed to regain control of the car before any damage could be done.

We have our third safety car of the day, this time it is out for Morris who has hit the wall at turn 4, he will come in the next time around to get that damage fixed. As normal under safety car conditions, we have a whole heap of drivers coming into the pits to take there stops. These include race leader Nelkowski and DiGiovanni from second. That means the leader of the race is Dickinson. DiGiovanni’s crew does a great job and gets him out in front of Nelkowski. It looks like the reason Nelkowski fell behind there might of actually been him not DiGiovanni’s, Nelkowski seemed to of stalled the car as he was leaving the pits, that’s a real shame for him.

Lap 106 and we are back under greens, Dickinson manages to hold of Ka Meng to remain in the lead Static has stormed past both DiGiovanni and Nelkowski to move up into 3rd. Morris in 8th now a gain of 3 spots after that lap, and it’s no wonder as he sets a new fastest lap an a amazing 39.308 seconds. The top three Dickinson, Ka Meng and Static a in a real fight now over the lead of the race and are really pushing each other hard. Morris on a real strong run at the moment as he lowers the fastest lap time again and he is now up to 5th. Again Morris lowers the fastest lap time it is now down to 39.125 seconds, Morris was in 11th when the safety car went in and now he is in 4th, a great job by the Andretti Green driver. Dickinson and Morris into the pits now. That means that Ka Meng has the lead of the race, no wait Static has taken the lead with a beautiful slipstream past Ka Meng.

Lap 121 and Static comes into the pits for a stop. That moves Ka Meng into the lead. Ka Meng makes an error at turn 4 on his way into the pits, his stop will let DiGiovanni pass for the lead, Soukup up to 2nd and Mcadam into 3rd. Ka Meng has made an error at turn 3, it hasn’t cost him much time as he regains control of the car. DiGiovanni is pitting from the lead. Nelkowski will take over the lead of the race from Caseiro.

Drivers have really settled into a nice rhythm and the race has calmed down a little, wait a minute I stand corrected Static has made an error at turn 3, it hasn’t cost him much time as he recovers it nicely. Dickinson seems to have a problem with his front wing, His lap times are a little off the pace at the moment. Nelkowski pits from 1st, this puts Ka Meng back in control of this race from DiGiovanni and Smart. Ka Meng is now in the pits, Di Giovanni will move up to 1st now with a 4 and a half second lead. Lap 160 and we have an incident at turn 1. It is Smart again, he is lucky there, he has managed to get the car facing the right direction and is continuing on.

Lap 166 and the leader DiGiovanni has made an error at turn 3, he has done a little bit of damage to his car there and I think he will come into pit next lap. Yes, DiGiovanni has pitted to repair that damage he sustained last lap. That moves Ka Meng back into the lead from Caseiro and Nelkowski.

Lap 170 and Dickinson seems to be having a problem with the throttle, he is lapping really slowly and the race officials have decided that it is best to send the safety car out on to the track. That should bunch the field up very nicely with only 30 laps to go. Ka Meng is taking advantage of the safety car by pitting, his stop will see Nelkowski take the lead behind the safety car. Matthews has also come in maybe this will pay off for him to gain some places in what has been a really disappointing race for him.

Lap 176 and with safety car now off the track the race is back up to speed with Nelkowski leading from Ka Meng and Static is in 3rd. DiGiovanni is on a real charge here, he must really want this win. He has moved up from 10th to 1st in just 3 laps I don’t think anyone will be able to stop him when he is in this sort of mood. Into the last nine laps now and this should be a great finish to this race Nelkowski who is in 3rd at the moment is under a lot of pressure from Caseiro. What a quick time there from Morris, he has just done a 38.792. Maybe he thinks he is a chance of finishing higher than his 11th place may indicate. Morris still turn up the heat with yet another fastest lap, this time it is a 38.659. That is really quick considering it is lap 192. The field again settles a little bit here on lap 193. Another incident free lap here on lap 194 Wow, did you see that tire blow on Matthews’s car. What rotten luck for him, he is already running in 12th and that happens. He will need to pit to get that replaced. Dickinson passes Soukup here on lap 196 to move up to 9th as Matthews pits that will leave Matthews in last place. Soukup is really struggling with that car as he is passed by Morris, Soukup is now in 11th. With this race almost over it looks like the drivers might have just backed off a little bit to make sure they make the finish line. Dickinson gets past Ellis with that easy pass on lap 199. He moves up to 8th with that maneuver. Morris gets past Ellis as well, as DiGiovanni crosses the line to take the win Mcadam is 4.454 seconds back in 2nd. 3rd is Nelkowski 1.871 seconds behind Mcadam, but he almost could have been 4th as Caseiro was only .876 seconds behind him. 5th is Jones 12.046 seconds back from the winner he was followed by Smart in 6th, Static 7th, Dickinson 8th, Morris 9th, Ellis 10th and Soukup in a 11th is the last of the drivers on the lead lap. Both Ka Meng and Matthews finished 2 laps down in 12th and 13th respectively.

Well what a race that was. Paul DiGiovanni who qualified in 11th position has done a remarkable job to win this race for himself and Team Penske. Bad luck for Wong Ka Meng there in the last 30 or so laps as he could not seem to get his car to be able to go anywhere near as fast as it was in the earlier parts of this race.

Well done to all the drivers and very well done to our podium sitters in Paul DiGiovanni, Paul Mcadam and Marcin Nelkowski.

Thank you for joining for the 1st RBR Clan 500 and I look forward to seeing you next time. Until then this is Anthony Marshall saying “Goodbye”

Lap Leader Breakdown

 * 23 Lead Changes among 7 Drivers

Pace Car Breakdown

 * 4 Pace cars for a total of 41 Laps