First Indy Lights Win For Mann

Sparta, KY – English driver Pippa Mann made a shambles of the Firestone Indy Lights field here Saturday, winning the Drive Smart. Buckle Up Kentucky 100 by 6.8372 sec. Over Canadian James Hinchcliffe.

Mann, who barely lost to Hinchcliffe at Chicago last week, felt that the Kentucky Speedway might suit her style more. “The tables were reversed from last week. This is much more of a handling track,” she noted. “We can run two or three wide there, but here you have to handle very well. I joked yesterday that I hoped to run away and hide here, and was pleased that it turned out that way.”

Mann, who joined Ana Beatriz (winner of two series races) as the only two female winners in series’ history, had her run to the flag interrupted early when a scary crash in turn four eliminated drivers Philip Major, Stefan Wilson and Daniel Herrington on lap3. Major spun and sat in the groove in turn four. He was hit by Wilson who then slid into the wall and briefly showed some fire. All drivers were checked and released from the track hospital while the red flag stopped the action in order to clean up the track.

Hinchcliffe, who had edged Mann for the win in Chicago, set his car up to run in traffic, but pole-winner Mann derailed those plans after the race resumed. “I was set up to run in traffic, but when she got away on the restart I could only hope for a caution that never came,” said Hinchcliffe. “We were both running in clean air and I couldn’t close in.”

Frenchman J. K. Vernay, who finished third, has only to start the final race in Miami to clinch the season championship.

Results Saturday of the Drive Smart Buckle Up Kentucky 100 Firestone Indy Lights Series event on the 1.48 mile Kentucky Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, laps completed and reason out (if any):”
1. (1) Pippa Mann, 67, Running
2. (6) James Hinchcliffe, 67, Running
3. (4) JK Vernay, 67, Running
4. (7) Adrian Campos Jr, 67, Running
5. (13) Gustavo Yacaman, 67, Running
6. (3) Charlie Kimball, 67, Running
7. (2) Martin Plowman, 67, Running
8. (8) Brandon Wagner, 67, Running
9. (9) Arie Luyendyk Jr, 67, Running
10. (5) Dan Clarke, 66, Running
11. (11) Rodrigo Barbosa, 64, Running
12. (14) Daniel Herrington, 2, Accident
13. (12) Philip Major, 1, Accident

14. (10) Stefan Wilson, 1, Accident

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 174.581
Time of Race: 34:04.7529
Margin of victory: 6.8327 seconds
Cautions: 1 for 3 laps
Lead changes: 0
Lap Leaders: Mann 1-67
“Point Standings: Vernay 479, Hinchcliffe 431, Kimball 371, Plowman 364, Saavedra 303, Clarke 291, Mann 282, Yacaman 279, Wilson 278, Major 275.

Paul Gohde

Paul Gohde heard the sound of race cars early in his life.

Growing up in suburban Milwaukee, just north of Wisconsin State Fair Park in the 1950’s, Paul had no idea what “that noise” was all about that he heard several times a year. Finally, through prodding by friends of his parents, he was taken to several Thursday night modified stock car races on the old quarter-mile dirt track that was in the infield of the one-mile oval -and he was hooked.

The first Milwaukee Mile event that he attended was the 1959 Rex Mays Classic won by Johnny Thomson in the pink Racing Associates lay-down Offy built by the legendary Lujie Lesovsky. After the 100-miler Gohde got the winner’s autograph in the pits, something he couldn’t do when he saw Hank Aaron hit a home run at County Stadium, and, again, he was hooked.

Paul began attending the Indianapolis 500 in 1961, and saw A. J. Foyt’s first Indy win. He began covering races in 1965 for Racing Wheels newspaper in Vancouver, WA as a reporter/photographer and his first credentialed race was Jim Clark’s historic Indy win.Paul has also done reporting, columns and photography for Midwest Racing News since the mid-sixties, with the 1967 Hoosier 100 being his first big race to report for them.

He is a retired middle-grade teacher, an avid collector of vintage racing memorabilia, and a tour guide at Miller Park. Paul loves to explore abandoned race tracks both here and in Europe, with the Brooklands track in Weybridge England being his favorite. Married to Paula, they have three adult children and two cats.

Paul loves the diversity of all types of racing, “a factor that got me hooked in the first place.”

racingnation.com

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