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The Infiniti / Indy Pro Series made its debut in mid-2002 with an inaugural season of seven races run in
conjunction with the Indy Car Racing Series. In 2008 the championship was renamed the Firestone
Indy Lights Series when Firestone tires became the primary sponsor.
The twelve-race schedule kicked off at Saint Petersburg and concluded in early October at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Drivers compete in the Dallara IPS, designed and manufactured for the Infiniti Pro Series. The open-wheel, single-seat racer is equipped with a ground-effect underbody and outboard wings front and rear. The monocoque chassis is constructed using carbon fiber and composites. The Dallara has a minimum weight of 1,430 pounds, which includes all lubricants and coolants used during the event, but does not include fuel or the driver. Firestone Firehawk racing tires are mounted on 15-inch diameter x 10 front and 15-inch diameter x 14 rear wheels. The car is powered by a 3.5-liter Infiniti Q45 engine which produces approximately 450 horsepower and is fitted to a Ricardo six-forward gear transmission with a sequential shifter. Infiniti Pro Series costs are tightly controlled by the Indy Racing League, with the Dallara IPS costing $137,900 (including the data acquisition system). The Grand Prix of Long Beach was the third of twelve races on the 2012 Firestone Indy Lights schedule. Competitors would race around the eleven-turn 1.968-mile temporary street circuit for forty-five laps.
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Esteban Guerrieri competed in last season’s Firestone Indy Lights Series and finished second in the final standings with three victories. He entered this year’s Long Beach event driving the No. 11 Pistas Argentina-sponsored Dallara IPS. Guerrieri qualified on the outside of the front row and won the drag race to the first corner. Despite a full course yellow on lap-21, he led flag-to-flag for the victory. |
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The No. 27 AFS Racing entry was driven by Sebastian Saavedra. Saavedra made his Firestone Indy Lights debut in 2009 and finished third in the championship. Last season, he competed in IndyCar with Conquest Racing but failed to qualify for the Indy 500 and finished twenty-fifth in the points chase. After the first two races in the year’s Indy Lights Series, Saavedra had a third and first. He finished second at Long Beach. |
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France’s Tristan Vautier made an impressive Firestone Indy Lights Series debut in round one at Saint Petersburg. Vautier won the race after qualifying on the pole, leading the most laps and recording the fastest race lap. At Long Beach, he was gridded seventh in the No. 77 Mazdaspeed Dallara IPS. During the race, passes on Victor Carbone, Carlos Munoz, Oliver Webb and Gustavo Yacaman were rewarded with a third-place. |
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Victor Carbone returned for another season of the Indy Lights Series. Last year, Carbone finished sixth in the final standings with a victory at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He drove the No. 3 Mav TV / Nevoni Dallara IPS. During the qualifying session, he recorded the sixth fastest time. Carbone lost a position to Tristan Vautier in the race but passed Oliver Webb, Carlos Munoz and Gustavo Yacaman for a fourth-place result. |
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Rookie Carlos Munoz drove the No. 26 Automatic Fire Sprinklers / Daily-Ser Dallara IPS entered by Andretti Autosport. His first two outings in the series were disasters. He finished fourteenth at St. Pete and Barber Motorsports Park due to accidents. On his first visit to Long Beach, Munoz qualified fourth fast. Unfortunately, he lost position to Tristan Vautier and Victor Carbone, resulting in a fifth-place finish. |
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| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Esteban Guerrieri | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 2 | 1 | Sebastian Saavedra | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 3 | 7 | Tristan Vautier | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 4 | 6 | Victor Carbone | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 5 | 4 | Carlos Munoz | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 6 | 3 | Oliver Webb | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 7 | 8 | Juan Pablo Garcia | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 8 | 9 | David Ostella | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 9 | 11 | Jorge Goncalvez | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 10 | 5 | Gustavo Yacaman | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 11 | 15 | Alon Day | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 12 | 13 | Armaan Ebrahim | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 13 | 10 | Nick Andries | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 14 | 14 | Alex Jones | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 19 | Accident |
| 15 | 12 | Darryl Wills | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 2 | Mechanical |
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