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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 thirteen-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). Round one of the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights series was the Firestone Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Competitors would race around the fourteen-turn 1.800-mile temporary street course. There were a total of sixteen starters. The race was initially scheduled as a forty-five-lap contest, but it became a timed event after many crashes and began to rain. The leader completed thirty-five laps.
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France’s Jean-Karl Vernay made his Firestone Indy Lights debut at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Vernay drove the No. 7 Lucas Slick Mist Dallara IPS prepared by Sam Schmidt Racing. During the qualifying session, he set the second fastest time. The first four laps were run under caution. On the restart, Vernay passed Sebastian Saavedra for the lead. Despite challenges during the race, he won by a margin of 11.234-seconds. |
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Another driver making his first Firestone Indy Lights start was Belgium’s Jan Heylen. During the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Heylen competed in the Championship Auto Racing Teams series. He qualified fourth fastest in the No. 17 Team E Dallara IPS. The early exit of James Hinchcliffe, a spin by Junior Strous and Sebastien Saavedra’s accident on lap-25 allowed Heylen to move into second place, which he maintained to the finish. |
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Stefan Wilson, the younger brother of IndyCar regular, Justin Wilson, completed a partial schedule last season with Walker Racing; his best finish was a fourth in Toronto. The year he was driving the No. 28 Bryan Herta Autosport Dallara IPS. Wilson started fourteenth in the sixteen-car field but was a beneficiary of the incidents during the race. He would move up the order and capture the final position on the podium. |
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2010 was Charlie Kimball’s second season in the Firestone Indy Lights series. In 2009, Kimball finished fourth in the final standings. For this year’s campaign, he left Team PBIR and joined Andretti Autosport. Driving the No. 26 Levemir FlexPen sponsored Dallara ISP, he qualified seventh fastest. Like Stefan Wilson, Kimball drove a cautious and steady race which was rewarded with a fourth-place result. |
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James Hinchcliffe was a rookie in last year’s series and finished fifth in the championship. Hinchcliffe joined Team Moore Racing this season, piloting the No. 2 Xtreme Coil Drilling Dallara IPS. He was the fastest qualifier and started on the pole. Unfortunately, his race ended in turn one on the first lap. Ninth place, Philip Major attempted a very aggressive start and made contact with Hinchcliffe ending both their races. |
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| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | J.K. Vernay | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 35 | - |
| 2 | 4 | Jan Heylen | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 35 | - |
| 3 | 14 | Stefan Wilson | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 35 | - |
| 4 | 7 | Charlie Kimball | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 35 | - |
| 5 | 10 | Gustavo Yacaman | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 35 | - |
| 6 | 5 | Martin Plowman | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 35 | - |
| 7 | 6 | James Winslow | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 35 | - |
| 8 | 8 | Jonathan Summerton | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 35 | - |
| 9 | 16 | Rodrigo Barbosa | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 34 | - |
| 10 | 12 | Junior Strous | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 34 | - |
| 11 | 15 | Carmen Jorda | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 33 | - |
| 12 | 3 | Sebastian Saavedra | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 25 | Accident |
| 13 | 13 | Pippa Mann | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 6 | Mechanical |
| 14 | 9 | Philip Major | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 1 | Accident |
| 15 | 1 | James Hinchcliffe | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 0 | Accident |
| 16 | 11 | Adrian Campos, Jr. | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 0 | Accident |
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