History was made at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday 6 April, as second-generation IndyCar series newcomer Graham Rahal became the youngest winner of a major open-wheel race at the age of 19 years and 93 days. Rahal had to withdraw from last weekend’s opening race at Homestead, Miami, after damaging his car in a pre-season test just a week before the race.
To take the win, the 19 year old son of Bobby Rahal, 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner, who started ninth in a rain affected race had to recover from a mid race spin on lap 37 after he made contact with fellow Champ Car convert Will Power.
Marco Andretti previously held the youngest race winner title when he dominated the Infineon Raceway in 2006 at the age of 19 years and 167 days.
Graham Rahal - #06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone, said:
“I don’t think it’s hit me yet, it’s happened so quick. Even part of the way through the race, I wasn’t thinking it was possible. It worked out quite well and it’s sweeter than you can believe. The Firestone tyres worked great, especially the dry tyres when we got back to green there. They came in pretty quick and, I tell you what, they were dead consistent over the whole run. I had a couple lock-ups and it was never an issue with the tyres. Even when it was drying and we were on the rain tyres, I was very impressed with the way they held up.”
Al Speyer - Executive Director, Firestone Racing, said:
“What an awesome day. Andretti Green Promotions does a fabulous job of running the race. With all of the Firestone signs and other exposure elements, it’s clear that we have a major involvement in the race, including Firehawk tyres on all of the IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights cars. Graham Rahal drove a great race and is an extremely popular winner. Our congratulations go to Graham and all of the Newman/Haas/Lanigan team. Graham ran two sets of wets and one set of dries, and they confidently carried him to victory. We couldn’t be more proud of the tyre performance today.”