Catchfence

Toronto, Ontario (September 05, 2010) – Round 12 of the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights Series, the ‘Kentucky 100’ held at the Kentucky Speedway on Saturday 4th September, saw Canada’s James Hinchcliffe come home second at the checkered flag behind pole-sitter and first-time race winner, Pippa Mann.

Saturday’s second place finish earned Hinchcliffe his seventh podium of the season with the Team Moore Racing entrant officially locking up second in the points standings while still having a mathematical shot at the title against France’s J.K. Vernay heading into the final round of 2010 at the Homestead Miami Speedway.

James arrived in Kentucky riding the momentum from his first oval victory the week before at the Chicagoland Speedway. There he had piloted the #2 Team Moore Racing Firestone-Dallara to the third closest margin of victory in Indy Lights Series history, ironically over Pippa Mann who would later reverse the finishing order at the Kentucky Speedway.

‘Hinch’ qualified sixth in a characteristically tight session, the 23-year-old and his team focusing from there on ensuring he had a car capable of running in traffic in preparation for the 67-lap charge around the 1.5-mile oval.

Once again the Toronto stand-out wasted little time in racing his way to the front as Saturday’s ‘Kentucky 100’ kicked off. While track conditions were far from ideal, in no small part due to the rubber laid down on various lines from the previous night’s event, James played with the hand he was dealt and eventually graduated up to second on track.

With pole-sitter Mann enjoying a strong lead at the head of the pack, and James’ car, running with more downforce, suddenly running in cleaner air, the front order remained unchallenged through to the checkered. Mann claimed the win ahead of Hinchcliffe with points leader J.K. Vernay completing the podium.

“It was a funny race in many ways,” stated Hinchcliffe afterwards. “We’ve had two races in back-to-back weeks on short ovals, one produced one of the closest finishes ever and then today’s race saw Pippa enjoy probably one of the best leads on this kind of circuit. I was doing all I could in the car to make a difference but we didn’t get the safety period we needed to be able to hook up on the lead. There’s no shame in having a second place car though. Overall it was another solid job from the team to make gains on our qualifying spot and finish on the podium.

“All J.K. has to do is start the next race to win the title but I can at least take the next month to know that I can finish no worse than second in the championship. No matter how the race in Miami plays out I know we’ve had a great season. Team Moore Racing have done a great job and we can be proud of our accomplishments together. That said, I’m going to Homestead with one goal only – to win!”

- Team Moore Racing Press Release