Kyle Kaiser and Felix Rosenqvist led the field to the green flag, and while it was a relatively clean start the field immediately was fraught with frantic action. Belardi Auto Racing’s Zach Veach used the same move on Kaiser that he used on Gabby Chaves in 2014, sweeping around the outside to claim the lead. Rosenqvist, making his first rolling start, was clearly wrong-footed, falling back quickly at the start. Team Pelfrey’s Scott Hargrove moved from fifth to third at the start, while Serralles found himself in fourth and Rosenqvist was fifth. Kaiser’s Juncos teammate, Zach Claman De Melo, made slight contact in the opening lap, resulting in front wing damage for the Canadian.
Heading into Turn 4, Serralles barged past Hargrove for third, while Santi Urrutia also squeezed past Rosenqvist. Before long, RC Enerson and Andre Negrao also swept by the struggling Swede, demoting him from second on the grid to eighth in no time.
Back at the front Kaiser again was demoted another two positions, as Serralles and Hargrove both found a way past the polesitter. It was a story of varied setups, with Serralles’ Carlin crew electing to go with a low downforce setup, while Veach went with a compromise and Kaiser went with a higher downforce setup. It proved that the key move of the race is sometimes made long before the green flag ever waves.
Serralles kept Veach honest, as the gap between the front three was constantly changing, with Serralles closing on Veach, then Hargrove closing on Serralles as he fell back from the leader. At the halfway point, things got particularly interesting. First, Shelby Blackstock went off-course in Turn 13 before returning safely to the track. Then Dalton Kellett made a trip down the runoff area in Turn 8. Just as Hargrove closed in on Serralles, Veach’s car suddenly slowed on the exit of Turn 3, allowing Serralles to take the lead.
Hargrove also took advantage of Veach’s misfortune, bumping him out of the way in Turn 10 on his way to second. That allowed Kaiser back into a podium position after making a less than ideal start from pole. It wasn’t the end to Veach’s problems, though, as he would slow twice more, eventually retiring with three laps remaining.
The top five remained the same in the run to the checkered flag, with Serralles leading Hargrove, Kaiser, Urrutia, and Enerson home. The second five were Negrao, Rosenqvist, Dean Stoneman, Juan Piedrahita, and defending race winner Ed Jones.
“It was a good result, I just tried to do everything right and minimize any mistakes and save the rear tires,” offered Serralles. “I could push to catch Veach but my front tires were going away. We developed a good race setup, and I’m just really happy to get the first win and start the year like this.”
“Being back is great, I couldn’t ask for a better result from my first race out,” said returning Canadian Scott Hargrove. “I think it’s really encouraging for tomorrow and really encouraging for the rest of the year. We’re really working to put the whole program together so we can do more races and finish the rest of the season.”
Tomorrow the field returns to action at 9:45 a.m. ET for a 60-minute race, with a somewhat different-looking starting lineup thanks to the late red flag in this morning’s qualifying session.
Indy Lights Race 1 Results
1. Felix Serralles
2. Scott Hargrove
3. Kyle Kaiser
4. Santi Urrutia
5. RC Enerson
6. Andre Negrao
7. Felix Rosenqvist
8. Dean Stoneman
9. Juan Piedrahita
10. Ed Jones
11. Zach Claman De Melo
12. Neil Alberico
13. Scott Anderson
14. Shelby Blackstock
15. Dalton Kellett
16. Zach Veach
IMS Photography
