Consistency Pays for Kaiser with Win and Indy Lights Points Lead

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 Kyle Kaiser has been a model of consistency in this year’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires title-chase. He has been fast too. In today’s Mazda Road to Indy Grand Prix Presented by Royal Purple Supporting Lupus Foundation of America at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix road course, the talented Californian used both attributes to excellent effect as he translated his second pole position into his first victory of the season for Juncos Racing. It was enough to vault him into the championship lead after six of 16 races.

 
Uruguayan Santi Urrutia bounced back from a series of disappointing results to claim a strong second-place finish for Belardi Auto Racing. Brazilian rookie Matheus Leist completed the podium for the Carlin team.
 
A warm and sunny day with low humidity provided perfect conditions for an enthusiastic crowd, and the 14 Indy Lights campaigners provided an entertaining 35-lap race with battles throughout the closely matched field.
 
Kaiser took full advantage of his pole position to hold the lead into the heavy braking area at Turn One, narrowly ahead of a fast-starting Urrutia, who jumped from fourth to second at the first corner. Urrutia used the draft to draw alongside Kaiser on the long front straightaway at the end of Lap 2, but once again Kaiser kept his cool, and his position. Urrutia tried again next time around and actually managed to nose ahead into the braking area, only to run a little too deep which enabled Kaiser to maintain his lead.
 
Urrutia instead soon lost a place to Leist, who has arrived in the United States this year on the crest of a wave after wining last year’s BRDC British Formula 3 Championship. The two South Americans’ in-fighting allowed Kaiser just a little breathing space, whereupon the 21-year-old from Santa Clara, Calif., put his head down and turned a series of consistently quick laps to extend his lead.
 
The gap grew to more than 3.5 seconds on Lap 11, after Urrutia found a way back past Leist in Turn Seven, and that was to prove the decisive break. As Urrutia consolidated his advantage over Leist, who instead came under attack from Carlin teammate Neil Alberico, Kaiser motored away to take the checkered flag 6.4768 seconds to the good.
 
Urrutia was relatively content with second and the Staubli Award, but the battle for third wasn’t resolved until the final couple of laps when Leist robustly rebuffed Alberico’s overtaking maneuver at Turn One. Alberico was unable to avoid contact, which broke his Dallara-Mazda’s front wing and left him struggling to bring his car home to the finish.
 
Yesterday’s winner, Frenchman Nico Jamin (Andretti Autosport), snuck past for fourth, while Colombian Juan Piedrahita (Team Pelfrey) celebrated his 100th Mazda Road to Indy start with a solid run to fifth, overtaking Alberico on the run to the finish line. Piedrahita’s drive was particularly noteworthy since he had been unable to start yesterday’s race due to a heavy accident during practice.
 
Rookie Ryan Norman, from Aurora, Ohio, last year’s Formula Atlantic champion, showed his best form of the season to date by finishing close behind Alberico in seventh. Norman also earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award after starting 12th.
 
Kaiser’s fourth consecutive podium finish vaulted him from third to first place in the points table. He leads Jamin by 139-126, with previous points leader Colton Herta (Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing) now third on 121. Herta, 17, from Valencia, Calif., suffered another disappointing day, falling to 10th after a grassy excursion while trying to fend off Alberico.
 
The teams will remain in Indianapolis for the next round, the season highlight Freedom 100 on the hallowed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, on Carb Day, Friday, May 26.
Adam Sinclair
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