Tatiana Calderón recorded another NTT IndyCar Series finish in last weekend’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Detroit, as she nears the halfway point of the season.
With the help of the AJ Foyt Racing team, Tatiana guided her #11 ROKiT Dallara-Chevrolet to a 23rd place-finish on IndyCar’s final visit to the Belle Isle circuit, the Colombian driver making it three finishes from three starts on street circuits so far in 2022.
Once again facing an uphill struggle to learn a new circuit with very limited practice time, particularly on the early session on practice on Saturday, with lots of caution flags that impede the Colombian to have a feel for the softer compound before the qualifying session where she was able to secure 24th place on the grid for the 70-lap race on Sunday.
It turned out to be a tough day in the office for Tatiana, as the race ran caution-free, providing no respite on the bumpy and physically demanding Belle Isle track. Early flatspots on her first and second sets of Firestone tyres didn’t help her cause either, with further time lost late in the race having to allow the leaders through.
With some niggles in pitlane costing Tatiana more precious seconds, she had to be content with 23rd place at the flag.
Now Tatiana turns her attentions to this weekend’s Road America race, which will provide a very different challenge to the bumpy streets of Belle Isle with its long straights and fast, flowing curves. It also marks the sixth event of her 12-round 2022 schedule.
Tatiana Calderón: “We finished the race, which I think is positive. I was gaining confidence through the race. Unfortunately, on my first two stints I locked up and got a flatspot early on, so it turned out to be a long race, but my pace was good on the last set. I was surprised by the lack of yellows around a track like Detroit, which was good practice for me physically. I want to thank AJ Foyt Racing and the #11 ROKiT crew for another great job and I look forward to being back in the car for Road America this weekend.”
ROAD AMERICA SCHEDULE (Times all GMT -5 and subject to change) Friday June 10 Practice 1 - 3.30pm Saturday June 11 Practice 2 - 9.45am Qualifying - 12.45pm Practice 3 - 4.20pm Sunday June 12 Race (55 laps) - 11.35am