Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced on Tuesday, April that Oriol Servia will drive a second car for the team in the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500.
“I honestly couldn’t be any happier to announce that I will be entering the 99th Indianapolis 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” Servia said. “There is a saying in Spanish “A la tercera va la vencida” (Third time lucky) that I feel fits our effort very well. This will be our third attempt together to cross the most famous brickyard first after 500 miles. The first two efforts were very promising and encouraged all parties to go for it again with the most ambitious aspirations.
“I have followed closely all the changes that the team has gone through over the winter and I am really excited as I have worked with most of the new hires. I believe the whole team is perhaps the strongest and most talented group in the whole Indy car paddock. I must thank the whole team and especially the bosses, Mr. Rahal, Mr. Letterman and Mr. Lanigan for their confidence and support. I can’t wait to jump in the car and team up with Graham again. This will be a great month of May.”
The Pals, Spain native has driven for RLL in the past, running the Indianapolis 500 in 2009 and four races throughout last season. In 2009, he was up to ninth at halfway when a mechanical failure took him out of the race. Last year, he ran for RLL at Long Beach, Barber Motorsports Park and both events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He led seven laps in the road course event at IMS, finishing 12th, before finishing 11th in the Indianapolis 500.
Including the pair of starts with RLL, Servia has made a total of six previous starts in the Greatest Spectacle of Racing, with a best finish of fourth coming in 2012.
“Oriol is a very talented driver,” Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan, said. “He’s a smart driver and he’s got a lot of experience so we’re looking forward to bringing him back to run the Indy 500 with us for the third time. Having teamed with Graham before at Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and again last year, their setups seem to be quite similar so you can really take advantage of having a multi-car team. When we looked at who the best driver was to join us for the Indy 500, Oriol was our first choice. He’s competitive; he’s smart, has good race craft and brings it home.”
