USA: Alexander Rossi Indianapolis race one notes

Alexander Rossi Battles Brilliantly at the Brickyard
New partners the Meyers Investment Group help Rossi retake third in the title-race after FBMWUSA Round 5

Indianapolis, IN -- The Indianapolis Motor Speedway's long front straight made for an nail-biting, slipstreaming classic of a race during Round 5 of the Formula BMWUSA championship. Alexander Rossi had a hard fight for his fourth place finish, and the outcome was decided by a mere eight hundredths of a second -- about 15 feet after 38 miles of wheel-to-wheel racing.

The opening laps were fraught, culminating in the leaders hurtling into Turn 1 four abreast at 1/3rd distance! Rossi -- on the outside -- was pushed wide in the tussle, lost momentum and with it a spot which he was unable to recover for several laps due to yellow flags at Turn 1. Instead the Californian made a bold move up the inside of turn 6, snatching fourth place in the process. Of course being in front made him a sitting duck down the start/finish straight and his rival slipstreamed back past.

The pair were rapidly catching the leading trio and with a couple of laps to go, Rossi saw his opportunity and grabbed it -- staying off the brakes deep into Turn 8 and sweeping around the outside! Even more astonishing was that somehow the 15-year-old kept his competitor from drafting back over the closing two laps -- the pair swapping position twice in the very last corner, Rossi's Meyers Investment Group machine crossing the line those precious few feet ahead.

Rossi was visibly delighted. "I moved back to third in the points so it's a good bounce-back after Montreal." He said. "I'm proud to be the leading American in this series and to be there with a company like the Meyers Investment Group behind me makes it all the more special. Now I want to take them to the top step of the podium, and I will be trying my hardest to do that tomorrow."

Alexander will start from fifth position in Round 6 of the FBMWUSA championship tomorrow morning, before the Formula 1 race in the afternoon.

-credit: www.alexanderrossi.com