In the inaugural Grand Prix of Baltimore nearly the entire field of IZOD IndyCar teams chose Performance Friction Carbon Metallic race pads in hopes of winning the highly anticipated event. When the checkered flag waved there could only be one winner though and that was Team Penske’s Will Power with PFC stopping power onboard. Power captured his 6th win of the season and cut Dario Franchitti’s championship lead to just 5 points with 3 races remaining. Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pads proved to be the best performing brake pad for the 2.1 mile street circuit. The advanced friction compound gave drivers the consistent feel and performance they needed to navigate the challenging course.
You wouldn’t have known how difficult the course was by watching Will Power though. Power made racing around the scenic Baltimore street course look easy by winning the pole on Saturday and then leading the most laps on Sunday. The track was far from easy on equipment though as numerous cars suffered damage in practice alone. Luckily for drivers and teams the race went much smoother than practice. There was only one notable incident when Ryan Briscoe got into Ryan Hunter-Reay and caused an 11-car traffic jam in turn 3. Briscoe was penalized for avoidable contact and sent to the rear of the pack for the restart. When the race went back to green everyone was able to race fairly clean to the finish. Power took the checkered flag 10.2096 seconds ahead of second place Orio Servia and third went to Tony Kanaan who fought back from an earlier practice crash.
Looking into the rearview mirror, the first annual Grand Prix of Baltimore turned out to be a big success with an estimated 150,000 fans in attendance over 3 days. Power was particularly impressed with the event as well. "That’s the best podium ceremony I’ve ever had in my career. Massive!" said Power. "So many people. On my cool down lap, I looked at every stand, absolutely full. They put on the best race we have had all year." Baltimore city leaders, the IndyCar officials and the fans were very happy with the event. The IZOD IndyCar Series drivers now turn their attention to Japan’s Twin Ring Motegi race course where they will race on September 17.
Performance Friction would like to congratulate Team Penske and Will Power on their hard earned victory and wish everyone the best of luck heading to Japan.
To learn more about Performance Friction products, visit www.performancefriction.com.
