Photo credit: Edmonton Sun

Edmonton, AB. August 5, 2011 – Following a hectic few weeks full of appearances, scrambling for sponsorship, and finally driving, Stefan Rzadzinski can now look back on his Indy Lights debut with a smile.

Friday morning was a complete downpour and the day was washed away. With only two days in the Indy Lights car behind him, which was his first ever two days in a car with slicks, downforce, and high power, it was a setback for Rzadzinski's program of getting up to speed.

The schedule was altered which led to the Indy Lights running only 30 minutes of practice Saturday morning, followed by 30 minutes of qualifying an hour later and Race 1 very shortly after that. It did not leave much time to debrief each session, but Rzadzinski worked his best to make the most of the situation. Without much track time and some issues with the car, Rzadzinski set off for his first ever Indy Lights race. Starting from the back of the pack, Rzadzinski kept it clean and finished in 10th. In the end, he had one spin which put him a lap down, but drove consistently and learned more about the car and track throughout the race. It was only until after the race where some of the issues that Stefan was having could be resolved. Nonetheless, he was pleased with a top 10 in his Indy Lights debut.

After dealing with a few of the issues Saturday afternoon, the car felt much better for Rzadzinski on Sunday morning for Race 2 of the weekend. Increasing his speed and maintaining consistency, Rzadzinski drove hard for the entire 40 lap race which was caution free and finished 13th.


"What a blast the last few weeks have been." said Rzadzinski. "I really wish we had Friday practice as I really believe we could have matched the pace we had on Sunday by the end of Friday practice. I was still off pace a bit, but my comfort level in the car was much more in Sunday's race than at any point in the weekend. Saturday was really a blur and we only found out at the end of Race 1 why I was having an issue with downshifting. Unfortunately, the hectic pace of the day and our inexperience did not allow us to fully look over the data we needed to figure things out quicker."

"However, I am very pleased with how we progressed in every session this weekend. I know with more seat time I can be competitive at the Indy Lights level and now we will look to 2012 to try and put a full season together!

I have to thank everyone that put their faith in me to take this huge step from the Skip Barber Race Series to the Indy Lights level. It's an enormous leap up in competition and I have to say a special thank you to Octane Motorsports Events for putting on a great show at the Edmonton Indy and for supporting me for this event. I also have to thank Northgate Industries, CSP Engineering, Grant MacEwan University, SuperTint, Shelemey Financial, Grote, Londonderry Dental Clinic, Lube-X, Diamond International Trucks, and all of my supporters who helped make this event possible. Finally, I have to thank the City of Edmonton and all of the people who came out to support me. The stands were very busy for our races and the support was tremendous. I hope to be back here next year and for years to come!"

Rzadzinski will now finish off the season with the last three weekends in the Skip Barber Summer Series recommencing August 12-13 at Lime Rock Park. 

For more information about Stefan Rzadzinski's programs and future plans, please see contact below.

Sponsorship or Driver Inquiries:

Brian Marks, TopSpeed Management LLC

brian@topspeedmanagement.com

C: 513-262-0692