PREMA Racing will look to move forward for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland after a difficult session for the team in the final road course qualifying of the year.
The two drivers – Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman – were in separate groups for Saturday’s session. Shwartzman was in the first group with Ilott in the second.
After the run on his first set of red-sidewalled tires, Shwartzman was running sixth with a best time of 59.136.
On his second set, his first flying lap was a few tenths slower than his fastest effort. During his final lap, Shwartzman crashed at the final corner after locking up and brought out a red flag.
This wiped out his two best times and relegated him towards the rear of the field for Sunday’s race.
Ilott’s session also started brightly but concluded in disappointment. After putting in competitive times on the black-sidewalled tires, he did not improve on the red tires as much as his rivals and slipped down the order to 12th in the group.
Ilott and Shwartzman will start Sunday's 110-lap race from 24th and 25th respectively, which begins at 15:22 Eastern time.
#83 ROBERT SHWARTZMAN
"It was a difficult session as a whole. We opted to do two runs on the red tires, and things were looking okay after the first runs. We struggled to improve on the second set, and then unfortunately I had a moment in the last corner which resulted in hitting the wall and bringing out the red flag. It has put us at the back, and I am sorry to the team. We need to make the most of Final Practice later today and see what we can do tomorrow as we know the races can be very chaotic in Portland."
#90 CALLUM ILOTT
"The black tires were really good. We built up some momentum, and then I really expected quite a bit more when we went into the reds. I just don't think we got the tire preparation right. Something was missing and we just missed a lot of grip on the rear, and it's so tight here in qualifying that every little bit makes a difference. It is a shame not to build off the speed on the blacks, but it is what it is and we will look to move forward tomorrow."