PREMA Racing’s run of strong NTT INDYCAR Series results concluded after a tricky race day at the Milwaukee Mile for both Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman.
After a challenging qualifying run, Ilott, Shwartzman and the team were set for the 250-lap race around the oldest circuit on the NTT INDYCAR Series calendar.
Shwartzman started the race from 20th with Ilott 23rd, and both kept out of trouble in the early stages of the race during a pair of cautions in the opening dozen laps.
There was a sustained period of green-flag running from lap 16 until lap 105. In that time, an early pitstop for another driver triggered a sequence of stops, including for Ilott and Shwartzman.
This set the entire field onto a four-stop strategy in a race where tire wear was very high. Ilott made his first stop on lap 54 with Shwartzman a lap later.
The pair pitted just before the lap 105 caution, which meant they lost out as a result and dropped to the back of the order.
Ilott’s race sadly came to an early end with smoke out of the rear of the car after a mechanical issue just past the halfway point – bringing out another caution which Shwartzman pitted under.
The timing of this yellow worked in Shwartzman’s favour, and on the restart he was able to move his way up the order, gaining six places in the subsequent laps.
Shwartzman was among the last of the drivers to make his final stop – coming in on lap 194 for his last trip to the pits.
That was until a sudden rain shower just after the 200th lap. This brought out the caution and while most of the runners pitted for fresh tires, Shwartzman was among those who didn’t.
Shwartzman restarted from 18th for the run to the finish, a position he held until the chequered flag.
PREMA Racing’s debut IndyCar season concludes at Nashville Superspeedway next weekend, with the finale on August 31.
#83 ROBERT SHWARTZMAN
"We did what we could here in Milwaukee. We got affected twice by the yellow flags coming out. I tried to squeeze everything out of what I could with the car; I think balance-wise we managed to put it in a decent window, we just didn't have enough grip. We just lacked a bit of pace, but we did nice overtaking, some nice restarts and had some nice battles. Overall, the guys did good, consistent pitstops. My target was also to get some points in the Rookie of the Year battle. Unfortunately, because of the last yellow, I didn't manage to have the opportunity to battle with Louis Foster but we still have one more race to go in Nashville. We are close in points, so we'll have to do our best there and see how it plays out."
#90 CALLUM ILOTT
"We got put to the back by Race Control at the start due to a miscalculation with the GPS, which wasn’t an ideal start to our race. We were then cruising around trying to gain places. We had good pace on the long runs, which we weren’t able to make the most of because of the restarts. Then, we had the mechanical issue which put us out of the race. It is a shame, but we will put this weekend behind us and try to finish the season on a high in Nashville."