Impressive qualifying continues for Foster in IndyCar

ONE Sports Management Group
Jul 22
3 min read

Louis Foster delivered another NTT IndyCar Series top 10 qualifying performance this time in Toronto, establishing himself as one of the series' most consistent qualifiers.

Foster, driver of the #45 Droplight Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda, narrowly missed out on the Firestone Fast Six in qualifying but managed seventh.

That brings his very impressive average over the last five races to 8.4, among best drivers in the series.

On the season his average is 12, and that includes a maiden IndyCar pole position at Road America earlier in the year.

“We had an issue in the first round and once we fixed that, we managed to get through to the Fast 12,” said Foster, who is backed by Copart, a global leader in online auto auctions.

“Once we were in the Fast 12, everyone had time to tune their car and make their balance good.

“We got one run on new tires and the balance just wasn’t that good. Had we had more time to prepare for that run and make some set-up changes for that session, we should have transferred to the Fast Six.

“Seventh isn’t that bad considering though, but I just wish we had made the Fast Six.”

Foster’s disappointment at not reaching the Fast Six shows how high his attainable targets are this year and that he is not content to settle.

Foster enjoyed a good start to the race, starting on the hard compound tyre he was running in second place up until his first pit stop. Unfortunately, shortly after the pit stop Foster was hit from behind which broke a suspension arm and he had to pit for lengthy repairs which took him out of contention for a top 10. He finished 21st.

Next up for Foster is Laguna Seca. It was the track where he delivered one of the best weekends of his career last year which was vital on the way to the Indy NXT by Firestone championship title.

In a double-header weekend he achieved the unimaginable feat of taking two pole positions, two fastest laps and two race wins creating a perfect clean-sweep of the weekend, something rarely done in elite level motorsport.

“Laguna was good to us last year and it was a big part of helping to win the championship,” said Foster, who will turn 22-years-old on race day in the Monterey event.

“That being said, we never go into an IndyCar weekend thinking about what we’ve done in a series in the past. IndyCar is a different level and we have to prepare accordingly.

“The series is so competitive that you have to fight for every result, and even if you’re perfect, there’s lots of things outside your control which can help or hinder you.

“Toronto was really strong for the team in terms of the package and the speed, so we’ll keep working together to build on that and improve. Our road course form has been strong lately, so we'll aim to build on that."

Watch Louis in action at Laguna Seca on Sky Sports F1 and Mix in the UK and on FOX in America.