Two women qualify for Indy 500

Two women qualify for Indy 500: Simona de Silvestro and Pippa Mann both making the starting grid for the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500.   The women will participate in the historic race, marking the 5th start for de Silvestro and the 4th for Mann.

Simona starts 19th (Row 7)

Simona de Silvestro put the No. 29 TE Connectivity Honda at the 19th starting position for Andretti Autosport with a 4-lap average of 223.838 mph in qualifying time trials.   This places her in the 7th row for race day.

Simona ran into some trouble early in practice week, when the rear of her race car caught on fire after exiting pit row in Tuesday’s practice session.    She was able to escape uninjured, and learned the fire was the result of a faulty buckeye, the component that reseals the fuel cell after a fuel stop.

Warmup:  221.296
Lap 1:  224.085
Lap 2:  223.660
Lap 3:  223.577
Lap 4:  224.032
Average: 223.838

Pippa Mann starts 28th (Row 10)

Pippa Mann was  able to secure the 28th starting position for Dale Coyne Racing in the #63 Susan G. Komen Honda entry.   Mann posted a 4-lap average of 223.104 mph during her qualifying efforts, placing her in Row 10 for the Indy 500.

Pippa also encountered difficulty during Indy practice, when she lost control exiting Turn 4 of the track and made contact with the entrance wall to pit row, before spinning up the track surface.    The team raced to get Mann back onto the track in time for qualifying.

Warmup:  220.257
Lap 1:  223.157
Lap 2:  222.870
Lap 3:  223.145
Lap 4:  223.242
Average: 223.104

Women qualify for the Indy 500

There have been 9 women qualify for the Indy 500 to date:

1. Janet Guthrie (3 starts)
2. Lyn St. James (7 starts)
3. Sarah Fisher (9 starts)
4. Danica Patrick  (7 starts)
5. Milka Duno (3 starts)
6. Simona de Silvestro (5 starts)
7. Ana Beatriz Figuereido (4 starts)
8. Pippa Mann (4 starts)
9. Katherine Legge (2 starts)

Source: Wikipedia