David Martinez completed the second day of activities for the Lexmark Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise by qualifying on the ninth row for Sunday’s race.  After being off the race tracks for almost a year, Martinez has used this race weekend to adapt to the 750 horsepower Champ Cars in this complicated circuit which is considered by many to be one of the toughest in the world.

During qualifying the Mexican driver improved from his Friday time by 1.7 seconds by lapping the 2.795 mile street circuit in 1m33.892s.  The rookie will continue his Champ Car adaptation during the races where for the first time with this chassis he will have to save fuel, complete pit stops and standing starts. 

David Martinez
#7 INDECK Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone 1m33.892s / 107.466 mph / 172.466 kmh
Qualified 17th
“It’s definitely been a difficult weekend so far but we were expecting that. Everybody knows that this is the hardest track to come to as a rookie, especially for me since I’ve been out of a car for almost a year.  I’ve managed to pick up speed every time I go out and I’ve been closing the gap but I still need more laps around this place and with this car, I also need to figure out where the limit is with new Bridgestone Reds.  I’m happy because I haven’t made any mistakes and I know that that will pay off tomorrow during the race.  I’m not starting where I wanted but it’s a long day tomorrow and I know that if I can keep my nose clean, drive consistent laps and save fuel we can achieve a good result.  All in all I’m just enjoying being back in Champ Car and every single lap in this cars makes me better and I know that we will be quite strong for Mexico, which is a track that I already know.”