| Sebastian Saavedra | |
|---|---|
Sebastian Saavedra at the 2011 Indy 500 |
|
| Nationality | Colombian |
| Born | June 2, 1990 Bogotá, Colombia |
| 2012 Izod Indy Car Series | |
| Debut season | 2010 |
| Current team | Conquest Racing |
| Car no. | 34 |
| Former teams | Bryan Herta Autosport |
| Starts | 16 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Best finish | 25th in 2011 |
| Previous series | |
| 2009-2010 2008 2008 2007 2006-2007 2006-2007 |
Indy Lights ATS Formel 3 Cup Austrian Formula 3 Formula BMW Asia Formula BMW USA Formula BMW ADAC |
| Awards | |
| 2009 | Indy Lights Rookie of the Year |
Sebastian Saavedra (born June 2, 1990) is a Colombian racing driver of Portuguese and Korean origin from Bogotá.
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After a childhood in karting, Saavedra drove in Formula BMW USA for Gelles Racing, finishing 11th in points. He also drove in two races in Formula BMW ADAC and competed in the Formula BMW World Final, finishing 32nd. In 2007 he switched teams in Formula BMW USA to Eurointernational and captured one win and finished 12th in points despite only competing in 8 of 14 races. He also competed in 6 Formula BMW Asia races capturing 3 wins, two races in Formula BMW ADAC, and finished 4th in the Formula BMW World Final. In 2008 he moved to ATS Formel 3 Cup and finished 2nd in points with 3 wins for HS Technik Motorsport. He also competed in a number of Austrian Formula Three Championship races and finished 9th in points.
In 2009 he signed to drive in the American Firestone Indy Lights Series in 2009 for defending championship team AGR-AFS Racing alongside teammate J. R. Hildebrand. He captured his first Indy Lights win in the fourth race of the season and the first on an oval, at Kansas Speedway in April. In July he won from the pole on the streets of Toronto.
He returned to the series in 2010 for Bryan Herta Autosport and made his IndyCar Series debut in the 2010 Indianapolis 500 driving for the same team.[1] Saavedra was on the bubble during most of qualifying during bump day, and crashed during practice laps while waiting for other drivers to attempt to qualify. While he was in the hospital being checked out, and with no working car to attempt to re-qualify, Saavedra appeared out of the race when Tony Kanaan bettered his time knocking him out of the field. However, when both Paul Tracy and Jay Howard withdrew their successful qualifying times and failed to re-qualify (both felt they would be knocked out by other drivers if they did not improve), Saavedra improbably ended up back in position thirty-three and in the race when time ran out for attempts.[2] Saavedra crashed out in a single car accident on lap 159 and was credited with 23rd place in the race. The following month, Saavedra captured Bryan Herta Autosport's second Indy Lights win in the AvoidTheStork.com 100 at Iowa Speedway.
On September 4th 2010, Sebastian Saavedra officially terminated his contract with Bryan Herta Autosport due to the team's inability to meet contract standards after a string of car failures and negative results.
Saavedra competed in the IndyCar Series season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway for Conquest Racing. He signed on to return to Conquest for the full 2011 IndyCar Series season in the team's #34 car.[3] Driving for the single-car Conquest team, Saavedra's best finish was eleventh in the 2011 São Paulo Indy 300. Saavedra failed to qualify for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 while his one-off teammate Pippa Mann successfully qualified for the race. He was replaced in the Conquest car by João Paulo de Oliveira for the Motegi race and Dillion Battistini at the Kentucky Speedway, but returned to the car for the season finale in Las Vegas, which was cancelled after Dan Wheldon's fatal crash. Saavedra finished 25th in the final championship standings.
(key)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | AGR-AFS Racing | STP 1 26 |
STP 2 2 |
LBH 8 |
KAN 1 |
INDY 5 |
MIL 3 |
IOW 15 |
WGL 18 |
TOR 1 |
EDM 3 |
KTY 2 |
MDO 18 |
SNM 7 |
CHI 6 |
HMS 3 |
3rd | 446 |
| 2010 | Bryan Herta Autosport | STP 12 |
ALA 3 |
LBH 4 |
INDY 9 |
IOW 1 |
WGL 3 |
TOR 14 |
EDM 6 |
MDO 5 |
SNM 15 |
CHI 11 |
KTY |
HMS |
8th | 303 |
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Bryan Herta Autosport | SAO |
STP |
ALA |
LBH |
KAN |
INDY 23 |
TXS |
IOW |
WGL |
TOR |
EDM |
MDO |
SNM |
CHI |
KTY |
MOT |
33rd | 29 | ||
| Conquest Racing | HMS 16 |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Conquest Racing | STP 13 |
ALA 26 |
LBH 14 |
SAO 11 |
INDY DNQ |
TXS1 28 |
TXS2 29 |
MIL 23 |
IOW 20 |
TOR 25 |
EDM 16 |
MDO 27 |
NHM 15 |
SNM 14 |
BAL 13 |
MOT |
KTY |
LVS |
25th | 178 |
| Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums (Non-win) |
Top 10s (Non-podium) |
Indianapolis 500 Wins |
Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Dallara | Honda | 32 | 23 | Bryan Herta Autosport |
| 2011 | Dallara | Honda | DNQ | Conquest Racing | |