Practice at Indianapolis : Tuesday Report
Marco and Team Venom Energy clocked in at 225.751 mph for P3 during today's practice    
     Marco said: "I think we're getting there, but it's still quite early for the Venom car. I'd say our time today was in a tow but, then again, so were most of the top-10 times. The good thing is that we've been checking things off our list, both good and bad. So we're getting a lot of answers on things in testing and that's what we're here to do. We're also trying to prepare for the warmer weather that's supposed to be coming.

We know that as it gets hotter it's going to be less downforce on the car. We're trying to find the most mechanical grip as possible now so when balance comes into play we'll have done the right thing."

Opening weekend at IMS has come and gone with Marco and the Venom Energy Crew putting the #26 in the top ten during both practice sessions.

Practice will continue this week, as weather allows, from noon-6pm daily in preparation for Pole Day on Saturday, May 22. From 11-4pm drivers will fill the first 24 spots. At 4pm the Nine fastest cars of the day will have their times erased and head out for another 2 hours. At 6pm the Pole Award will be given to the fastest of those 9 drivers.

MarcoZone.com will be up-to-date daily with news, schedules & quotes from Marco, so visit often! Don't forget to check the Events section to see what Meijer Stores Marco will be at during the month, blog on your personal page about your visits to the track and upload pictures for all members to enjoy. Be sure to visit the Online Store for specially designed Marco merchandise not available at any track this season.

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Road Runner Turbo Indy 300
Marco finished P13 at the Kansas International Speedway, after starting the Grand Prix of Kansas at the back of the pack.

Marco said "I think the theme of the day was salvage. The positive is that we gained 13 positions from start to finish and on a normal day that's great. But, when you're starting at the back of the pack it takes more than that. We're still missing something in the Venom car, so we'll just have to take what we learned this weekend and move forward. We'll refocus now on winning the big one at the end of the month."

MA qualified the #26 Venom Energy car in 11th place for the Kansas GP, but along with Dan Wheldon he was judged to have crossed the white line at the bottom of the track during his qualifying run, and placed at the back of the grid.

"We didn't work much today on our qualifying setup. With the limited practice time we decided to really focus on the race car. That considered, it's not a bad run for the Venom boys, but it could have been better, for sure. We had a problem with the rear bar not locking in and the car jumping soft on me which caused understeer. I think we lost some time there but the car is only going to go as fast as it's going to go."


INDY GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH
Andretti Autosport made a long-awaited return to victory lane as Ryan Hunter-Reay took the victory. The team's last victory coming at Richmond in June 2008, when they were under the Andretti-Green banner, with Tony Kanaan.

In the #26 Marco Andretti worked hard on a circuit that's very difficult to overtake without some kind of impact, and failed to crack the top 10. “Today was just one of those days when things don't go your way,” said Andretti, who suffered slight wing damage very early in the race and finished 14th.

“Track position was so important and we just kept giving it away. We bent the front wing twice and had to change the whole front nose so that set us back. We just weren't able to get back where we needed to be. It was a disappointing finish for the Venom car but a great day for team. Ryan (Hunter-Reay) drove a great race and had a strong car. I'm really happy to see Andretti Autosport in victory lane."

INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA
Marco started strongly and raced hard at the Barber Motorsports Park and led 58 laps. Marco lost the lead as it became clear that he couldn't make it home without a later full course caution. The caution came just too late to help the #26 Venom Energy team take their first race win of 2010.

Marco said to Versus afterwards: "Each time Helio went longer than me and longer than me and that was the difference. He was able to run that much more and we fell a bit short. Would have been close but for that last yellow so I'm a little disappointed. We have to be happy to put this car in the top five after our disaster on the road courses last year, so we'll just keep pushing forward.

"We're working, four (teammates) together, to keep trying to improve these race cars. We're still a little bit off as far as pace goes but... on to Long Beach."

MARCO BEGINS NEW RACER MAGAZINE COLUMN
Marco on his season opener at Sao Paulo, and the improvements at St. Pete. He's also looking forward to the next race at Barber Motorsports Park this month.

"Right now, we're thinking about Barber Motorsports Park, a track we've never raced on before, and you know what? I'm feeling pretty positive, pretty confident. We went reasonably well there in testing, and it's our first natural road course of the year, so it's going to be interesting to see if that brings us closer to the Penske and Ganassi cars. Will Power's seemingly in a league of his own at the moment, but I think the opposition is human. There's no one we can't take on when we get everything 100 percent correct."
READ THE FULL COLUMN HERE

HONDA GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
MARCO COMES HOME TWELVETH
Marco started strongly in the rain-delayed Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg, making the most of a drying track. Marco quickly raced to the front, and led a few early laps. The turning point for the #26 was a tire failure mid-race. By the time Marco had taken the car into the pits for a replacement he was well behind the field and chasing the pack.

Marco explained: "The Venom car started the race really strong, but then unfortunately we caught a cut tire. Track position is really important here and we had great position, but the cut tire caused us to lose that. That was really the turning point for us, but at the same time I can't say we had the best-handling car on the track. We were looking good for a while. Things just didn't go our way."

The sixth Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was postponed 18 hours because of more than 4 inches of rain that overwhelmed the temporary street circuit March 28 and, in conjunction with lightning, created unsafe conditions for race participants and fans.

Andretti started in P6 at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg after a strong showing in Saturday's qualifying run.

Marco said after qualifying ""After where we were starting last year we obviously have to be happy to have the Venom car in the Firestone Fast Six.  We made the right calls in the first two sessions and then had a slight error in set up on the last run.  We just couldn't get the speed we needed for Pole but I'm still pleased with where we're starting.  Andretti Autosport is starting to show some pace and it's great to see Tony in the front row."

Former Firestone Indy Lights race winner at St. Petersburg (2005), Marco had one front-row start and one top-five finish (fourth) in an IZOD IndyCar Series car, both coming in 2007. Before race weekend he said:
"I have high hopes for Team Venom Energy this weekend.  I've always enjoyed the St. Pete circuit and I won there in Firestone Indy Lights so I'm confident that we can be successful.  I was really pleased with our car in Brazil and, had we been able to race, I really do believe we would have been a contender at the finish.  The team as a whole had strong cars and some bad luck, but I think Ryan's finish was a great energy boost for everyone.  It was our first race as the new team and we were able to show that we have four cars and four drivers capable of running up front."

MARCO'S SEASON DEBUT ENDS EARLY
Marco Andretti escaped injury after being involved in a scary accident at the start of the Sao Paulo Indy 300 on Sunday. The car of Brazil's Mario Moraes span and crashed on the back of Andretti's slowing car as they approached the first chicane after the start. Moraes' car finished on top of Andretti's and they slid tangled for several yards. Photo

The bottom of Moraes' car appeared to be touching Andretti's helmet. It took more than five minutes for officials to remove Moraes' car so the medical team could attend to Andretti, who eventually was able to walk away from the scene. Andretti was briefly taken to the medical center and then released. Photo

Marco said he slowed down because he could not see in front of him as other drivers made contact approaching the first turn and threw a lot of dust into the air. "It's obviously dusty," he said. "I think if you have any common sense, you're not going to stay flat out if you can't see the car ahead of you."

MARCO SHINES AT PAUL RICARD
On the 7th and 8th of March, REBELLION Racing attended the 2010 Le Mans Series official test days that were held at Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track. For the first time this season, all of the Swiss team's Lola-Rebellion #12 car drivers were together: Marco Andretti, Neel Jani and Nicolas Prost


Photo: Lola/David Lord

The performance shown by both Lola-Rebellions met the team's expectations, despite unusual winter weather. The fresh air and the cold track meant that it wasn't possible to keep the tyres at optimum temperature levels. As with all the other teams present, the tire testing program had to be limited.

This first day of practice allowed each driver to accumulate miles and familiarise themselves with the Lola B10/60 - Rebellion. Marco Andretti and Guy Smith coming directly from the United States to turn their first laps.

Marco Andretti was quickly at ease with the Lola-Rebellion # 12, achieving promising lap times, just one second off fastest time on day two.

Mario Andretti, Marco's grandfather, warms his hands on the LMP1 tires! Photo: Lola/David Lord

INDYCAR TESTING AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS
Marco said after a two-day IZOD IndyCar Series Open Test at Barber Motorsports Park: "The Venom car laid a good foundation in practice yesterday and we were able to really build on that today. I think we’re still a couple small changes away from being in the ballpark, but we learned a lot this weekend. I’m looking forward to Brazil and putting what we’ve learned to good use."
The IZOD Series opens March 14 on the street course in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to be followed by the street course in St. Petersburg on March 28. The session at the 2.38-mile Barber track was held ahead of the series debut there at the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama in April.

The Barber race is the third race of the season and is scheduled for 2 p.m

See news, photos and videos at Marco's fanzone and on our website Twitter page.

MARCO GOES TO LE MANS IN JUNE
REBELLION Racing have announced today their full driver lineup for the forthcoming 78th edition of Le Mans 24 Hours. American Marco Andretti will drive alongside Frenchman Nicolas Prost and Neel Jani from Switzerland in one of the teams Lola-Rebellion LMP1 during the legendary endurance race.

Team Manager, Bart Hayden, welcomed Marco to the team, "we believe that Marco will fit perfectly with his two co-drivers in the #12 Lola-Rebellion. He has shown that he has the ability to compete at the highest level of motorsport. All three drivers in the #12 Lola raced at the same time in the A1GP series so they know each other from those days. When we get to Le Mans, Marco will be able to draw on the experience of the rest of the guys in the team and we are looking forward to seeing him in the car at the Paul Ricard test in March." FULL PRESS RELEASE

MARCO CONTINUES NEW RACER MAGAZINE COLUMN
Marco on his race at Kansas, and the special race that is the Indianapolis 500.

"That's the thing about Indy: there's so much luck involved, and our family hasn't had the best of it through the decades. So when I say we'll need luck, I mean it in May more than at any other time…" READ FULL COLUMN

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PRE-SEASON MARCO INTERVIEW


"I think the Meijer car ran really well these past couple of days. I think we are taking the right approach at this test; we are making big changes and getting clear results. There are times during a race weekend where we need to make these types of big changes and time is not on our side. So, I think we are going to be able to show up this season with a better idea of our baselines and that will allow us to be a step ahead."
MARCO, After tests at BMP.