Interview: Sebastian Saavedra - IndyCar's Next Big Thing

For the past two years, Sebastian Saavedra has been establishing himself as one of the brightest young talents heading up the Road to Indy ladder.

Since coming stateside in 2009, joining the illustrious AFS Racing program in the Firestone Indy Lights Series, Saavedra has posted two wins and two top-10 finishes in the championship, coming third in 2009 and eighth this year. This year's finish was even more remarkable considering the fact that he missed the final two races of the season after leaving Bryan Herta Autosport.

Saavedra made his IndyCar debut in the 2010 Indianapolis 500 for Herta's team, and returned to the series at the end of the year with Conquest Racing. After a strong American debut in 2009, Saavedra spent much of 2010 assembling a strong team of advisors; his new manager in America is longtime IndyCar mechanic and team owner Derrick Walker, while two-time Indianapolis 500 runner-up and Colombian countryman Roberto Guerrero serves as a driver coach.

Saavedra is currently home in Colombia relaxing after a hard-fought 2010 campaign, while also attempting to put together a program that will see him compete for IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2011. In between travel obligations, Saavedra agreed to an interview with us, and we're happy to provide the transcript below.

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First things first: how and when did you get your start in auto racing?

SS: I started when I was 8 with an uncle who bought me a go-kart. My dad wasn't very into the idea of racing so I needed to wait couple of years before he got the bug. I did the racing school and surprised many heads around so my career started right away here in bogota, colombia.

You’ve taken wins in Formula BMW, Formula 3, and Firestone Indy Lights cars. How do these very different cars compare to one another? Was one type of car easier to drive than the others? Faster?

SS: I would say there's no easy car to drive. They all have their secrets and their way to be driven. Of course the speed changed with each class cause of the HP but they all had their charm. I really enjoyed the F3 as it was the nicest, lightest and with more Down-force.

You drove for Andretti Autosport in 2009 before moving to BHA this year. How were the two teams different from one another? Did you have to work with one team differently than with the other?

SS: They were both very professional teams with a particular goal in hand. Win. As a driver you need to change with the situation and scenery. Andretti was a very interesting experience in every way.

By now everybody knows that your season with Bryan Herta Autosport in Indy Lights did not end as well as either side would have hoped. Can you explain why things went downhill, and how your relationship with the team ended?

SS: The relationship never ended, things happened and were unfortunate. We were more focused on the IndyCar program than Indy Lights and sometimes it hurt but I enjoyed driving for a great driver I followed when i was younger and he gave me the opportunity to do the Indy 500 which I will never forget.

Do you have any regrets about the way that things ended with BHA?

SS: Not at all. This is a very professional bussiness and we both understand the paths we need to take to keep our success. Bryan is an amazing guy with lots of future, maybe not with me.

After that, you worked with Conquest Racing and Derrick Walker for this year’s season finale at Homestead. Were you pleased with the way things went at Homestead? What was it like working with a new team for only one race weekend?

SS: Was by far the nicest experience I've had in a long time. Was very risky as we left it all in the table but thank god all went our way. Conquest Racing gave me the right material and engineering to show all my potential which I'm very thankful. Derrick Walker managing me from now on is a big honor aswell as I admire his working scenario and ethics.

Do some of the things you learned driving in Indy Lights translate to the bigger IndyCars, or are they completely different?

SS: I got to say that the Firestone Indy Lights was the best school possible to move up into the IndyCar. It's very close on the way of driving the cars and gives you a very good idea on how its going to be when you get to the big cars. So yes it does translate many things.

Looking forward to next season, you have said that you will be racing full-time in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Do you have sponsorship lined up already? Can you give us any insight on which team you might be driving for? Are Conquest and Walker options for next year?

SS: Mr. Derrick Walker is not part of Conquest Racing, he is my manager. We are still working very hard on getting the right sponsorship and we have good team options that we are already finishing with but thats as much as I can give you right now ;)

Growing up in Colombia, I’m sure you had some different racing idols growing up than some American drivers did. Who are some of the drivers that have influenced you?

SS: For sure Montoya was one of the big drivers I followed since I started as he put the sport on the map here in Colombia. I've always been a big fan of TK and as I lived in Brasil for cuople of years he became very big for me.

Obviously IndyCar is mostly an American series, so you spend a lot of time in the States during the racing season. How often do you travel home to Colombia during the racing season?

SS: I'm living in Indianapolis the complete season. I like this as I can keep very focused on my gym and engineering. I usually go to Colombia when theres a sponsor event or any important deal going on, so usually I hope to go down a lot. HA

Your management group includes Derrick Walker, and earlier this year you had former Colombian IndyCar driver Roberto Guerrero as a driving coach. How much does it help to have two people with that much experience in IndyCar helping your career along?

SS: It's great to have such an interesting group of people behind me as they give me great confidence with the amount of experience they have to give. Im very pleased on their work and want to continue close together for a long time.

Anything you’d like to tell your fans?

SS: There's something very important I've been giving my fans and its the pleasure of dreaming! When you dream very hard and wish something, with lots of work everything is possible.

Finally, what are your goals for the future? You’ve said that an Indy 500 win is one of your goals, but beyond that, are you looking to go to Formula One someday? Any other championships or races you’d like to win?

SS: F1 for sure is my big goal. Something I've often heard its just too hard to get but my dad has always said.." if it was easy anyone could do it' I go by that principle and work on it. I want to win more than one IndyCar championship and be a positive Colombian figure to follow.

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Thanks once again to Seb for agreeing to do the interview, and we at OWA wish him the best of luck in 2011 and beyond. Check out his personal website at http://www.ssaavedra.com, and be sure to follow his Twitter account at @sebsaavedra.

Indy Lights Field Expands at Homestead

For much of the 2010 season, the Firestone Indy Lights Series has struggled to produce a solid car count. In the majority of races, only 14 cars have taken the green flag - four from Sam Schmidt Motorsports, two apiece with Team Moore Racing, Andretti Autosport/AFS Racing, and Bryan Herta Autosport, and single-car entries from Andersen Racing, PDM Racing, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, and Walker Racing.

However, the season-ending Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka 100 at Homestead-Miami Speedway will see a number of new faces and a handful of new entries, bring the car count up to 17.

Some of the "new" names on the grid are, in fact, not new to the series at all. Dillon Battistini will pilot the lone Bryan Herta Autosport entry in the race, the No. 28 Dallara, while Arie Luyendyk Jr. will race once again in the No. 24 Dallara of Alliance Motorsports. Meanwhile, Wade Cunningham will reprise his Freedom 100 cameo in Sam Schmidt's No. 77 Dallara, hoping to back up a victory in the series' biggest race with another in its season finale. Finally, Sean Guthrie will return to the series in Andersen Racing's No. 4 Dallara, running this race for that team for the second year in a row.

Davey Hamilton Racing is the big expansion entry for the weekend, as USAC drivers Brandon Wagner and Henry Clarke will drive their No. 32 and No. 34 Dallaras, respectively. Wagner has competed on and off in the series with Hamilton for the past couple of years, while Clarke will be making his series debut, fresh off his first career USAC Sprint Car win at the Toledo Speedway this past July.

Daniel Herrington's Indy Lights career has also been resurrected; after a pinch-hit performance for BHA at Kentucky, replacing the departed Sebastian Saavedra, Herrington will run the season finale in the No. 36 O2 Racing Technology Dallara. It will be O2's third event of the year, following starts with David Martinez at Mid-Ohio and Sonoma.

The creation of the No. 34 team for this event makes a grand total of 24 cars that have competed in at least one Firestone Indy Lights race this season. Those missing from the Homestead entry list include the No. 5 of Andersen Racing, the No. 6 of HVM Racing, the No. 8 of Michael Crawford Motorsports, the No. 17 of Team E, the No. 29 of Bryan Herta Autosport, and the Nos. 35 and 37 of Team PBIR.

Saavedra Returns to IndyCar at Homestead

After leaving Bryan Herta Autosport midway through the Firestone Indy Lights round at Kentucky Speedway, Sebastian Saavedra has landed on his feet for the Cafes do Brazil Indy 300, this year's IZOD IndyCar Series finale, at Homestead.

Saavedra will pilot the No. 36 Dallara-Honda for Conquest Racing, with the help of fan sponsorship contributions and a sponsor list that includes Laboratories Sumimed, Autoniza, Smart Life, Skullcandy, Mobil 1, Coldeportes, and Seringel, according to a tweet sent yesterday.

At Conquest, he will drive alongside Bertrand Baguette, team owner Eric Bachelart's pet project, who has progressed into a respectable IndyCar driver despite missing the first two races of the season and joining the series with zero prior oval experience. It will be Saavedra's second IndyCar race of the season, following an Indianapolis 500 appearance with BHA that saw him start last and finish 23rd after an accident.

Saavedra becomes the fourth driver to pilot Conquest's second car since Mario Romancini was let go due to funding issues. Prior to his signing, Francesco Dracone, Tomas Scheckter, and Roger Yasukawa have all driven the second car for the team, which typically brings on pay-drivers to make the grid due to a lack of sponsorship.

Meanwhile, Herta has not yet settled on a replacement driver for his Indy Lights team, though Daniel Herrington, the team's 2009 lead driver and Saavedra's last-minute replacement for Kentucky, will likely get the call.

Saavedra Out at Bryan Herta Autosport

Daniel Herrington will step into the No. 29 William Rast Dallara for Bryan Herta Autosport in tonight's Firestone Indy Lights Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

Herrington, who drove full-time for the team last year and has thus far been without a ride this season, replaces Sebastian Saavedra, who is leaving the team. Saavedra currently ranks fifth in Indy Lights points, with one win at Iowa. Herrington placed seventh in the standings last year, with a win at Chicago. Saavedra and Herrington finished second and sixth at the Kentucky race last year, respectively.

This marks the second impromptu driver change of the season for BHA, who replaced their other driver, Stefan Wilson, at Sonoma due to sponsorship woes. His replacement, Joel Miller, finished a respectable ninth. Wilson has since returned to the team.

The team has not yet settled on a driver for the season finale at Homestead, though Herrington is the likely choice.

According to 16th and Georgetown's Twitter account, Saavedra's father broke the news to team owner Bryan Herta last night.

“This turn of events has come to me, our sponsor and our entire race team as quite a surprise. Needless to say I am deeply disappointed," Herta said. "We greatly appreciate and admire Daniel’s willingness to step into our No. 29 William Rast Indy Lights entry on extremely short notice.”

Saavedra updated his own Twitter account today with the following: "As many will ask. Yes I will not be racing for the rest of the season with Bryan Herta Autosport. Was a tough decision but it's made. After last races things haven't gone the way they should. And at last my managers and main sponsor made the decision to stop to not continue harming my racing career and name.. I'm frustrated and sad to break up the news but that's it."

Saavedra continued, "I'm very thankful to all my mechanics, and engineers. Unfortunately things did not work contract wise but I will still be working hard to bring my countries name high!"

Saavedra was slow in the second practice session for today's Drive Smart. Buckle Up Kentucky 100, having turned a best lap nearly four miles per hour off the pace of leader James Hinchcliffe. He did not post a time in the first practice session and was one of three drivers not to make a qualifying run.