Gearbox failure ends Servia's day.

A gearbox problem ended a solid debut performance by Visteon/Patrick Racing driver Oriol Servia in Sunday's Molson Indy Vancouver leaving the Spaniard a disappointed 14th in the final standings.

The 28-year-old Spaniard, who signed to compete in five races for Visteon/Patrick Racing less than a week ago, started 15th getting himself back in the groove following a four month lay-off. On raceday, for once the Visteon Patrick entry was not the focus of attention in a race that saw many drivers strike the wall and Servia looked set to record a points finish when disaster struck.

A smooth consistent drive saw Servia climb into ninth place by the halfway point of the 100-lap contest, but suddenly, on lap 58, the car began to sputter. The problem was later diagnosed as an "unusual" gearbox failure.

"The Visteon/Patrick Racing car was doing great," Servia said. "We started 15th, but we were moving forward during the race. I was sitting in ninth place and I was really comfortable. Even on old tires I could drive a very good pace, so I was happy. It wasn't going to be a spectacular finish for the Visteon/Patrick Racing Team, but I think we could have placed in the top-six. Then we had a problem with the gearbox.

"It is a machine and sometimes they break. It was a shame because this was my first race in the Visteon/Patrick Racing car and I wanted to have a good race to thank Mr. Patrick for giving me this opportunity to race again," concluded Servia.