» IndyCars: Grid penalty for Kanaan

Tony Kanaan has been demoted six places from his original qualifying position for a rules infringement ahead of today’s Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300.

Having originally qualified 15th for today’s race, the Brazilian was found to have made an illegal front wing change during qualifying, a direct contravention of the sport’s rules which earned him a trip to the back of the grid.

Curiously, the penalty was still applied even though the KV Racing Team made the change on apparent safety grounds, and in all likelihood the penalty is probably more to do with not following due process in gaining permission from the race officials.

“During our first outing the team noticed that according to our telemetry there was something wrong with the front wing of the car,” Kanaan is quoted as saying.

“I came in and the team swapped wings, but I ran out of time to get a good lap. After the qualifying was over we were informed that we got penalised because of the wing change.

“It will be a long day tomorrow, but this track is good for overtaking, so I’m confident that we’ll improve during the race.”

Kanaan’s KV Racing team-mates Takuma Sato and EJ Viso will start the race from 10th and 26th respectively.