Two flat tyres frustrate Jack Harvey in Detroit

Sunday was one to forget for Jack Harvey.

Meyer Shank Racing driver Jack Harvey completed his first-ever race start on the streets of Belle Isle on Saturday, claiming 16th place in the first of two NTT IndyCar Series races on the weekend.

However, he finished 19th on Sunday after a frustrating race, suffering two flat tyres after being hit by rival cars.

Gaining speed and experience with every lap on the 2.35-mile Detroit street course, Harvey continued to show improvement on board the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda.

After being slowed by two red flag periods, the race lasted just over three hours.

Harvey had just 75-minutes of practice on Friday ahead of the busy double-header event weekend to get familiar with the bumpy, high speed circuit. Qualifying on row 10 for Saturday’s race, Harvey took the green flag as the field made it through the initial laps without issue.

Three laps after Harvey’s lap 25 pit stop the race was red flagged to make repairs to the wall after an impact in turn six.

With the race on hold for nearly an hour to make proper repairs to the wall, the race was restarted with 42 laps remaining. The strategy call from the team placed Harvey P7 for the restart where he held the No. 60 Indy Car in the top 10 through his final stop on Lap 42.

A second red flag set up a final six laps to the finish as Harvey restarted from 15th and came home in 16th.

“I’m not really sure I’ve been a part of a race like that before,” said the Bassingham driver.

“I thought we were looking pretty good leading up to all the melee.”

Unfortunately, Sunday’s race got off to a slow start on lap one when the a rival made contact with the his Honda and punctured the right rear tyre.

Harvey limped his vehicle around the 2.35-mile circuit under yellow until the pits were open to the field.

He suffered a similar fate later in the race and had to replace another tyre.

“When we had clear track, I thought we had good pace,” said Harvey.

“Really unfortunate, but it’s time to move on from Detroit.”

Harvey will compete at the Rev Group Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday.