The daily newspaper The Indianapolis Star printed: "Luyendyk sets blistering pace".
Excerpts from a 2007 interview with Arie that appeared in the RTL GP magazine.
When I first got on the race track I thought "man, this car is hooked up". John, my engineer, liked to use a stiff suspension setup, stiffer that what the others were running. We had two sets of shock absorbers, but the one the car felt best with was leaking. And even though it was a small leak, it was enough to make us worry. We tried to run with the other set but I quickly chose to use the former and hope it would hold up.
We would need a bit of luck. I qualified third on the grid. During the first lap I cut Bobby Rahal off and that helped me a bit. I needed him to get off the gas and wanted to set the tone of my race. In the beginning I suffered from understeer but with each pit stop we got closer to the perfect setup, and at some point we were running quicker than during qualifying. I got wings! Rahal was 10 seconds ahead but after 10 laps I was right on his gearbox. I felt unstoppable. But I got blisters on my last set of tires. Even though I could not see them in the mirrors I could feel the vibration. With ten laps to go I found myself thinking of my parents who were at my in-laws watching the race on TV back in the Netherlands, if I could only take a peak at them. My father was a race fanatic, the type that if he had to sell the couch in order to buy tires, he would, and mom would have to sit on the floor. Just before the finish I thought "shit man, I am going to win a million bucks". Even though history showed that those who were leading with ten laps to go would never win the race, I felt invincible!
We would need a bit of luck. I qualified third on the grid. During the first lap I cut Bobby Rahal off and that helped me a bit. I needed him to get off the gas and wanted to set the tone of my race. In the beginning I suffered from understeer but with each pit stop we got closer to the perfect setup, and at some point we were running quicker than during qualifying. I got wings! Rahal was 10 seconds ahead but after 10 laps I was right on his gearbox. I felt unstoppable. But I got blisters on my last set of tires. Even though I could not see them in the mirrors I could feel the vibration. With ten laps to go I found myself thinking of my parents who were at my in-laws watching the race on TV back in the Netherlands, if I could only take a peak at them. My father was a race fanatic, the type that if he had to sell the couch in order to buy tires, he would, and mom would have to sit on the floor. Just before the finish I thought "shit man, I am going to win a million bucks". Even though history showed that those who were leading with ten laps to go would never win the race, I felt invincible!
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