INDIANAPOLIS (9 May 2015 ) – Justin Wilson made his return to Verizon IndyCar Series action with Andretti Autosport this weekend, piloting the No. 25 Andretti Autosport Honda-Dallara in the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Saturday.

After not having competed in the opening rounds of Verizon IndyCar Series competition,  Wilson was warmly welcomed back by fans and his competitors alike as he prepared for his Month of May program with Andretti Autosport. Wilson made quick work of learning the new Honda aero kit with a pair of productive days ahead of Saturday’s 82-lap Grand Prix and was hoping to continue to make progress at the start of the race.

But he unfortunately was instead caught up in an incident in the first turn when a spinning Scott Dixon created chaos in Turn 1 that saw cars colliding in an accordion affect, leaving Wilson to play catch up throughout most of the race.

The No. 25 Andretti Autosport Honda needed a new wing after the contact and the popular Briton was forced to pit lane early. Along with the wing change, the No. 25 machine topped off on fuel and returned for the restart 23rd in line. He ran as high as 11th through a long green flag run as different pit strategies played out during the 82-lap event.

Unfortunately for Wilson and his Andretti Autosport team, an issue with the gearbox ultimately took the team out of the race early and he was credited with a 24th place finishing position.

“It was a tough race today, unfortunately I got caught up in the stack up down in Turn 1 and ended up breaking off the endplate,” said Wilson. “I thought we were still fighting away after that incident and we were trying to work out how our strategy would play out. The No. 25 crew was telling to push and then save fuel, so I stayed pretty close to the pack, but about halfway through the race we had a slight hiccup during our pit stop and we ended up losing a couple of spots. At that point we struggled a little bit to get back in it and ultimately suffered a mechanical issue. It’s a frustrating way to end the race, but that’s racing so we’ll focus on the 500 now and look ahead.”

Wilson will next be in action for the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 as he makes his second start for Andretti Autosport on May 24. The race will be televised LIVE on ABC with coverage beginning at 12:00 PM ET.

Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis
May 7-9, 2015

Practice 1 BL 1:11.9104  (P18) 27 laps
Practice 2 BL 1:11.7470 (P19) 29 laps
Practice 3 BL 1:11.8104 (P23) 21 laps
Qualifying BL  1:10.5776 (P18)
Practice 5 BL  1:11.8772 (P21) 18 laps
Race BL 1:11.8197 (P24) 68 laps