Pippa Mann secures Indy500 grid spot

One year after being bumped from the field, Pippa Mann has qualified for 103rd edition of the Indianapolis 500, securing a spot on the grid with rookie team Clauson-Marshall.

After a 6 hours nail-biting Saturday qualifying, Pippa Mann could finally catch a breath and jump out of the #39 Clauson-Marshall entry, knowing that she had secured a spot for the big race.

Pippa went on track for a single attempt in the early stages of the afternoon and completed the four lap run with an everage speed of 227.244 mph, which ended up to be good enough for the top 30. But the final hour must have felt never-ending for the British veteran, as many drivers improved their performances and big names such as James Hinchcliffe and Fernando Alonso were struggling to secure a spot on the grid.

As the clock signaled the end of the session, Pippa's 30th place meant that the starting spot was locked-in for underdog Clauson-Marshall Racing Driven2SaveLives entry.

“I can’t say enough about the effort everyone put in to make this happen, and I’m so thankful to the Clauson family, Indiana Donor Network and all of my other sponsors for believing in me. We had a solid week leading up to today and we believed the #39 car was fast enough to make the show. We might be a smaller, one-off race team but today was proof that we had the drive and dedication to get it done.” - said an emotional Mann.

For the rookie team honoring Bryan Clauson it certainly feels like victory.

Her adventure undoubtedly was the first big story of this Indianapolis 500, and is the subject of an exclusive interview that will be released soon on this website, as we had the chance to ask her some questions earlier this week.

In Pippa's words: