"It was just a shame. There was a lot of dirt there and I decided to restart after it, thinking I might be able to catch some of these guys out. But it was a shame on me, because Ryan got a good run. I nearly got him back into the bus Stop, but I thought discretion was the better part of valour, as we were two‑wide going into it. Fortunately, I think Tony gave me a bit of room to come back in."
Hunter-Reay went on to win his first IndyCar Series event, with Manning, ironically, placing second to the American in a repeat of his best Champ Car finish - at Surfer's Paradise - in 2003.
"That bugger," he smiled, "No, it's nice to finish second to Ryan - he's a good guy, a good driver and it's nice for him as he was out of a ride for a little while there. I'm sure we've all been in that situation before, so it's nice that the Rahal Letterman team gave him a chance.
"He proved [he was worthy of it] straightaway. He was super fast straightaway, and we all knew we had another competitor on our hands, for sure. It was just a matter of time. He had a quick car, and pulled away. As Tony said, I was quick enough to hold my own, but he just pulled a quick couple of seconds gap on me."
