Alex Palou Becomes Leader With Prestigious Victory On ‘Road America’

Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi) Greater distance to other contenders for the title IndyCar 2023 He already won in 2021 with a victory at the Road America circuit in Wisconsin this Sunday.

The Catalan rider, who started from third on the grid, is well on his way to a second straight victory following his victory in Detroit two weeks ago, rising to the top of the drawer for the third time this season and finishing with a good run in Round 2. Added a win. May from Indianapolis to the circuit. No other driver has done the same thing so many times in the current championship.

Palou is an outstanding leader, already with 324 points, sitting in the middle behind second-placed Marcus Ericsson (Chip Ganassi), who is 74 units off. Joseph Newgarden (Penske) was third with 81 points, followed by Mexico’s Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren) and Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi) with 98 points.

The championship leader acknowledged the work of the entire team after being able to fix his and Dixon’s cars after a crash during practice.

“It was a great weekend. We only had an hour and a half to fix the whole car. Saturday was a very difficult day because I had to fix my car and Scott’s car too. We arrived in good shape and have a great team behind us,” Palou told American television, which covered the race.

The Catalan has been very cautious when talking about the championship when it comes to his privileged position to win the title. Another person may catch a similar stream. We have to stay focused and fight race after race. ”

7th at the Catalunya Grand Prix

The victory in Wisconsin marked the 250th victory in the Chip Ganassi team’s history, with Palou first, Dixon fourth, and Ericsson sixth, well ahead of the other drivers.

It is also Palou’s seventh IndyCar Grand Prix victory.

Newgarden and O’Ward finished on the podium. After the race, both sides recognized Palou for his excellent work throughout the weekend and his creditable victory.

The first half of the race was characterized by a lot of contact between cars, which led to a series of exits from the course and yellow flags being displayed, reducing the intensity of the competition.

Another race began on lap 20, with Colon Harta, Palou and Newgarden battling for the lead. The Californians knew how to defend themselves well and pit others against each other, leading to ugly contacts between the Spaniards and the Americans.

Lap 26, with another valid yellow, Pit was about to give Palou the first lead, but his exit from the ‘pit’ put Hertha in front by just a few thousandths of a second. did not allow it.

The remaining 10 laps were expected to be a relentless battle for the final victory between Hertha and Palou.

Both drivers pulled away from Newgarden with excellent pace, but Chip Ganassi quickly overtook Andretti and the Spaniard took the lead.

With seven laps to go before the checkered flag, Palou was no longer in the lead. At the back, Herta suffered a fuel problem and was left behind by Newgarden, O’Ward and Dixon, dropping to 5th place.