Qualifying report
IndyCar Indy 500
Indy 500 Qualifying: Marco Andretti takes pole
Marco Andretti has taken pole for the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500, battling strong winds to beat Scott Dixon’s time by 0.017mph and putting the Andretti name on pole at Indy for the first time since grandfather Mario achieved it in 1987.
David Malsher-Lopez
Edited: Aug 17, 2020, 4:31 PM
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An impressively consistent run from Takuma Sato saw him go a tad faster on the second lap than on his first and all his laps stayed in the 230mph bracket. Rahal Letterman Lanigan teammate Graham Rahal had to pedal the car at Turn 1 on his final lap and lost momentum.
Rookie Alex Palou in the Dale Coyne Racing-Honda twice hit 240mph down the front straight, and his first lap was the fastest of the session up to that point with 231.901, but he believed his weightjacker stopped working on Lap 3 and he lost pace over the last two laps.
Fellow rookie and the only Chevrolet driver in the field, Rinus VeeKay in the #21 Ed Carpenter Racing was on target to pip Sato until his fourth lap when he just dipped a little below 230.
Scott Dixon in the most trimmed out car in pitlane, ensured the Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda was the first to clock two 231mph laps and moved to the top of the table with an average of 231.051.
James Hinchcliffe’s run in the Andretti Autosport-Honda was disappointing in relative terms, fourth fastest at the time, yet teammate Alexander Rossi had it worse, having to breathe the throttle at both ends of the track by Lap 4, which guaranteed Dixon was at least on the front row.
Ryan Hunter-Reay’s first lap was 0.5mph off Dixon, and while his three subsequent laps were beautifully consistent, it wasn’t enough to avoid bleeding away vital tenths to slip to the second row.
Marco Andretti turned the fastest lap of the session with a 231.826 and like Dixon, he delivered another 231mph lap on his second lap but Laps 2 and 3 were slightly slower than the equivalent from Dixon but he salvaged the situation with a brilliant fourth lap to ensure he edged Dixon by 0.017sec.
Read Also:
- Andretti: Last two laps of quali run are “what we get paid to do”
- Indy 500 Practice: Andretti turns fastest IMS lap since 1996
P Driver Team Engine Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3 Lap 4 Average 1. Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Honda 231.826 231.146 230.771 230.532 231.068 2. Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 231.768 231.163 230.941 230.337 231.051 3. Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda 230.805 230.916 230.659 230.520 230.725 4. Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 231.560 230.937 230.449 229.879 230.704 5. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 231.267 230.637 230.351 230.340 230.648 6. James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda 230.395 230.050 229.527 229.509 229.870 7. Alex Palou Dale Coyne Racing w/ Team Goh Honda 231.901 230.364 228.083 228.398 229.676 8. Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda 230.389 230.126 229.746 227.284 229.380 9. Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 230.708 229.911 228.593 227.748 229.234
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