This year’s Indy 500 reached the safety car after Spencer Pigot crashed hard three laps before the end in the run-up to the finish line. At the time of the accident, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver Takuma Sato, who had overtaken Scott Dixon, was in first place. He spent 111 laps out of a total of 200 in the lead during the race.
The final announcement of the yellow phase made it impossible to upgrade the battle for victory, and Takuma Sato finished behind the deceleration car for a triumph before Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) and teammate Graham Rahal.
Marco Andretti, the grandson of the legendary Mario, started from pole position in the seventh and most watched race of the IndyCar season, but lost his first position shortly after the green flag, overtaken by five-time Overseas Series champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon.
The New Zealander survived the opening nervous laps of the race, during which Ed Carpenter met the wall and James Davison had to stop with the burning right front wheel of his monopost.
The first big shot was dealt by the Swedish former Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson, who crashed in the 25th lap. With Chip Ganassi’s stable car destroyed, he could no longer continue the race.
The restart took place in the 32nd round and at that moment the group Pagenaud, Askew, Power, Kimball, Castroneves circled at the head. These five pilots decided not to build during the yellow phase and for a short time they got to the top positions on another fuel strategy.
But their advantage didn’t last long, and Scott Dixon and a group of pilots around him, including Ryan Hunter-Reay and Takuma Sato, began circling in first place again.
In the middle of the race, Dalton Kellett crashed and immediately after the subsequent restart, an even more dramatic situation occurred. Before entering the pit lane, Conor Daly lost control of the car, spun, and forced McLaren driver Oliver Askew to evade. However, after a sharp movement with the steering wheel, he also spun and tested the safer barrier with a hard impact.
Fortunately, both participants escaped without serious injury.
Shortly after the horrific incident, the Spanish rookie Alex Palou also had to resign from the race after the accident. The 23-year-old debutant could have really regretted the end, because during his first participation in Indianapolis he managed a great qualification and fought for the top ten in the race.
The second half of the race at the top of the starting field was mainly marked by a long-lasting duel between Dixon and Alexander Rossi from the Andretti Autosport team.
However, the exciting battle ended after Rossi, the 2016 Indy 500 winner, was penalized for dangerous release from the pits. In the ensuing hunt for the lost positions, the American made a mistake and resigned after contact with the wall.
In the fight for first place, he replaced Rossi Takuma Sato, who overtook Dixon and remained in the lead even after the last pit stop. 7 laps before the finish of the race, Sato finished the group of cars back by a lap and Dixon caught up with him again, but there was no final battle for victory.
At the end of the race, Spencer Pigot crashed hard on the main run and the race had to be followed by a safety car.
So Scott Dixon didn’t get a chance to fight for his second triumph in Indianapolis, and instead had to watch his Japanese opponent win his second victory in the Indy 500.
Graham Rahal finished third ahead of fourth Santin Ferrucci and fifth Josef Newgarden. The reigning IndyCar champion was the best driver in the finish of this year’s Indy 500 with a Chevrolet engine under the hood behind four Honda in the first four places.
Alonsa braked the clutch
Fernando Alonso started his second Indy 500 from 26th place in the 9th row and tried to push forward, but he lacked the necessary speed to win and complete the three-crown motorsport, and he also suffered from technical difficulties.
“I finished the Indy 500 for the first time, a great experience! In the middle we were back in 15th place in the race, but then we were hit by problems with the clutch. Therefore, during each subsequent stop, the mechanics had to push me. I’m still happy. Thank you, Indy, “wrote the two-time F1 world champion and two-time Le Mans winner on his twitter.
The Spaniard finished 21st ahead of last year’s Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud.
